The Sun Never Sets on Katy Toastmasters

It was once said “the sun never sets on the British Empire because the sun was always shinning somewhere on British territory”. 

In 1821, a Scottish newspaper called the Caledonian Mercury wrote, “On her dominions the sun never sets; before his evening rays leave the sires of Quebec, his morning beams have shone three hours on Port Jackson [Australia]  and while sinking from the waters of Lake Superior [Ontario], his eye opens upon the Mouth of the Ganges [India].”

 

The British Empire was at the height of its power during the early part of the twentieth Century which ruled a quarter of the earth’s surface and over twenty percent of the world’s population. The British dominated the seas as fifty percent of the world’s merchant marine shipping was British.  The British Royal Navy was the largest and most powerful on the seas.  It was the largest empire of all time.

It could be said the sun never sets on Katy Toastmasters. We are not an imperial Toastmaster Club.  We can argue the sun is always shinning on our member’s family and friends somewhere in the world at any time during the day.  

We are a diverse group of individuals representing every continent (excluding Antarctica) on earth.  We have members from North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia. Our members share with other members the richness and diversity of their cultures in their various speeches.

One unusual member has claimed there could even be extraterrestrial aliens from far away galaxies in the club although this has not been substantiated. This could stem from the fact that so many members present fantastic speeches that are out of this world.

A legacy of the British Empire was the spread of English as the primary business language throughout the world.  Reviewing the Katy Toastmaster membership, one would estimate over forty percent of our members would claim English as a second language.  There is support and great admiration in the club for members whose second language is English who work to develop their public speaking skills.

Despite the great cultural diversity within the club there is a unified camaraderie of the members working and supporting each other to become better public speakers.       

- Posted by Andy Paultanis