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Saturday,
June 8, 2002
Last modified at 8:24 p.m. on Wednesday, June 5, 2002
17 hone their skills in
communicating
By Cindy Holifield
Staff writer
Seventeen Jacksonville residents recently
graduated from the eight-week Toast of Jax Toastmasters Youth Leadership
Program.
Toastmasters International, a world-wide, non-profit organization,
developed The Youth Leadership Program for youths 14 to 18 to aid them in
developing communication and leadership skills and promote personal growth.
The objective is to prepare young adults for challenges that lie ahead,
help them build confidence and teach them techniques required to conduct
successful meetings, program officials said.
"One of the most gratifying moments was when some of the young
adults asked if they could be a part of the next program to help others
learn communication and leadership skills," said David J. Rafanowicz,
Toast of Jacksonville Toastmasters member and program assistant.
The area graduates are Ashley Graham, Michaela Martin, Elizabeth Oehl,
Mayuri Shah, Sejal Shah, Houtan Taba and Jonathan Tannen, all of Mandarin;
Bernard Chu, Pulin Patel, Karan Sutaria, Sagar Vijapura and Adi Jovovic,
all of the Southside; Rebecca Roden, Marco Rojas and Nima Sharifai, all of
Arlington; Chad Cutlip of the Westside; and Myriam Maida of Neptune Beach.
Toast of Jax Toastmasters is a group of more than 40 professionals who
hold weekly meetings to hone communication and leadership skills.
Nandu Shah, a program assistant, reviewed the program at the latest
meeting, calling it extremely successful, and recognized members who
participated for their work with the group. Beverly Farnell, program
coordinator, was recognized with a standing ovation.
In addition to Rafanowicz and Shah, other assistants and advisors were
Yurania Causey, Milo Holt, George Oehl and Millie Tannen.
"We started with a vision and ended up with 17 success stories, so
far," said Rafanowicz. "If we have added to the potential success
of just one young adult, it will have been worth it."
At the beginning of the program's final meeting, Rafanowicz commented:
"We spent the first two years of our children's lives teaching them to
walk and talk. Then we spent the next 12 suggesting that they sit down and
remain silent. Now, along comes something called Toast of Jax Toastmasters
and tells them it's time to stand up and communicate effectively."
For more information about the Youth Leadership Program, go to
jacksonville.com, keywords: youth program.
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