This Thursday, Join Us for.an Open House with Duluth Toastmasters Club 1523

I joined Toastmasters just over a year ago. The meetings were live and lively. The club I became part of here in Duluth was friendly and welcoming, and in a very short time I felt right at home. Three months later, the world shifted on its axis. The pandemic hit and we no longer met in person. Like millions of other people we had to learn how to use new technology to gather while social distancing.

It was surprising how quickly we adapted. One week we were meeting in the Old Central High School in Duluth's Central Hillside, two weeks later we were learning how to log in through Zoom. Even from the start our meetings began on time and our energy level was high as we pursued this new adventure.

ALL THIS TO SAY that once a year our Toastmasters group has an Open House and you are invited. Last year we met in the Green Room at the Duluth Public Library. One week later we were forced to start Zooming. What's great is that visitors to our club can Zoom in from anywhere in the world this year. 

What is Toastmasters? 

Toastmasters is an upbeat, safe way to learn how to be a public speaker ad more. It will help you in future job interviews, in making presentations and speaking at meetings. It is an invaluable tool for building your leadership skills. In short, it can make a difference in your career and in your life. 

Our Duluth Chapter 1523 is comprised of people from a variety of backgrounds. Yana Stockman, for example, is originally from Ukraine with English her third language. Bert Hursh is a teacher who one worked on a nuclear submarine. Dave Boe is a writer. Some are young, some late in their careers. All are quite interesting.

Randine LePage says she originally joined when she was going through a career transition. She wanted to get more comfortable with public speaking. "I have stayed because I have found many more directions in which to learn and grow within Toastmasters.  What I learn in my personal and professional life, I develop further in Toastmasters, and what I learn in Toastmasters, also develops further at work and at home.  More opportunity means more growth, more success and more fulfillment!

Jordan Simpson initially joined Toastmasters six years ago as a way to keep up her confidence as a presenter. "I didn't know at the time how much Toastmasters would help me grow as an individual. For five of the six years I've been in TM, I've been able to expand and mold my leadership skills and connect with individuals between Thunder Bay, ON, CA, to the Twin Cities in MN." 

Wulf Gar joined Toastmasters to further his leadership skills and to become more comfortable with speaking in front of people. "What I've received has been far greater than I anticipated. My confidence has been lifted, not just when speaking in front of others, but also at work and in my community." 

Wulf sees the fail-proof learning environment as its secret sauce. "Toastmasters instructs and nurtures new members, while providing a fun and non-judgmental atmosphere to practice. When you take those skills into the real world, you're already polished and experienced, ready to interact with others with confidence. I love the fun and inspirational atmosphere!"

International Life Coach and Club President Yana Stockman says she lacked confidence when making presentations in a third language. Toastmaster has given her a place to practice. Constructive feedback has helped her immensely. Nothing crushes fear more than confronting it head-on," she says. "After a few months of meetings, my speech deliveries felt much less anxious and much more like my second nature. Consistency of weekly meetings builds up my confidence, which is critical to deliver an influential presentations. 

"I did not expect to receive the enormous amount of benefits that came with my Toastmasters membership: unlimited access in education, a worldwide network community, an opportunity to advance leadership skills on multiple levels. Toastmasters will always be a big milestone in my personal and professional life, because Toastmasters will help you to create a tool-box of skills that you will carry with you for the rest of your life."

As Jordan Simpson puts it, "Whether you want to: build confidence while speaking, sharpen your leadership skills, learn about constructive feedback, build relationships with people throughout the world, or simply see people virtually on a weekly basis, Toastmasters is for you."

Special thanks to team member Dave Boe for assembling these testimonies and quotes.

OUR MEETING IS THURSDAY, JANUARY 28

You are invited.

Register Here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/toastmasters-open-house-tickets-137230814059?fbclid=IwAR1-MmeIONeKJa9v1vEZT9k7iIveJ2QdKPeGRfbrUeNE0Dfq6LYLZ4otx_Q

Toastmasters Club 1523 Open House in the Green Room at the LIbrary: You Are Invited

Will you join us?

