Local competitors from First of Sussex Toastmasters go to the division level

The successful run of the Dori Zarr and Debra Hollindrake from the First of Sussex Toastmasters came to an end at the Humorous Speech Division contest, but not before winning at the area level. In Denville on Aug. 31, Zarr reprised her story “A Squirrly Tale,” with a few added embellishments to change it up and won the Humorous Speech contest held at the Denville United Methodist Church. Debra Hollindrake also took the top prize in the Table Topic segment with the question “What would you choose if you had help for a period of time; a housekeeper, a chef or a masseuse?” They moved onto the division contest held at Glaxo Smith-Kline in Parsippany Sept. 14. But their triumphant run came to an end David Romanchick took the top spot for Humorous Speech and Bill Boswell took second. Once again, Zarr gave “A Squirrly Tale” a twirl and Hollindrake tackled the question, “If you were marooned on a desert island for a month with all the food and beverages you needed, what would you bring?” Romanchick said his iPhone, because he would have pictures of his family with him for a month. For the Table Topics portion, five contestants including Hollindrake participated. First of Sussex Toastmasters is also holding a Comedy Night Fundraiser for one of their members. Linda Leenstra of Andover, suffered a huge personal loss during the hurricane last month, which destroyed her home and vehicles. The comedy night is scheduled for Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. in the Lake Mohawk Country Club. On the menu is a comedy show, a gourmet cheese selection and a cash bar for a $20 donation. It is slated to run until 10 p.m. For more information about Toastmasters International, go to www.toastmasters.org.