Road trip
9:00 Saturday 31 July, a fresh morning as we assembled at Vicky Post’s house for the Road trip to Kalgoorlie. Pascale Amberville-Colby, Vicky and I, along with Lynette Delane, complete with foggy reminders of red wine celebrations from St George’s end of year party, and foggy weather conditions, set off for Kal for Club Officer Training. We made the trip in 6 ½ hours, a few pit stops along the way, avoiding Salmonella Central thanks to Pascale’s previous experiences, and with minimal snoring and drooling, but… what happens on the Road Trip stays on the Road Trip.
Arriving in Kal we were warmly greeted by Robin Lonsdale, President of Touch of Gold Toastmasters. After a pick-me-up coffee, we headed to the venue for a comprehensive two hour COT session. This included a judging workshop for the Table Topics contest, as well as the usual: Club officer roles, having a buzzing club, the DCP and your future in Toastmasters. The meeting was both informative and informal, with lots of audience participation and feedback. It was encouraging to see the professionalism of the club officers with their questions specifically targeted to their roles and responsibilities.
Following the COT we were treated to a sumptuous and creative buffet dinner, including a large bowl of salad that we accidentally kidnapped from the 30th birthday party BBQ held in the venue that night.
Touch of Gold held their regular meeting immediately after dinner and we were both informed and entertained by Morrie Goodz showing us how geologists interpret core samples with real samples of drill core and rock chips. Several jokes were made about “Morrie’s rod†and it featured prominently in the group photos. It was a stupendous meeting and we were made welcome and invited to participate.
After the meeting we retired to Robin and Morrie’s for coffee, chocolate and liqueurs, followed by a well deserved rest.
Pascale, Lynette, Morrie, Martin, Robyn
Sunday morning, after successfully negotiating the bathroom roster, we set of to the superpit, where Morrie gave a resounding speech worthy of Project 2 from the “Speaking to inform manual†on the mining process, history and future, much to the appreciation of several interested tourists who gathered around to listen.
Breakfast at Kaos Cafe was a little Kaotic, with staff struggling to cope with the number of patrons. Morrie had to rush off to the airport, but the rest of us enjoyed a leisurely and sumptuous breakfast, before packing up ready for the trip home.
Along the way back, we played tag with a band of patched bikies, a large boat on a semi trailer, a freight train and the setting sun, driving due West mid afternoon. There was lots of Toastmasters related banter, but as I said…. what happens on the Road Trip stays on the Road Trip.
Martin Lindsay
Perth Division Governor
It is great to see that our WA leaders are so dedicated to endure that our isolated clubs are trained.
To have the Div Gov, Area Gov, District PRO & the Convention chair travel 700kms to help others is truly a guage on how well we will make the transition to a new District.
Well done to all involved, your hard work is much appreciated,
regards,
Mark Richards LGET West 2010/11