Grand Pioneers continued their winning ways at the District 65 contest, held in quaint little Corning, NY.

Our very own Dick Czarnecki was named District Governor of the Year! Dick has tirelessly given his all for Toastmasters - if there was an event, chances were Dick was there! Dick gave co-credit to his wife Bernie both for her support and her computer skills.

In the District 65 Humorous Speech Contest, a few hundred contestants from 79 clubs came down to four - and in the end, our own K.C. Ryan proved you just can't stop Superman.

K.C. won first place with a story about overcoming shyness and stage-fright via a school play based on the Man of Steel.

Upwards of sixty Toastmasters and guests attended the Western Division Area 3 Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contest at the Classics V banquet facility on Niagara Falls Boulevard.

Continuing on from the area contest were Harry Carlson in the evaluation contest, and Deb Dickenson and K.C. Ryan in the humorous speech contest. Our own Dick Czarnecki competed in the humorous contest as well, under the auspices of Westwinds Advanced Club.

Deb and K.C. reprised their earlier speeches on chocolate and Superman, while Dick's speech, "I Hate Brocolli" told of breaking a tooth on that vegetable, and of the subsequent agonies at the dentist's office.

K.C. won first place, and the right to go on to the District 65 Fall Conference the weekend of November 20th. Dick came in second, and will serve as an alternate in case K.C. meets up with some Kryptonite or some such.

Several other Grand Pioneers helped make the conference a success. Dick and his wife Bernie were organizers supreme, Bob Brown the chief judge, Jennifer Hubert the Sergeant at Arms, and Russ Ponivas the contest master. Thanks to all for a great contest!

Grand Pioneer was well-represented at the Western Division Area 3 Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contest.

Competing in the Evaluation Contest was Harry Carlson, who took first place and a chance to go on to the Division contest.

In the humorous category, Deb Dickenson defended the good name of chocolate, emphasizing her point with a Hershey apron and some tasty samples to boot. She took second place, and will be going on to the District contest as well.

K.C. Ryan told a tale of a shy sixth-grader's awkward experience in a school play - which was based on Superman. Evidently the story was more powerful that a locomotive, because he took first and will be going on to Districts as well.