Kammacon

KammaCon registration in their T-Shirts

Welcome to the interactive Kammacon site. The official Kammacon site seems to have been taken down, so this is the only on-line record of what happened.

For the record, the official site was at http://www.rhodestoastmasters.com/kammacon or here

For the Toastmasters wikicity (for theme meeting ideas, table topic ideas -- even timing lights!) visit: Wikia or type http://toastmasters.wikicities.com .

In the mean time, this is an experiment in collaboration. Ideas:

Opening remarks

• Day Chairman Ginny Reed opened the conference, calling it by the Xhosa name of "imbizo", (literally), "calling together," and reminding us that the word "kamma" is the word for water.
• PDG Dave Sutcliffe introduced the flag of each of the district's eight countries, plus the flag of Toastmasters International's host country the USA.
• And Liz Bullock welcomed us in four languages – English, Afrikaans, Xhosa and French, calling Port Elizabeth the "Friendly" (not Windy) City
• DG Elize Janse van Rensburg talked about extending the network of trust and congratulated the Kammacon committee for such an excellent turnout. Between a third and half of the audience were attending a conference for the first time.
• All first-time delegates received a prize.

Drumming workshop

By this time we were running late.

But it didn't matter because it was the time for every delegate to get a drum. To take up the time, we were led in song: We all sang along to "Do What You Do, Do Well" while the drums were being distributed. So what could have been a tense waiting game turned into a game.

Then we heard a story about an elephant his friend the butterfly, the giraffe and the snake in a thunderstorm. We all made the actions and the drum noises for the thunder, lightning, wind and animals.

Victor over Victim -- Bruce Walsh

Bruce Walsh standing on "his own two feet"

Walsh started by talking about the routines and rituals that determine our comfort zones. When we make decisions to change our lives, such as changing our jobs, then we can change our routines to accommodate the change. But when the change is thrust upon us, through retrenchment or other trauma, then we're left feeling disempowered. Walsh was injured in a bomb blast in Cape Town's Planet Hollywood. "I walked into the restaurat on my own two feet. I came home, 10 weeks later, in a wheelchair, having lost both my legs." He was standing.

We are the sum of our choices

We are the sum of all our life choices. He classified people who choose to fall into the category "winners" who set themselves goals, who perservere. Winners are team players. Then people choose to be classed as "losers" who start, but don't finish; who promise but don't deliver; who don't perservere and who don't play in teams, and who don't set goals. When disaster strikes, the winners pick themselves up and see the circumstances as a challenge. Losers on the other hand, turn the experience into victimhood.

Choosing to win

Walsh said he could easily have allowed the trauma to force him into victimhood. Ironically, Walsh was a keen runner, having run the Comrades and Two Oceans race many times. He also played league squash. He was there on company business and said he could still be blaming his employer and Planet Hollywood. If that were his choice, he would be sitting in a wheelchair, and not standing in front of us. When he laced his shoes that fateful Tuesday morning, he didn't realize that this would be the last time he would do that. That night, he Walsh was in the restaurant with two colleagues, both of whom died.

A hell of a party

When he awoke a month later, he remembers his first thought being: "That must have been a hell of a party – I don't recognize the view and I'm in a stranger's bed!" Then he got out of bed, and hit the floor. He had no legs. At first he couldn't believe it – when he looked down and saw his missing legs, Walsh says he cried. "Winners are goal-focused people," says Walsh. "My first goal was: Bruce Walsh will get his life back. The perpetrators can take my legs and colleagues, but I will not give the perpetrators of that bomb the satisfaction that they had taken my life." The prognosis wasn't good. I was told I would never walk again, never drive again, never work again.

Going Running

The one thing Walsh wanted to do was to run again because running had always been his therapy. Walsh went to Run/Walk for life, and started walking round the field. He finally graduated to the "road" group and finished his first five kilometer fun run. Eighteen months later, the doctor said he would never have the use of his left hand again. Two days later, when the doctor came to his bedside, Walsh said he stuck his left forefinger straight up his nose – just to prove the point. He says learning to drive and the other physical pain wasn't as hard as dealing with his emotions. He says there were times he spent three days in bed, just crying. He realized he would never feel the sea lapping at his ankles. He says winners are team people. He says he relied on his family, his physiotherapist and a psychologist to help him deal with what had happened. He is now a published author, which may never have happened without having been caught in the bomb blast.

