Success & Service: Modestan wins Toastmasters district competition

Becky Quinlan of Modesto took first place in the evaluation contest portion of the Toastmasters District 39 annual meeting Nov. 7 in Anderson, near Redding.

She prevailed among contestants who listened to a model speech and then had five minutes to prepare their own speech analyzing it, providing praise and constructive feedback.

Quinlan graduated from Downey High in 1991 before going on to earn her undergraduate degree from UCLA in 1995 and a graduate degree in journalism from UC Berkeley in 1997. She works for a public relations firm in San Francisco that specializes in technology clients.

Toastmasters District 39 includes Northern California and Northern Nevada.

Downey High group raises $600-plus for veteran causes

Fifteen people – 12 Downey High School students, an instructor and two elementary school students – and a dog combined to complete 218 laps around the school’s track Wednesday, raising more than $600 for two therapeutic veterans programs in the process. The number of laps equates to 54.5 miles, and one student continued to run after the event ended, handing over a check for $25 from his pledges.

Modestan serving on Navy destroyer

Justin Rodriguez of Modesto is a Navy gas turbine systems technician (mechanical) fireman serving aboard the USS Fitzgerald, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer. The ship is on patrol with the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group in the 7th Fleet in the Indo-Asia-Pacific operations area.

Tennis group nets donation for fire victims

The Murphys Area Community Tennis Association donated $1,411 generated from its recent mixed doubles tournament to the Calaveras County Community Foundation’s disaster relief fund. The money is earmarked to benefit victims of the Butte fire.

This story was originally published November 14, 2015 at 2:25 PM with the headline "Success & Service: Modestan wins Toastmasters district competition."