My trip to Decatur began inauspiciously; my car’s navigation system took me to the east side of Decatur, even though the address I had put in was clearly on the west side. So I got to see downtown Decatur, and Lake Decatur (which is quite impressive).

Friday night opened with a buffet dinner and an entrancing keynote from Col. Jill Morgenthaler about her experience facing down Saddam Hussein, and how to tailor the speaking style for the audience, choosing the right story and living it out on stage (in keeping with the conference theme of “Living the Story”).

This was followed by a frenzied and enthusiastic performance by a drumline, 9 youths with drums and cymbals to get everyone excited and ready for a great conference. The table topics contest was next, where I was able to assist as a sergeant at arms.

Saturday morning’s business meeting was swift and efficient, there was a low turnout due to bad weather. I gave what I thought was my best version yet of the two-minute “table topic” on my candidacy. Lunch was followed by a short address by Dietmar about upcoming organizational changes, and the afternoon was filled with educational sessions.

The evening began with dinner and awards, followed by the traditional “DTM line”, recognition of new DTMs in the district. One really nice touch was that, while the new DTM was walking down the line shaking hands and exchanging hugs, the District Governor told us about their High Performance Leadership project, the club they sponsored, mentored, or coached, how Toastmasters had changed their lives, etc. It did a great job of avoiding the problem of either awkward silence, or very extended applause.

Last was the humorous speech contest, where we were treated to five awesome speeches, though the best, the winner, was a great one about his birthday … talking about how he resisted being born, hanging on to the umbilical cord for 27 hours. It was really quite good.

So that wraps up the fall round of conferences! I can take some time off, get re-involved with my home clubs (including one I’m coaching), attend DEC meetings, and prepare for the spring conferences in April and May.