District Director

Dear Members

I am pleased to share some good news from District 91. This past month we held both our District Executive Committee meeting and our District Council meeting. Thank you to everyone who took part and helped move our district forward.

I am pleased to let you know that our District Success Plan and budget for the year have been approved. With this foundation in place, we can now focus on supporting our clubs and members in reaching their goals.

As we begin this new chapter, I encourage you to renew your membership. I have renewed mine, not only because I am the District Director, but also because I want to continue learning and growing alongside all of you. Renewing means you can continue developing your skills, learning at your own pace, and connecting with a supportive community that wants to see you succeed. It also helps to keep your club strong for both you and future members.

Ralph Smedley reminded us that “We learn best in moments of enjoyment”. I hope you will continue your journey with us this year, learning, leading and enjoying the experience along the way.

Yours in service,

Debbie Williams DTM

District Director 2025-2026

District 91

My plan was to greet you with a video message. However, as fate would have it, I’m writing to you with a voice that has temporarily taken leave.

Whilst at Convention, your District Trio, Seema Menon Program Quality Director, Lynne Gayer, Club Growth Director and I have been working hard on the District Success Plan and the District Budget along with other members of the District Leadership Team.

We also attended District Leadership Training with other District Trios from around the world and it was an inspiration to be part of this global community, to not only network, but to brainstorm and share ideas and inspiration.

At the 2025 Toastmasters International Convention in Philadelphia, we were asked to visualise the future. With a focus on our value statement, we reflected on why we are in Toastmasters, how we have benefited, and how sharing our stories can help others see how they might benefit too.

Visualising the future means considering how these skills will continue to shape our personal and professional lives. It also means recognising the role we play in helping the next generation of members discover their own voices. By sharing our experiences, the meetings where we grew with confidence, the projects where we stretched ourselves, the mentors who guided us, we clearly demonstrate to others what is possible, especially when we share how this has shaped our world outside of Toastmasters, be it a work promotion, a new job or enhanced business or leadership skills.  Everyone has their own unique story to share.  Now is the time to think about how you will use your skills, your experience, and your voice, not only to continue your own journey, but to help others begin theirs.

Below are the other main convention highlights.

Please join me in congratulating from District 91, Jean Gamester, DTM, in being elected Second Vice President of Toastmasters International.

 

The full list of the Toastmasters International Board 2025-2026 are as follows: 

Aletta Rochat, DTM, of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa, is the new International President of Toastmasters International
Stefano McGhee, DTM, of Weymouth, Massachusetts, US – International President-Elect
Gauri Seshadri, DTM, of Bengaluru, Karnataka, India – First Vice President
Jean Gamester, DTM, of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom – Second Vice President
Radhi Spear, DTM, of Piscataway, New Jersey, is the Immediate Past International President

International Directors:

International Director Region 1 – Michael Bown, DTM, of Victoria, Canada
International Director Region 2 – Mark Lucas, DTM, of San Marino, California
International Director Region 3 – Chris Raneri, DTM, of Frisco, Texas
International Director Region 4 – Srinivas Saineni, DTM, of Algonquin, Illinois
International Director Region 5 – Andrew Horberry, DTM, of Toronto, Canada
International Director Region 6 – Jenilee Taylor, DTM, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
International Director Region 7 – Ramona Baylor, DTM, of Gove City, Ohio
International Director Region 8 – Sujit Sukumaran, DTM, of Dubai, UAE
International Director Region 9 – Hani Nur Zaihanirah Zaini, DTM, of Malaysia
International Director Region 10 – Francesco Fedele, DTM, of Rome, Italy
International Director Region 11 – Patrick Oluyide, DTM, of Lagos, Nigeria
International Director Region 12 – Monique Tonna, DTM, of Sydney, Australia

 

Pathways Updates 

Next year will bring exciting updates to Pathways, with new features that draw on the much-loved Competent Communication and Advanced manuals. Many members are already making the most of Pathways, but if you have not yet explored it fully, now is a great time to start. Becoming familiar with the programme and progressing through the levels now will help you gain confidence and ensure you can enjoy the full benefit of the enhancements when they arrive.

