Sometimes the best speeches are just stories of our lives.

Cory Forrest, the hardest-working man in Vancouver and today donning a groovy blue blazer befitting a talk-show host, stole the show with an impromptu speech about a job he once had harvesting wild rice. It involved spiders. And phobias. And courage.

Courage, in fact, was a theme of the meeting. In an unorthodox inspiration, the group saw a clip of a pro golfer who is afflicted with a dreadful stutter, yet somehow managed to give a speech before hundreds of her peers. (This was another teachable TM moment: how often is a speech scuppered by technology? That’s why we memorize rather than relying on PowerPoint and whatnot. Bruce tried to show the clip on his laptop only to lose the signal. Newcomer Sonia saved the day by dialing in to her iPod.)

It takes courage, too, to speak on live TV. That’s what two Vancore veterans, Susan and Connie, were practicing for. Their collaborative, advanced-manual speech that simulated a TV interview. Susan, in the Barbara Walters role, grilled Connie on Charity Fundraising (Why’s it important? Why should we care?) The questions were sharp, the responses so smooth you’d think Connie was IN this line of work. Oh right: she is.

Finally, it takes courage to step up for Table Topics on your first ever visit to a TM meeting. Kudos to Andrew.

Vancore is pulsing with new blood these days. Come for the Werther’s candies at the reception desk, stay for the professional development. So say all of us.

Please note that next week, Vancore will meet elsewhere next week. Our usual venue, the AMEBC, will be closed to us. Probably it’ll be the BG Café right next door. But stay tuned for confirmation.