Jeevan George

Division Spotlight – Division A: “Elevate, Collaborate, Celebrate”

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Stretching from Reading to Plymouth, and embracing the vibrant cities of Bath, Bristol, Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Southampton, and many more, Division A represents the heart of the South-West, a region where coastlines meet creativity, and communities thrive on connection. Our clubs reflect this rich diversity: from historic university towns to bustling business centres, each brings its own flavour to the Toastmasters experience.

A Team United in Service
At the helm of Division A is Division Director Yogendra Paranjpe, supported by a passionate team of leaders dedicated to helping every club and member succeed:
– Area A1 Director: Yassin George
– Area A17 Director: Kevin Harrington
– Area A19 Director: John Christie, DTM
– Area A42 Director and Assistant Division Director: Rob Dewing
– Area A46 Director: Blake Rumfitt
– Area A62 Director: Kelvin Lam

Our shared goal is simple – to ensure every club feels connected, confident, and celebrated.

Our Focus This Year
Division A’s energy this year is directed toward five key areas:
1. Member Growth – Welcoming new voices and helping them discover confidence through communication.
2. New Club Development – Bringing Toastmasters to new communities and workplaces.
3. Club Excellence – Supporting clubs on their journey toward achieving their goals through mentoring, collaboration and recognition.
4. Member Engagement – Creating opportunities for learning, celebration and connection.
5. Culture & Communication – Strengthening inter-club relationships and promoting a culture of openness and support.

Celebrating Club Highlights
– Five Clubs, namely Hamwic Speakers, Shilling Speakers, Spinnaker Speakers, Salisbury Online Speakers and Northavon Speakers, had all of the 7 club officers trained in the first round of COT.

-Rob Dewing, Area Director of  A42, was the recipient of the District’s Toastmaster of the Year award for the year 2024-2025.

– Barbara Saph, DTM from Hallmark Speakers completed her second DTM and Kevin Harrington from Reading Speakers Club, Svitlana Samko from EMEA Verizon Online, and Abhijeet Rajadhyaksha achieved the Triple Crown.

– In the recently conducted Division Contests, Danny Wang from Reading Speakers Club and Shenaz Banu from Bristol Central Speakers bagged first places in Humorous Speech and Table Topics contests, respectively. They will go on to represent Division A at the District Conference on November 23rd.

Every story of growth, collaboration and courage contributes to Division A’s collective success.

Facing Challenges with Courage
Division A is not immune to the usual challenges of sustaining engagement and balancing hybrid formats — but our members approach these with resilience and creativity. Open communication, shared learning, and unwavering support keep the momentum going, one meeting and one speech at a time.

Looking Ahead
The journey ahead is filled with opportunities:
– Division A Open House Tours to celebrate our clubs’ creativity and community outreach.
– Learning Exchanges that spotlight innovative club practices.
– Recognition Events to celebrate members’ achievements and leadership milestones.

Each initiative helps strengthen the bonds that make Division A not just a collection of clubs, but a family of learners and leaders.

A Message to Our Members
To every member, officer and guest — you are the voice and heartbeat of Division A. Each role you take, each speech you give, and each bit of encouragement you offer adds to the ripple of growth across our Division.

Let’s continue to Elevate, Collaborate, and Celebrate together — because in Division A, we rise by lifting others.

Transforming the Guest Journey: How Tube Talk Toastmasters Uses the New Prospective Membership System

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Toastmasters International (TMI) launched the Prospective Member Management system in Club Central in November 2024. This new tool brings clarity, structure and support to one of the most important responsibilities of any club: welcoming guests and guiding them towards membership. At Tube Talk Toastmasters, the system has enhanced our process and strengthened the way we support prospective members.

A Warm and Consistent First Response

The Prospective Membership system stores guest details (name, contact number and email) but does not send messages. Clubs continue to communicate through their official email, ensuring personal engagement. To deliver a consistent and professional welcome, Tube Talk uses a personalised email template. This provides clear meeting information and enables any officer to respond confidently.

Guests who contact us directly by email are encouraged to register onto our Prospective Members list using the ‘Invite a Prospective Member’ option, which send them the official registration link to create their Guest login.
Registration is also available through a QR code displayed on our club meeting flyers and at our club meetings.