Club 1523. (Click to enlarge)  

This coming Thursday our Toastmasters Club 1523 is hosting an Open House in the Duluth Library. The public is invited. (This means you.)

I myself began attending Club 1523 in December and quickly discovered that Toastmasters is not just about becoming a better speaker, but also about becoming a better leader. It's an impressive program that was started in 1924 by a fellow named Ralph Smedley in Santa Ana, California. Ralph's aim was to help improve communication skills in a group of young men he was associated with. Today there are now 352, 000 members in nearly 16,000 clubs worldwide.

Our newest member, Jane Kim, addressing to the group.

The club meetings have a somewhat formal structure that makes meetings efficient without feeling rigid. There are usually two speeches each week and a Table Topics segment in which members have an opportunity to practice impromptu speaking. This is my favorite part of the meeting. A Table Topics Master selects the topic which you can't anticipate, forcing you to assemble in your mind a structured two-minute talk. It's a great skill to have because if you're ever in management or at a function as a company spokesperson, it's almost certain that at some point in your career you'll be called upon "to say a few words."

Whether for professional or personal development, you never know how far you can go as a speaker or leader until you move outside your comfort zone.

In addition to dealing with the basic issue of stage fright, you learn how to write a speech, engage an audience, how to deliver that speech with confidence and how to grow from each speaking experience via constructive feedback.

Whether you're comfortable or terrified as a public speaker, Toastmasters will help you improve. This Thursday's public meeting will give you a chance to see what they are all about.

Consider Yourself Invited 

OPEN HOUSE 

TIME: 6:00 p.m.

THURSDAY, March 11

PLACE: THE GREEN ROOM @ THE DULUTH PUBLIC LIBRARY 

Located on the Michigan Street level of the library, 

down one flight of stairs from the Checkout Desk. 

Pine Not: The Pine Knot Is Back... Under New Management

Installing the new signage.

An old friend has returned to the city of Cloquet. The Pine Knot News is back.

A Fox 21 Online story quoted news editor Jana Peterson as saying, “When everybody picks their favorite media source that reinforces the opinions they already have, this is a time we need a media source that’s not political that people can just read to find out about their neighbors, find out about the school district, the city council,” said Pine Knot News Editor Jana Peterson.

One of the first writers whom I'd gotten to know when I moved to Duluth was the late Ed Beaver, who used to be an editor at the former Pine Knot maybe two decades ago. Eventually the Pine Knot was replaced by the Pine Journal as Cloquet's primary local news provider, owned by Forum Communications, a media firm out of Fargo, North Dakota.

According to Peterson, the inspiration to re-ignite the Pine Knot "came from a desire to start a local paper after the Pine Journal closed its office" here in the community it is intended to serve, citing "various other corporate moves that made it feel like we needed a paper that cared again."

This past Thursday the Pine Knot News held an open house to celebrate its return to the community, albeit under new management. The public was invited, and even Santa Claus showed up, so it was a very special occasion.

The Pine Knot is bullish on their future and the future of Cloquet & surrounding communities.
(This variation on the Wall Street bull is down the block across the street.)

Here are some shots from 

Thursday's Open House @ The Pine Knot

The office was bustling when I arrived.

Santa dropped by to greet the young ones.

I found there were even some angels present.

No chestnuts roasting, though there was an open fire crackling.

A series of interesting paintings by Ken Hanson decorated the wall.

The Pine Knot News is a weekly paper published on Fridays with its office located at 122 Avenue C in Cloquet MN, a couple blocks from the one-of-a-kind Frank Lloyd Wright filling station.

The home team on staff includes publisher Pete Radosovich, editor Jana Peterson, business manager Rose Chu, production manager Debbie Zime and ad manager Ivan Hohnstadt. You can find out more about what's happening at the Pine Knot News here at their website: www.pineknotnews.com/

Wishing you the best!

