District Director

October Reflections – 4 months in 

We are now approaching the end of the first four months of the program year, the clocks have gone back and the leaves are on the floor as autumn sweeps across the country. Time is indeed the fire in which we burn, but we have so much to be proud of within District 91. 

Over the last four months our District Leaders have been trained, we have held both District Executive Committee meetings and our first council meeting. The club growth team under the leadership of Seema Menon has chartered 3 new clubs and are working up so many leads its difficult to keep up! Our hard-working Area Directors have provided club officer training for committee members, contests are in full swing, now at the area level and many clubs have also seen their Area Director complete the first of two formal club visits for the year. Alongside this, we can all now enjoy the new Pathways Base Camp, with 403 members already achieving an educational award this year. If that wasn’t enough, we have also provided weekly webinar training, celebrated several special club events and have started scoping venues for our 2025 District conference. 

Distinguished Toastmasters 

While talking about educational achievements, I wanted to pass my own congratulations to David Lynch from Microsoft who has recently become a Distinguished Toastmaster and also to Past District Director Pedro Casilas and previous Area Director Christine Wallach who have both achieved a second DTM. Many congratulations to all of you for a fantastic achievement.  

100 Years of Toastmasters 

All the success we enjoy in District 91, and the witnessing of life changing development would not have been possible if it was not for Dr Ralf C Smedley who 100 years ago this week created our wonderful organisation. I have been watching some of the celebrations going on across the globe, which brought back some of our own 10- and 100-year anniversary’s at the Bristol conference back in May. We will have the opportunity to celebrate 100 years of Toastmasters once again at the upcoming Division contests so please do come along and join us for a glass of fizz!  

Don’t forget that there is fantastic way to honour the memory of Dr Smedley with the plus one pledge. This is designed for encourage each member to sponsor a new member into a club. I am sure we all know that one friend that needs that supportive push. I am hoping to do exactly that for Farnham Speakers in November. This is not my club of course but is the one much closer to my friend! A little while ago, I purchased a couple of copies of the special commemorative edition of the Toastmaster magazine. The first person to show me a screen shot of your profile, showing you have sponsored a member this year as part of the plus one pledge will be sent this special edition as an extra thank you for your efforts.  

Division K – Help Please 

I am sorry to have to tell you that owing to work and personal commitments, this together with the juggling of vacancies in the Division has meant that Sabrina Achi has stepped down as Division K Director. I would like to thank Sabrina for all her efforts since becoming Division Director and wish her well. 

In order to continue to support the clubs in Division K in the way we would like, and to ensure that the burden of responsibility does not fall to a select few, I would really love to hear from anyone interested in taking up one of the Area Director vacancies or indeed would like the opportunity to be considered for the Division K vacancy. You do not need to have been a member for a minimum time or indeed have served on the committee. If you have a desire to serve and are keen to learn, please do get in touch with me. 

As we continue on in our goal to inspire our leaders and members, to be distinguished or better and to inspire our members to go beyond the agenda, I want to thank you every single member for continuing to make District 91 a very special place to lead.

Here is to another 100 years of Toastmasters!

I remember writing a similar article class year, where I reflected that sometimes the best intentions simply do not go to plan. The key of course is not to beat ourselves up, take it as a learning experience and decide when good is ‘good enough’. I had every intention in creating a video for my newsletter article this month – but I simply ran out of time. With one or two curve balls in my professional world, coupled with some important Toastmaster milestones, I have had to settle with this format, so that our friendly Public Relations Manager does not get upset with me for holding up his publication date!

We are fast approaching a key deadline in the Toastmaster calendar, where districts have to submit their success plan, budget, communications plan and market analysis. Thanks to amazing work from the District Leadership team we are almost there in ensuring these deadlines are met. The District Executive Committee approved our success plan (strategy) for the coming year, and then both the District Executive Committee and the District Council approved our budget. I am so grateful to all the district leaders, together with Club Presidents and Vice Presidents of Education who attended council a couple of weeks ago, ensuring they carried out their important role in the governance of District 91.

