We are making incredible strides in our District’s educational achievements, and I couldn’t be prouder of each and every one of you. Your dedication to personal and professional growth is truly inspiring.
So far, we have accomplished:
✔ 320 Level 1 completions – a strong start for so many members.
✔ 193 Level 2 completions – building confidence and momentum.
✔ 134 Level 3 completions – sharpening advanced speaking skills.
✔ 104 Level 4 completions – demonstrating leadership in action.
✔ 57 Level 5 completions – true mastery in communication and leadership.
✔ 29 Pathways Mentoring completions – fostering a culture of support.
✔ 5 Distinguished Toastmasters (DTMs) – the pinnacle of achievement.
Our Distinguished Toastmasters include:
Pedro Casillas, DTM
Alistair J. Driscoll, DTM
David Lynch, DTM
Tim D. Patmore, DTM
Christine H. Wallach, DTM
Many congratulations.
Your Progress Matters – Keep Moving Forward! I know that the education programme can feel challenging at times, but every project you complete is a step towards becoming a more confident communicator and leader. If you have completed a level but haven’t submitted it yet, now is the time. Your achievements not only help you grow but also contributes to your club’s and our District’s success.
If you are feeling stuck or unsure about your next steps, reach out to your mentor, your club officers, or fellow members. There is always support available, and every challenge you overcome brings you closer to your goals. Let’s celebrate every milestone, big or small, and inspire each other to keep progressing.
Be Part of the Excitement: Attend Division Contests We still have five more Division Contests ahead, where the best speakers in our District will compete for a spot at the District 91 Conference. All Division Contest dates can be found in the District 91 Calendar: https://d91toastmasters.org.uk/members/news/calendar/, so be sure to check it and come along to support and be inspired!
District Conference : 2nd – 4th May, Radisson Red, Heathrow London The District Conference is the highlight of the year, taking place from 2-4 May. This is your opportunity to connect with fellow Toastmasters, learn from outstanding speakers, and celebrate excellence in public speaking and leadership. The District Council Meeting will be taking place during the Conference on Saturday 3rd May. Book your tickets asap so you do not miss out: https://conference.d91toastmasters.org.uk
Let’s keep pushing forward, setting goals, and achieving milestones together.
See you at the contests and conference!
Yours in service,
Debbie Williams
Program Quality Director, 2024-2025
District 91
What a busy but inspiring time it has been lately!
Since my last newsletter article, I have had the pleasure in attending an Area contest down in Exeter, the Division B and L contest and spent the day with my wonderful District Leadership Team when we spent a day planning for the last quarter of the program year.
Contest season really does encourage us to raise our game and literally showcases some of the best speaking talent that District 91 has to offer. It has never been something that I have been able to take part in for a variety of different reasons, but it is true what they say – nothing pushes us quite like the pressure of a contest.
We should never underestimate however, how much effort and indeed how many people it takes to make a contest a successful one. Whether you have already had your divisional contest or you still have it to look forward to, I want to thank each and every one of you that has been involved. I don’t just mean the official roles such as judge, timer and ballot keeper – a lot more than that is needed to make the events run, so thank you, thank you, thank you.
I recently wrote to the members of the District Council, including Club Presidents and Vice Presidents of Education informing them that the District Leadership Committee have nominated candidates for almost all of our elected leadership positions for program year 2025/26. A number of these positions are contested which is testament to our current leaders who have inspired people to step up to these important positions. It is now incumbent upon all members of the council to do their duty in making a decision as to who should be elected to office.
The District Leadership Committee did not nominate candidates for the position of Division D and Division H Director. It is therefore possible for qualified candidates to stand from the floor. Should anyone be interested in taking on these key roles or you have any questions, please do get into contact with myself.
If you live in the London area or have travelled there recently you may well have come across our wonderful tube campaign which was running for a couple of weeks at a large number of stations. I cannot express in words the level of pride I have felt in relation to this campaign. I want to pay tribute to Seema Menon our Club Growth Director and all the members of her team that made this possible. Thanks are also due to Diane Richardson for the design work, Janet Alkema and Rob Dewing for the impressive back end work to support the operational delivery of the campaign.
When I was elected as your District Director I made a promise that this year would all be about TEAM, and we that we would be a District Leadership Team that would role model our values and be a team that you could be proud of. The tube campaign is a perfect example of what we have achieved together – the reaction from our members in the exciting and much loved selfie competition says it all really!
Talking about pride – do you have your conference tickets yet? Our wonderful conference director Bolu and his team is working hard to make our conference an event to remember. Please don’t miss an exciting opportunity to laugh, learn and have fun – where you really will see District 91 be its best.
What if improving your communication skills could change your career—or even your life? That’s exactly what we showcased with our Toastmasters awareness campaign on the London Underground!
