As General Evaluator (GE) this week, the following guidance is being offered.
Before the Meeting
The GE begins their efforts long before the meeting by contacting the evaluators, timer, Word Master, Ah Counter, Grammarian, Word of Wisdom, and Joke Master to make sure they will be at the meeting. If you find out that someone cannot be there, remind that person that they need to find a replacement right away. Let the VP of Education know changes are coming so they can be made before printing the agenda for the meeting.
During the Meeting
Get to the meeting early to work with the Toastmaster and make sure all functionaries are there and to find last-minute replacements when necessary.
Make sure the evaluators get a speech manual or evaluation form from their speaker, and encourage them to ask their assigned speaker for any additional items of concern.
When called upon by the Toastmaster, the GE takes control of the meeting. The GE's job is one of facilitation — introducing the evaluators and calling on functionaries for their end-of-meeting contributions. The GE must always pay attention to the time. The ideal order of introductions is shown on the printed agenda.
After the evaluations are done, the GE calls for a Timer's report, then asks members and guests to vote for "the evaluator who provided the most helpful evaluation to their assigned speaker," and asks for the votes to be sent to the Table Topics Master for counting.
While votes are being collected, call upon the Joke Master and Word of Wisdom, then start calling on the Ah Counter, Grammarian, and Word Master for their contributions (best order shown on the agenda).
As GE, pay attention to the details of the meeting — start time, smooth or not-so-smooth transitions, how effectively the functionaries explained their role, how prepared everything was, how well members responded with confirmations about fulfilling their assignments, and so on. After all evaluations are completed and functionaries have given their reports, the GE presents any salient points about the meeting and suggests ways in which not-so-good portions could be improved. This should take a minute or so on a normal evening, but could take longer depending on what happened.
Awards
You will receive the certificates with member names filled in from the Table Topics Master after the vote count. The General Evaluator also identifies the member to be honored with the Vicki Treciak Spirit Award — given to the member who was observed to go above and beyond the call of duty in some aspect of the meeting or meeting planning.
In the interest of time, carry the awards toward the recipients while announcing the winners (rather than making them walk through the tables to get up front) and minimize "drum roll please" time. The ideal order of award presentation is:
- Best Table Topics
- Best Evaluator
- Best Speaker
- Vicki Treciak Spirit Award
Managing Time
It is imperative that the meeting time is managed. If running behind, prompt functionaries to be brief and minimize your discussion on meeting evaluation. If everything is running ahead of schedule, spend a little more time on your evaluation of the meeting.
During a typical meeting, the General Evaluator should get through all evaluations and functionary reports by about 8:20, and should do everything in their power to make sure that happens before returning control of the meeting to the presiding officer. Remember that the presiding officer will need some time to call upon guests and discuss open club business items — it is your responsibility to protect some time for those efforts.
Thanks for your help making this upcoming meeting great.