'n Boer maak 'n plan.

One of Walsh's goals was not to ever appear in public until he could walk unaided on his artificial legs. He practiced on his prosthetics around the kitchen. He graduated to two crutches, then to one crutch. He donated his wheelchair to charity and has never sat in one again. He went to a public place with two friends in a public place, walking unaided. As he lurched past a young couple, the woman nudged her companion and said: "Look at that. Nine o'clock in the morning!"

"Most people are given one shot for this thing called Life. I was given a second chance," says Walsh. Then he asked: Are you a winner, or a loser, a whinger, a complainer. If you want to be a winner, you have to

• acquire the skill of perseverance;
• set goals;
• be emotionally functional;
• be emotionally consistent.
• You cannot be a winner unless you are intellectually challenging (looking for solutions, not problems)
• and he says you cannot be a winner if your relationship with your creator is not what it should be.

He was given a rousing ovation.

Humorous competition

Humorous competition To learn the value of humour in speaking
1st place: Geoff Jennett (the president of his club accepted his first place by prior arrangement)
2nd Place: Chris Deacon
3rd Place: Karen Taylor.

IF THESE NAMES ARE WRONGLY SPELT, MY APOLOGIES. Please fix them -- click the "edit" button on the right hand side of the section, edit the name, and press Save. Thanks Erichv 10:46, 8 Oct 2005 (UTC)

Chris Deacon: Sorry for the Interruption

Deacon started with his cellphone rings. Pretended to take a call from a life insurance salesperson; winning a gym membership; and one from a time-share salesperson. "How important do you have to be to answer the phone when on the loo? If you have to answer a call when answering nature's call, please wait until the paperwork is done." He says the marketing people must come from the 70s – the era of flared trousers, bad hair and free love; the era of the digital watch. The marketing geniuses decided that no watch would be complete without a calculator – except that if you were old enough to count, your fingers were to big to operate the buttons. Nobody could find a way of including a calculator usable by somebody without genetically-modified fingers. Now with the new phones that include video conferencing, it's not enough to clear your throat, you now have to do your hair as well! "What are you doing in the bathroom? I'm just getting ready for my phone call!" Whatever they present us with in the future, it's certain that our fingers will be too big to operate it.

Marlene van Wyk: Are men happier than women?

Of course – they don't have to colour co-ordinate their wallets and their underwear. Men are happier than women. Men are simple creatures. To men, the simplest of women is the most complicated of creatures. Men and women use different words from each other. Men's conversation extends to saying "hi" and grabbing a beer. Women need a week to explain how they are. A reliable indicator of the happiness of women is their handbag. A Gucci bag may indicate a financial problem A black bag may indicate jealousy about the blonde at the office. A beach bag disrespectful children. Small bags indicate jealousy Big bags indicate unhappiness. Hormones should be called "her moans." All female problems start with male pronouns: MEN-opause. MEN-struation. HIS-terectomy. Somebody might say: Stop it – you're behaving like PMS-Barbie. The over-riding story is that women may seem unhappier than women, but it's because women are unhappiest when they're unhappy. Have you ever heard a man at a braai saying: "What a week I've had, trying to be a working father"?

Olivier Baudry: Trolley Rage

I hate shopping Trolley Pushers I'm scared of having to go shopping in a supermarket – especially if I have to push a trolley. The boulevards of PnP, the Streets of a Spar or the elegant avenues of Woolworths – it's chaos out there.

1. Speed – some people are doing six, eight, even 10 kilometres / hour! At a Spar, I saw somebody running and jumping on the trolley and riding it, first crashing into a shelf of chickens, and then into a shelf of popcorn!
2. The second danger is cellphones. A woman on her cellphone drove straight into me, damaging my bottles of wine! She didn't see me!
3. The third problem is children. As the level rises in the trolley, the children slowly disappear from site.

