Raconteurs: Toastmasters Club

11/10/2026

On Thursday night, Raconteurs Toastmasters hosted our Evaluation Contest, showcasing the outstanding listening, speaking, and feedback skills of our members. Congratulations to our winners:
🥇 First Place: Julian Z. Zheng
🥈 Second Place: Sibylle Rundel

Thank you to all contestants, officials, and volunteers who contributed to making the event a success. We extend our special appreciation to our Contest Chair, John Walker, and our Vice President Education, Lorraine Walker, for their dedication and support in organising this memorable evening.

We look forward to welcoming members and guests to our next meeting:
📍 The Bartley Hotel, Bartley Terrace, West Lakes Shore
🗓 Thursday, 22 October 2026

02/10/2026

🎉 500 STEPS FORWARD! 🎉

Raconteurs Toastmasters celebrated a milestone on Thursday, 24 September 2026. Our 500th meeting!

It was a memorable evening where members, former members, and guests came together to celebrate the occasion. The night was made extra special with cake and decorations!

Four speakers also shared their own steps forward with their prepared speeches:
🗣 Darrell Klar – The Story of Raconteurs Toastmasters Club.
🗣 Julian Zheng – To the Place We Belong.
🗣 Johnny Rizk – Starting Again at 50.
🗣 Sybille Rundel – The Big Move.

Our Table Topics session followed the 500th meeting theme, and it was great to see members, former members, and guests all jump in and have a go.

Congratulations to our members who have completed their levels with in the Toastmasters Pathways! Your commitment to stepping up to speak and growing as communicators and leaders inspires us all. 🎤
🏅John Walker – Level 5 of Presentation Mastery
🏅Jarrod Schutt – Level 1 of Presentation Mastery
🏅Brooke Dilmetz – Level 1 of Presentation Mastery

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the occasion and helped make this such a fun, supportive, and inspiring night. Here's to the next 500! 🚀

We look forward to welcoming members and guests to our next meeting:
📍 The Bartley Hotel, Bartley Terrace, West Lakes Shore
🗓 Thursday, 08 October 2026
🕡 6:45 PM

Julian Zheng Darrell Klar Johnny Rizk Kerry Pienaar Guilherme Zanella Joanne Kneebone Ashley Norton George Spartalis Lorraine Walker Andris Bilkens District 73 Toastmasters

13/09/2026

A Back-to-Front Meeting at Raconteurs Toastmasters! 🎤

Thursday night’s meeting at Raconteurs Toastmasters was certainly one to remember — and definitely not your usual Toastmasters meeting! 😄
It was a Back-to-Front Meeting, which meant everyone had to remember what our evaluators had said about us… and then put those recommendations into practice! It was harder than it sounds!

Jarrod had to deliver his speech standing on one leg while clutching the lectern throughout.
Nadia had to present her Wordmaster report while resisting the temptation to constantly look at her phone.
Gillian had to deliver some of her Table Topics evaluation in Portuguese.
Amy had to hold her earlobe and play with her earrings.
Nicole had to giggle throughout the meeting.
Amanueal had to rub his tummy and pat his head while speaking all while delivering a brilliant speech on AI!
Sibylle had to flick her hair throughout her speaking role.
Lorraine had to break into nursery rhymes every now and then!
Sibylle summed it up perfectly: “It was brilliant!” 😄
Brilliant it may have been, but it was also an exhausting experience. By the end of the night, everyone had certainly earned their rest.

That’s what makes Toastmasters so much fun: we can challenge ourselves, experiment, laugh at ourselves and learn together in a wonderfully supportive environment. Thank you to everyone who embraced the madness and made our Back-to-Front Meeting such a memorable night and Lorraine Walker who engineered this format behind the scenes! 👏

Our next meeting is a celebration of Raconteurs's 500th meeting:
📍 The Bartley Hotel, Bartley Terrace, West Lakes Shore
🗓 Thursday, 10 September 2026
🕡 6:45 PM
We looking forward to celebrating our milestone and the amazing club culture with you all.

06/09/2026

You are all invited to Raconteurs Toastmasters this coming Thursday for an evening of either riotous fun and laughter or total chaos when we have our "Back To Front" meeting. We begin with the closing remarks and conclude with the opening welcome, and everything will possibly go downhill from there. Be sure to bring your laughter gear with you, to the Bartley's Hotel. Bartley Tce, West Lakes Shore, 6.45pm for a 7pm start.

Send a message to learn more

06/09/2026

Raconteurs Toastmasters hosted our annual Club Speech Contests (Table Topics and International) on 27 August 2026.

🏆 Table Topics Contest. Topic: “There has to be a better way”
🥇 1st Place: Brooke Dilmetz
🥈 2nd Place: John Gillespie
🥉 3rd Place: Julian Z.

🏆 International Speech Contest
🥇 1st Place: Marc Ocampo Ramos
🥈 2nd Place: Julian Z.
Congratulations to all our winners! 👏

Our first-place winners, Brooke Dilmetz and Marc Ocampo Ramos, will represent the club at the Area-level contests. We wish them every success as they take on the next stage of the competition!

A big well done to all contestants who stepped up to the challenge. Speech contests take courage, preparation and a willingness to put yourself in the spotlight. We thank the Area Governor David Willanski and Eion Williamson
from District 73 for visiting the club and supporting the contests.

🙏 Thank you to all our contest officials, with particular appreciation to our Contest Chair, John Walker, whose organisation and dedication made the evening possible.

We look forward to welcoming members and guests to our next meeting:
📍 The Bartley Hotel, Bartley Terrace, West Lakes Shore
🗓 Thursday, 10 September 2026
🕡 6:45 PM
Come along, meet our members, and experience the supportive and engaging environment of Raconteurs Toastmasters.

