You asked ;-- It would be fun if I can get from each of you, your Greetings in your language that you give around Christmas Time.

 You asked  - - If you do not celebrate Christmas, what holiday do you celebrate and what would be your greetings?

With the holiday right around the corner it’s time to start thinking of how we can express our love and friendship to others. For many, this means a major shopping trip, gathering gifts that can be lots of fun. Others give of their talent, which is not only shared with their love one but also with their church, community and even our fellow brothers and sisters in our club. These gifts are sometime more precious and greatly appreciated than anything bought in the store.

Another rear gift is that of time. Today the world is very busy and we frequently miss out on its joys. Use this holiday season to spend a little time with a local senior citizens’ center or children’s home. Play games with them or read interesting stories to them. This will light up their world to know that someone other than a family member cares.

Every year I ponder on the story of the little Match Girl. This was my favorite fairy tale written by Hans Christian Anderson.

"It was night on New Years Eve, and a poor, little match girl was out on the streets selling matches. Although she was cold and hungry, with neither hat nor shoes, she was afraid to go home as her father would surely beat her when he found out she did not sell any matches that day.

In a nook between two buildings, she wanted to warm herself by lighting matches. In the light of the first match she saw a hot iron stove, but the fire was soon blown out by the howling wind. She lit a second match and saw a fully laden dinner table with delicious foods and a roasted goose came slowly toward her. It too disappeared as the match went out. By the light of the third match she saw a beautiful Christmas tree lit with a million candles. The candle lights went higher and higher until they became stars. One became a shooting star and she remembered her late grandmother telling her that a shooting star means a person has passed away and gone to Heaven.

Upon lighting the fourth match she saw her smiling grandmother, the only person who ever loved her. This filled her with so much joy she quickly lit the next match and the next so that her grandmother would never fade. Finally, the grandmother took the happy girl in her arms and they flew higher and higher to a place where there's no cold, no hunger, no fear.

The next morning, the little girl was found dead in the snow with a smile upon her lips. "She wanted to warm herself!’ people exclaimed as they noticed the burned out matches littered around her body. However, no one knew what beauty she had seen or with what glory she had gone with her grandmother into a joyous new year."

Let us not be selfish in our giving, reach out to help where ever we can. Use this month to ponder on what you have left undone over the last eleven months, and then ask yourself if you could change anything what will it be.

I look forward to great things happening in Sunshine Region with the help of the entire membership. Dream great things, it is only through your dreams we will achieve success in our Region.

I wish each of you a safe, joyous and fulfilling Holiday.

    Since then I have been in touch with Myrna (several times in one day).   Myrna is encouraged to rejoin ITC as a member-at-large or associate until a club is started in her area; and Myrna graciously offered to assist.  By the way, Myrna will give strong consideration to joining us at the Region Conference in Nassau in May, 2008!!

    We may "connect Myrna" with a person in Pompano Beach (a member of Toastmasters) who is quite impressed with what ITC offers - she asks about ITC membership. 

Here is Myrna's story, reprinted by permission.   
 
"When my daughter, Carol, and I joined the Pasadena, CA club one of the members was a past international president.  I can't recall her name, although if I had a list of past presidents I could pick it out, and she was quite elderly at the time.  When she attended the meetings they were always spectacular.  She had the best ideas for table topics and her evaluations were something to write home about.
 
    By the way, you may find this hard to believe, I actually have several publications from the 60's including the Club President's Manual, the Evaluation Manual, and the handbook.   When we were involved in the 80's none of the publications were as comprehensive as the early ones.  I've used the president's manual as a guide for other groups I belonged to later.  I'll bet the ones I have are "collectors'" items.  I know I'll never part with them. I count them among my treasures.
 
    I remember Muriel Bryant, who was ITC president at the time, attending one of our early meetings and thinking what a delightful lady she was.  Years later when she was Executive Director she came to a meeting and I introduced her to my daughter and told her how Carol was 3 or 4 when I had first joined and now here she was grown up and giving speeches herself.
 
    On of our humorous family stories centers around our 60's club occasionally meeting at the prisons in Chino, CA along with Toastmasters and the prison's Gavel Club.  We did that once or twice a year at the various prisons and my daughter told her class at school (for show and tell) that her mother had gone to jail.  As you can imagine I had a call from the teacher and we both had a good laugh.  Carol has three older brothers and she often had teachers who already knew the family.
   
    My daughter recently found a box with gloves and I was telling her how we often wore hats and gloves to council and regional meetings (unless we were speakers, of course).  How different times were then.
 
    I appreciate your prompt reply and am excited about getting something going here.  Thanks for your efforts". 
                                                          Best regards, 
                                                          Myrna Swart

Enjoy the reminiscing!  Great stories and great friendships come from Toastmistress/ITC/ POWERtalk.  Let's all be part of the solution.  

                                Dianne Miller, President

                                Sunshine Region, Division II ITC

                                POWERtalk 

Sunshine Region

The mission of ITC is to provide global opportunities for self-improvement through progressive quality training in communication and leadership skills

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We, as members of International Training in Communication, hereby pledge to improve out communication and leadership skills in order to achieve greater understanding throughout the world

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