* * * *

Speaking of buying and supporting local, this Friday there is a Holiday Market 

at the Oldenburg House. with (if my numbers are correct) as many as 20

local artisans and creatives selling their wares from Noon till 8:00 p.m.

 It's that time of year as Christmas draws near.  

Weekend Open House Shows Why the Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art Is a Gift to Our Community

Friday evening at the GLAFA  (Photo courtesy Ramona Marozas)

Tricycle by Jeffrey T. Larson

How does light work? How does perception work? How do we synthesize everything in our minds to form images of the material world? Light reflects off the surfaces of things, yet we do not see the light waves moving through space as it strikes the surface of things. How is it, too, that while our eyes are in motion everything appears fixed in time and substantial. We move about within a space and yet the room doesn't move with us, unless you've had too much to drink. Why do colors shift when the light is brighter or more restrained?

Photo courtesy Ramona Marozas

The Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art is having its second annual student/instructor exhibition this weekend. The school uses a method of teaching that was developed in the 17th century called the Atelier method. Students spend hours every day drawing a two-dimensional reproduction of a 3-D object using techniques that enable them to accurately depict reality. The first year is devoted to drawing and learning to see. The second year students also begin painting, but it is not till year three that they introduce color to their paintings. Next year's open house is expected to be a yet more vibrant one as second year students look forward to the broadening of their pallets.

The images here are from this weekend's open house, which continues today for several hours, from noon till three. After that the students and instructors will break for the summer. Jeffrey T. Larson and son Brock are looking forward to a painting trip to the mountains of Colorado later in the week. And the students look forward to seeing what new themes will spring from their own imaginations, with more advanced skillsets for translating their visions to reality.

Co-founders Jeffrey T. and Brock Larson (Ramona M photo)

Ramona M, right and center. w/ artist Daralyn Berg Peifer

Showing how it's done when working from real life.

Photo of student by Ramona M.

Early in evening. Students eager to share their achievements with friends
family and fans.

Friday evening was another stellar open house for the school. I paid a visit Saturday afternoon to grab some of the photos here and offer my best wishes to the students who have clearly demonstrated their willingness to commit to a very demanding regimen. The proof of the pudding is in the eating they say... They have achieved new levels of eye-hand coordination, learned new ways of seeing, and have promising futures. I can hardly wait till next year.

REMINDER: Doors will be open this afternoon from noon till three. Take advantage of this opportunity to get inspired.

Related Links
How the Eye Sees
The Atelier

Local Art Seen: Sue Rauschenfels' Open House

This past month Sue Rauschenfels hosted an art opening in her home on the South Shore of Pike Lake. Rauschenfels is an artist whom I'd first gotten to know through her contributions to a Duluth Dylan Fest art show in 2014 and a subsequent show of her work at Beaners and Superior's North End Arts Gallery, which led to my interviewing her for  my column in The Reader at that time.

Upon entering her home one is struck by the light cascading off the glistening woodwork, showering into the rooms through an abundance of windows, providing ample light for viewing her work. The lakefront property, quietly poised on the waterfront, has a tidy feeling of warmth as you approach it, much like the paintings and pictures she creates, working in watercolor, acrylic, ink and/or collage.

Here are some photos I took of her paintings. The reflections on the glass and all the light flooding the room resulted in several happy accidents.

The colorations and expressions remind me of Marc Chagall.

I see vibrant pastel flowers dancing.

* * * *

Meantime, art goes on all around you. Engage it.

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Forging Ahead with Dan Neff's Art of Glass

Lake Superior Art Glass expanded to a second location this week. 

Saturday's Open House included media coverage.

(Owner/creator Dan Neff in the spotlight.)

The Blacksmiths are still active here as well.

Britta Lynn Kauppila also maintains a studio here.

Kauppila is both a metalsmith and jewelry designer 

working on expanding her second location as well: Online.

It's been fun watching the evolution of the Armory Annex,

located at 1325 London Road across the street from Valentini's.

It's latest iteration now includes Lake Superior Art Glass.

* * * 

Meantime, life goes on all around you. Get into it.