Thanks Toastmasters

It was a dark and cold November evening as I was sipping my hot cuppa and pondering what to write in this article. As a member of the City of London Toastmasters club, I was buzzing with joy and excitement because we had such a fantastic event the other day! It brought together so many people, it created so many opportunities, it surfaced so much love. As a club officer of another club, I was feeling desperate and tired. The other day, yet another person decided to leave the club for reasons outside of our control which meant we’d be doubling roles even more, we’d be torn between conflicting priorities, and motivation is going to fall down like autumn leaves. We are just trying to survive – and they had their 30th anniversary. How?

But just like a beam of sunshine will always find its way through November clouds, the City of London member’s confidence and optimism took over. So here I am, ready to tell you (and me-of-another-club) why we should celebrate our club anniversaries, what we could organise, and how to reach the next significant date.

Why we should celebrate

Regardless if it’s your 1st, 5th or 55th anniversary, it’s a chance to say thank you for getting to this point. Keeping a club alive takes a huge effort. And for the City of London Toastmasters club it was a consistent effort by every club officer and every club member – every day, every year: they showed up, they performed their duties, they spread the word, they delivered speeches and covered roles.

I wanted to pass the biggest thank you to those people who started the City of London club. We didn’t have the records preserved in the club, so I emailed Toastmasters International to enquire about the details of our chartering members. At first, they couldn’t provide the info, citing member’s privacy and security. But after a few days, the New Clubs Team apologised and sent me a scanned copy of our chartering documents, with personal identification details removed. It felt like Christmas arrived early, so happy I was when I saw those 20 names! I was able to find one of our founders, Pav Kumar-Chatterjee, on LinkedIn and reconnect. Needless to say, when he came to the meeting, this was one of the biggest highlights of the evening.

A big event like an anniversary is a chance to create opportunities for your club members. Many of us at Toastmasters are here to learn something or to give back. An anniversary is a perfect way to achieve so much. Our Event Lead Apoorva Agarwal signed up to organise this celebration as part of her High Performance Leadership project in Leadership Development path, Level 5. She led a team, we were meeting regularly and were discussing all logistics together. I am sure she learned quite a few things on how to resolve obstacles during a project and how to negotiate the best outcome. Then, I also needed a meaningful task for my Distinguished Toastmasters Project. So I created an anniversary memory book to celebrate our members. Finally, a celebration can be someone’s networking event for the respective project in Pathways Level 3, in addition to being a priceless place to reconnect and to meet someone new.

Finally, it’s a chance to promote your club – both internally among members (yes, to drag those non-attending ones to the meeting!) and externally among the wider public (yes, to invite more new people!). Post. Share. Tell. Bring your friend or a colleague. Reach out to those who left some time ago. Invite back those who couldn’t make a decision to join. Tell them why they should attend, what they will learn, tell them they are joining a club which is 1, 5, 55 years old and they will be a part of something bigger, not just a one-off event attendee.

Of course, there are many more Why’s. Do you need a reason to have a big cake? Or a reason to see that old friend who left the club due to work pressure? Or are you just looking for the means to brighten up your November? I am sure you can find a good reason in your club.

How we celebrated

Once the reasons are found and the date is in the calendar, it’s time to think about what should happen on the day. There is no better person to tell you how we celebrated at the City of London Toastmasters than our Event Lead Apoorva Agarwal. I asked her a few questions and she kindly agreed to give a short interview for us.

Apoorva, how did you prepare for the club’s 30th anniversary?

If it was 3 years ago, I would have started having panic attacks and pulling my hair out. However, now I’m a proud Toastmaster! I know the power of 3 and I have built my planning and implementing skills through my Pathways projects.

• What do members want? – Come together and celebrate.

• Who will be my team? – Ask around, start with committee members.

• How do we make it memorable? – Recollect why members joined, and remind why the City of London club is a safe place.

Thanks to our dedicated committee, finding my dream team was the easiest part! Once I had the team, we chalked out the plan and divided tasks among us.

• Olga, Club Treasurer – invite special guests, incl. past Presidents and committee members.

• Henrique, VP PR – create excitement among club members with his incredible PR skills. 

