Foxboro Achievers

Summary of Achievers meeting on October 15, 2025

Góðan daginn, Achievers! ("Good morning" in Icelandic)

We had a modest turnout at our October 15 meeting; we had 7 people in attendance, including 1 guest.

Meeting began at 7:06 pm and ended at 8:51 pm.

Our President, Satish Srinivas, opened the meeting with a reading of the Toastmasters mission statement, then turned the meeting over to the evening's Toastmaster, Nate Adkins.

John Abreau was Wordmaster, with the word "succinct":

succinct - \sek-SINKT\ - (adjective)
marked by compact, precise expression without wasted words.
"A succinct description"

Theme of the meeting was "Fond memories and Traditions".

In attendance:

* John Abreau
* Satish Srinivas
* Sampson Gallagher? (guest)
* Joseph Correia
* Rasheed Mohammed
* Nate Adkins
* Sujatha Karuppiah

Jokemaster was John Abreau, with a rhyming TODO list for someone working from home during the COVID era.

We had no prepared speeches this evening.

John Abreau led the table topics, using the Topix cards. Topics were as follows:

* (Saish) What tests your patience, and how do you deal with it?
* (Sujatha) What is your most important goal right now?
* (Nate) What failure made you stonger or wiser?
* (Joseph) Who do you go to for advice?
* (Sampson) Do you prefer dogs or cats? Or do you love both?
* (Rasheed) How do you deal with winning and losing? Are you humble in victory, gracious in defeat?

The vote for Best Table Topic was a tie, between Satish and Rasheed.

Our next meeting is tonight, Tuesday, October 21, 2025.

Hope to see you all there!

Regards,
-- John Abreau, Secretary, Foxboro Achievers

Summary of Achievers meeting on September 2, 2025

Chào buổi sáng, Achievers! ("Good morning" in Vietnamese)

We had a modest turnout at our September 2 meeting; we had 8 attendees, including 3 guests.

Meeting began at 7:06 pm and ended at 8:22 pm.

In the absence of our President and Sergeant at Arms, John Abreau opened the meeting with a reading of the Toastmasters mission statement, then took a few minutes to fill the remaining meeting roles.

John Abreau was Wordmaster, with the word "juxtaposed":

juxtaposed - \JƏK-stə-PŌZD\ - (adjective)
placed together or described together, so that the differences between them are emphasized.`
"Art's oldest theme: the celebration of life juxtaposed with the terror of mortality."

Theme of the meeting was "September: A New Beginning".

In attendance:
* Annette Coleman
* Dylan(dillon)? Tolman? (guest)
* Ashka Patel
* Rasheed Mohammed
* George (guest)
* Joe Correia (guest, soon to be new member)
* Nate Adkins
* John Abreau

Jokemaster was John Abreau, with a joke about a farmer, a consultant in a BMW, and a flock of sheep.

We had two speeches this evening.

Our first speaker, Ashka Patel, gave her second speech, titled "Lessons From Hank". Hank was her dog, a mixed breed that's half Pointer and half Labrador Retriever.

Ashka's speech was evaluated by Annette Coleman.

Our second speaker, Rasheed Mohammed, gave his Icebreaker speech, titled "Raising Kids in America".

Rasheed's speech was evaluated by Nate Adkins.

We took a short break from 7:40 PM to 7>49 PM, after which Annette and Nate gave their speech evaluations.

Annette led the table topics, in the form of a modified Yankee Swap. Topics were as follows:

* (Dylan) Which piece of clothing do you no longer wear but can't throw away?
* (Rasheed) What is your favorite line from any movie?
* (ASshka) You have $5,000 to spend on someone you love, what would you do with the money?
* (John) If money didn't matter, what job would you have?
* (Nate) What is your favorite line from any movie?
* (Joe) What's your favorite compliment you've ever received?

Joe Correia won the vote for Best Table Topic.

Our next meeting is tonight, Tuesday, September 16, 2025. John will be Toastmaster again..

Hope to see you all there!

Regards,
-- John Abreau, Secretary, Foxboro Achievers

Summary of Achievers meeting on June 17, 2025

Wilujeng sonten, Achievers! ("Good afternoon" in Sudanese)

We had a good turnout at our June 17 meeting; we had 9 attendees, including 1 returning guest.

This is the final meeting of the 2024-2025 Toastmasters year; the Toastmasters year runs from July 1st to June 30th.

Meeting began at 7:02 pm and ended at 8:10 pm.

Linda Burtt opened the meeting with a reading of the Toastmasters mission statement, then turned the floor over to our President, Kunal Joarder.

Kunal welcomed everyone, and announced that we need to finalize the slate of new officers for the next Toastmasters year, which begins on July 1st. Officer roles for the new year need to be submitted to the international site by June 28.

Kunal then turned the meeting over to the evening's Toastmaster, John Abreau (me).

I opened with a few remarks, then, as Wordmaster, I introduced the word of the day.

Word of the day was "swelter":

swelter - \SWEL-tәr\ (verb)
1. A state of oppressive heat;
2. An excited or overwrought state of mind.
"The set designer spent the entire week before opening night in a swelter."

Theme of the meeting was "Summer Solstice". The summer solstice is the moment the axial tilt of the Earth is perfectly aligned with the sun, with the Northern Hemisphere tilted toward the sun. In 2025, this occurred at 10:42 PM US/Eastern on Friday, June 20, 2025.

During introductions, we each shared our plans, if any, for celebrating the solstice.

In attendance:

* Kunal Joarder
* Sujatha Karuppiah
* Annette Coleman
* Linda Burtt
* Nate Adkins
* Ashka Patel
* Joe Korea (returning guest)
* Vakula Daruri
* John Abreau

Jokemaster was John Abreau, with a joke about someone smoking while pumping gas.

We spent a few minutes having those with meeting roles explain the purpose and ex*****on of their respective roles.

We had no speeches, and therefore no speech evaluations, so we proceeded to Table Topics.

Kunal Joarder ran the Table Topics, with a list of aphorisms for participants to expand upon.

* (Annette Coleman) Rome was *NOT* built in a day.
* (John Abreau) Do not cry over spilled milk.
* (Sujatha Karuppiah) The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
* (Joe Korea) Every cloud has a silver lining.
* (Ashka Patel) Curiosity killed the cat.
* (Vakula Daruri) Better safe than sorry.
* (Nate Adkins) Do not put all your eggs in one basket.
* (Vakula Daruri, again) Birds of a feather, flock together.
* (Linda Burtt) Necessity is the mother of invention.

Sujatha Karuppiah won the vote for Best Table Topic.

Our next meeting is tonight, Tuesday, July 1, 2025. This is the first meeting of the new Toastmasters year.

Hope to see you all there!

Regards,
-- John Abreau, Secretary, Foxboro Achievers