Toastmasters 55 anniversary Tuesday, March 18

On Tuesday, March 18, Early Words Toastmasters will be celebrating its 55th anniversary at Longview's Scythe Brewing (1217 3rd Avenue, Suite 150). The group formed when Reynolds Aluminum Head Engineer Earl Marchand had such a difficult time communicating with his engineers. Once Earl started the group, "if you worked for him, you participated in the club. The group would meet from 6:05 to 7:30 a.m., giving the workers enough time to show up for work at 8 a.m. This being Early Words Toastmasters' first celebration in six years, the group has had many leaders in Longview participate in order to learn public speaking skills. Current President Patrick Locke's wife Karen was once an award-winning poet. After suffering a stroke in 2003, Karen participated in Early Words with the intent to learn to speak again. According to Patrick, Early Words "helped Karen out tremendously," as she progressed to achieve silver status at a content communicator level and even won the Earl Marchand Award. "The program has the capability to help people like that," Patrick said. Today, Karen is able to recite her award-winning poetry. The anniversary celebration begins at 5 p.m. on March 18.