Anne (one of Top Table’s sponsors) is delighted to be visiting Top Table again after a years absence.
She attended the training conducted by Nicky Jurd and Kaj Haffenden at the Malanda Lodge on Saturday. Anne shifted to Brisbane last October to be closer to family. She has been most impressed to hear about by the gains made by Top Table in further establishing their Club.
Anne has joined three Toastmasters Clubs in Brisbane – Serendipity(home Club), Southbank and Seechange and is enjoying the different nuances each Club brings to the way they ‘do’ Toastmasters. She 
enjoyed attending the Semi Annual Conference in Ipswich recently which featured three Toastmaster’s World Champions Brett Rutledge, Mark Hunter and Jock Elliott.
Anne is excited that after a year of working casually she has now succeeded in gaining a full time job as a Behavioural Sciences Teacher/Co-ordinator with the International Education Service (IES) - an associated arm of University of Qld that prepares international students for University study.
Anne extends her best wishes to Top Table members to have a wonderful and safe Xmas.
Nicky Jurd is a Cairns-based Toastmaster who frequently visits Top Table Toastmasters to help the club expand its Toastmasters knowledge, and provide educational workshops.
Nicky is particularly fond of gourmet food, and loves to cook amazing dishes for her friends. She owns a website development company, Precedence, and helped us to put together our website.
Public Speaking Achievments
Recently Nicky coached the winning team of the AIM Great Debate. She also conducts regular workshops about web-related topics on behalf of the Queensland State Government.
Great Debate Winning Team
Christine moved to the Tablelands two and a half years ago when she and her husband, John, purchased a 55 acre farm in Jaggan. Together they took on the project of chartering a new Toastmasters club.
Christine has a military background and continues to serve in the Navy Reserve. She is also involved with Navy Cadets, the Malanda QCWA and local Beef and Landcare groups. Christine enjoys travelling, cooking, and lifelong learning.
Roseann
arrived on the Tablelands 7 years ago. Looking for friendship she sought out a Toastmasters club to join and Top Table Toast masters in Malanda was her choice. This has proved a great choice meeting many new friends. Not only has Roseann’s confidence in her communication skills grown but also her leadership skills through taking on the position of Vice President Membership. Public Speaking has given Roseann the ability to expand on her great story telling as a member of QCWA.
John is treasurer of Top Table Toastmasters, based at Malanda on the Atherton Tablelands in far North Queensland, Australia. Top Table Toastmasters chartered mid 2011 with 21 members.
John and wife Christine live on their 55 acre property just south of Malanda. Christine was instrumental in reforming the Toastmasters Club in the region.
John has found Toastmasters great not only for improving his speaking skills, but also for meeting new friends. While he had previouse experience in public speaking, he found the wider range of activities in the Toastmasters program very useful in his job and privately.
John works in Natural Resource Management and manages a unit that awards millions of $’s in grants to landholders to adopt improved management practices.
John and Christine love living ot their property and are slowly complementing the natural wildlife (birds, tree kangaroos etc) with their own dogs, ducks and a bantam rooster, with cattle, chickens and more to come.
Lara joined Top Table Toastmaster in April 2011. Toastmasters has been a life changing experience for Lara, from her third speech on Lara was hooked, hook line and sinker.
Through Lara’s life she has worked in many different fields, from typesetting for a newspaper company, to a tax accounting to working in a craft shop. Lara currently works for a biotechnology company called EcoBiotics Ltd.
Passion
Toastmasters has helped Lara realize her true, passion teaching. She has now set herself up on a new path and is planning to start a Graduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning in March 2012. Lara has two children of her own and feels the foundation blocks of learning they buil in Primary School is essential to them having an enjoyable and productive schooling.
Kaj lives in Cairns and belongs to the Mt Sheridan Toastmasters club, but enjoyed spending a year assisting Top Table Toastmasters grow to charter strength.
Kaj’s life passions encompass coffee, wildlife and photography — preferably all at the same time.
In his spare time, Kaj runs a web design company, which does an excellent job of feeding his coffee habit.
Anne (one of Top Table’s sponsors) is delighted to be visiting Top Table again after a years absence.
enjoyed attending the Semi Annual Conference in Ipswich recently which featured three Toastmaster’s World Champions Brett Rutledge, Mark Hunter and Jock Elliott.