Proposal 1. Limit the speed – not more than 4km/h to prevent trolley rage. No right to push trolleys for the youngsters without the proper trolley-driving licence. Proposal 2. No cellphones – create special perimeters for cellphone use – preferably near the frozen foods so that the calls don't last too long. Proposal 3. We drive only on the left of the aisles. And implement stop signs at the end of the alley.

Tibor Major: Lost in Translation

I'm not stupid. People have called me stupid. I have done stupid things. But I made quick restitution so they don’t count. But I was lost in Paris, looking at the map, and feeling stupid. I approached a local. I knew he was a local because he was wearing a beret, had a cigarette dangling from his mouth and had a French loaf clutched under his arm. We know that foreigners all understand English if we speak slowly enough, loudly enough and articulate clearly enough. He explained how to get the the Hôtel Liberté by making reference to Anglaises and motioning in the direction of the English Channel. Our world is getting smaller by the day, because of the technology: WAP, GPRS, GSM, Bluetooth and Blackberry. That's the technology, but what of the language we're talking in? South Africa is no easier to get around – even for nominally English speakers. Picture Richard Loftington-Smythe from the London office. Hospitably you invite him to your place for the weekend, explaining: I'll pick you up in the bakkie and we'll shoot the the plot for a lekker braai in the lapa. But remind me to pick up some droewors and biltong to go with Klippies and Coke as we watch the Lions donner the Bulls at Loftus. Meaning is often lost in translation,leaving us feeling rather stupid.

Karyn Taylor: BMI

Have you heard of BMI? I heard about it from my Personal Trainer Brother. You may ask how we came from the same gene pool – I got the brains. He talked about BMI. I thought he meant Bring Me Ice-cream. He said no – you have the Big O – Oreo Flavoured Ice-cream? No – Obesity! Then he gave me a resistance trainer and went back to the UK where he belongs, and the resitacne elastic thingy took pride of place in my bathroom as an undies holder. I gave up smoking, joined the gym, and became Ta Da—FAT – Future Athlete in Training! I measured myself with one of those machines they have there, but no matter what I did, all the indicators seemed to go up. In the gyms they stick those mirrors in front of you so you can see everything wobbling about. Then I felt ill, and spent a week in bed, eating fudge, cake and ice-cream. When I returned to the gym and the machine, all the indicators had gone down! That's when I had an epiphany. If you want to reduce your BMI, stay in bed!

Geoff Jennett: She

(Fingers clicking). That's the sound of the dominant part of the species commanding her man to obey her. There I was, minding my own business, discussing Rugby and golf, when She descended to take control of my life. The minister said: "Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" As if I had a choice in the matter! On honeymoon, Henry and Daphne were staying at the same hotel. They had got married on the same day as we had. That's when I first heard it – the clicking finger of She Who Must Be Obeyed. A few years later my She Who Must Be Obeyed was in a maternity ward and pushed out not one, but TWO. GIRLS! She Who Must Be Obeyed are now THEY who must be obeyed. I know they will leave home to take over somebody else's life. Then we'll be in an old-age home. "She" may develop arthritis (demonstrates her inability to click her fingers) and I may develop "selective hearing". On my tombstone will say the words: Here lies a good husband and good father. Cause of death? Silence.

Beverley Baker: The Anguish of a Woman

File:Bevbaker.jpg

How many men have slept on the couch because they believed their wives when they said: "Don't buy anything for my birthday." What that actually means is: "I haven't seen you sneak anything into the house. Don't you DARE forget my birthday!" The answer to "is my bum big" is not: "Where are my keys?" or "Define 'big'" There is no answer to this question that cannot be translated into "Yes". The correct answer is "No". Say it clearly, loudly, immediately and as if it's a well-established fact. Thin people irritate me, especially when they say: "I forgot to eat." That takes a special kind of stupid. I've just finished that annual ritual humiliation – buying a bathing suit. I put on this piece of elastic and when I looked down, I realized my breasts had disappeared. First it's PMS – now It's menopause. Somebody's been altering my clothes, because nothing fits anymore. When my husband says "lets' go upstairs and make love." Nope – choose one. And if you see us not wearing bras, it's not to seduce you – it's to pull the wrinkles from our faces!

