Key City Toastmasters

Chasing Failures — and winning ribbons! 🎉 At our last Key City Toastmasters meeting, Charleszetta earned Best Evaluator for her assessment of Aaron's speech on running before GPS, and Roderick took Best Table Topics for his thoughts on turning failure into forward momentum.

Want to be part of the fun? Join us at our next meeting on May 6! Whether you're looking to build your speaking skills, sharpen your leadership, or just meet some amazing people, we'd love to see you there. 👏✨

🎉 Big congratulations to our very own Curtis Williams! 🎉

We’re proud to celebrate Curtis for earning 3rd Place in the Tall Tales Contest at Division A, District 54 on March 28! 🏆

Tall Tales is all about imagination, humor, and storytelling—and Curtis absolutely delivered. Representing Key City Toastmasters at the division level is an incredible accomplishment, and we couldn’t be more proud.

Way to go, Curtis! We can’t wait to see what story you tell next. 👏

🎉 Tall Tales Triumph! 🎉

Congrats to George "Curtis" Williams for taking 1st place in the Area 13 Tall Tales Contest! 🏆 His hilarious speech, "Once Upon a Time," told the side-splitting story of neighborhood cats plotting to take over the world. 🐱🌎

Curtis will now compete at the Division A Contest on March 28 at 10 AM at the DeKalb Public Library. Let’s cheer him on! 👏

Big applause at our February 18 meeting! 👏

🏆 Cole Verbrugge took home the Traveling Trophy for delivering a sharp, insightful General Evaluation. His clear feedback and thoughtful meeting summary showed exactly how powerful strong evaluations can be.

🎤 And shoutout to first-time guest Jorge Bonilla, who jumped into Table Topics and walked away with the Best Table Topics ribbon! Jorge shared the story of leaving a secure, well-paying job after 14 years to pursue a new path — a bold move he’s now been thriving in for 1.5 years. Talk about courage in action!

This is what Toastmasters is all about: stepping up, stretching yourself, and celebrating growth. 🚀

Want to see what you’re capable of? Join us at our next meeting!

Congratulations to Cole Verbrugge — Traveling Trophy Winner! 🏆

Key City Toastmasters is proud to celebrate Cole Verbrugge, winner of the Traveling Trophy for Best Speech at our January 21 meeting.

Cole delivered an entertaining and skillfully crafted speech titled “Don’t Break Your Back Over Snow.” Speaking within the Dynamic Leadership path, for the module Introduction to Vocal Variety and Body Language, Cole embraced the challenge of using expressive voice, purposeful gestures, and confident movement to elevate his message. His 5–7 minute presentation blended practical insight with engaging delivery — a combination that resonated strongly with members and guests alike.

Cole’s performance is a great example of how Toastmasters helps speakers grow through intentional practice and supportive feedback. We’re excited to see where his leadership and communication journey takes him next.

Key City will be making the switch from Zoom to Google Meet for hybrid meetings starting this Wednesday, November 5, 2025. This change will allow the club to save money without sacrificing functionality. Moving forward, please visit kctm.club/meet and click the button to join the Google Meet meeting.

It was a great turn out at Halloween Downtown Kankakee in spite of the weather! 🎃

We'll be meeting ‼️ONLINE ONLY‼️ tonight because the Kankakee Area YMCA is closed due to lack of power. Visit keycitytoastmasters.org for the Zoom link. See you online!