Allen Paul

Announcing the D91 2025 Conference: The Stage Is Yours

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Dear Toastmasters,

I am thrilled to announce that the District 91 Conference 2-4 May 2025 will take place at the vibrant and contemporary Radisson RED Heathrow! This year, our theme is “The Stage Is Yours” – a celebration of the courage, growth, and achievements that come from stepping into the spotlight and embracing new challenges as I have done by becoming your Conference Director.

Mark your calendars for this unmissable event, where we will come together to learn, connect, and inspire one another. The 2025 Conference promises a dynamic programme, including exceptional keynote speakers, engaging workshops, and unparalleled networking opportunities, and host four amazing District speech contests. Radisson RED Heathrow provides the perfect venue to bring this vision to life, offering a modern and energising space for growth and discovery.

As your Conference Director, I am committed to delivering an extraordinary experience. Together with a dedicated team of volunteers, we are planning an event that will motivate and empower you to take the stage in your own journey, both within Toastmasters and beyond.

We are actively seeking passionate and committed volunteers to help bring this vision to fruition. If you’re ready to be part of something incredible, we’d love for you to join our team. Please see below specific roles that we need to fill:

  • Graphic Designer
  • Logistics Director
  • Technical Director
  • Registration Manager
  • MC Co-ordinator

My name is Bolu, and I’m a proud member of Holborn Speakers. Taking on the role of Conference Director has been a bold step, and I am honoured to lead this exciting event. Keep an eye out for ticket announcements and get ready to claim your place at Radisson RED Heathrow—because “The Stage Is Yours”.

Don’t forget you can still register your interest to be the first to receive all the latest updates here

I look forward to seeing you there!

 

Warm regards,

Bolu Olubajo Conference Director 2025

District 91

Spotlight on Success: Ga Lok Chung – Empowering Leaders as Club Coach Lead

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My home club is City of London Toastmasters. At various points I’ve also held dual membership at a variety of other wonderful clubs in London and I became a Distinguished Toastmaster in 2018. I love competing, having reached District finals 9 times across different contests and winning Evaluation in 2016. I’m a management consultant at KPMG, where I currently head up designing solutions for managed learning services for clients across the globe. So, developing myself and creating the platforms for others to learn and grow has always been central in my career.

 

This year, I’m supporting the District as Club Coach Lead. If a club has been facing some challenges in membership numbers or need support, I match them to an experienced Toastmaster who helps the club rebuild its membership and improve the overall quality of the club experience. The coach works closely with club officers and members to provide guidance, enthusiasm, and structure within the club.

 

Recently, my home club celebrated its 29th anniversary in November. As the current longest serving member I’m still in touch with many of the former Club Presidents and it was a joy to invite 7 of them back to a special in-person panel discussion during our club meeting. They shared their leadership lessons and what this club has meant to them. The three things I took away were:

 

  1. Each Club President brought their unique personality to the club. They introduced and tested innovations and improvements to the club. Toastmasters is not only a safe space for members to practice their public speaking skills, but also a safe space for people to grow their leadership skills.
  2. We recognise the courage it takes put yourself out there. All our past Presidents started at the back of the room, eventually getting more and more involved in the meetings until one day, they became the person to stand at front and open every meeting. The importance of encouraging people to get involved and have a go is paramount.
  3. We’ve always been a very social club. Going to the pub post meeting, the annual Christmas curry get-together and we’ve recently introduced snack and chat and the end of the meetings. Countless friendships have formed in a community where people want to support each other to succeed in their goals.

 

Coming back to club coaching, Toastmasters is an amazing place, and we want to support every club to help serve its members. Becoming a successful club coach gives you a credit towards your Distinguished Toastmaster award and gives you enormous satisfaction in helping a club succeed and secure its own legacy, I would recommend any Toastmaster to consider it.

