Saugonian wins Toastmaster contest

SAUGUS – Saugus resident Debra Panetta won the crowd over with her silly speech “For the Life of Dogs,” at the area Toastmaster Contest held at Stevens Memorial Library in North Andover on Sept. 29. Panetta is the President of the Saugus Rumney Marsh Club, a division of the educational organization Toastmasters International.?My husband and I have been married for 25 years and we?ve had three different dogs, so I gave snippets of situational comedy involving the dogs. I?ve won a lot of speech contests, but this was a huge challenge for me because I?m just not funny. I find myself assuming, but no one else does,” Panetta said with a chuckle.Panetta?s big win in the Humorous Speech Contest allowed her to move forward to the Division contest, which was held at the American Civic Center in Wakefield on Wednesday, Oct. 12.Toastmasters International is a worldwide nonprofit organization that helps members become more experienced and comfortable speaking in front of an audience. Members generally meet weekly to learn and practice public speaking skills, such as delivering a prepared speech or demonstrating an impromptu performance. Developed members can then go out and make a greater impact on the job, in their churches and in their communities.?Back over 20 years ago, I used to work at John Hancock, and at the time my boss was going to a Toastmasters meeting and asked if I wanted to go. So I went and I was hooked. It was so much fun,” said Panetta. “It?s not just public speaking. It?s great for networking and it?s a safe place for people to give speeches if they normally feel uncomfortable.”After joining Toastmasters in the early 1990s, Panetta went on to hold numerous club officer positions – including president and vice president of public relations – before taking on responsibilities at the district level. Panetta took over as division governor in 2010 and she?s responsible for overseeing a number of local clubs.Panetta also won the Division Governor of the Year award last year within District 31 of Toastmasters International, which includes approximately 160 clubs in Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.Panetta then finished the year as presidential distinguished, which is the highest level of recognition for growth of clubs and member development.Panetta said Toastmasters has helped to increase her confidence both professionally and socially, and she attributes some of her success to the skills she?s gained.She works as a budget manager at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, and holds or held a number of positions within local government and organizations, including Saugus Town Meeting member and formerly Chair of the Saugus School Committee. Panetta also enjoys seeing the confidence that other members gain through the club.?With public speaking, practice makes perfect. Public speaking is people?s worst fear, worse than dying and people don?t want to look stupid, so they have a lot of filler words,” said Panetta. “It?s a great feeling to watch people who at first get so nervous that they shake, but by the time they get to their fourth or fifth speech they get so much better and they say they even do better at work.”Panetta said her two children, Mark Jr., 15, and Sabrina, 12, even attend the meetings, and have dramatically improved their presentation skills.The Saugus Rumney Marsh Club has more than 15 members, but it is always looking for people to join. New members are assigned a mentor who helps with the first three speeches, and after 10 speeches, they become competent communicators.?During each of the first 10 speeches we focus on something in particular, like body language, pitch and tone, or inspiring your audience, and we focus on evaluating that,” said Panetta. “I tell people to start with speeches about things that they like or are comfortable with. A lot of people don?t like to talk about themselves, but the best part is that no one will know when you?re wrong because it?s about you.”The Saugus Rumney Marsh Club meet