Our meetings start promptly at 7 PM with a call to order by the Sergeant At Arms. Then, the Invocator presents a short two-minute inspirational statement, leads us in the Pledge of Allegiance, and introduces, with a flourish, the Toastmaster of the Evening. If the Toastmaster has decided upon a theme for the night [some past ones have been, "Abundance"; "Be Yourself"; "Keeping the Legacy"; and "Enthusiasm"], s/he tells a story related to it, then reads the Mission Statement. After this, s/he calls the General Evaluator to the lectern to explain his/her role, and to introduce the Timer and Ah-Um Grammarian to explain their roles. The meeting proceeds with some future business: The VP of Education asks for volunteers for the next meetings, and then the meeting proceeds to the more formal speaking roles.
The Toastmaster calls the Word/Joke Master up to present the “word of the night” and to tell a joke [the joke is strictly optional]. Table Topics follows: The Table Topics Master may or may not create questions consistent with the night’s theme. S/he calls upon those members who do not have major speaking roles, to ensure that every paid member has a chance to speak. After Table Topics, the Officer of the Evening comes to the lectern to ask the guests to stand and announce their names. A ten minute break follows just before the major speeches.
The Toastmaster of the Evening introduces each speaker, his/her title, and purpose of the speech. The evaluations of the speeches follow. As the meeting winds down, the General Evaluator first asks the Timer and Ah-Um grammarian to make their presentations and then evaluates the meeting, citing what s/he notices that went well, and what needs improvement. The Toastmaster then thanks everyone for their efforts in helping to organize the meeting, and adjourns the meeting before 9 PM.