Empowering Visitors with the Guest Home Page

Once registered, guests receive access to a Guest Home Page containing information on benefits of joining, how clubs operate and an introduction to the Pathways programme. This supports guests in exploring Toastmasters at their own pace and prepares them for a positive first meeting experience.

” Joining Tube Talk Toastmaster using the online features was incredibly smooth and straightforward. The application process was easy and seamless from my registration to becoming a member.  It has been a brilliant experience”     – Daniella Tilbrook, Tube Talk

Clubs with direct TMI membership payments enabled, including Tube Talk, will see new members appear in the Membership Management section of Club Central as members in good standing once the guest completes the application and pays TMI. Clubs that process payments through the Treasurer will see applications appear in the Pending Payments section until payment is processed.

Note: The Prospective Membership system cannot currently accommodate guests who are existing or former TMI members. It does not accept existing membership numbers. Returning, transferring or reinstating members must follow the standard reinstatement or transfer process rather than the Prospective Members feature.


Stronger Teamwork and Full Visibility

One of the most valuable features of the new system is the shared visibility it offers. All club officers can view the Prospective Members list and track progress using the optional status fields. This allows the committee to work together seamlessly. If the Vice President Membership is unavailable, another officer can continue supporting the guest without delay

If a guest decides not to join, the club can simply select Prospective Member No Longer Interested, which removes them from the active list. Guest profiles that remain inactive for seven months will automatically be removed by TMI.

 The Benefits for Tube Talk

Prospective Membership system has brought several clear advantages to our guests and membership:

  • Better organisation. All guest details are stored in one structured accessible place.
  • A stronger and more consistent guest experience. Every guest receives clear communication and a straightforward pathway.
  • Improved teamwork. Any officer can support the guest journey at any time that is tracked on club central prospective membership
  • A streamlined online application process. Guests complete their membership application directly through their TMI Guest Profile.
  • Reduced administrative work for club officers. Automatic updates and fewer manual entries make membership processing clearer and more efficient.

 Support to Help Your Club Get Started

TMI has produced a selection of useful resources, including a Step-by-Step Tutorial, Webinar Recording, Frequently Asked Questions page  and a Prospective Member Conversion Guide.

At Tube Talk Toastmasters, the Prospective Membership system has enhanced the way we welcome guests. It provides clarity, consistency and confidence, while offering guests a structured and supportive experience from their very first enquiry to the moment they become members.

This system gives you and your club committee the opportunity to continue to transform the guest experience, make your roles more seamless and set every prospective member up for success. Try out the Prospective Membership tool in Club Central and continue to strengthen the way your guests are welcomed, their transition into membership and the way your officers work together.

 

A Night That Reminded Us Why We Show Up: Celebrating 30 Years of City of London Toastmaster

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It was a dark and cold November evening as I was sipping my hot cuppa and pondering what to write in this article. As a member of the City of London Toastmasters club, I was buzzing with joy and excitement because we had such a fantastic event the other day! It brought together so many people, it created so many opportunities, it surfaced so much love. As a club officer of another club, I was feeling desperate and tired. The other day, yet another person decided to leave the club for reasons outside of our control which meant we’d be doubling roles even more, we’d be torn between conflicting priorities, and motivation is going to fall down like autumn leaves. We are just trying to survive – and they had their 30th anniversary. How?

But just like a beam of sunshine will always find its way through November clouds, the City of London member’s confidence and optimism took over. So here I am, ready to tell you (and me-of-another-club) why we should celebrate our club anniversaries, what we could organise, and how to reach the next significant date.

Why we should celebrate

Regardless if it’s your 1st, 5th or 55th anniversary, it’s a chance to say thank you for getting to this point. Keeping a club alive takes a huge effort. And for the City of London Toastmasters club it was a consistent effort by every club officer and every club member – every day, every year: they showed up, they performed their duties, they spread the word, they delivered speeches and covered roles.

