Sunday, March 16, 2003

Toastmasters shows inmates that life is not a dead end  

Stories By BECKY SHAY
Photos by JAMES WOODCOCK
Of The Gazette Staff

Watne is giving the speech to fellow Toastmasters. The women are trendsetters among the national organization that promotes public speaking as a route to learning leadership and contributing to the betterment of humankind. They are a rare breed in that they are the only Toastmasters group based in a Montana prison.

Yes, prison.

Kurt Stickney, a Toastmasters area governor who helps coordinate six local Toastmasters clubs, says the Montana Women's Prison group is, to local members' knowledge, the only Toastmasters club in a women's prison nationwide.

Called the "Felonious Forum," a group of about 20 women meet each Monday night in the prison's library. During the meetings the women's presentations range from sometimes tear-jerking "ice breakers" - in which the speaker tells her personal story - to the quick standup of the evening's "joke master," which recently included an off-color quip that had the women doubled over in laughter. And then there is a round of impromptu speaking based on table topics written by that evening's "topic master."

Tana Marie Hagen attended a meeting not long after the club was formed last October.

"The original president is my roommate, and she conned me into going," Hagen says. "I haven't not come since."

Hagen will give her fourth and final speech on March 31.

"That's my last meeting here," she says grinning.

She is scheduled for release in early April and plans to return to her home in Choteau. The organization presented her with a six-month voucher for dues at the Great Falls Toastmasters club she chooses to attend. For Hagen, there is little doubt the voucher will be put to good use.

"This brought out a side of me I didn't really know existed," she says. "I didn't realize I was as good as I am. I'm a natural at it."

Hagen says Toastmasters has helped prepare her for what she calls "my departure."

"This is something that is getting me ready to go out in the community," she says.

Kurt Stickney leads fellow Toastmaster club volunteers, from left, Jim Mullowney, Mary Stickney and Josie Skibstad through the halls of the Montana Women’s Prison. The group of volunteers meet in the prison every Monday evening to help conduct the inmates Toastmaster’s meetings

The women are quick to remember they are inmates, but if it weren't for their prison-issue clothing and the big drink cups that read "Doing time at MWP" - the "time" is depicted by a clock with a cartoon face - the meeting would seem like any other social gathering. The members gather around the drink cart before the meeting, share laughs during and hugs afterward.

A comfort level is achieved because the women can be themselves during Toastmasters meetings, members say. They are supportive of each other and not judgmental, Hagen says.

"In prison, there is a lot of drama that goes on," Hagen says. "Everybody seems to be able to check their drama at the door."

Jeanette "J.J." Weixelbaum agrees.

"Everyone here is nice, open and respectful," she says.

As the meeting's official timer, Weixelbaum stands at the back of the room with a stop watch and runs a timer system that looks like a traffic light. The green, yellow and red bulbs let speakers know how they are progressing on timed speeches.

Glenda Brady said she is also looking forward to her upcoming release. She says lessons learned in Toastmasters will help her when interviewing for jobs outside of prison. She says she is also enjoying learning leadership skills including how to conduct a meeting. As current sergeant at arms, she set up the meeting room earlier this month and serves as a mentor for new members.

"I have more self-esteem," Brady says. "When you come to prison, you don't have much esteem. You feel degraded."

Marie Hauck is one of the club's newest members. She began her first speech, called an "ice breaker," talking about coming of age in a large family in Kalispell, getting in trouble, becoming a model and then losing that job because of drug abuse. She says she basically raised herself on the streets and met a lot of good people.

"I know I'm not in a good place, but I've come a long ways," she says.

She shifts into talking about her fears and new-found knowledge since being diagnosed with hepatitis C.

JAMES WOODCOCK/Gazette staff
Kurt Stickney, of Toastmasters, watches inmate Kim Watne speak during a Toastmasters meeting at the prison.

Marie Hauck, left, receives support from fellow inmates after she finished an emotional “ice breaker” speech describing her recent diagnosis of hepatitis C.

Toastmaster volunteers from outside the prison are impressed with Hauck's skills. She doesn't have notes, is talking loud enough to be heard and has bravely stepped away from the wooden lectern with the Toastermasters International symbol on the front.

Then she starts to doubt herself.

"I can't do this," she says.

Her audience disagrees and replies come from across the room: "Yes you can. You're doing great."

Hauck says doctors estimate she will need a liver transplant in about two years.

"I'm 26 years old, I'm dying, my life is coming to an end," says the mother of two.

      Although Hauck says she feels hopeless at times, she also wants to educate people about hepatitis C. Do the women know that they are highly susceptible in prison? Sharing makeup and razors is dangerous, she tells them. She's on powerful medications which doctors’ hope could put Hauck into remission.

After about five minutes of speaking, Hauck gives her conclusion: "It scares me, it makes me mad, it makes me want to give up."

Her fellow Toastmasters give her a standing ovation.

Felonious Forum earns self-esteem

The women who belong to the Felonious Forum are a little different than their counterparts at the Montana Women's Prison.

"They walk down the halls with their heads up," said Josie Skibstad, a former Toastmasters International Billings-area governor and volunteer with the prison club.

The self-esteem the women are earning isn't rare for Toastmasters members. The international organization, with more than 600 members in 39 clubs in the region, aims to help people "achieve their full potential and realize their dreams," according to Toastmasters' literature.

For women in prison, members said, it means an hour or two each week to relax and be themselves. It's also uplifting.

"They fix their hair for the meetings," Skibstad said.

Volunteers from the "outside" had their own "anxiety and apprehension about this venture," according to an information article they wrote about starting the club. They had to undergo background checks and locked prison doors to start the club last October. The club has blossomed from a group of fearful, stern-faced inmates who tentatively attended the first meeting, to a group of about 20 regular members who grin, giggle, hug and heckle their way through prepared and impromptu speeches each week.

"You all need to just reach up and pat yourselves on the backs," Skibstad said at the end of a recent meeting.

The women have elected club officers and take turns volunteering for the various positions required to conduct each meeting. They have become a close-knit group - from experienced Toastmasters who volunteer to mentor new members to those who bring messages from members locked down in maximum security.

Humor is a key ingredient in the meetings. When Darlene Damm finished her impromptu speech with a takeoff on former President George Bush's "Read my lips, no new taxes" line, one Toastmaster responded, "No new felonies."

When grammarian Heather Harris, who had the task of tallying speakers' verbal slips, noted that no one said "ah" the group quickly responded, "Ahhh."

"That's what I like to see, a little cooperation," she said.

Harris also chided speaker Kim Watne for the eight "ands" in her speech.

"Your speech was called 'and,' right?" The line drew laughter, but also a catty hiss for Harris.

The members generally support each other. When Tracy Harris evaluated Marie Hauck's "ice breaker" speech, she pointed out that Hauck did "exceptionally well" controlling her emotions and keeping her audience's attention. She also offered Hauck a little advice from a veteran speaker: "Relax and breathe, honey!"

There are eight Toastmasters clubs in Billings, including the Felonious Forum. More information about the clubs is available at Billings area Toastmasters' Web site, www.batweb.org.