• Anisha, VPE – arrange a special combo of speeches with Icebreaker and Level 5 final speech. A remarkable demo of both the start of a Toastmaster’s journey and the Pathways finish!

• Myself, IP Club President – book the pub for the event, arrange food and cake.

• Ga Lok, Club President – guide and support all of us in every step on the way and truly hold the team together. 

Apoorva, that sounds fantastic and obviously a lot of energy went into it. What made the club meeting special?

Special milestones demand special arrangements! But it was those small efforts from each one of us that made the event super special. My three specials would be:

• A special gift for each member attending – our special Olga put the club’s 30 years of memories into a special anniversary book.

• A big cake with Toastmasters logo – a must have for a celebration like this.

• A special feeling of belongingness in the club – my safe place.

And how about the social aspect?

40 people gathered in a small pub, all wanting to share their stories and listen to others’ journey, all wanting to learn something, all wanting to have fun over the cake and chips – what could be more social than this?

The celebration started with a speech from our founder Pav, who launched the club in 1995 with 2 other people (just enough to call it a club!). We had our District leaders who shared words of wisdom. We had six past Presidents and many more past Club Officers who shared the tales of their times. We had experienced members, new members (one joined the club that very same day!), and guests. We had an interesting Table Topics session, titled “Salesman’s Pitch”. 

Everything just fell in sync. The atmosphere was warm, nurturing and full of positive energy. Conversations with fellow Toastmasters were meaningful, and useful tips from mentors were shared. Everyone was soaked deep in Toastmasters theme. I was mesmerized the entire evening and just couldn’t be more proud to be part of something so wonderful.

Indeed was it wonderful! I cannot thank Apoorva enough for all the hard work behind the scenes and on the day. One of the best rewards for our work came in a form of testimonials from our attendees.

What our attendees said

Really appreciated the invite. Great evening. Good fun. It was a great event, very well attended and I enjoyed myself.🙏❤️ 

— Lynne Cantor-Gayer, Club Growth Director

It was epic. Loved being there. 

— Pearl Cadogan, Area C25 Director

Thank you to everyone who made the night so special — your energy, passion, and laughter made it truly memorable. 💕

— Henrique Funaro, City of London Toastmasters VP PR

I had a great time and it was great to see you and the rest of the gang – and thanks for the chips and cake! 

— Jonty Rooke, City of London Toastmasters Past President

Resources

Finally, if you are a more numbers-focused than emotions-driven Toastmaster, I’d like to leave a few concrete points on how we celebrated.

Team: 5 before the event; 8 on the day.

Attendees: ~60 in the meeting; ~40 in the pub.

Ticket price: £0 for the meeting; £10 for the pub to cover food expenses.

Budget: £440 from club budget to cover food, cake and printing.

Resources: Open House box from Club Growth Director (free). Canva subscription (free Pro plan trial).

Agenda: CoLT Agenda 2025 11 04 v3.pdf

Anniversary book: City of London Toastmasters 30th Anniversary v9.pdf

How to reach your next anniversary

Now that the cake is eaten and we are back to the routine, it’s time to plan what’s next. After all, I’m still wearing my other club’s hat and still wondering how my other club can reach the next year successfully. It seems there are as many ways as there are clubs, and if I try to answer all possible questions, it’d be better to send you to the Club Leadership Handbook instead. For now, I decided to focus on 3Ps: Purpose, Processes, and People.

Purpose

There can never be enough emphasis on the need to focus on the reasons why the club exists. This is the “why” that pulls people in. This is the “why” that makes people sacrifice their free time and work towards their own and club’s excellence. To define your vision, you can leverage Toastmasters club mission and listen to your members. At the City of London Toastmasters, we ask our members about their goals and reasons for joining, then do our best to support them as our members grow with us.

Processes

Once you understand your vision, you need to ensure all necessary processes are in place, are followed, and improved continuously. At the City of London Toastmasters, each club officer receives a role description and detailed handover and is encouraged to attend Club Officer Training. We have strong processes and help each other to follow them.