A Campaign that created a buzz (10 Mar – 23 Mar)
This initiative started as a challenge—to explore new and innovative marketing ideas. From 10th March to 23rd March, our TFL Tube Campaign showcased Toastmasters across Bank, Brixton, Chiswick Park, Edgware Road, Holborn, Turnpike Lane, Waterloo, and Westminster stations. With my background in media, I had always been curious about advertising on the Tube but wasn’t sure if it was feasible within our limited budget. But here’s the thing about Toastmasters—we make things happen!
Our Goals:
1️⃣ Raise awareness about Toastmasters—a global organisation with 270,000 members worldwide and 175 clubs in the South of the UK.
2️⃣ Encourage more people to join and experience the life-changing skills Toastmasters offers—whether for acing a job interview, becoming a stronger leader, or speaking confidently.
3️⃣ Make our members proud of their journey through a Tube Selfie Contest!
How It All Came Together
To reach a larger audience and spread the word about Toastmasters, we created a small action team:
🔹 Hephzibah Emereole & Ramesh Halai from the club growth team led the groundwork, researching options and engaging vendors. I finalised station locations and negotiated a taster campaign with Dami from Global, securing first-time client discounts and ad extensions beyond 23March. It’s still there on the Bank Station if you’d like to take some more selfies.
🔹 Steve Vear believed in the vision and approved the budget, making this dream a reality!
🔹 Janet Alkema, Rob Dewing & I collaborated on the engaging webpage DitchTheNerves.com.
🔹 Diane Richardson designed eye-catching visuals.
🔹 Allen Paul crafted contest messaging and drove engagement on social media.
The Results: A Resounding Success!
📸 Districts across the world noticed the campaign and reached out to collaborate with us on the #DitchTheNerves initiative.
🌟 Our district members enthusiastically participated, taking Tube selfies and spreading the word.
📈 Sign-ups from non-Toastmaster members surged, and we kept them engaged with five emailers, sharing videos and interview tips collated by Janet.
What’s Next? DitchTheNerves-Live Webinar on 16th April & 14th May!
Our team is now working on DitchTheNerves-Live, a webinar designed for non-Toastmasters who engaged with us through the Tube Campaign and the Jobs Fair campaigns.
🎤 Hosted by experienced Toastmasters, HR professionals, and corporate club members, this panel discussion will:
✅ Share personal growth stories.
✅ Discuss interview do’s and don’ts.
✅ Provide strong takeaways to inspire attendees to join Toastmasters for their communication and leadership journey.
Look out for the social media campaign reaching out to wider audiences beyond London. Details will follow soon.
This campaign is a testament to what we can achieve together—helping more people find their voice and unlock their potential.
Announcements & Incentives
👥 Bring a Friend Initiative – Introduce four guests to your club and earn an exciting incentive from the district when they join the club!
🏆 Early Bird Renewal Winners Announced! Congratulations to our winners who renewed their membership early! Your commitment to growth is inspiring.
We asked Division Director Sushil Shah the following questions:
1. Can you share a bit about your background and what led you to join Toastmasters?
2. Can you share a surprising or funny moment from your Toastmasters journey?
3. If you could describe your leadership style as a movie genre, what would it be and why?
4. What’s the most unusual or creative idea a team member has brought to the table under your leadership?
5. What’s one thing you always do before a Toastmasters meeting that might surprise us?
6. If you weren’t spending time leading the Division, what hobby or activity would we find you absorbed in?
7. If you were stranded on a desert island and could listen to only three speeches from your Toastmasters experience, which would they be and why?
8. If you could have any superpower to help you in your role as Division Director, what would it be?
9. What are some exciting plans or events on the horizon for the Division?
10. and finally if anyone was considering being a future division director, what would you say to them
Watch the interview below:
Edited transcript
1. Can you share a bit about you’re your background and what led you to join toastmasters. Hi I’m Sushil I am currently the Division 8 Director, I’ve been Toastmaster for about 8 years and my background comes from being an IT professional. In 2016, I was at the point that I was looking to change direction and progress my career. What it led to was somebody asking me “do you know how to do an interview?”, so I said “I know how to do an interview but when I’ve done them they give me a lot of feedback”. The enquirer asked me if I had heard of something called a Toastmasters. So I did some research, and I happened to stumble upon a club that was on my commute to work, but it was neither near my home not near work but I fell so much in love with that club. From the first day, I was absorbed and observed to see what it was that I was looking for, the next year I took committee role VP education, then president, then area director and the story continues till today. I am still enjoying toastmasters and being division director, it has been life changing for me, literally. I got a new job in a new company, I worked for a couple of big named technological companies and I’m currently working as a senior leadership in one of the largest companies in the world. That’s the journey for me in Toastmaster.
2. If you were stranded on a desert island and could listen to only three of your speeches, which would they be and why? I don’t like listening to my voice, therefore the three speeches I would listen to again are:
One from past president and our current global director, she came to Toastmasters meeting wearing a white sari on the occasion of Orna South Indian festival and she talked so passionately about her mother and she showed a photo frame. That visual that really stuck in my mind.
