Churton Park Toastmasters

05/06/2026

🎤 What a fantastic Thursday night at Toastmasters! 🌟✨

Our meeting was brilliantly chaired by Tripti with the theme 'Technology: the good, the bad, the unmet expectations' 📱💻 She set the tone perfectly with a warm-up question that had everyone reflecting: "How many times do we have our phone in our hands when we should have our partner's hand?" 💭❤️

The prepared speeches were awesome!😄 First up, Thelma delivered 'Fitness 101' - fresh from her impressive second place finish at the District 72 conference 🏆🥈 Her hilarious take on her fitness journey had the room roaring - when her husband promised a gift that goes from zero to a hundred in seconds, she was dreaming of a Ferrari... he meant bathroom scales! 😂🏋️ Rhys followed with a compelling and thought-provoking 'Opinions abound: Making up your own mind' 🧠💡 challenging us all to form our own judgements and put our first impressions to the test rather than relying on the views of others.

Maria then put our impromptu speaking skills to the test with Table Topics, tackling big questions like "If the world lost the internet, what would you miss the most?" 🌐❓ No preparation, no excuses, just impromptu speaking at its best!⚡🎙️

Huge thanks to evaluators Toby, Aymaan and Peter for their sharp and supportive feedback 👏 to Usama for keeping us on track ⏱️ Jonathan for keeping those filler words in check 👂🚨 and Blake for tying it all together as our General Evaluator! 🎯

It was wonderful to welcome back returning guests and especially a former club member who paid us a visit - great to see you! 🎉🙌😊

🏅 And the awards go to....
Best Table Topics: Anne 🗣️
Most Memorable Contribution: Rhys 💬
Best Speaker: Thelma 🎤
Best Evaluator: Aymaan ⭐

📅 Next meeting: Thursday 18th June - we'd love to see you there! 👋😊

22/05/2026

🎙️ Chalk up another incredible meeting!

Our meeting was chaired by the Thelma 🏆🌟, fresh off an impressive second-place finish in the Humorous Speech at the Division Contest!

Jonathan took us on a moving journey through Ireland 🍀, reconnecting with his family roots and the power of travel. He left us with this beautiful reflection: "It changed the way I see myself. It's about community, connection and understanding others." ✈️❤️🌍

Usama delivered a thought-provoking speech on New Zealand's retirement income policy 📊, challenging us with a vital question - is New Zealand truly prepared for an ageing population?
Aymaan showed incredible growth 🌱 by re-delivering his speech on depression, incorporating feedback from his previous attempt. A true demonstration of the Toastmasters journey. 💪💙

Our Table Topics Master, Tripti, put our impromptu speaking skills to the test 🎯 with thought-provoking prompts. Peter provided feedback on speech structure. 🧠🗣️

A huge thank you to our evaluators Aaron, Craig and Graeme for their detailed feedback on content, delivery, vocal variety and audience engagement 👂. Our meeting was supported by others including Ying Kai (General Evaluator), Anne (Timer) ⏱️ and Maria (Grammarian) 📝👏.

And the awards go to....
🥇Best Evaluator - Graeme
🥇 Best Speaker - Jonathan
🥇 Most Memorable Contribution - Aymaan
🥇 Best Table Topics - Katina

📅 Join us at our next meeting on Thursday, 4 June at 7:30pm. New faces always welcome, come along and see what Toastmasters is all about! 😊🎤✨

20/05/2026

17/05/2026

🎉 Huge congratulations to our incredible club president Thelma, who took out 2nd place in the Humorous Speech Contest at the District 72 Conference in Timaru this weekend! 🥈😂

Making a whole room full of people laugh is no small feat — and competing at district level takes real courage, skill, and a whole lot of wit. 🏆👏

Photo credit: Aranui Toastmasters

15/05/2026

🌟 Wishing our club President, Thelma, all the very best as she heads to the District 72 Conference tomorrow in Timaru to compete in the International and Humorous Speech Contests! 🎤😄

We recently held a special practice session where club members turned out to support Thelma. It's a wonderful reflection of the Churton Park club spirit! 👏💬

Go show District 72 what Churton Park is made of!

