August is the month of the three C’s: Club Officer Training, Club Success Plans and Contest Planning.
All the District Leaders from Club Officers to Area, Directors, Division Directors and the District Leadership Team have been busy settling into their roles, planning & budgeting, planning & strategising and planning & scheduling. There is a lot to do in the first few months, and it is great seeing everything coming together as members and leaders work together. I am delighted to introduce the Program Quality Team supporting the District Mission; ‘To build new clubs and support all clubs in achieving excellence’.
Meet the PQD team
- Lynne Gayer, Program Quality Director, program.quality.dorector@d91toastmasters.org.uk
- Aayushi Jain, Incentive lead for PQD & CGD incentives@d91toastmasters.org.uk
- Janet Alkema, Training Lead alkema@janetalkema.com
- Jill Segal, November Contest Director jsegal44@mac.com
- Nadya Abdi, DCP and Pathways Lead nadyad91toastmasters@gmail.com
- Natalia Gomez, Analytics Lead for PQD & CGD
- Paul Walsh, Chief Judge padrianwalsh@gmail.com
- Simon McKee, Mentor Buddy Lead mentorbuddy@d91toastmasters.org.uk
Club Officer Training (COT)
Congratulations to all those Club Officers who have attended Club Officer Training (COT) through July and August. Will your club have all seven Officers trained? This year TMI provided global, standardised training, and several District 91 members contributed to the content and production of the slides. Well, done guys, great work.
District Trio Training at Vancouver, Canada
In August it was the turn of the Trio; your District Director – Seema Menon, Program Quality Director – myself Lynne Gayer and Club Growth Director – Alison Morris to attend our training.
There was a big emphasis on Club Excellence and Club Quality this year and TMI provided a few tips on how to improve the member experience, I’m sharing three of these below.
Does your club read out the Club Mission at every meeting? If not here is a reminder as to what it says:
‘We provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth’.
Does your club introduce a word of the day? It is a great way to help members expand their vocabulary and practice using expressive, impactful language in real-time.
Does your club have an ‘AH counter’? The purpose is to track filler words and sounds so speakers can become aware of their habits and speak more clearly.
Club Success Plan
As we close August and enter September, each Club Committee needs to complete a Club Success Plan. Officers may well be asking you which Pathways levels you will be completing this year, helping the club to achieve a Distinguished Status.
Already we have a Triple Crown achiever from Purley speakers. A member (who is remaining anonymous) has completed three levels in one year. That’s a fantastic achievement. Well done. Will you be next.
Contests
I love a contest. Your clubs will be busy preparing for one as will your Area and Division Directors. The District Humorous and Table topics contests will be held on Saturday 21st November 10-4pm in London. The November Contest Director is Jill Segal and she needs a team to support her in organising and running this. Would you like to be involved?
The District conference will be either the 1st or 2nd weekend of May. Ideally in a District central location. We need a District Conference Director.
This is a fantastic leadership opportunity, a prestigious event and an opportunity to create something memorable. Whoever steps up get to make a real difference as members from across the district come together to connect learn and celebrate together. No one does it alone. There will be a supporting team, plus myself with overall responsibility. It is a fantastic opportunity with so many skills to learn and develop. It’s also an opportunity to put one’s own stamp on the event, from speakers to workshops and the gala event. Plus build relationships across the District.
It’s not a case of ‘Am I ready to run a district conference’ it’s more a question of ‘Am I ready to lead a team of talented people who can help make it happen’ let the answer be YES!
Would you like to step up to the challenge, not because you know everything but because you want to discover what you can achieve when you bring people together around a shared vision. This can be an incredibly rewarding experience.
If interested please contact me; program.quality.director@d91toastmasters.org.uk
Beat the Clock
Following on from 2025-26 year end I am delighted to announce the winners of Beat the Clock. Those clubs adding five or more new, dual or reinstated members between 1st May and 30th June 2026. All the winning clubs have been advised and received their vouchers.
Last Updated on 28th August 2026 by Suhas Kumar