World Champion of Public Speaking 2025 

Sabyasachi Sengupta is the new World Champion of Public Speaking.  Sengupta from District 59, Region 10, won with a speech titled, “Just Nod.”

District Council Meeting

The first District Council meeting will take place on Sunday 21st September, following the District Executive Committee meeting on 7th September.

As a key part of Toastmasters governance, this meeting relies on the active participation of every Club President and Vice President of Education. By registering and attending, you help ensure the District can conduct its business effectively and continue to serve our members well.  Information has already been shared via email, but if you have any questions, please contact your Area or Division Director, or reach out to me directly.

We have had a very busy period of Club Officer Training, and I want to take this opportunity to thank both Area and Division Directors and others who have supported in providing training, and for every one of you for attending.  Please take advantage of final training opportunities.

The year ahead gives us the chance to set our goals and steadily put them into action.  Let’s do this collaboratively together.

 

Yours in service

Debbie Williams
District Director 2025-2026 
District 91 

As the title of one of my favourite TV series, Star Trek: The Next Generation tells us, all goods things must come to an end, and as I write my final newsletter article as your District Director and as I reflected in the Council pack, I can look back on the program year with immense pride for what we have achieved within district leadership and across our wonderful clubs.

I won’t repeat the large number of thanks that are laid out in the council pack or what I said in my farewell speech, instead I wanted to leave you with some of my own lessons that I have picked up during my time in Toastmasters and latterly as a senior district leader.

• To Club Members – always remember what you joined for in the first place, and before you agree to take on any extra responsibility make sure that you have a plan to achieve what you set out. However, if someone asks you to pick up a task or role within the club, before you say no or I don’t have the time – please don’t answer straight away, pause, do your research and make the right decision once you have all the information you need. If you do say yes, I doubt very much you will regret it.
• To Club Leaders – I know that the amount of Toastmasters resources can seem vast and overwhelming. You should absolutely take advice from previous officers of your club and indeed from officers outside your own club, but there is no substitute for first-hand knowledge. Make sure you at least read the club leadership handbook, and the club constitution, this will give you an important platform for what is to come. Make sure you know who your area director is and use them, they are there for you! Remember, you and your team are enabling people to come through your club doors and for some it really will be a life changing experience. Oh, and – please see my advice above, this applies to you too.
• To District Leaders – First hand knowledge is my advice for you too, but I am afraid you have a little more to gather than most. Have a read of the District Administrative bylaws (yes, all of them) and make sure you keep referring back to the District Leadership Handbook, the timeline in there will be your ultimate go-to. Make sure you are specifically clear about the rules regarding your role and the involvement with clubs. You will be challenged on this point for different reasons time and time again. And you especially need to read my comments about personal goals in my first point above. You didn’t join Toastmasters to be a district leader – make sure you are getting the value from your toastmaster membership too, balance is key.
• To Madam District Director Elect – What we achieved this program year in creating Team 24/25, in creating an ethos that we have become famous for, will (I hope) give you the platform you need to go on and achieve the things that I have been unable to. I have done the repair work – and now you need to build that skyscraper! Carry on being you – and remember, as you have already discovered even when the sun is nearly rising and the milkman is out on his rounds, I am always there for you, and I look forward to serving you to the best of my ability. Above all else though – please enjoy it. And remember, it’s only Toastmasters 😉

And finally – for any leader current or future within our organisation and beyond, here are my top leadership lessons for you to reflect upon:

1. Don’t try and boil the ocean – you can’t achieve everything even if you want to. Be focussed, be determined but don’t burn out!
2. Be you and always you – leaders need to flex and change but you can do that without changing who you are and being sure never to leave your core values, or the core values of our organisation behind
3. No leader is an island – ask for help. However, remember that at the end the day – you can skill make the decision. Advice, opinion and support does not remove your responsibility.
4. If you are not enjoying what you doing , or it is effecting your wellbeing to the point where there is no longer a balance – you need to pause and decide whether you need to be brave and think of yourself first.

I hope to see as many of you as possible at the Hall of Fame in London on Saturday 5^th July. Spaces ARE limited – please book now, it is free to attend!

Toastmasters International may not be a lifesaving organisation – but it is a life changing one.

Thank you for making me proud to be your District Director.

