Pedro Casillas (District Director)

September has been a month of Meetings and Deadlines across D91. As all members will know, during July and August, Area Directors host a series of Club Officer Training (COT) sessions for all club committee members designed to help clubs run their clubs to the best of their abilities to deliver excellent service of all are members. We have found that the clubs with most club officers trained tend to work better as a team and consequently are able to best support their members. Over the past two years we have been offering Club Officer Pins to those clubs who send 7 x 7 club officers to COT. I am delighted to list the clubs who have achieved this: Berkeley Square Speakers, Canary Wharf Communicators Club, Croydon Communicators Club, db Toastmasters – Canary Wharf, Deutsche Bank Toastmasters London, Excalibur Speakers, Experience French, Paddington Toastmasters, Stand & Deliver and The Toast Rack.

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September is the membership renewal and Smedley Award season for Toastmasters clubs. In this short video, Florian Bay, our Club Growth Director (CGD), shares his top tips on membership growth and retention.

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Two and a half years ago, I attended my very first Toastmasters meeting. At the time I had no idea what a profound effect Toastmasters would have upon my life and career! Now, as I look back over my time as a member it’s easy to see the amazing impact it has had.

Over a decade ago I was ‘let go’ from an account director role. I hadn’t contributed enough during business meetings because I was too shy to speak up! Ironically, I later ended up working as a professional singer, but I knew I had a bone to pick with public speaking and realised that it was an issue I would eventually have to tackle.

As such, I’d been meaning to attend a Toastmasters meeting, literally, for more than two years before my first visit. One day, I found myself as a visitor at what would become my club, Grosvenor Square Speakers in Central London. I attended 3 consecutive meetings as a guest, and after the 3rd meeting, I joined, knowing I could resist no longer!

If I had to sum up the ways in which Toastmasters has had the biggest impact upon me, I’d say it was in the areas of leadership, community and openness. 

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Every club welcoming 5 new members during the months of August and September will automatically receive the Smedley Award for membership growth! Don’t miss out an opportunity to add another ribbon to your club banners. A club banners full of ribbons is always an amazing talking points for guests and members alike.

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