I wanted to pass the biggest thank you to those people who started the City of London club. We didn’t have the records preserved in the club, so I emailed Toastmasters International to enquire about the details of our chartering members. At first, they couldn’t provide the info, citing member’s privacy and security. But after a few days, the New Clubs Team apologised and sent me a scanned copy of our chartering documents, with personal identification details removed. It felt like Christmas arrived early, so happy I was when I saw those 20 names! I was able to find one of our founders, Pav Kumar-Chatterjee, on LinkedIn and reconnect. Needless to say, when he came to the meeting, this was one of the biggest highlights of the evening.

A big event like an anniversary is a chance to create opportunities for your club members. Many of us at Toastmasters are here to learn something or to give back. An anniversary is a perfect way to achieve so much. Our Event Lead Apoorva Agarwal signed up to organise this celebration as part of her High Performance Leadership project in Leadership Development path, Level 5. She led a team, we were meeting regularly and were discussing all logistics together. I am sure she learned quite a few things on how to resolve obstacles during a project and how to negotiate the best outcome. Then, I also needed a meaningful task for my Distinguished Toastmasters Project. So I created an anniversary memory book to celebrate our members. Finally, a celebration can be someone’s networking event for the respective project in Pathways Level 3, in addition to being a priceless place to reconnect and to meet someone new.

Finally, it’s a chance to promote your club – both internally among members (yes, to drag those non-attending ones to the meeting!) and externally among the wider public (yes, to invite more new people!). Post. Share. Tell. Bring your friend or a colleague. Reach out to those who left some time ago. Invite back those who couldn’t make a decision to join. Tell them why they should attend, what they will learn, tell them they are joining a club which is 1, 5, 55 years old and they will be a part of something bigger, not just a one-off event attendee.

Of course, there are many more Why’s. Do you need a reason to have a big cake? Or a reason to see that old friend who left the club due to work pressure? Or are you just looking for the means to brighten up your November? I am sure you can find a good reason in your club.

How we celebrated

Once the reasons are found and the date is in the calendar, it’s time to think about what should happen on the day. There is no better person to tell you how we celebrated at the City of London Toastmasters than our Event Lead Apoorva Agarwal. I asked her a few questions and she kindly agreed to give a short interview for us.

Apoorva, how did you prepare for the club’s 30th anniversary?

If it was 3 years ago, I would have started having panic attacks and pulling my hair out. However, now I’m a proud Toastmaster! I know the power of 3 and I have built my planning and implementing skills through my Pathways projects.

  • What do members want? – Come together and celebrate.
  • Who will be my team? – Ask around, start with committee members.
  • How do we make it memorable? – Recollect why members joined, and remind why the City of London club is a safe place.

Thanks to our dedicated committee, finding my dream team was the easiest part! Once I had the team, we chalked out the plan and divided tasks among us.

  • Olga, Club Treasurer – invite special guests, incl. past Presidents and committee members.
  • Henrique, VP PR – create excitement among club members with his incredible PR skills. 
  • Anisha, VPE – arrange a special combo of speeches with Icebreaker and Level 5 final speech. A remarkable demo of both the start of a Toastmaster’s journey and the Pathways finish!
  • Myself, IP Club President – book the pub for the event, arrange food and cake.
  • Ga Lok, Club President – guide and support all of us in every step on the way and truly hold the team together. 

Apoorva, that sounds fantastic and obviously a lot of energy went into it. What made the club meeting special?

Special milestones demand special arrangements! But it was those small efforts from each one of us that made the event super special. My three specials would be:

  • A special gift for each member attending – our special Olga put the club’s 30 years of memories into a special anniversary book.
  • A big cake with Toastmasters logo – a must have for a celebration like this.
  • A special feeling of belongingness in the club – my safe place.

And how about the social aspect?

40 people gathered in a small pub, all wanting to share their stories and listen to others’ journey, all wanting to learn something, all wanting to have fun over the cake and chips – what could be more social than this?

The celebration started with a speech from our founder Pav, who launched the club in 1995 with 2 other people (just enough to call it a club!). We had our District leaders who shared words of wisdom. We had six past Presidents and many more past Club Officers who shared the tales of their times. We had experienced members, new members (one joined the club that very same day!), and guests. We had an interesting Table Topics session, titled “Salesman’s Pitch”. 

