#Blindscentz: Toastmasters Season Starts Now

People often tell me, a voracious yoga practitioner, that they are not flexible enough to do yoga. My usual response is, “That’s why we do yoga: to build flexibility in the body, mind, and breath.”

Edwina Nearhood is a longtime Fort St. John resident sharing her vision loss journey. Please remember, every person’s vision loss experience is as unique as they are.

Have you ever had to go to a job interview, make a presentation at work, or take on a promotional opportunity that requires leadership? Perhaps you need to MC an upcoming special event. Life places all kinds of opportunities before us, showing us where we have room to grow. When we find our edges, we find opportunities to grow.

Public speaking is just like working out at the gym. If you do not work out regularly, you never grow that muscle. Fort St. John has a local club called the Toastmasters Achievers Club. We meet every Thursday, rain or shine, at Northern Lights College, Room 1405.

There is some amazing magic that happens in that room. Last year, a Rotary exchange student joined our club with English as her second language and nervousness as her best friend. By the time she left, she was a motivational inspiration to us all. Although we were sorry to see her go, we are excited to watch her grow and are certain she will go on to do great things.

Personally, I joined Toastmasters to find my new edges. I have grown to love public speaking and now need to learn new strategies for giving an engaging PowerPoint presentation as a blind person. It is wonderful to grow in such a supportive environment.

Where can you find such an inspirational activity for around $140 per year? That translates into less than the cost of a cup of coffee for ninety minutes of laughter, encouragement, and growth—not to mention new friends.

This past year, our club achieved Distinguished status, and we have our sights set on President’s Distinguished status for the upcoming year. We are already almost there, and the year just began on July 1^st. Our club is planning to prepare our advanced speakers for the regional speech contest. Perhaps you are a server looking to up your upsell game in a natural, fun way. There is something for you called Table Topics. In this portion of the meeting, each person is offered a unique impromptu question that they have up to two minutes to answer. By your third meeting, you may feel like a Grade 1 student wanting to raise your hand and say, “Pick me! Pick me!” “Yeah, right,” you say. Absolutely! There is also no pressure if you would rather watch and learn. We have had some great wallflowers sit back, learn by absorption, and then dazzle us with their brilliance.

Here is an added bonus: if you are afraid to make eye contact, just look at me! I can’t see a thing. I can, however, keep track of your ums, ahs, and filler words.

If all of that sounds like a bit too much, then come for the snacks. If we are lucky enough to have our favourite snack master, you will be treated to yummy cookie balls, Finnish sweet pastries, and more. Come for the snacks, stay for the fun, and find a lifetime of growth to reach the stars that are waiting for you. This is a great fit for college students, people running in the municipal elections, new teachers, municipal employees, servers, managers, owners, entrepreneurs, non-profit boards, PAC members, mothers, fathers, uncles, cousins, and definitely YOU!

Come on out on Thursdays to Northern Lights College at 7:00 p.m., Room 1405. I’ll be the blind VP of Membership sitting in the front row. Tell the group Edwina sent you!

Edwina Nearhood is a longtime Fort St. John resident sharing her vision loss journey. Please remember, every person’s vision loss experience is as unique as they are.