District 74 Integration

Johan Steyn, Pres. of Golden City speaks as the VPE looks on

The John Whiffen Golden City Memorial Trust gave a presentation. The trust is set up for differently-abled Toastmasters. We participated in a workshop organised by the Trust. We divided into groups to discuss (one issue per group) the following issues:

Physical Environment

What physical environment is required for attendance at clubs, officer training sessions and conferences?

• Simply click "edit" on the right hand side, add your comments, and press "save" to save changes.
• Understand the needs of each Toastmaster and base the club's environment on this.

Educational and other materials

What adaptations are required to the educational and other materials to take into account the needs of different (disabled, able-bodied) members?

• Simply click "edit" on the right hand side, add your comments, and press "save" to save changes.

Evaluation / competition

Is a "level playing field" possible? What are the evaluation and competition processes?

• Simply click "edit" on the right hand side, add your comments, and press "save" to save changes.

Inclusivity and Integration

Is inclusion / integration desireable for Toastmasters? What are the issues, where are the limits?

• Why don't we use the Service clubs (like Lions) to help with transport?
• Simply click "edit" on the right hand side, add your comments, and press "save" to save changes.

Hall of Fame

• For developing the current District 74 website http://www.toastmasters74.org and for ongoing dedication in the PR function: Frances Boshoff
• Outstanding Member Award: for continued support and contribution to the success of Toastmasters in General: Amanda McMenamin
• For contribution to the Education & Training portfolio which was invaluable in 2005/2006. For enthusiasm and passionfor Toastmasters which is evident in everything you do: Willem and Susan le Roux.
• For everything he's done: Immedate past district governor David Sutcliffe
• For making sure that Golden City could attend Kammacon and volunteering to make sure those members can attend Playcon: Tony Lopes
• For their unwavering support of District 74 through the years and hosting David Sutciffe in Cape Town and helping charter the Old Mutual Toastmasters Club: Martin and Carolann Louw
• For their contribution to Meandercon 2004 and for helping charter Bua JMPD Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department. (2004/5's first new club) Richard and Zosia Greaves
• Young Toastmtaster of the Year award

Donna MacLagan

Distinguished clubs, areas and divisions

A list of distinguished, Select Distinguished and President's Distinguished clubs, areas and divisions is on the District 74 website.. Please visit there for more details. Here are some highlights:

• Growth is flat in TM this year – 119 total as opposed to 120 last year.
• Other indicators (clubs achieving DCP awards) are also flat or slightly down. (by a percentage point or two)
• One Club has achieved President's Distinguished Club three years in a row. Congratulations Cape Town!
• There are 29 areas. 6 Distinguished areas (6 last year), 5 Select Distinguished (one last year) 1 President's distinguished Division (5 last year). * 41% of areas achieved in the previous year (as opposed to 59% the previous year)

Mini Muggins Cup (awarded jointly)

• Bob Bullock
• Liz Bullock

Conference evaluation

If this conference was a manual speech, how would you evaluate it? (Remember to adhere to the Neutral Point Of View -- edit the evaluation by all means, and acknowledge other people's contributions). Just click "Edit" on the right hand side of the page and add your evaluation for the committee!

Airport lifts

SAA departing on Sunday 11:30

• Amanda Mc Menamin

1Time (1T 502) departing on Sunday @ 17:10

Lynne Randell

To request transport, leave your details here. Please contact Area Governor E1 Beverley Van Vuuren who is running the shuttle service. Her details are as follows:

(H) 041 373 0414 (W) 041 404 5512 (E-Mail) bvanvuuren(at)fnb.co.za (For security reasons, you will need to change (at) to @ when creating an email.)

Unofficial business

Are you having an "unofficial" meeting at Kammacon that people may be interested in? Put details here:

• The SAQA group is meeting at Kammcon. Karen Levy-Strauss is doing her HPL on getting Speechcraft certified by the NQF.

For more details, go to http://toastmasters.wikicities.com

Useful numbers

• The City Lodge's number in PE is 041-586-3322. It's under R500 a night.