Everything just fell in sync. The atmosphere was warm, nurturing and full of positive energy. Conversations with fellow Toastmasters were meaningful, and useful tips from mentors were shared. Everyone was soaked deep in Toastmasters theme. I was mesmerized the entire evening and just couldn’t be more proud to be part of something so wonderful.

Indeed was it wonderful! I cannot thank Apoorva enough for all the hard work behind the scenes and on the day. One of the best rewards for our work came in a form of testimonials from our attendees.

What our attendees said

Really appreciated the invite. Great evening. Good fun. It was a great event, very well attended and I enjoyed myself.🙏❤️ 

— Lynne Cantor-Gayer, Club Growth Director

It was epic. Loved being there. 

— Pearl Cadogan, Area C25 Director

Thank you to everyone who made the night so special — your energy, passion, and laughter made it truly memorable. 💕

— Henrique Funaro, City of London Toastmasters VP PR

I had a great time and it was great to see you and the rest of the gang – and thanks for the chips and cake! 

— Jonty Rooke, City of London Toastmasters Past President

Resources

Finally, if you are a more numbers-focused than emotions-driven Toastmaster, I’d like to leave a few concrete points on how we celebrated.

Team: 5 before the event; 8 on the day.

Attendees: ~60 in the meeting; ~40 in the pub.

Ticket price: £0 for the meeting; £10 for the pub to cover food expenses.

Budget: £440 from club budget to cover food, cake and printing.

Resources: Open House box from Club Growth Director (free). Canva subscription (free Pro plan trial).

Agenda: CoLT Agenda 2025 11 04 v3.pdf

Anniversary book: City of London Toastmasters 30th Anniversary v9.pdf

How to reach your next anniversary

Now that the cake is eaten and we are back to the routine, it’s time to plan what’s next. After all, I’m still wearing my other club’s hat and still wondering how my other club can reach the next year successfully. It seems there are as many ways as there are clubs, and if I try to answer all possible questions, it’d be better to send you to the Club Leadership Handbook instead. For now, I decided to focus on 3Ps: Purpose, Processes, and People.

Purpose

There can never be enough emphasis on the need to focus on the reasons why the club exists. This is the “why” that pulls people in. This is the “why” that makes people sacrifice their free time and work towards their own and club’s excellence. To define your vision, you can leverage Toastmasters club mission and listen to your members. At the City of London Toastmasters, we ask our members about their goals and reasons for joining, then do our best to support them as our members grow with us.

Processes

Once you understand your vision, you need to ensure all necessary processes are in place, are followed, and improved continuously. At the City of London Toastmasters, each club officer receives a role description and detailed handover and is encouraged to attend Club Officer Training. We have strong processes and help each other to follow them.

1. Promote

This sounds like obvious and overused advice, but we do tell people about the club regularly. Our website is modern and engaging; the information there is accurate. We post on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram but the main platform that brings guests is Eventbrite. Our members invite their friends, colleagues and acquaintances, too.

2. Welcome

We always welcome new members in our club. There is a guest sign-up form and the steps to join are clear. We have a well-defined onboarding process, incl. induction sessions to explain the Pathways and EasySpeak. At the end of each meeting, we present certificates for best speakers, level competition and special contributions. 

3. Vary 

We experiment with the meeting agenda and balance educational focus with fun. Our workshops, Speakathons, Open Houses, contests and social events are open to members and guests.

4. Remain 

We put a lot of effort into ensuring our meetings are high quality, there is a nicely looking agenda, the roles are filled in advance and guests are greeted at the door. We start and end the meetings on time to show respect for other commitments of our members.

5. Nurture

Growth matters but retention matters as well. We learn about the highs and lows of our members, encourage networking during the mid-meeting break and invite people to socialise in the pub. All this helps to befriend members and build a strong community.

6. Develop

Our committee members support each other and are always on the lookout for emerging leaders. We start thinking about succession from August and talking to members from January, so when the May election comes, there are little to no surprises. We also leverage opportunities beyond the club to develop our members through the roles like Area Director, Division Director, and other District stream leads.