08/05/2026

Our meeting theme of Collaboration 🤝 ran through every moment of the evening. Toby chaired, setting a reflective tone as we kicked off our Annual Business Meeting format — a great experience for members and guests alike. 😊

The highlight of the prepared speeches was Maria's Icebreaker, "The Magic Within" — a heart-warming debut full of identity, family, and self-belief. 🌺 She passed around a treasured taonga as she spoke and left us with a line that stayed with the room: "You don't need to be a magician — you are the magic." 💫 Aymaan followed with a thought-provoking speech on depression, weaving in practical strategies and compelling evidence that had everyone listening closely. 💚

Table Topics, led by Aaron, brought out some fantastic impromptu speaking from members and guests. Our evaluators Tripti, Kerry, and Thelma each brought sharp, encouraging feedback that gave every speaker something to build on. 🙌

As part of our Annual Business Meeting, we also officially elected our committee for the 2026/27 Toastmasters year — congratulations to everyone stepping into a leadership role! 🗳️ Exciting times ahead as we look forward to another fantastic year of growth and collaboration. 🚀

A big thank you Craig and Anne who contributed as grammarian and timekeeper respectively. 👏 Nights like this are proof that great meetings are a team effort. 💛

🏆 And the awards go to...
🥇 Best Speaker — Maria
🎯 Best Table Topic — Jonathan
⭐ Most Memorable Contribution — Aymaan
👂 Best Evaluator — Craig

Congratulations to all our winners. Our next meeting is on Thursday 21 May. See you there!

18/04/2026

The theme of our recent Thursday evening meeting was 🛢️ Oil Shock. Our warm-up exercise got the vocal cords going by asking members how rising oil prices are impacting their households — and what they're doing about it 💬

Our first speaker was Tripti, who delivered a speech entitled "Same Love, Different Languages" 🗣️, exploring the different communication styles she adopts with her family. A highlight was her wonderfully relatable question: why doesn't her family listen to her the way Alexa does? 🤖😄

Our second speaker was Blake, who gave a well-researched and engaging historical account of the Vietnam War 🎖️ — factual, informative, and thought-provoking.

Our third speaker was Kerry, who shared his experience tramping with family on some of New Zealand's Great Walks 🥾🌿, offering practical advice on how to prepare for these iconic adventures.

Tripti, Blake, and Kerry were ably supported by an evaluation team of Rhys, Thelma, and Graeme 👏

Jonathan served as our Table Topics Master, putting members on the spot with some excellent and challenging topics 🎯. Among the standouts was this thought-provoking question: "Do you support NASA flying around the moon during an international fuel crisis?" 🌕🚀 Table Topics speakers received valuable feedback from Toby.

The meeting was expertly supported by Aymaan as Grammarian 📝, Maria as Timekeeper ⏱️, and Craig as General Evaluator 🔍

Congratulations to our trophy winners for the evening 🏆
🥇 Most Memorable Contribution — Kerry
🥇 Best Speaker — Tripti
🥇 Best Table Topics — Thelma
🥇 Best Evaluator — Toby

Congratulations to all! Our next meeting is on Thursday 7 May — we'd love to see you there 😊🎉

05/04/2026

🎤 What an incredible Toastmasters meeting! 🎤
A huge thank you to our Chair for the evening, Craig, who kicked things off with a brilliant warm-up exercise — inviting us to share recent experiences that changed our perspective. The perfect way to warm up those vocal cords and get the energy flowing! 🗣️✨

📝 Jonathan kept us all accountable as Grammarian, waging our ongoing war against filler words and keeping our language sharp!

