Gavel Use at Toastmasters Club

[Guest ESTM]

Can you tell me if it is common practice, anywhere on the plant, to use a gavel in a small meeting (Toastmasters) for each main speaker?  Our club transfers the gavel to each main leader, who comes to the lectern and to me, it looks ridiculous.  I understood it to be only to open & adjourn the meeting.  Thank you.  

[jstackpo]

Can't say I have ever seen such a thing, in some 40+ years of parliamenting about.

[Josh Martin]

25 minutes ago, Guest ESTM said:

Can you tell me if it is common practice, anywhere on the plant, to use a gavel in a small meeting (Toastmasters) for each main speaker?

A lot of organizations use the gavel far more often than intended, so it would not surprise me if this was a common practice, but it is certainly not consistent with RONR.

25 minutes ago, Guest ESTM said:

I understood it to be only to open & adjourn the meeting. 

It’s used a bit more often than that, but not much. It is also used when leaving for (or returning from) a recess or when calling a member to order. RONR also notes that the presentation of the gavel is often part of a installation ceremony for new officers. It is certainly not presented to each speaker, although it is conceivable that the organization has its own rules in this matter.

[Joshua Katz]

I've seen this at Toastmaster clubs. It's not consistent with RONR, but RONR is about running a good meeting (which, as General Robert points out, is not a lesson in parliamentary procedure, or anything else), while Toastmasters is about learning. I think the practice exists because of the need to rotate officers in order for members to follow the leadership path to DTM.

[Atul Kapur]

It sounds like your group is using the gavel as a very elaborately made talking stick. I am familiar with the concept because we occasionally used it in Canadian Scouting organizations, where I was told it came from indigenous traditions.

Quote

The talking stick, also called a speaker's staff,^[1] is an instrument of aboriginal democracy used by many tribes, especially those of indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast in North America. The talking stick may be passed around a group, as multiple people speak in turn, or used only by leaders as a symbol of their authority and right to speak in public.

from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talking_stick

[Richard Brown]

2 hours ago, Joshua Katz said:

I think the practice exists because of the need to rotate officers in order for members to follow the leadership path to DTM.

DTM???     Devine Toastmaster?   Devout Toastmaster?  Damned Toastmaster?? 

[Joshua Katz]

Close - Distinguished ToastMaster.

[Weldon Merritt]

2 minutes ago, Richard Brown said:

DTM???     Devine Toastmaster?   Devout Toastmaster?  Damned Toastmaster?? 

Distinguished Toastmaster. The title is as prestigious in Toastmasters as PRP is in NAP, or CPP in AIP.

[Richard Brown]

Ahhh, thanks, Joshua and  Weldon!

[Gary Novosielski]

On 8/26/2018 at 5:37 PM, Richard Brown said:

DTM???     Devine Toastmaster?   Devout Toastmaster?  Damned Toastmaster?? 

Duct Tape Mechanic.