Another fabulous B&P Toastmasters meeting! Wonderful group this week as we gathered for fun and laughter to hear 3 superb speeches. Hal Heintz was Toastmaster of the Day and provided some excellent reflections on the major historical event exactly 50 years ago to the day – the assassination of JFK. Nevertheless, the meeting was upbeat and entertaining. Word of the Day was ‘forfend’ – a verb meaning to avert, prevent (something evil or unpleasant), or to protect (something) by precautionary measures. And welcome to our visitors today - Hal Hawkins, Mike Johnson, Jr., and Molly Tijerina. Although Molly is a member of the Chase ROC TM group, this is Molly’s second visit and we hope Molly will consider making B&P her second TM home! John Pickles, as General Evaluator, did a fine job directing the evaluation portion of the meeting. Bob Carlson managed Table Topics and asked 3 participants questions about their reflections of JFK and/or assassination. And this week, we had TWO Table Topic Winners as there was a tie in the vote! Clair Geiger and Terry Coutinho share this week’s award for Best Table Topics! Best Evaluator was awarded to Pat Hopper for an excellent evaluation of Mark Jannasch’s speech. And that highest B&P honor, the ribbon we all aspire to achieve, the blue ribbon representing Best Speaker was awarded to Bill Tibbs for an excellent speech on mentoring in his workplace. Solid delivery for only his 5th speech! Elaine Miller presented the Spirit Stick to Ed Dylla in recognition of his longevity with B&P and continued support of the club. Congratulations to our 4 ribbon and Spirit Stick winners! This week’s meeting did not require us to consciously ‘forfend’ against boredom or the doldrums – we had plenty of laughs, great speaking opportunities, and that open, friendly camaraderie that makes B&P successful. Maybe that’s why we are a proud recipient of the President’s Distinguished Award, every year, since 2004. The best in San Antonio! Looking forward to seeing YOU next Friday... same B&P time, same B&P channel!