On 11th October Toastmasters International will officially be 100 years old. I think its important to pause for a moment in tribute to Dr Ralf C Smedley who would surely be so very proud of what has happened to the organisation he founded. Members will have no doubt heard me say this, but whether you are looking to find your public speaking voice, whether you are looking to become a better leader or even if you are hoping to become the next World Champion of Public Speaking, Toastmasters has something for you. Don’t forget the ‘plus one pledge’ which was launched at the International convention – a challenge for each member to bring just one guest each with a view to get them to join your club. People often say that Toastmasters is a best kept secret and I could not agree more!

Thinking about things closer to home, I need your help! We are still looking for a number of Area Directors across the district to join the team. Area Directors carry out a really important role in supporting the clubs in their areas with advice and support, and take responsibility for local officer training and the management of local level speech contests. If you have been a member for a little while, and don’t mind doing a tiny bit of travelling to visit the clubs who don’t currently have an area director – I would love to hear from anyone out there that could offer us some support with some of the critical tasks, and to try and limit the pressure on our existing officers.

Last night at my home club, I finally got through my Level 4 in my current pathway, and inline with the reminder from Debbie have already planned my speech ahead of the base camp outage.

Best of luck for all those currently competing or will be competing in this round of speech contests – remember, whatever the result to have fun and enjoy the learning experience.

What a few weeks it has been!  

 As well as working hard on the District Success plan (our strategy) and budget, the ‘trio’ (being myself, Debbie and Seema) have just returned with a group of other members from District 91 from the Toastmasters International Convention in California. Before the event, as part of our roles we attended two days of District Leader training helping us to be able to serve you in the best possible way with new knowledge, skills and the chance to network with peers and meet district leaders from across the globe. This picture was taken during the kick off event, and if you look closely, you will even see a certain now Past International Director lurking in the background looking out for us. 

Convention 

The International Convention in Anaheim, which was attended by circa 1,400 Toastmasters was not only a reminder to me about the true global reach of our organisation but also how very special Dr Smedley’s creation was, and just how many people Toastmasters continue to help across the world. During the event I was given the honour of carrying the flag of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland during the parade of the flags at the opening ceremony. It is proof indeed that no matter our individual differences and beliefs, members can come together from hundreds of different countries around the world to celebrate each other and to help represent Toastmasters International as one.  

One of the highlights of the convention is of course the final of the World Championship of Public Speaking, where the remaining 8 members who have navigated through the Club, Area, Division, District and Regional stages took to the stage with a chance to become the World Champion. If you get a chance to do look up on YouTube and watch the winning speech by Luisa Montalvo, the new world champion to be truly inspired. A word of warning for us all though is that there were two time disqualifications this year. Never underestimate therefore the importance of those lights at the back of your club room when you are doing your speeches! 

The Plus One Pledge 

During the convention, Debbie, Seema and I together with board members and fellow leaders across the World signed the Plus One Pledge. This is a membership building campaign where each member is encouraged to grow the membership of our clubs by just one member. Just imagine for a moment how big even our own District would become if each of us were able to do that. Remembering that every journey starts with that one step therefore – who will be that guest that you are going to bring a long and help convert to a member? More to follow on our plus one pledges in the coming months! 

District Council 

On 15th September our first of two District Council meetings will take place following the District Executive Committee meeting on 1st September. The District Council is a crucial part of the governance of Toastmasters and I would encourage every president and Vice President of Education to register for attendance in order to ensure the District can conduct its business and continue to serve you, our members in the best possible ways. Any questions about the District Council should be directed to your Area or Division Director or myself. 

And finally 

I spoke at the start of my update about how busy the last few weeks have been for everyone charged with leading District 91. I want to take a moment to thank each and every one of the District Leadership Team, Area and Division Directors for serving our members in such a dedicated and thoughtful manner. I would like to pay particular tribute to our Finance Manager Stuart Marshall for his jedi like skills in relation to the budget and our Administration Manager Janet Alkema, Area Director Rob Dewing and Public Relations Manager, Allen Paul, for all their efforts in getting our IT configuration refreshed to allow us to communicate with you in the most effective way possible. Thank you all for making me proud to lead such an amazing group of people. 

Yours in service 

Steve Vear MBE DTM
District Director