Updates & Posts

We will be adding more articles to this page. To start: here are articles on speaking and articles giving personal views on the on the power of Toastmasters and an exciting joint meeting between London and Namibia.

Club Finances

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Message from Meg Heyworth, District 91 Finance Manager

Tax, Legal Requirements, Club Financial Term and other matters

Questions arising from club queries are welcomed by the finance team.  A recent query was raised by Elizabeth, a club treasurer in District 91, enquiring if there was any particular accounting year end that club Treasurers should use.  The answer from WHQ was that club financial years should run from 1 January to 31 December.

She commented that their club use 1 July to 30 June to fit in with the Toastmasters year.  Meg sent on this query to her contacts at WHQ who sent this answer “To answer your question about the term year, district finance and related bank accounts are handled within the regular term year, July to June.  However, club finances are handled and transferred during the regular calendar year.  This is mainly due to IRS tax reporting and is something we cannot control.”

Perhaps UK accounting qualified members could let us know if they agree with this ruling as it is the responsibility of the individual clubs to determine the tax filing or other legal requirements in their city, state, province, and/or country, and to file proper forms as appropriate.  Failure to comply with tax or other legal requirements may result in the revocation of a club’s charter.

WHQ also commented on the Club Treasurer section of the Club Leadership Handbook, which says that “operating a club bank account is not a requirement, but if the club decides to operate an account it is the club treasurer’s responsibility to turn over all financial records for the club at the end of the calendar year, this includes changing signers on the bank account.  We understand that changing signers once a year can be cumbersome, but this is a control that is set by policy and having ‘senior members’ as designated signers over one year is not allowable.”

If any Treasurers have any other questions that they wish answered then do contact Meg who is happy to assist in finding the answers.

 

The Revitalized Education Programme (REP)

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From Sandra Lawes DT, D91 REP Chief Ambassador

The biggest & most exciting change in the history of Toastmasters

What is the Revitalized Education Programme (REP)?

 

In 2010, the Board of Toastmasters International took a massive decision – to revitalize the education programme. A dictionary definition of revitalization is ‘to restore vitality or animation’ – literally to give new life to something.

Why revitalize the education programThe current programme is good, but it is complicated and hard for new members and those outside Toastmasters to understand. If you need convincing, take a look at this diagram showing our current education awards!! And far too many members leave Toastmasters without gaining awards – so there’s certainly room for improvement!

Since the Toastmasters Board took that radical decision in 2010, a great deal of work has been done to identify the best elements within our current programme and bring them right up to date.

Club meetings will continue to be the core of the REP, and based on the organisation’s four guiding principles – experiential learning, self-paced learning, peer evaluation and mentoring – it will offer a mix of compulsory and elective projects, all using modern technology to give members the best possible learning experience.

When is the REP being introduced?

Development, testing and piloting will continue through 2016. Full details about the REP are not available yet, but we have already received very positive feedback from the 79 Districts that are piloting some of the content.

Once World HQ is confident that everything is ready, the REP will be rolled out with 10 Districts coming on line each month. We don’t know exactly when our District will ‘go-live’ with the REP, but if we are one of the first, by the start of 2017 we could be using the REP here in District 91.

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Have you considered starting a new club?

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From Jill Segal, D91 Club Extension Chair

Embrace the joy and challenge of starting a new club

Are you looking for ways to have fun and meet new people? Are you considering improving your marketing and promotional skills? Would you like to actively fulfill your Toastmaster promise by encouraging new members to join? And how about helping them transform their speaking and leadership skills? You can do this at the same time as making progress on your own TM journey. The perfect way to achieve this is by starting a new club!

How can you get started?

Step 1 Get clear on your vision for your new club

Consider what kind of new club you would like. Are you drawn towards starting a community club? Perhaps you’d like a club at work or in your professional or trade association. Maybe you’d like to create a club with a special focus such as debate, evaluation, other languages, or storytelling. (There are examples of clubs like these in our district and around the world). Get clear on your vision for the club. Who will the members be? How will the club serve them?

Starting New Clubs Visual
Step 2 Gather support

Projects work best when there is an enthusiastic team to get them started.

Find a small group of friends or colleagues who share you vision and are ready to play a part in getting the club started.

For a company club it’s a good idea to talk to the key stake-holders in HR or in your management team as soon as possible. Genuine support from within your organisation will help your club get going quickly.

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Successful Speech Contest

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From Andy O’Sullivan, D91 Chief Judge

How You Can Have a Successful Speech Contest

If you’ve ever had the opportunity to organise a speech contest, you’ll appreciate there’s a lot to arrange with many roles to fill.

These few simple steps will avoid any problems and ensure it’s a success.

Contestant Eligibility

Do Toastmasters International records show that every contestant is a fully paid up member?

If a contestant’s membership isn’t registered with Toastmasters International, they can’t compete.  

Fees may have been given to the club, but unless they’ve been paid and recorded with Toastmasters, the member isn’t eligible to compete in any contest.

Every contest season, members excited to have won a contest, are disappointed to discover their membership fees haven’t been paid to Toastmasters International, so they’re disqualified.

It’s not a phone call you’ll want to make, so always check before the contests by emailing the constestants details to  speechcontests@toastmasters.org . 

International Speech Contest
Contestants: 

Must have completed at least speech 6 to be eligible to enter the contest.

Judges:  

At Area and above, members need to have completed speech 6 to be eligible to judge the contest. 

Evaluation Contest

All members are encouraged to compete in the Evaluation contest as there are no eligibility criteria.

Resources

Your one stop for all the resources for a contest (forms, step-by-step guides, even training videos) can be found here.

Contests are a wonderful way to stretch your skills while supporting our Toastmasters colleagues. 

Have fun!

Planning for next year already? District Director update…

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It’s a wild, windy and wet morning in late January and yet, last night, I found myself speaking about preparing for the transition to next Toastmasters year in July.  Doug New, our newest Division Director wanted my suggestions, and this is what I shared…

What would we do differently?

Firstly, it’s worth each of us who are in formal and informal leadership positions thinking back to when we were just starting in our roles.  What were the surprises?  What are the things we would do differently if we had another chance?  Let’s capture them now while we still remember them, so we can share them with our successors.

Positive Impact

Secondly, think about the one thing that you could do between now and the end of the TM year that could really have a positive impact on your fellow members, your club, your area, your division or your district.  It could be anything from improving the information pack your guests get when they visit your club to kicking off a Saturday club near where you live.  The opportunities are endless, and there’s one that would energise us as individuals as well as make a difference to our organisation.

Consider The Future

Thirdly, consider the future.  Of course I want each club, area, division and the district to be distinguished (if not presidents distinguished!) this year, but what about beyond that?  What can we do to ensure that we are not just successful in this year, but that our successors, and their successors achieve great things too. What, for example, are we doing to identify, encourage and develop the leaders of our future?  What else could each of us do to raise awareness now, so more people know we are here to be found when they need us later?

Legacy

I am hoping the weather will be better when we switch over to the next TM year in July.  Either way, I am sure we will all leave a strong legacy behind when we focus on these three things – briefing our successors, doing one thing to make our TM world strong and setting up the future for success.

Jean Gamester, 27 January 2015