The Jackpot
The jackpot was instituted in the 1950’s.
It was a novel way of obtaining funds, so that the Club could
pick up the dinner tab for visiting guests.
At that time, Club #75 was meeting at the Minneapolis Athletic
Club, in the boardroom on the 12th floor.
Dinners were $3 or $4, and with 25-30 members each donating
25-50 cents, $7 or $8 was collected.
The winner received a free dinner, and the remainder went to
the “kitty”, to pay for future guests.
Club # 75 was the only one to do this, and it was often heard
that guests were impressed enough to become members.
Club 75 also paid for visiting district and area officers, as
guests were more infrequent than they are now.
When the Club moved to Dayton’s, the rule was changed, to pay
for the meal of the guest only after
he or she became a member.
Obviously, the cost of dinner has increased over the years.
When the Minneapolis Athletic Club required a guarantee of 5
dinners at $15 and 10 meals at $10, the Club moved to Daytons, where
people could order what they desired.
Since the jackpot has been raised to 50 cents and a maximum
of 2 entries, the Club might consider paying $5 toward the winner’s
dinner, and putting the remainder into a “kitty” for guests, an
investment in recruiting new members. Just an idea that started in
1954.
Word of the Week
About 1990, the word of the week was instituted, to enhance
members’ language and ability to use new words. This hopefully
enlarges one’s personal vocabulary, and also usage in one’s daily
life experience.
Joke
A recent tradition was established whereby the designated
Timer would, just before adjournment, end the meeting with a joke.
It could tie in with the theme, or might not be pertinent at
all. Hopefully, everyone
would leave with a good feeling, or at least a chuckle.
7TH VP Award
In
the 1960’s, there were 4 speakers each evening.
Les Nord, an ardent member, had a hobby of woodworking.
He made small gavels, donated them to the Club, and suggested
using one for the best speech of the evening.
The 7th VP trophy was instituted, so that the winner
had something tangible to take home and show the family or display on
the shelf. The
title “7th VP” was voted on, since there were not 7
Vice Presidents in the Club. It
was also very handy to have one on hand for a guest speaker or
district or area governor. When Les passed away, the Club elected to continue the
tradition with a small trophy, an enviable symbol.
TM 75 Board
Virgil
Van Ornum was a sales manager for the Minneapolis Gas Company, and
Mark Holmes was
a
vendor. Mark brought
Virgil into the Club in 1957 and 2 years later, Mark was Vice
President
Administration
and Virgil was Sergeant at Arms.
Virgil thought an informational board would be a
good
idea and an easy way for members and guests to know who the officers
were and the evening’s agenda.
He and Mark took their idea to Dick Mack, manager of the
display department at the Gas Co., who made the board for the Club at
no charge. Dick Mack was
the dinner guest the night the board was dedicated.
It has been a permanent fixture of the Club ever since.
Once or twice during the summer break, it was mislaid, but
fortunately found. It is designed to be a current and important tool for the
meeting each night. The
last line sums up the philosophy of Club #75:
“Toastmasters
is more than a Club; it is an Education!” ..
The Owatonna Trip
The Owatonna trip was really legendary!
In the late 1940’s, Dick Lonsdale, a member of Club
# 75, was
invited to the Owatonna School for persons with disabilities. A friend had a son in the institution, and thought Dick might
be interested in seeing the school.
It was the winter holiday season, and Dick noticed that some
children had many visitors and some had none.
Dick thought of having a holiday party for everyone, but in
the spring of the year rather than the winter, and Club #75 made it
happen. Every December
the Club would have a holiday party at someone’s home. There was a
planned potluck, and everyone was charged for dinner.
A bar was set up designed to make a profit, and there were
games of chance to derive money for the group’s trip.
Members would seek out business friends and former Club
members, to contribute gifts for 250 children, such as books, pencils,
toys and candy, and larger gifts for children who were hospitalized.
A show was put was put on by the St. Paul Clown Club, and
Club #75 paid for buses to transport the children plus lunch.
During the rollicking 2-hour show, toastmasters and their
families filled bags with toys and candy, and as each child left the
auditorium, he or she was handed a large plastic bag filled with
goodies.
When the school in Owatonna closed, the Club went to the
school in Faribault, then Sandstone, then to Cambridge.
The schools were closed as the children were integrated in
homes in communities. Club #75 felt tremendous joy and achievement in
doing things for others, and how it the Club together.
Moving Up!
In 1954, Elmer Hansen was VP Education.
He obtained the nickname “Ramrod Hansen,” when he
“ramrodded” his proposal through, even though everyone agreed with
him. Elmer felt that the
annual election of officers had become a “popularity contest,” and
that a succession of officers would be more beneficial to the officers
and the Club: Each officer could gain experience in the duties of each
chair, and the President would have insight to every office. In the
event of an officer needing to resign, one just moved up a notch.
This did not mean any office was less important, but that all
positions were filled.
The Sergeant at Arms position was very important, requiring
the person to arrive early, attend to the board, have the guest book
and jackpot available, the banners displayed, and to greet guests.
The Treasurer was to collect money and pay bills. The
Secretary was responsible for taking meeting minutes and filing them
for future reference. The VP Administration required keeping
Membership information, made easier with the institution of VP Public
Relations. The VP Education requires designing the program each week,
so that everyone gets an opportunity to participate, and has to take
individual needs into consideration, such as absenteeism, illness,
frequency of assignments, etc. The
theme of the week often comes from the VP Education or at executive
committee meetings. The President is responsible for each meeting
functioning properly, and for dealing with any need or problem. All past Presidents can be asked to attend any executive
committee meeting, if desired. The
immediate past President can also be tapped for assistance, and is
usually in charge of the summer activity.
The Stu Peterson Award
Stu Peterson was a longtime member of Club #75.
He had been a member of another Club, but after visiting our
Club, he wanted to join. Stu
was an electrical engineer by trade, and patent attorney by
profession. He won many of the Club’s humorous speech contests. In
1990, he developed cancer and passed away. Club 75 designed and had a
trophy made with the names of the winners of the humorous speech
contest. It was to be a
“floating” trophy – the name of the winner would be engraved on
it, he or she could retain it for a year, and then present it to the
winner the next year. This worked well for a year or two, until a winner
unfortunately floated away from the Club with the trophy.
Past President’s Exit
It was traditional, that when the evening came for the
President to turn over the gavel to the new President, the outgoing
President would arrive early and have a large bowl of peeled shrimp
prepared, with shrimp sauce for all present.
Walking around the
Table
Another tradition was to walk around the table and shake
hands with everyone. This
encouraged members to arrive early, learn everyone’s name, and greet
the new members, so that the meeting could start promptly at 6:15PM.
Mark
Holmes, Historian
David Jansen, Editor
Current
as of May, 2005
