Connellsville woman wins Toastmasters International district speech contest
A Connellsville woman recently won the Toastmasters International 2022 District 13 Speech Contest Championship with a speech entitled 鈥淏roken.鈥�
Sharon A. Joseph蘑菇视频 speech told the story of her struggles from childhood into adulthood with a speech impediment and bullying, and how she overcame her struggles to become a successful businesswoman and entrepreneur. Her speech performance won out over seven other contestants during an event on April 30 at the Pittsburgh Marriott North Hotel and Convention Center in Cranberry Township, Butler County.
Joseph is the charter president of the Laurel Highlands Toastmasters Club, located in Connellsville, and will speak at the club蘑菇视频 Tuesday, May 10 meeting at the Carnegie Free Library in Connellsville. The meeting is open to the public and will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. In-person and virtual options are available to attend.
Joseph is also a member of the McKeesport Area Toastmasters Club, based in White Oak, Allegheny County, which she represented in the contest. Her win marked the first time in the 71-year history of the McKeesport Area Toastmasters that a member won a district-level speech contest. District 13 encompasses western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia and parts of Ohio and Maryland.
She now advances to the regional quarterfinals, where the videotaped presentation of her winning speech, 鈥淏roken鈥� will compete against the videotaped presentations of the District Champions of Districts based in Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, eastern Michigan and eastern Tennessee along with the eastern portion of Ontario, Canada. Two from this group, and 26 others, will then compete for the World Championship of Public Speaking with an entirely new and original speech.
Toastmasters International (TI) is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. The Laurel Highlands Toastmasters Club was chartered July 2021 in Connellsville, and can be found on the Toastmasters International website at www.toastmasters.org. The Laurel Highlands Toastmasters Club meets every 2nd and 4th Tuesdays at 6 p.m. at the Carnegie Free Library in Connellsville. Meetings are conducted as a fusion of in-person and live streaming so members can join and participate in the meetings from anywhere in the world virtually.
For more information, or to register to attend the next meeting or to get the link to participate virtually contact Joseph at 724-603-0413, email laurelhighlandsTM@gmail.com visit the website www.laurelhighlands.toast mastersclubs.org.