Roger Kew, president of Oak Hill Toastmasters, reigns as the undisputed champion of impromptu speaking following his victory on November 8 at the Toastmaster District 55 Table Topics Contest in Corpus Christi. This was a major coup for the Oak Hill Toastmasters Club, proving that our hometown speakers rank among the best in Texas.  District 55 includes 122 clubs covering the entire stretch of territory between Austin and the Rio Grande Valley.

Table Topics is the term given by Toastmasters International to a speech event developed to give members practice in thinking on their feet.  Every Toastmaster meeting includes a Table Topics session requiring participants to stand up and speak for two minutes without preparation on a surprise question.

Before reaching the District Table Topics Contest, Roger had risen through three levels of elimination, being judged the best at contests held in the club, the area, and the division, so he was well seasoned as he entered this final round of competition.

Where does the road less traveled lead?  was the question he heard for the first time as the moderator introduced him to the audience. It was a question designed to plumb the depths of imagination and character, but it was singularly appropriate for the Oak Hill President who has led a far from ordinary life.

A native of England, Roger grew up in a middle class London family and attended English public schools, acquiring the faultless diction that is characteristic of his speeches.  Rather than attending university, he apprenticed as a carpenter and joiner in London and then left to seek adventure in the far corners of the world. In his Table Topic Roger told how his eagerness to follow the less ordinary path had led to encounters with a world of generous and interesting people as he hitchhiked through Africa, the Middle East, and India.

Then he paused before reflecting that the road less traveled is really the inner road to the heart where we connect with our own divine essence.  By traveling this road, we discover the beauty that is in all life around us.

The spirituality of his response is a reflection of Rogers life as a practitioner of Transcendental Meditation.  He began practicing meditation in the 1970s as a compliment to his physical fitness regimen and found it so effective that he eventually attended Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield Ohio, where he graduated with a B.A. in psychology. In 1989, Roger and his wife Judy settled in the Radiance community off Highway 1826 south of Oak Hill. There he managed the Radiance Water Supply and became known as a community leader and advocate for water quality. He currently serves on the Hayes County Water Planning Partnership Board of Directors and the Friendship Alliance, a group of neighbors committed to protecting the environmental of this fragile area.

We are all working to create a viable regional plan that will help guide the growth for Central Texas, said Roger when asked about his current work in the community.  I've been using my Toastmaster skills to talk to different groups, encouraging them to participate in the Envision Central Texas survey and be a part of the process.

Roger has been a member of Oak Hill Toastmasters for the past four years and has served as its president since July.  With all of his community activism he would seem to have little time for a weekly Toastmaster meeting, but to Roger it is an inseparable part of his commitment.  As he explains, Toastmasters provides everyone with an excellent opportunity for self-empowerment.  By practicing our communication skills in Toastmasters, we become more effective citizens and stronger members of society.

Toastmasters International is a nonprofit organization that has long been recognized as the place for ordinary people to get help in improving their public speaking skills. For information about Oak Hill Toastmasters and tips on winning table topics you can contact the master himself: