Nenagh Toastmasters hold open night

Nenagh Toastmasters hosted an open night in the Abbey Court on Tuesday November 29th to showcase what Nenagh Toastmasters is about and we had an attendance of over 40 people.

The night began with a welcome from President Willie Grace, who welcomed both the many members and guests to the night. However, Willie stated that it was with deep sadness that he had learned of the passing of our dear friend Bridget Hanly.

 

Willie introduced Joe Ryan to say a few words about Bridget, who had been one of the longest serving members of Nenagh Toastmasters, at over 25 years membership. Joe told the meeting that Bridget had played a very active role in the club serving as President, Area Governor and many other officer roles.

 

She had also taken part in many events such as 'The Mock Wedding' and 'The Court Case'. But it was Bridget’s more subtle skills that Joe appreciated as he recalled his first meeting with her, and how her special ability to make whoever she was speaking to feel as if they were the only special person in the room, and as he grew to know her over the years, Joe always felt that Bridget’s special skill was to make other people reach beyond themselves and stretch the boundaries of what they thought they were capable of.

 

Bridget, along with her “partner in crime” Mary Flannery, was on our Toastmasters Tourism Board, as every year they would organise a weekend away for the club, doing all the hard work behind the scenes, and despite erratic Irish weather, we always seemed to have fine, sunny weather, no matter how bad the previous few days had been.

 

As Toastmasters, we feel honoured and privileged that Bridget was a member of our club. She was a great ambassador for Nenagh Toastmasters and her dedication and commitment to the club was huge and helped the club to prosper. She will be sadly missed and the club send our deep condolences to James and all the family. May she rest in peace.

 

The business of the night moved on and the MC for the night, Sean Butler, introduced a number of Transition Year students from Nenagh CBS, who had undergone the Toastmasters youth leadership programme carried out on a voluntary basis by club members in all of the local schools for the past number of years. And for both the club and the parents and other guests present, it was wonderful to see how good the young men were, by delivering varied and interesting speeches to show the skills and confidence they had gained from the programme.

 

The night continued with poems, tall tales and interesting topics delivered by Eibhlin Maher and when we broke for a tea break, the pride of the parents of the TY students was evident to see. As a result of the great night, we have had a number of enquiries about joining the club and we hope to gain some new members.

 

So come along to our next meeting on Tuesday December 13th at 8.15pm, free of charge, and we’ll even give you a cup of tea. At the very least, you won’t be disappointed and you might even enjoy yourself!