The second one was delivered by another Toastmaster, and she talked about how she was able to being a Samarian and a person who was suffering from suicidal thoughts as she booked back into her life that was so inspiring and that she took out the inside outside on the substance element of the story.
And, the most memorable speech in my life, was a speech about Bob Marley’s speech and her dad giving her advice to don’t worry be happy. I could listen to that speech endlessly on a loop. There was so much drama in her speech, so much visual speech, and the way she brought across the speech to the audience that was amazing.
These 3 speeches on a desert island inspire me to do another speech in the next meeting of Toastmasters.
3. If you weren’t spending time leading this division, what’s hobbies and activity will we find you absorbed in? Two hobbies that comes to mind is cricket and travelling. Cricket got me into Toastmasters, I still play cricket on weekends even during winter and summer. One of the ambitions that I have is to travel from London to India in a car someday before I complete my toastmaster journey. I will want to do a speech on that journey.
4. What’s one thing that you always do before toastmasters meeting that might surprise us? I always try to go on easy speak, look at the agenda, and see who’s coming. If I see the agenda is not complete, I can enquire to the Toastmaster of the evening. Why it’s surprising? Because a couple of times when I’ve turned up at the meeting I didn’t know that the meeting was only table topics or didn’t know who the guest were, therefore by looking at the agenda I can find out and I can push to the Toastmaster to complete the agenda. I would recommend others to do that, and maybe volunteer yourself for roles to finalise the agenda, or encourage the Toastmaster to finalise the agenda as that is their role as Toastmaster.
5. If you could describe your leadership style what would it be and why? My leadership style is unsurprisingly: Wolf of Wall Street. If you look behind the scenes, he is actually supported by trusted friends, his work is taken forward by his friends, and he relies on them to take it forward and to give him the feedback to drive it forward. My leadership style is always to rely on people I can trust and they can rely on me back and so trust and collaboration is important to my leadership style.
6. If anyone was thinking about being a future division director what would you say? Just do it. What I did to understand when I took this position, is identify my learning path that I wanted to do, which was leadership journey. One advice, as I work in a full time job and I wanted to do justice to this role, was to rely on the team members like the area directors and club presidents that you work with. The biggest skill that you gain is time management and understanding the importance of collaboration and working with the people that you trust and they trust and depend on you, that’s the biggest leadership growth. So if you are thinking to be division director, go for it, you won’t regret it.
What inspired you to take on the role of District Public Relations Manager?
Back in the day, I was Public Relations Manager in District 20. So, when I moved to the UK and joined Cardiff Toastmasters, my mentor Jean knew my love for creativity and communication. She encouraged me to step into this role. Honestly, it felt like the perfect blend: using my creativity, working with a fantastic team, and having a bit of fun along the way. What more could I ask for?
What are some common mistakes clubs make in PR, and how can they fix them?
The classic one? Thinking PR is just the VP PR’s job. Nope! PR is everyone’s responsibility – yes, even you reading this. Every time you talk about Toastmasters to your friends, share a photo, or post something on social media, you’re doing PR. So next time you finish a meeting buzzing with inspiration, don’t just keep it to yourself – tell someone!
How can clubs improve their public image and attract more guests?
Word of mouth still reigns supreme. You don’t need a viral TikTok dance to get guests through the door (although… never say never). Just share how Toastmasters helped you – at work, in interviews, or even at weddings when you had to give that speech. Combine that with a strong presence on social media, and boom – your club starts to shine.
What role does social media play in your PR efforts, and which platforms have been most effective?
Instagram is my personal favourite – it’s where my creative side thrives. But for District 91, Facebook is still king. It’s where most of our members hang out. That said, I’m keeping my eye on Instagram – it’s definitely where the future’s heading. So don’t be surprised if you see more reels, stories, and Canva magic popping up soon!
If you could launch any PR campaign for Toastmasters, what would it be?
Funny you should ask – I’m working with our Club Growth Director Seema on something exciting! I previously ran a campaign called “Advance Your Career,” and we’re looking to bring it back. It aligns perfectly with our current “Ditch the Nerves” campaign, especially for those job-hunting or preparing for interviews. It’s PR with purpose – helping people grow professionally while discovering the benefits of Toastmasters.
What’s the most unexpected thing you’ve learned in this role?
You’d think it’s design or social media algorithms… but no, it’s people management. You get questions, feedback, complaints, sometimes all in the same email! – and it teaches you patience, empathy, and how to keep calm. It’s been incredibly rewarding.
If you could have dinner with any famous PR figure, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Honestly? I don’t know any famous PR figures! I work in tech – I’m all about software and solutions. But I’ve learned PR through doing: from being a club President to handling marketing for events. I’ve taken inspiration from fellow Toastmasters, creatives, and anyone who’s made an impact. So dinner? I’d love to sit down with someone who’s making waves – not necessarily famous, but definitely inspiring. Plus, I promise to bring dessert.
