PaintedToeNail: Thank you for the reminder that there are lots of really decent JWs out there, just trying to live a somewhat healthy, "normal" life, even though it really can't be normal inside Watchtower walls.
JRK: "Did you get stuck arranging the "hospitality" crap too?"
No. Well, not as part of being Talk Coordinator. The Talk Coordinator just entered the name of a Book Study Group on the line for hospitality. As Book Study Overseer, I had the responsibility to make sure it was covered whenever it was our group's turn to cover hospitality. So, at least 50% of the time, when it was our "groups" turn, we ended up taking care of hospitality.
00dad: "I just felt this all-too-familiar unpleasant dread until I saw them actually in the hall and ready to go! "
Yeah, I always had a couple of outlines that my family was sick and tired of that I could give in my sleep if there was a no-show.
dozy: "The previous holder had made a total mess of it & I literally was given it on a Thursday & there wasn't anyone scheduled to give a talk the next Sunday ( or any Sunday after that. )"
Exactly. Our previous TC got all his "privileges" removed in one fell swoop and so this particular piece of shrapnel landed in my lap.
snakes: Sounds like your aptitudes and personal situation made you an ideal Talk Coordinator.
zoiks: "I remember getting cornered at the CA by the other coordinators - they had all brought their scheduling materials and wanted to meet during lunch to swap speakers the way you might swap baseball cards."
A couple years after my time as TC, they started doing a once-a-year swap meet for speakers in our area. If your TC missed that "meet" your congo was screwed for the next 12 months.
Let's face it, the JWs definitely don't want speakers who are good critical thinkers and can convey that in a talk. But there are plenty of other aspects of public speaking that made the difference between boring and at least somewhat attention-keeping. Hence the "A", "B", "C" grades given by PaintedToeNail's hubby.
Here's where it gets really tough for a Talk Coordinator if he's from a KH with only 3 or 4 speakers who are approved to give talks in other Congos. That was the case for me for my short tenure as TC. We had one "A" speaker, one "B" speaker and the other 2 were definite "D"s as far as boredom goes. Good luck getting another TC to send a speaker if all you can offer is a "D" or maybe even no speaker at all since our body count was so low.
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