🌟 Our Prepared Speakers were on fire tonight:
🧠 Tariq delivered a captivating speech on "Overthinking" — and his opening line said it all: "Overthinking — what do you think?" It instantly had the whole room hooked! 👏
😨➡️💪 Graeme followed with a powerful and practical speech on Controlling Your Fear, tailored specifically for public speakers. His memorable message? "The goal isn't to remove fear — it's to use it."
A big thank you to evaluators Peter and Toby for their thoughtful and constructive feedback. 🙌

💡 Aymaan then led a dynamic Table Topics session that put our critical thinking and impromptu speaking skills to the test — brilliantly evaluated by Thelma!

⏱️ Blake kept us on track with the Timekeeper's Report, and Aaron wrapped up the evening with a fantastic General Evaluation. 👏

🏆 And now for the awards… 🏆
🥇 Most Memorable Contribution — Tariq
🎤 Best Speaker — Graeme
💬 Best Table Topics — Blake
⭐ Best Evaluator — Toby
Congratulations to all our winners! 🎉

Thinking about joining us? We'd love to have you! Come along to our next meeting on 16 April and discover what Toastmasters is all about. 🌟

20/03/2026

🎤 What a fantastic evening at Toastmasters! 🌍

Our meeting kicked off with an energetic warm-up led by Ying Kai, who took us Around the World in 60 Seconds — and what a journey it was! Members shared travel and cultural experiences spanning Sri Lanka, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, and Thailand. What a well-travelled group we are!

✈️ Next up, two outstanding prepared speeches:
🔋 Peter delivered a thought-provoking address on Accelerating New Zealand's Electric Vehicle Transition, making a compelling case for EVs backed by NZ's abundant renewable energy and the realities of today's petrol prices.
🥝 Toby then transported us to the Land of the Long White Cloud — a speech he had previously delivered to an international online Toastmasters club — introducing New Zealand to the world, from the powerful haka to the humble fish and chips!
💬 Rhys stepped up as Table Topics Master, challenging members with a renewable energy-themed set of impromptu topics — a brilliant opportunity to think on your feet and argue your position with confidence.

Our speakers were supported by a stellar evaluation team — Blake, Rhys, and Peter — delivering actionable feedback, while Usama gave a thorough Grammarian's report on filler words and the word of the day, and Jonathan kept us all on time with a comprehensive Timekeepers report.

🏆 And now, the awards!
🥇 Best Table Topics — Usama
🌟 Most Memorable Contribution — Peter
🎙️ Best Speaker — Toby & Peter
⭐ Best Evaluator — Jonathan

Congratulations to all our winners and thank you to every member who contributed to such a memorable evening. See you next time! 👏

07/03/2026

🎤 Another fantastic Thursday evening at Toastmasters! 🎤

Our meeting kicked off with a lively warm-up inspired by the recent extreme weather events many of us have been experiencing! ⛈️ Our Grammarian then set the tone for the evening by introducing the Word of the Day: 'Copious' — a challenge eagerly taken up by our speakers throughout the night! 📚

🗣️ Our prepared speakers did not disappoint:
🥗 Aaron opened with "Dieting Beyond the Scale", exploring the fascinating physiological mechanisms behind weight gain — breaking down complex concepts with clarity and some brilliant slides!
🛋️ Craig then delivered the thought-provoking "Comfort is Ruining Us", challenging us to reflect on how we've engineered struggle out of our daily lives. His powerful reminder that "difficult moments are built on courage, not on cushions" had us all thinking! 💪
🏛️ Finally, Blake took us on a historical journey with "The Fall of the Ottoman Empire", charting the fascinating rise of modern Türkiye. 🌙

What a wonderfully diverse array of speeches — something for everyone! 🌟

🏆 And the awards go to...
🥇 Most Memorable Moment — Aaron
🎙️ Best Speaker — Craig
📝 Best Evaluator — Toby
💬 Best Table Topics — Rhys

Congratulations to all our winners. Guest are more than welcome to attend our meetings! We look forward to seeing you!