7. Reside

We are blessed with a beautiful venue in a great location. Some guests attend just for our church’s magnificence! The club banner is always there and we have 2-3 people greeting guests as they come in.

People

All of the above is a soulless list of must-, should- and nice-to-have’s only, if you don’t keep your members in mind. Our club exists for its members, and it is our members – not the venue, handbooks, banners and social media posts – that make the City of London Toastmasters the best club we know. 

Bringing light to our November, we celebrated 30 years of the City of London Toastmasters, 30 years of overcoming fear of public speaking, building each other and growing together. Our members create our club daily – tirelessly, kindly and with joy. I’m grateful for these daily efforts and I’m sure our members appreciate it, too. Here is to another 30 glorious years!

— Olga Galaiko, City of London Toastmasters Club Treasurer

— Apoorva Agarwal, City of London Toastmasters Immediate Past Club President

Join our next event or just visit us when you can https://www.cityoflondontoastmasters.org/

Clubs, Coaches, and Community Driving District 91 Forward !

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I love November, maybe because it’s my birthday month and I always have a little celebration, or maybe because it’s the chance to bring out some of my colourful winter jumpers or maybe because this year it’s been Contest time. Others complain that November is ‘just cold’. I encourage you instead to see it as an opportunity to snuggle up with a nice hot chocolate, a cosy blanket and the chance to sit down with the latest District newsletter or Toastmasters magazine, there is so much to read and discover.

November has certainly been busy for all the club growth team. From visiting division contests, assigning mentors and coaches, running drop in sessions, organising demo meetings, emailing clubs with all their incentive wins and so much more.

Meet the team behind the scenes.

I kicked off the month visiting Division contests and having the honour of recognising clubs and members on their achievements. It was an absolute delight to be invited to both Division D with Division Director Smita Narayan and Division A with Division Director Yogendra Paranjpe. I’m very much looking forward to seeing all the winners at the District contest.

Division contests are just one way of showing guests the brilliance of toastmasters and I was delighted to see non toastmasters in the audience. Another way is to celebrate a club anniversary which City of London did earlier this month. Do read their 30th anniversary article below.

Moving from established clubs to newbies. Last month we introduced ‘Toastmasters at the BBC’ and it’s wonderful to hear their enthusiasm, what they have gained already in just a few meetings and the benefit of meeting people from their own organisations who they would never have met otherwise. They appreciate the support being offered by Division B director, Mary-Anne Ledger and Area Director Riccardo Ginevri. Casper Willcock, our Mentor lead, is delighted to have found great support for this new club in newly appointed Mentors, Ricardo Ginevri and Malcolm Braganza. We are sure they will achieve great things in no time.

Behind the scenes, our Demo Lead, Ramesh Halai is the master at organising meetings for a potential new club so they can see how a club meeting runs and the roles involved. We have several in the pipeline and with the help from Kate Jones and Lydia McDowall, we are working hard to turn these into Chartered clubs, so watch this space.

Since renewals, across our district, several clubs are working hard to regain stability, rebuild membership, and re-energise their meetings. Several of these clubs have been assigned Club Coaches to help them get back up to full strength.  Want to know more about what Club Coaches do, the benefits to both the Club and the Coach, then read the article here by Simon McKee.

Club growth is always a focus and we are continuing the ‘How to grow your club series’ of drop-in sessions. Emmanuel Karamagi has already presented Speechcraft.

Future drop-ins will include: Club growth strategies, Club Marketing and Running an Open House, so do watch out for further information on these sessions.

We have a wonderful mix of clubs including Corporate Clubs and Arnaud Sartre, our Corporate Lead is looking to see how we can strengthen our relationships with Corporate Sponsors to ensure these clubs continue to thrive. If you are in a Corporate Club, do you ever invite the Executive Sponsor along? Encourage them to attend even just part of a meeting to see what you do, how much you have progressed and the wonderful benefits a Toastmasters Club has to offer.

Several clubs this month would have been in receipt of vouchers in recognition of achieving various incentives. Congratulations all you winning Clubs, well done! It is no simple task to simply send out a voucher it is in fact quite a complicated process with lots of moving parts and the fab duo of Shubham Jain, Jeevan George John assisted by Janet Alkema have worked incredibly hard to simplify the process so you receive both an email, a voucher and details on how to claim, so please ensure you do. (Claim that is).

