March 17, 2014 Club Meeting

The following is a summary of the minutes from our March 17^th meeting.  The Annual Spring Tall Tales and International Contests.

Meeting Location:   San Mateo City Hall, San Mateo, CA     6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Attendees:

Present at the meeting were: Samya Boxberger Oberoi, Brenda Chung, Eric Jones, Randy Lee, Lara Miller, Suzanne Mulcahy, David Nazzaro, Sharon Pappas, Martin Quan, Ruth Wadsworth, and Trey Zhou.  There were two guests:   Glenn and Terry

Samya opened the meeting and went over the rules of the contest.  She also announced the order of the speakers.  Trey held a brief meeting with his team of judges.  Sharon, the Sgt. of Arms, prepared the room and went outside to guard the door. 

The Tall Tale Contest was held first.  The time limit was from three to five minutes.  There were two speakers. 

Martin was the first to present his Tall Tales speech, entitled “Online Dating”.  He gave a humorous speech about his adventures with online dating, things that have gone well and also experiences that have had mishaps.

The second speaker was Trey who shared his experiences trying to get home by navigating the different freeways during the rush hour to make it to a hair appointment on time.  He gave a believable tale of what it was like to be stuck in our traffic jams.

There was a fifteen minute break before the two contestants for the International Contest began.  These speeches were five to seven minutes long.

David gave his speech entitled “The Question”.   “How can you defend a person who you know is guilty of harming someone who is innocent?”   He gave the following answers:

·      1.  The system provides everyone with an adequate defense.  Attorney’s represent the      system.

·      2.   A matter of taste.

·      3.  To insure a fair trial.

·      4.  It’s because it gives life meaning.

David’s response to this question was, “I just couldn’t do it.”

Randy gave a compelling speech about investing in the real estate market.  He talked about the current low interest rate, and the continuity of the market.  Randy also discussed other forms of investmenting. 

Randy made comments about the “funny stuff” coming out of Washington, allowing everyone to buy a home then turned around and blamed the banks for the foreclosures and the short sales.  Randy even discussed the internet and bitcoins.

All of the contestants were then called up to the front and asked informal questions as the votes were tallied.  Samya announced the winners.  Trey won the first place award for the Tall Tales.  Randy won the first place award for the International Contest.  Trey and Randy will represent our club at the Area Contest occurring Thursday, 3/20/14 .

 The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.