25/07/2026

Raconteurs Toastmasters welcomed 26 attendees 🎉 to our meeting on Thursday, 23 July 2026, one of the coldest nights of the year.

Members and guests were inspired by three engaging prepared speeches:
🗣 Mel Riviere – An Ice Breaker speech about three countries and three corresponding journeys.
🗣 Guilherme Zanella Zanella – A Pathways project speech.
🗣 Brooke Dilmetz – On the topic of Guardians of the Dutch Landscape.

To add to the fun, everyone participated in the Houston Debate and was showered with chocolates in the evening! 🍫 We were delighted to induct and welcome three new members into the club:
🎉 Sibykke Rundel
🎉 Habte Weldemariam
🎉 Yifan Shuai

Please join us in congratulating our award winners:
🏆 Outstanding Performance: Brooke Dilmetz
🏆 Outstanding Prepared Speech: Brooke Dilmetz
🏆 Outstanding Evaluation: Maryanne Katsidis & Darrell Klar
🏆 Outstanding Table Topic: Lorraine Walker

Thank you to everyone who contributed to another enjoyable, supportive and inspiring evening. We look forward to welcoming members and guests to our next meeting:
📍 The Bartley Hotel, Bartley Terrace, West Lakes Shore
🗓 Thursday, 13 August 2026
🕡 6:45 PM

12/07/2026

Our meeting on 9 July 2026, chaired by first-time Toastmaster Maryanne Katsidis, marked a fantastic start to the new Toastmasters year.

It was wonderful to see so many members stepping outside their comfort zones, with five members taking on roles they had never performed before:
🌟 Maryanne Katsidis – First-time Toastmaster
🌟 Jarrod Schutt – First-time Workshop Presenter
🌟 Amy Graham – First-time Timekeeper
🌟 Sibylle Rundel – First-time Table Topics Master
🌟 Mel Riviere – First-time Harkmaster

We were also inspired by a prepared speech from John Gillespie, who shared his journey as a truck driver. His personal experiences and engaging storytelling made for a memorable presentation.

A special highlight of the evening was the presentation of the 2025–2026 Toastmaster of the Year Award to our highly respected member, Lorraine Walker. Her dedication, leadership and mentorship at Raconteurs and in the wider Toastmasters community in SA make her a truly deserving recipient of the Toastmaster of the Year Award. Congratulations, Lorraine!

Congratulations also to our award winners for the evening:
🏆 Outstanding Performance: Jarrod Schutt
🏆 Outstanding Prepared Speech: John Gillespie
🏆 Outstanding Evaluation: John Walker
🏆 Outstanding Table Topic: Rosa Pearson

Thank you to everyone who contributed to another enjoyable and inspiring evening. We look forward to welcoming members and guests to our next meeting!

📍 The Bartley Hotel, Bartley Terrace, West Lakes Shore
🗓 Thursday, 23 July 2026
🕡 6:45 PM

12/07/2026

Congratulations 🎉 to our highly respected member Lorraine Walker on receiving the 2025–2026 Toastmaster of the Year Award.

Throughout the past Toastmasters year, Lorraine has made an outstanding contributions to both our club and the wider Toastmasters community in SA. As Area C10 Director, she hosted the Area contests with professionalism and excellence. As Vice President Education (VPE), she consistently brought creativity and variety to our meeting agendas. Stepping in as Acting Vice President Membership (VPM), she diligently maintained a comprehensive guest database while mentoring numerous members and supporting them in achieving their Toastmasters goals.

Above all, Lorraine is a highly respected and much-valued member whose kindness, generosity, humour and unwavering support have brought encouragement, friendship and laughter to countless meetings. Her selfless service, inspiring leadership and genuine commitment to helping others grow embody the very best of Toastmasters.

As Lorraine came forward to receive the award, she was honoured with a standing ovation from the club as a tribute to her remarkable service and the profound respect she has earned from fellow Raconteurs members.

Lorraine's dedication, leadership and mentorship make her a truly deserving recipient of the 2025–2026 Toastmaster of the Year Award.

Congratulations, Lorraine, on this well-deserved recognition!

05/07/2026

Despite the cold weather, Raconteurs Toastmasters welcomed 26 attendees 🎉 to our meeting on 25 June 2026, chaired by Jarrod Schutt.

We were inspired by two engaging prepared speeches:
🗣 Amy Graham – Embracing Uncertainty, sharing her career journey.
🗣 Amanueal Mamo – delivering his Ice Breaker speech.

As we farewelled the current Toastmasters year and welcomed the new one, we celebrated the handover to our incoming executive committee. Congratulations to the new team, and thank you to our outgoing leaders for their dedication and service.

We were also delighted to induct our newest member, Nadia Mahafud (Nadia MaGo). Welcome to the club👏

Congratulations to our award winners for the evening:
🏆 Best Performance: Amy Graham
🏆 Outstanding Prepared Speech: Amy Graham
🏆 Outstanding Evaluation: Johnny Rizk
🏆 Outstanding Table Topic: Marc Ocampo Ramos

It was truly fantastic see that the guests outnumbered the members on the night. We look forward to welcoming everyone to our next meeting:
📍 The Bartley Hotel, Bartley Terrace, West Lakes Shore
🗓 Thursday, 9 July 2026
🕡 6:45 PM

21/06/2026

Club executive members for the new Toastmasters year gathered on Saturday afternoon alongside executives from other clubs across Adelaide. Key discussions focused on how we can better support our members🎯 and help them achieve their personal and professional goals 🚀

With a strong and committed executive team this year 🎤, we are excited for a highly rewarding year ahead.