City of London 30th Anniversary 

Club Anniversaries so far this year

Congratulations to all the other clubs below who have celebrated a milestone Anniversary this Toastmasters year so far. Whether 1 year, 5, 10 or more it is great achievement.  Celebrate your success.  It’s a fabulous way of bringing people together.

Based on the Official Charter Date

Club Month Years
London Corinthians November 1990 35
City of London November 1995 30
Croydon Communicators September 2005 20
Windsor Speakers August 2005 20
Kings Cross Speakers September 2015 10
Paddington Toastmasters August 2015 10
Liberty Speakers October 2020 5
Wye Knot Speakers July 2020 5
Sky Osterley Toastmasters November 2024 1

Top Tip of the month

Want to grow your membership – celebrate a club anniversary.  A great opportunity to reconnect with less regular members and past members. To bring in guests, past and new and showcase what you do.

That just leaves me to say, wrap up warm, take care in the ice and keep telling all your friends about Toastmasters!

 

Helping Every Voice Be Heard, Every Person Feel Seen, and Every Connection Inspire Growth !

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If you’ve expressed interest in mentoring this year, you’ve probably heard from Edeje Onwude.

Since joining Chiltern Speakers in April 2024, Edeje has hit the ground running  VPM for her club, lead for our webinar series last year, and PR Director for the District Conference in June.
Her latest challenge? Rolling out our first district-wide Mentor Buddy Programme. With 70 mentee applications and 45 matches made, she’s now looking for more mentors to support the 25 still waiting.

Meet Edeje Onwude

Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m a global communications professional with experience across EMEA markets, including roles at Coca-Cola and Reckitt. For the past 15 years, I’ve worked at the intersection of brand and culture; connecting business goals with employee, stakeholder and customer needs through stories that inspire action. Whether it’s aligning internal narratives, building trust through change or translating purpose into everyday behaviours, I make sure words and actions point in the same direction. Outside of work, I sit on the board of the International Association of Business
Communicators (IABC) UK & Ireland chapter, where I lead our mentoring programme and student engagement efforts. I also volunteer with organisations that matter to me, including Cancer Research UK, UN Women UK and the Diana Award. In my spare time, I read, write, enjoy deep conversations – and raise two brilliant children who challenge and inspire me daily.

What have you been doing for D91?


Since joining Toastmasters in April 2024, I’ve taken on several leadership roles: Vice President Membership at Chiltern Speakers, District 91 Webinar Manager, and PR Director for the District Conference in June. Most recently, I’ve been coordinating the new Mentor Buddy Programme; a peer- to-peer initiative that connects members who want to grow with more experienced Toastmasters who are willing to support them. We received 70 mentee applications; a clear sign of interest and ambition across the district and have so far matched 45. The remaining 25 are on a waiting list while we continue to look for more mentors.  Sign up to be a mentor

What have you most enjoyed?
Seeing the enthusiasm from both sides; those keen to learn and those happy to give their time, has been the highlight. It’s a good reminder of what Toastmasters is about. And it’s shown me how even a short, focused conversation can have a lasting impact when someone feels listened to and supported.

What has been most challenging?

Meeting the level of demand. Many members are already balancing club roles and other commitments, so it hasn’t been easy to find enough mentors. That’s why we’re still actively looking for more. Even offering a handful of sessions can make a meaningful difference.

How has this experience helped you personally or professionally?

For the past 18 months I have been navigating a career pivot, this work has kept me rooted in purpose. It’s given me a chance to apply core skills; stakeholder engagement, communication, coordination, while also developing new ones. More
broadly, it’s reinforced the power of peer support and the importance of having a clear goal, whatever stage you’re at.

Would you like to get involved?
If you’re a member with a bit of experience and a willingness to support someone else’s development, we’d love your help. We currently have 25 mentees waiting to be matched. You don’t need to commit a huge amount of time – just bring a bit of curiosity, openness, and a few hours to help someone take their next step.

To express interest, fill in this short form, or feel free to come and have a chat with me at the District Contest Finals on 23 November.