November Highlights: Pathways to Success in D91

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What a fantastic month it has been! A huge congratulations to all the winners of the Humorous Speech and Table Topics Division Contests. Your success is an inspiration! A special shoutout goes to all participants who took on the challenge and achieved personal growth, your efforts and courage are commendable. To all the functionaries and helpers who made these contests run seamlessly, thank you for your dedication and teamwork. We look forward to seeing all winners at the District contests taking place at the Distict 91 Conference.

 

Conference Update

I am thrilled to introduce the D91 Conference Director for 2 – 4 May 2025 is Bolu Olubajo. Bolu is a member of Holborn Speakers and looks forward to formulating and leading the conference team for a successful conference. Find out further details about Bolu and see the announcement of the conference venue here.

 

Club Officer Training

We were treated to an incredible lineup of speakers at our recent Corporate Club Officer Training. From exploring Pathways to learning how to maintain momentum and stay focused, the event was packed with actionable insights. A heartfelt thank you to Christine Lennon DTM, Marc Lottig DTM, Andrew Tsuro DTM, Pat Johnson DTM PIP, and Morag Mathison DTM, for sharing their expertise and facilitating these outstanding sessions.

If you missed out, don’t worry, further training opportunities for all other club officers will be available now through to the end of February 2025. Don’t miss your chance to learn and grow.

Incentives We’re delighted to announce the winners of the Club Success Plan incentive! This initiative encouraged clubs that were not distinguished last year to submit a club success plan for this year. Congratulations to the following winners:

  • 07814710 LSBU
  • 05042742 Deutsche Bank Toastmasters London
  • 07084351 Worcester Speakers
  • 03105854 Malvern Speakers
  • 07850144 Verizon EMEA Online

 

Your dedication to planning for success sets a strong foundation for achieving your goals this year.

Here’s to a joyful and successful festive season—wishing you a very Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and continued success in the months ahead!

 

Warm regards

Debbie Williams

Program Quality Director 2024-2025

Club Growth Director Update – November Newsletter

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Partnerships Driving Growth

This year, we experimented with partnering with external events to amplify the Toastmasters message and positively impact individuals and organizations. Our collaborations with Jobs Fair events in Bristol, Reading, and South London have proven to be highly successful, generating valuable leads for membership growth and creating opportunities to launch new clubs.

A special thank you to Division Director Helyn for inspiring this initiative, and heartfelt gratitude to every Division Director and Toastmaster who represented Toastmasters at these events. Your dedication and belief in our program showcased the transformative power of Toastmasters and energized us to think outside the box.

This success is a testament to the fact that we can achieve so much more when we work together. Up next, we have the Jobs Fair in Cardiff on 29th January 2025. Let’s continue to make an impact!

 

Welcome Toastmasters Sky Osterley!

We are thrilled to announce the launch of a new corporate club, Toastmasters Sky Osterley, in Division D. This marks a significant milestone in expanding our reach within the corporate community, offering members new opportunities for growth. Congratulations to everyone involved in making this launch possible!

 

Incentive Reminder: Claim Your Rewards!

A quick reminder for clubs to claim their Great Golden Quarter and Smedley Awards incentives. Don’t miss out on these opportunities to celebrate and accelerate your club’s success.

 

Region Advisor Visit Highlights

We were delighted to host Region Advisor Lilian Shaftacola, who visited several corporate and community clubs. Her memorable experiences included attending her first Toastmasters meeting in a beautiful church venue and a lively first experience with an early morning breakfast club. Her visit provided invaluable inspiration and ideas for our members and leaders.

Through incredible collaboration and progress, we are laying a strong foundation for growth across the District. Visiting clubs, attending Division contests, and witnessing the camaraderie at this month’s external events have highlighted the true power of one of our core Toastmasters values: Respect. Respect is about “creating an environment where every voice matters and every idea has the space to flourish.”

When we embrace respect, we nurture connection, ignite growth, and inspire excellence. Let’s continue to strengthen our Toastmasters community with this vital principle at its core. Together, we grow. Together, we thrive.

 

Your Club Growth Director,

Seema Menon

Club Spotlight: Hamwic Speakers Celebrates 15 Years of Excellence

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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.