Latest news with #Toastmaster
The Hindu
28-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Meet Luisa Montalvo, the World Champion for Public Speaking 2024
In 2013, Luisa Montalvo says she remembers walking into a Toastmasters meeting in South Texas having seen a flyer put up on the door of a library. 'Everyone there immediately introduced themselves. It was very inviting, and an automatic warm feeling,' she recalled. While she had briefly been a part of a Toastmasters Club for a few years from 1989 at her workplace, the club wound up, and she did not join another club until 2013. 'I realised I should have gone looking for a club then, but once I walked into the library meeting, I knew I should be a part of this again,' she said. Recognised as the World Champion for Public Speaking by Toastmasters International in 2024, Luisa was in Chennai over the weekend to be a part of Toastmasters International District 120's annual conference Discover 2025. Comprising over 4,000 members from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, District 120 spans 175 community, corporate, and college clubs. The people in Chennai, Luisa said, were warm and receptive. 'What Toastmasters often winds up being without you noticing is that you become part of a family. You can go anywhere in the world and meet people, and when you come back the next year, all of you once again catch up and bond,' she said. Stating that the beauty of Toastmasters is how supportive they are as a group, Luisa said that they do not believe in shame, guilt, or embarrassment and instead, thrive in a positive environment. 'The reason most people join is to become a better public speaker and the best way to do that is to be able to practice in front of an audience and get constructive feedback. This is done in the Toastmaster club meetings, where the evaluators tell you about what you did great and where you can improve,' she said. 'While many people do think they will become a good public speaker and then leave, they never do. They end up becoming so much more,' she added. At the conference, several young members took up the stage, to participate in the finale of the district championships speaking contests in different formats. Luisa too emphasised on the positive impact this would have on youngsters, enabling them to build confidence and leadership roles. 'When you go job hunting with Toastmasters on your resume, it sets you apart since it tells the employer you are looking to improve yourself, she says. 'Whether you are a teacher looking to improve your confidence, or someone who wants to do presentations better at work, this will help any kind of fear with regard to public speaking,' she adds. The Hindu was the print media partner for this event
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Stillwater man who invented the pop-up toaster to be celebrated at toast fundraiser
Stillwater master mechanic Charles P. Strite reportedly invented the pop-up toaster in 1919 because he was tired of the burnt toast served in his company's cafeteria. To circumvent the need for continual human attention in the making of toast, Strite designed an electric toaster that 'featured heating elements that simultaneously toasted both sides of the bread, a timer that automatically turned off the heat, and springs that pushed up multiple pieces of perfectly browned toast,' according to the Minnesota Historical Society. Strite filed the patent for his pop-up bread toaster in 1920. He intended the device to be sold to the restaurant trade, said Brent Peterson, executive director of the Washington Historical Society. 'He made a toaster that was a 12-slicer, but they caught on so well that they moved to home toasters,' Peterson said. Strite was born on Feb. 27, 1878. This year his birthday coincides with National Toast Day, which is celebrated on the last Thursday in February. The Washington County Historical Society is marking the occasion by hosting its first toast fundraiser at 6 p.m. Feb. 27. 'We just thought it was time that the toaster gets its recognition as being invented in Stillwater,' Peterson said. Local vendors will be 'supplying bread and terrific toppings,' Peterson said. Historian Heidi Heize will present the history of the toaster and its origins in Stillwater, and antique toasters will be on display, he said. The main attraction will be the Strite Automatic four-slice toaster that an anonymous donor gave to the society in 2011, Peterson said. 'The pop-up toaster is such an iconic kitchen item that it is overlooked by most people,' Peterson told the Pioneer Press at the time. 'Nearly every kitchen in the country has some kind of pop-up toaster in it, and yet to know that it was invented right in Stillwater is really exciting.' Strite partnered with the Waters-Genter Co., of Minneapolis, to manufacture and sell his device, which later became known as the 'Toastmaster.' The Feb. 27 event at the Washington County Heritage Center in Stillwater will be a 'celebration of imagination,' Peterson said. Local News | Nonprofit born out of son's addiction among first to receive Washington County opioid settlement funds Local News | Woodbury's Math and Science Academy adding elementary school, building new high school Local News | Woodbury teen killed in Washington County crash Friday afternoon Local News | NY police find body of missing man from MN they say was tortured for more than a month Local News | Cottage Grove garden center owner put on probation after admitting to tax crime 'That's how the world moves forward,' he said. 'We bring our history to the present and to the future, and that's what Charles Strite did. He saw a problem in the present, and he moved it to the future. Imagination and invention are the keys to us as a society moving forward, and he symbolizes that.' What: A fundraiser for the Washington County Historical Society When: 6-8 p.m. Feb. 27 Where: Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 Greeley St. S., Stillwater Cost: Admission is free, but donations are accepted.