1. Promote

This sounds like obvious and overused advice, but we do tell people about the club regularly. Our website is modern and engaging; the information there is accurate. We post on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram but the main platform that brings guests is Eventbrite. Our members invite their friends, colleagues and acquaintances, too.

2. Welcome

We always welcome new members in our club. There is a guest sign-up form and the steps to join are clear. We have a well-defined onboarding process, incl. induction sessions to explain the Pathways and EasySpeak. At the end of each meeting, we present certificates for best speakers, level competition and special contributions. 

3. Vary 

We experiment with the meeting agenda and balance educational focus with fun. Our workshops, Speakathons, Open Houses, contests and social events are open to members and guests.

4. Remain 

We put a lot of effort into ensuring our meetings are high quality, there is a nicely looking agenda, the roles are filled in advance and guests are greeted at the door. We start and end the meetings on time to show respect for other commitments of our members.

5. Nurture

Growth matters but retention matters as well. We learn about the highs and lows of our members, encourage networking during the mid-meeting break and invite people to socialise in the pub. All this helps to befriend members and build a strong community.

6. Develop

Our committee members support each other and are always on the lookout for emerging leaders. We start thinking about succession from August and talking to members from January, so when the May election comes, there are little to no surprises. We also leverage opportunities beyond the club to develop our members through the roles like Area Director, Division Director, and other District stream leads.

7. Reside

We are blessed with a beautiful venue in a great location. Some guests attend just for our church’s magnificence! The club banner is always there and we have 2-3 people greeting guests as they come in.

People

All of the above is a soulless list of must-, should- and nice-to-have’s only, if you don’t keep your members in mind. Our club exists for its members, and it is our members – not the venue, handbooks, banners and social media posts – that make the City of London Toastmasters the best club we know. 

Bringing light to our November, we celebrated 30 years of the City of London Toastmasters, 30 years of overcoming fear of public speaking, building each other and growing together. Our members create our club daily – tirelessly, kindly and with joy. I’m grateful for these daily efforts and I’m sure our members appreciate it, too. Here is to another 30 glorious years!

— Olga Galaiko, City of London Toastmasters Club Treasurer

— Apoorva Agarwal, City of London Toastmasters Immediate Past Club President

Join our next event or just visit us when you can https://www.cityoflondontoastmasters.org/

When I first walked into a Toastmasters meeting, my goal was simple, beat stage fright. I never imagined that journey would one day lead me to a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.

Over the years I said yes to roles that stretched me, Vice President Membership, Vice President Public Relations, Club President, Area Director, District Public Relations Manager and so on. I entered contests and reached the District stage. Step by step, those experiences earned me my Distinguished Toastmaster award and, more importantly, the confidence to serve beyond Toastmasters.

For a long time, I had not applied these skills outside our organisation. That changed when I started helping my local Indian association and started to help them as a volunteer. Apart from taking on MC roles, I joined their executive committee and shared what I had learned about structure, teamwork, and good governance, and members elected me President.

I remembered how there is a Club Constitution for Clubs of Toastmasters International. With help from my AI assistant, I drafted a constitution tailored to our association, then worked with our local council to get it formally approved. From that day, our meetings ran on a clear constitution, agendas were published, decisions were recorded, and debates followed a parliamentary style. We voted the way I had seen at club and District councils. Clarity replaced confusion, progress replaced politics.

The association grew in membership and credibility. We were recognised as the Best Community Group in the county. I had the privilege of meeting leaders from across sectors, including council leaders. Most of all, volunteers found their voice and new leaders emerged.

One day an email arrived, an invitation to a Royal Garden Party. I thought it was spam and nearly binned it, then paused. Who would know my full name and address. A quick search confirmed it was genuine. I attended the Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, and it was an experience like no other. It was a profound honour, and a moment to reflect on how far a simple yes had taken me.

What I learned

• The leadership skills that we learn in Toastmasters to build strong clubs can also be used outside.
• A clear constitution and fair process create trust and momentum.
• Say yes to roles, projects, and contests, and doors begin to open.
• You are not alone: mentors and peers across Toastmasters will guide you.

Standing in the gardens of Buckingham Palace, I realised this wasn’t just my achievement, it was the result of every speech, every role, every mentor, and every meeting I said “yes” to.

