Club Growth Newsletter – June 2023

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Let’s Finish the Year with Determination

In Toastmasters, we place great emphasis on finishing the year with determination and striving for success until the very end. One example that resonates with this concept is the story of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps. Throughout his career, Phelps consistently demonstrated the power of finishing strong and overcoming challenges.

Phelps faced numerous obstacles and setbacks on his path to becoming the most decorated Olympian of all time. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, during the 100m butterfly event, his goggles filled with water impairing his vision. Despite the disadvantage, Phelps didn’t give up. He continued to swim with unwavering determination and managed to win the gold medal by a mere one-hundredth of a second.

Phelps’ story showcases the importance of resilience, perseverance, and never giving up, even in the face of adversity. It serves as a powerful reminder that finishing strong is not only about achieving personal success but also about inspiring others and leaving a lasting impact.

In Toastmasters, we can draw inspiration from Phelps’ story by channelling our energy and efforts into finishing the year with the same level of determination and perseverance. Let’s support our fellow members, celebrate their achievements, and assist them in reaching their goals. Doing so contributes to a thriving Toastmasters community where everyone can strive for excellence and finish strong together.

Let’s celebrate our successes and finish strong together.

Let’s Celebrate New Clubs

I am thrilled to welcome two new clubs to District 91.  These clubs provide a platform for employees to sharpen their public speaking skills, refine their leadership abilities, and foster a culture of collaboration and growth. Through the Toastmasters program, members of these clubs will embark on a transformative journey, gaining the confidence and expertise needed to excel in their careers and make meaningful contributions to their teams.  Please welcome Natwest Wealth CDIO Toastmasters and Dr Martens Toastmasters Clubs.

NatWest Wealth CDIO Toastmasters

“We are proud and excited to join Toastmasters International and build our communication and leadership skills within our organization. We’re very grateful for all of the support from District 91; we’ve had 2 amazing sessions so far with resoundingly positive feedback and we’re building confidence with each step we take on this journey.”

Dr Martens Toastmasters

‘We are all really excited to get the new DM’s Toastmasters club off the ground and create a safe, supportive and fun environment to watch club members build confidence in public speaking’

Net Growth 10

The first 20 clubs who, by the 15th of June 2023, achieve a net growth of ten new members from their 1st July 2022 base number will win £100 to boost their club’s funds.  The winners so far are:

Bank Street Toastmasters

Beckenham Communicators

Bloomberg London Toastmasters

Bristol Central Speakers

City of London Toastmasters Club

Early Bird Speakers

Farnham Speakers Club

Holborn Speakers

Kent Speakers Club

London Cardinals

London Public Speakers

PA Consulting London

Winchmore Hill Speakers

Beat the Clock

Clubs adding five new, dual or reinstated members with a join date between May 1 and June 30 receive a Beat the Clock ribbon to display on the club’s banner.

District 91 will offer an additional monetary incentive for unique new and reinstated members only of £30.  The winners so far are:

Bloomberg London Toastmasters

City of London Toastmasters

Kent Speakers

Central London Toastmasters

London Public Speakers

Bank Street Toastmasters

Phoenix Award

This is an award to any club that started the year with 12 or fewer members and throughout the same toastmaster year built their membership to charter strength (20 members) by 30th April 2023.  We extended the deadline to 15th June.  I am happy to announce that the winners to date are:

Bank Street Toastmasters and Winchmore Hill Speakers.

Let’s Celebrate New Members!

We are thrilled to celebrate the remarkable addition of 2,103 new members to District 91. This remarkable achievement is a testament to the dedication and enthusiasm of individuals committed to personal growth and effective communication and marks an incredible milestone for District 91. With each new member, our Toastmasters family expands, bringing a diverse range of perspectives, skills, and aspirations to our community. Let’s celebrate the incredible accomplishments of our 2,103 new members, who have embarked on an exciting journey of self-improvement and shared success. Here’s to their boldness, ambition, and the bright future they bring to District 91.

Finally, take a moment to reflect on what you and your club have achieved this year so far, whether it’s a successful speech contest, a new member achieving their goals, or a great meeting. Celebrate your successes and use them as motivation to keep going.

