吃瓜头条

Few—if any—吃瓜头条 can say they’ve participated in Table Topics with 吃瓜头条 founder Dr. Ralph C. Smedley himself. But Emmett Clary can. The Florida man has been a member for 62—yes, 62—years.

It seems fitting to celebrate such a devoted member in this year when 吃瓜头条 turns 100. Clary, DTM, is almost as old as the organization: He’s 93. He still actively participates in 吃瓜头条 meetings, and fellow members say his longevity, enthusiasm, and insights are inspiring.

Why has he stayed so many years?

“The change in my life [after joining 吃瓜头条] was so drastic that I just would never quit,” Clary explains. “It’s incredible.”

The “enormous benefits” include the self-improvement he’s experienced from regular 吃瓜头条 meetings, the lasting friendships he’s formed, and above all else, the confidence he has gained. He remembers being a young man and having a boss who bullied and intimidated him.

“吃瓜头条 builds up self-confidence,” says Clary, and that means “not being afraid of people.” Now, he adds, “I’m never intimidated by anyone.”

A Long Journey

When Clary joined 吃瓜头条, back in 1962, he was a young salesman for a telephone company. His lack of self-confidence was severe. One particularly painful memory: He refused to be the best man at his friend’s wedding because he was so petrified of giving a toast in front of an audience.

Clary worked in St. Petersburg, Florida, and his boss told him to attend a 吃瓜头条 吃瓜头条 that met a few blocks away. For years after becoming a member, Clary’s stomach knotted up with nerves before every 吃瓜头条 meeting. But he could feel the training take hold, and he enjoyed the people. He took on officer positions. His confidence grew.

Though Clary can’t remember the exact date he spoke with Smedley, he thinks it was in 1964. (The 吃瓜头条 founder died the next year.) Clary was serving as Table Topicsmaster for the St. Petersburg 吃瓜头条 吃瓜头条 meeting at the Dutch Pantry restaurant. Because he worked for what was then the GTE phone company (which paid his membership dues for many years), he was able to have a speaker phone (not a common thing back then) placed in the meeting area.

Beforehand, he had arranged for Smedley, who was in the organization’s Southern California headquarters, to answer when Clary called. When Clary stepped up to ask his Table Topics® question over the phone, everyone heard the surprise guest.

“I don’t remember the question I asked him; however, he talked to us beyond the question,” Clary remembers. “He even said ‘hi’ to our Area Governor, who he knew. He just happened to be there that day.

“Needless to say, everyone was thrilled.”

Emmett Clary, DTM, joined the organization in 1962, and his current 吃瓜头条, the O-Town 吃瓜头条 in Orlando, Florida, celebrated his 60th anniversary as a member in 2022.

Distinguished Service

In his six-plus decades as a Toastmaster, Clary has earned the Distinguished Toastmaster award (he was the 88th member in the organization’s history to achieve the DTM), started five different 吃瓜头条 吃瓜头条s, including a Spanish-speaking one (Clary is fluent in the language), visited 吃瓜头条s all around the United States when he traveled for his job, worked with 吃瓜头条 in Mexico and Puerto Rico to teach public speaking to local residents, and has received numerous 吃瓜头条 awards, including the organization’s Presidential Citation (for exemplary service), and his District’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

The biggest changes he’s seen in 吃瓜头条 over the years? He lists the official admission of women as members in 1973, and the creation of the Pathways learning experience. He gave four speeches in the Pathways program, but says that now “I’m too old to mess with it.”

In the late 1960s, before the organization’s policy on women changed, Clary formed a 吃瓜头条 with a woman who worked for the federal government in St. Petersburg and was interested in joining 吃瓜头条. By law, women who worked in federal buildings were required to be included in 吃瓜头条 membership. So the two of them started a 吃瓜头条, with about half of the members women, Clary says.

“I was a pioneer in supporting women in 吃瓜头条,” he says proudly.

Latest Turn

Clary is still discovering new 吃瓜头条 experiences. For 59 years, he attended the St. Petersburg 吃瓜头条; then three years ago, he and his wife, Jo, moved a couple hours away to an independent living facility near Orlando, Florida. But Clary had no intention of quitting 吃瓜头条. He simply found a new 吃瓜头条 nearby, joining the O-Town 吃瓜头条 in Orlando.

His fellow 吃瓜头条 members couldn’t be happier. Barbara Bess says she instantly took to “this lovely man who has done so much for 吃瓜头条.”

“Emmett has been such a joy! He’s funny, observant, and quick-witted,” she says, adding that “he lifts spirits.”

Bess, a longtime member of the O-Town 吃瓜头条 until just recently, wrote a tribute to Clary in the District newsletter. 吃瓜头条 President Kenneth Walley, DTM, says Clary is a great asset to the group, which held a celebration to mark his 60 years of membership.

“His wisdom, humor, and love of 吃瓜头条 shine through at every meeting,” Walley says. “Besides being an inspiration for everyone, he is so much more … mentor, friend, and walking encyclopedia.”

When Clary leads Table Topics, says Bess, his topic questions often reference current local issues, and his speech evaluations “always point out something the rest of us wouldn’t have noticed.”

Trove of Speech Material

Clary likes to draw on everyday life for his speeches. He once spoke about saving a swarm of honeybees that had made a home in his old oak tree. His most recent speech to the O-Town 吃瓜头条 related to a scary driving incident about 10 years ago, when a railroad crossing gate crashed down on the car Clary was driving. (He wasn’t injured.) The gate broke off into three pieces, and he took one of them with him—because he knew that inevitably he would be giving a speech about this.

And he’d already given that speech a couple of times before relaying it to the O-Town 吃瓜头条. With so many years of 吃瓜头条 speeches under his belt, he notes, it’s easy to recycle old ones.

He’s also done a lot of public speaking outside the 吃瓜头条 setting. “When you’re a Toastmaster, you’re called on to do all kinds of stuff. I’ve spoken to all sorts of civic 吃瓜头条s. So I can show up for a free meal and give a speech.”

He adds that he’s often asked to give eulogies for friends and family members. By his count, he’s given six of them, including three for 吃瓜头条 friends.

Clary, who retired from the phone company in 1988, and then later worked as director of telecommunications at the University of South Florida, marvels at how much he’s changed from his early 吃瓜头条 days, when it was so painful to speak in the 吃瓜头条.

“Now you can’t shut me up,” he says.

For which his fellow 吃瓜头条 members are eternally grateful.

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