Gulfport Toastmasters

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Gulfport Toastmasters

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Creative • Coastal • Confident. Come as you are. Find your voice. Weekly themed meetings, public speaking, leadership, laughter, and a welcoming community.

Guests always welcome! Wednesdays Senior Center• 6:30–7:45 PM. In-person and on Zoom! Overcome your fear of public speaking and increase your self-confidence. Become a more effective Leader. Weekly meetings provide valuable feedback. Come and join us. You are sure to make new friends!

10/02/2026

🎤 Gulfport Toastmasters 2026 Humorous Speech Contest! 🎤

What a fun night for Gulfport Toastmasters! Our club came together this past week for our 2026 Humorous Speech Contest, with four fantastic speakers bringing plenty of laughter, personality, and great storytelling to the room.

Our contestants and their speeches were:

🏆 Barry Rinehart — “You’re Looking Old” — 1st Place
🥈 Marlene Bush — “What Is a Worm Tornado?” — 2nd Place
🥉 Lewis Apter — “Two Farm Boys” — 3rd Place
👏 Linda DeMarco — “Obsessed”

Congratulations to all four of our contestants for stepping up and giving us such an entertaining evening!

A special congratulations goes to Barry Rinehart, who will move on to represent Gulfport Toastmasters at the Area Humorous Speech Contest on January 28, 2027, at Eckerd College!

Thank you as well to everyone who helped make the contest possible, including Contest Master Michelle, Contest Chair Brian, our timers Chris and Everett, our judges, members, guests, and everyone who helped behind the scenes.

And the contests aren’t over yet! Next up is our Evaluation Contest on October 14, followed by the International Speech Contest on December 9.

Our next regular meeting is Wednesday, October 7, with Brian serving as Toastmaster. We still have several meeting roles available, including Table Topics, Grammarian, Ah-Counter, and Evaluators. With the Evaluation Contest right around the corner, it’s a perfect opportunity to sharpen those evaluation skills!

Congratulations again to Barry, Marlene, Lewis, and Linda — and thank you to everyone who made this a memorable night for Gulfport Toastmasters! 🎉

09/25/2026

🎤 What happens when you build an entire Toastmasters meeting around Table Topics?

A whole lot of quick thinking, creativity, laughter, and a few wonderfully unexpected answers!

This past Wednesday, Gulfport Toastmasters held our All Table Topics Meeting, with Marlene and Michelle taking turns as our Table Topics Masters. Eleven participants — including our guest Tanya — jumped in and took on everything from a grab bag of surprises to some pretty unusual prompts.

Somehow, topics involving a lampshade, a mislabeled book, and persuading your alarm clock to wake you up all made their way into the evening. 😂

Here’s just a little taste of the fun!

And we’re not slowing down — next Wednesday is our Humorous Speech Contest, with five speakers already signed up!

📍 Gulfport Senior Center
🗓 Wednesday evenings
⏰ Meeting begins at 6:30 PM

Come laugh with us, speak with us, or just see what Toastmasters is all about!

09/22/2026

📖 Word of the Day: APLOMB

Aplomb (noun) — confidence and self-assurance, especially when dealing with a difficult situation.

Example: “Despite receiving an unexpected Table Topics question, she answered with aplomb.”

That sounds suspiciously like a skill every Toastmaster could use!

Challenge: Can you work aplomb into a conversation today?

09/21/2026

🎤 This Week at Gulfport Toastmasters: All Table Topics!

No prepared speeches. No hiding behind a script. Just quick thinking, creativity, and a little bit of improv!

Join us this Wednesday as our Topicsmasters Marlene and Michele guide us through an evening devoted to Table Topics.

🕕 Meet & Greet: 6:00 PM
🎤 Meeting Begins: 6:30 PM
📍 Gulfport Senior Center

Guests are always welcome. Come see what happens when we put our speaking skills — and our ability to think on our feet — to the test!

09/20/2026

🎤 This Week at Gulfport Toastmasters: All Table Topics Night!

Join us this Wednesday for a meeting built entirely around Table Topics and improv!

Come early for our 6:00 PM Meet & Greet, and the fun officially begins at 6:30 PM.

This week, our two delightful Topicsmasters, Marlene and Michele, will guide us through an evening of spontaneous speaking, quick thinking, creativity, and plenty of laughs.

And don’t forget: our Humorous Speech Contest is next week! If you’re interested in participating, be sure to connect with the club and get your name on the schedule.

Whether you’re a longtime member, a first-time guest, or just curious about becoming a stronger and more confident speaker, we’d love to have you join us!

📍 Gulfport Senior Center
🕕 Meet & Greet: 6:00 PM
🎤 Meeting Begins: 6:30 PM

Come ready to think on your feet and have some fun with us!

09/15/2026

Member Spotlight: Lewis Apter 🎤

We’re excited to shine a spotlight on one of Gulfport Toastmasters’ newest members, Lewis Apter!

Lewis is a former practicing doctor in St. Petersburg, Florida, and recently delivered his Ice Breaker speech, sharing the story of growing up in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. His story had the entire room engaged from beginning to end and gave us a wonderful introduction to the person behind the podium.

We’re grateful to have Lewis as part of Gulfport Toastmasters and look forward to watching him continue to grow, share, and thrive with the club. Thank you for joining us, Lewis — we’re excited to see what comes next!

And if you’ve ever thought about joining Toastmasters yourself, consider this your invitation. New members and guests are always welcome with open arms. We love hearing people share their stories, building confidence together, and celebrating every step of the journey.

Join us at our next meeting this Wednesday at the Gulfport Senior Center from 6:30–7:30 PM. Whether you’re ready to speak or just want to come see what Toastmasters is all about, we’d love to have you.

Come share your story with us. We hope to see you Wednesday night!

09/12/2026

🎉 Congratulations, Michelle! 🎉

At this past Wednesday’s Gulfport Toastmasters meeting, we had the pleasure of celebrating Michelle Dolak as she completed her Toastmasters Pathway! This is a wonderful accomplishment that represents hard work, growth, dedication, and commitment, and we’re all very proud of her. We can’t wait to see what she accomplishes next!

Interested in starting your own Toastmasters journey? Come visit us! Gulfport Toastmasters meets every Wednesday from 6:30–7:30 PM at the Gulfport Senior Center. Guests are always welcome, and we’d love to see you there.

Have questions? Reach out to us here on Facebook.

Congratulations again, Michelle — keep up the great work! 👏🎤🏆

04/09/2026

There is nothing better than getting together with friends, having tea & snacks while telling good stories.
Toastmasters has it all! If you’re looking for your new community, we are here for you!

03/07/2026

Massive congratulations to Barry with the first place win!! Off to Districts we go!!

03/06/2026

Time for tea ❤️ it was such a great week getting together with tea and treats!

Address

Gulfport Senior Center: 5501 27th Avenue S. (Room 106)
Gulfport, FL
33707

Opening Hours

6:15pm - 7:45pm

Website

http://www.GulfportToastmasters.com/

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