Let’s use the next three weeks to complete our goals and finish strong.  I look forward to seeing you at the finish line. Let’s keep going and let’s win together!

Thank you all for your efforts and many congratulations.

Debbie Williams
Club Growth Director, 2022-2023

Select Distinguished and Signing Off For Now

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Select Distinguished

A thank you to you all for your hard work and dedication during the past 11 months.

This has meant that the district has already 77 Distinguished clubs, thus becoming a Select Distinguished district for club quality this year. With a month still to go we may become Presidents Distinguished or even Smedley Distinguished if another 16 clubs reach distinguished status or higher by the end of June. Presently, we are the district ranked first in Europe for the percentage of distinguished clubs and 6th in the world. If your club has still to become a distinguished and are wondering if it is worth it, I can relate my own personal experience as an Immediate Past President. I still remember the delight I had when opening a envelope from TMI with a Distinguished ribbon recognition which is now sewn onto the club banner as memento of the year.

This reflects well on the district 91 members who have successfully been doing speeches and then recording the speech completion in BaseCamp and their club officers completing the record keeping by recording their members’ progress in both BaseCamp and Club Central.

To the end of May as a district 721 members have achieved 1,121 Pathway Level awards. Eighty-four members have won a Triple crown so far this year again a testament to individual members’ hard work.

The Pathways team lead by Massimo Guadagnino are still looking to help clubs become distinguished this year by working with club officers to check data and if necessary, help them to “cleanse” data in preparation for the new year starting 1st July, helping clubs to start the new year in the best shape they can be.

The Year to Come

Since the District Council meeting during the District Conference, I have had the opportunity of speaking with Steve Vear who will be next year’s Program Quality Director. His plans for the year ahead are very exciting. These include continuing some of this year’s initiatives and others are brand new and very exciting! I look forward to him announcing them shortly and I know Steve is keen to share his ideas with you and to continue to serve clubs helping them with their continuous improvement as members take on new personal development challenges, such as doing their first HPL (High Performance Leadership) project or working on a new Pathway level and tackling projects they had not previously done similar to me when I gave my first ever 20 minute prepared speech as part of my third level 5 Pathway.

Whatever your aims are for the year ahead I hope that you exceed them and please remember happiness brings success; not the other way round!

Signing Off

Being the District 91 Program Quality Director this year, has been a great learning opportunity for me and I would encourage others who are thinking about taking on a leadership role in Toastmasters to grab the opportunity to develop your own leadership skills. Finally, I’d like to thank the others in my PQD team this year, Massimo Guadagnino, Jacqui Hogan, Rick Cooper, Julie Chapman, Nikita Parks, Nadya, Janet Alkema, Ken Essien and finally our Chief Judge Chris Walker.

I look forward to supporting you and your clubs next year as your District Director, with Steve Vear as PQD, Mo Dawodu as Club Growth Director, Valerija Slavina as Finance Manager, Nikita Parks as PR manager and Aayushi Jain as Administration manager.

Diane Richardson,

Program Quality Director, 2022-2023

Bloomberg Corporate Recognition Award

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Bloomberg Corporate Recognition Award By Debbie Williams, Club Growth Director Introduction You may never have heard of it, but the Corporate Recognition Award is somewhat of a big deal at Toastmasters International. Corporations from around the world have formed symbiotic relationships with Toastmasters. By sponsoring a club at their workplace, companies are allowing the Toastmasters … Read more

The Laughing Toastmaster: The Geeky Feminist

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The Laughing Toastmaster: The Geeky Feminist Who says the age of miracles is past? Here’s one for you: I’m a GEEK! Me, the woman who has spent her life trying to be ‘cool’ but always ends up with parsley stuck between her teeth. Last week I successfully completed an after-dinner speech at an IT conference, making me … Read more

Spring Conference Contest Winners

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Spring Conference Contest Winners By Chris Arning, PR Manager Introduction The Spring Conference saw 4 epic contests and 4 winners from across the District. As always it was so inspiring to witness 8 contestants in each contest representing the best of their Division competing for the glory of the coveted District shields (seen below). I … Read more