Yours in service

Steve Vear MBE DTM
District Director 2024-2025

 

With only a matter of weeks to go before the end of the program year, I am sat here in almost disbelief that the year has gone so quickly. The recent conference at Heathrow was such a brilliant example of what can happen when District 91 comes together. It was a fantastic display of speakers and talent and of course congratulations are due once again to Toastmaster Dan Magill who took another important step to becoming the next World Champion of Public Speaking.

I want to personally and publicly congratulate Bolu and Debbie for their superb leadership in bringing such a wonderful event together. I know that not only did delegates find the program and networking inspiring but they also felt well looked after by such a dedicated and talented team. Well done and thank you to the two of you for all you did for making “The Stage is Yours” one to remember.

One of the biggest responsibilities that a District Director has is presiding over the District Council’s Annual Business Meeting. While it took slightly longer than any of us would have liked, I want to thank everyone who worked so hard to ensure that this important piece of governance was carried out with the level of professionalism we saw. Special thanks are due to my amazing District Administration Manager Janet, our technical guru Rob Dewing, Credentials Chair Rupa Datta and my talented Parliamentarian, Vanessa King. I still feel tired thinking about all the prep we had to do – but thank you for your service team.

The council pack that we publish ahead of the actual meeting is a wonderful chance for all district officers to reflect upon the program year and of course record important thank you’s. If you read the reports contained in that pack, you will see an important theme that shines through – the team spirit and an overriding sense of service to our members. If you have not yet read through them then I really would encourage you to do so.

For many members the highlight of the council meeting is the election of the incoming district officers. Thank you to everyone who stepped forward offering their service in our most senior positions and congratulations to everyone that was successfully elected, especially my dream team trio members Debbie Williams who will become our next District Director on 1^st July and Seema Menon who becomes Program Quality Director. They, together with the lovely Lynne Cantor Gayor will form an amazing trio and I very much looking forward to supporting and championing them in my role as Immediate Past District Director.

Following the conclusion of the program year we will be holding a Hall of Fame to celebrate our year as Team 24/25. During this celebration we will also be revealing and presenting to name a few – Toastmaster of the Year, Area Director of the Year, Division Director of the Year and the special District Director award.

See you for one more time in the June newsletter.

Enjoy the sun – and remember, it’s just Toastmasters!

Steve Vear
District Director

From a Triple Crown to the Chair of the District Council

When I became a Toastmaster back in 2010 I was immediately sold with the idea of what the organisation was about, through the wonderful welcome and induction I received from my club Wessex speakers in Winchester. I very quickly set myself some objectives to work through my competent communicator manual and unlike a lot of members also got through my competent leader manual at relative pace. Within a year of membership I had also managed to achieve my advanced communicator bronze award.

I decided that I wanted to understand more about the organisation I joined and I remember going to a divisional speech contest early in my membership. This sticks in my mind because it was the first time I met Past International Director Jean Gamester. To my utter surprise my name was called out by her when she was on the stage and I was presented with something called a Triple Crown. Although the award was unexpected and very nice, I remember driving home thinking even at that point I wasn’t sure what it really meant to be part of an organisation as big as Toastmasters International.

In the couple of years that followed, I remember going to the conference in Swindon, one in London near to the Tower of London, one in Gatwick and when I was serving as Division Director I stepped up to become logistics chair for the Mayflower conference in Southampton. I remember vividly the thank you speech that Vanessa King DTM gave when she prepared to step down as District Director and remember thinking how proud I was to be involved with such an amazing group of people. Somehow I still feel tired when I think of that conference, but it holds memories I will always cherish.

It feels very strange therefore, to be less than a week away from our conference in Heathrow where I will chair the annual business meeting as District Director. The conference team under the leadership of Debbie Williams and Bolu has done an amazing job to put together such an exciting agenda. At the time of writing we are sold out of our Gala Dinner and VIP tickets. As you will see from Debbie’s article – there is still time to buy day tickets!

So…. If you want to build memories, spend time with friends, maybe even make some new friends, then you need to come along and be part of the fun.

You will not regret being helped to see how big and impressive this organisation is – but most importantly how impressive the talent and members are that we have here in District 91.

Buy your ticket today – and maybe one day you will be inspired to become the District Director too….

Yours in service,
Steve Vear