Opening Ceremonies

The opening ceremonies for the Toastmasters International Convention started at 7:00 PM. I was looking for the room and checking my map against the signs on the doors. Ah, there it was. I went in. It was a huge room and there were thousands of people in it! Wow! I have never seen so many people in a room before, let alone that many Toastmasters. First, there was a parade of flags from the 70 countries with representatives there (out of 90 countries that have Toastmasters clubs in them). Then all the International officers and directors were introduced and our International President welcomed us and told us about his experiences visiting Toastmasters all over the world this year.

Our keynote speaker was Mark Sanborn. Can't place the name? But maybe you've seen his book, The Fred Factor. It has sold nearly a million copies. He was an awesome speaker. I know I'll love the book, of which I have a personalized, signed copy, of course!