Toastmasters didn’t just help me overcome stage fear, it gave me the courage to lead, the structure to serve, and the vision to build something lasting.

So when the next opportunity comes your way – a club role, a project, a leadership position, say yes. Because you never know where that “yes” might lead…

 

Toastmasters International: Where Leaders are Made 

When I tell people that I am a member of Toastmasters the first thought they have is ‘oh, are you one of the red-coated masters of ceremonies who proposes toasts and introduces speakers at formal events?’.  Sometimes I explain that I’m not that Toastmaster even before they’ve asked.  I then elaborate and say that it is an organisation that helps people develop their public speaking skills – and the tagline is ‘Where Leaders are Made.’  This usually gets their attention.  The next question is ‘oh, and how do you do that?’ which is a great opportunity for me to explain what we do at Toastmasters – and that it’s not just building our speaking and communication skills. It’s having the opportunity to develop skills in leadership through taking on club officer roles to start with and then taking on district leadership roles, such as Area and Division Directors.  When I pitch the Toastmasters Youth Leadership Programme to head teachers I emphasise the fact that the students will be organising and running the meetings themselves which helps them develop vital leadership skills, in addition to speaking skills and confidence. Just this term I received a lovely email from a Head of Year teacher at the school where I have delivered the Youth Leadership Programme several times: 

We are currently going through our ‘Senior 6’ process at school, which is an application and interview process for our Year 10 prefects. The process will decide our 6 student leaders and head boy/head girl, and is pretty gruelling! It includes a ‘fish-bowl’ activity, speeches, tasks and an interview with the Principal.  

So far we have cut applicants from 31 to 14 following the fish-bowl exercise. One thing almost all of the successful students so far have in common is that they participated in the 10-week [YLP] course you ran for us last year! This is amazing and really shows the impact this has had on our young people.  

Needless to say, they have booked us to run a YLP with the new Year 9 group in the Autumn term.  I’m really looking forward to that – it is so rewarding to watch a group of 20 15 year-olds grow in confidence and communication skills over that time.  And we have a lot of fun – after all, Ralph Smedley said “we learn best in moments of enjoyment”.   I never have a problem getting one of them to chair the meeting – as soon as I say they will have the gavel to call the meeting to order, they all want to volunteer – and enjoy the power it gives them!  As for managing the timing – what fun to take charge of the timing lights to warn their friends that they are running out of time.  As for the Topics Master – yes, sometimes the questions they ask can be a bit vindictive on their friends – but they know it will be played back to them when the roles are reversed.  All the while they are learning valuable leadership and speaking skills. Oh, and what do we do about the awkward gait and shuffle when approaching the front of the room – we practise good posture by pretending we are models on the catwalk – one of them plays some lively catwalk music on their phone and we all take it in turns to stand tall, sashay up to the front of the classroom – and turn gracefully to face the audience – just as if we were at Paris fashion week.  It works – as has been evidenced by the success of some of the students getting those leadership roles for the coming year.   

The Youth Leadership Programme is an excellent project to run in any school or youth community group to teach valuable public speaking, leadership and communication skills. Running such a programme can also count towards the requirements for gaining your DTM award.   

If you would like to know more, please don’t hesitate to contact me. alkema@janetalkema.com

Hamwic Speakers recently celebrated their 15th Year Anniversary.

An eventful and packed meeting, joined by Ken and Margaret Amy, and all past presidents over the 15 years and the current presidents from Spinnaker Speakers, Solent Speakers, and our Area Director! It was just incredible to experience the murmurs of laughter and conversation amongst the group as friendships rekindled and being made. We also had six guests join us for the first or second time (I do wonder what they were thinking following their attendance!).

We had a panel event where we heard insights and top tips for our public speaking and leadership journeys whether we were new members or long-time members. We heard and were inspired by the story of passion, dedication and collaboration from the surrounding clubs to help Hamwic Speakers put their roots down. The underlying theme was that working together and not alone, is what has made our club thrive, with every member and every volunteer committee member coming together is super important in our community.

It was such a wonderful celebration, and I look forward to our 20th celebration in 2029.