District Administration

Sharpening our Saw

by

As I write my newsletter entry this month, I realised that I am in danger of beating myself up and as such, I think the content is going to write itself. I wanted to do a video, but now I am out of time to hit the deadline. I wanted to add a relevant picture for a subject I had in mind, but I am out of time. This is an important leadership lesson for us all. Things do not always happen the way we would want them to. As leaders, we must re-plan and re-prioritise and at the same time, always remember that as volunteers while it is important that we carry out the role that we have agreed to do, we must accept that sometimes other life priorities like our work, family and health comes first.

I am going back to Stephen Covey again. He talks about sharpening our saw. We cannot sharpen our saw if we keep knocking ourselves about the fact that we let it get blunt in the first place. We must sometimes accept things for what they are and look to move on.

Last month I spoke about shining a spotlight on a future club or district leader and then encouraging them to run for office. How did you get on? Did you find someone, or did they say no to you. Is it worth supportively asking them again whether they would reconsider?

A few weeks ago, at the University of Law in London, we held our latest District Executive Committee meeting and afterwards held another round of District Officer Training to support the work of our Division and Area Directors. I thanked them on your behalf for all the work they do as District officers, and it was fantastic to see once again how talented and driven they are. But I also wanted to thank you, our members for all that you do. I know that we all join Toastmasters for specific individual reasons but along the way don’t forget about how you have helped by even just saying hello to a guest or explaining the agenda, or offering to be a mentor, or to sort refreshments for your club. Whatever you have done for others beyond your personal reasons for being in your club – thank you! This is the sort of selfless activity that gives our clubs and our program the quality we can all be proud of. In addition, congratulations to those members who have earnt one of the 851 educational awards since the start of the program year.

Talking of educational awards, one of the things that is asked regularly is “What news do we have about the new Pathways system?” The honest answer is that we do not know much. We have been told by WHQ that we are going to be given around 2 months’ notice which should give us enough time to support with training and messaging. But I can assure you that no one in the District Leadership Team is sitting on a secret pack of slides with all the answers of how it is going to work and when – we do know it will be in 2024 but we do not know when.

Finally, the very best of luck to all those members that have competed or are soon to be competing at the Divisional level contests – we look forward to seeing you in Bristol for the District Conference

With thanks again for all you do.

Steve

Steve Vear, DTM
Program Quality Director 2023-24

Courage and Encouragement

by

As excitement grows for the next half of our contest season, I want to start by wishing all contestants the verry best of luck. Whether you are entering the evaluation contest, or indeed setting out on your journey to become the next World Champion of Public Speaking, I hope that you learn and grow from the experience!

I am sure that you have had this reminder given to you so often that you will find my next words incredibly boring – but please do remember the eligibility requirement for speakers and functionaries of the International Speech contest. This is especially important if you are responsible for running a contest at club, Area, Division or District level. Please do consult this year’s Speech Contest Rulebook.

Very soon the deadline for elected roles in District 91 will have passed. But what about if your next opportunity to take the next step on your leadership journey doesn’t involve an elected position? You may have noticed that I said leadership journey, and not Toastmasters leadership journey. Why? Because all too often it’s s easy to forget the very clear and powerful transferable leadership skills that an organisation like Toastmasters international can give.

Your Area Council will soon be looking to elect the next Area Director, your club will be holding elections for committee positions in the next few months, and if that doesn’t give you enough chances to put your best foot forward, the District is always looking for people to take on small and not so small tasks.

But I am not pointing this out just to try and attract you to a leadership responsibility within Toastmasters. I want to you to think about the role you can play in encouraging the next leader. Almost of all of my roles within Toastmasters, whether it be at the club or District level, happened because someone asked me, or encouraged me to think about stepping up.

Have you met someone new to your club who is curious and capable, who could be your next secretary to wet their appetite? Is there a reluctant Vice President Education in your club who really should be the next President but needs YOU to ask them to run, or for you to tell them how great you think they would be.

What about someone from another club that stands out as someone who has done all committee roles who you would like to see role model things across your area. What would they say if you asked them to be the next Area Director?

In a voluntary organisation, sometimes it just takes a direct approach, a confidence boost – a cheerleader to step forward to nudge the next leader into the spot light….. who are you going to push into the spotlight? If you don’t want the light to shine on you – imagine the feeling of being able to shine the light on someone else and then think ‘look who I found for us. Shine that light now – and make someone feel amazing.

Congratulations to all our members who have achieved educational awards this month – and thank you to all those club officers who have been attending club officer training in the previous weeks, I do hope that you found the experience worth while.

Don’t forget that conference tickets are on sale for Bristol – it is going to be such a great weekend and I hope to see you there.

I’ll let you go now, you have a spot light to plug in!

Steve.

Steve Vear, DTM
Program Quality Director 2023-24

District 91 Conference 2024 announces its first panel discussion

by

The planning and organising for our District 91 annual conference is well underway. It is doubly special because Toastmasters International completes 100 years since its inception and our district celebrates its tenth anniversary.  The conference team is working hard to bring to you a fantastic and memorable conference. 

The first announcement by the conference team is a panel discussion by Immediate Past District Director Rupa Datta – We are District 91 Celebrating the legacy and building the future of District 91. Keep your eyes peeled for more updates on the conference agenda coming soon!

If you are only just catching up on the conference information, the D91 hybrid conference is scheduled on 3-5 May 2024 at the Engineers House in Bristol. The district contest finals and the district council meeting will also be hosted at this venue. The gala dinner will be hosted at the gorgeous and perfectly located Hotel du Vin, Bristol Avon Gorge. This is going to be the best investment for anyone looking for a weekend get-away coupled with an opportunity to network and celebrate.

There are a limited number of early bird tickets available, hurry up and get your tickets here. The conference team are looking for volunteers on several roles. You can get involved in the conference by applying to the Open roles on the   website, this is one of the best opportunities to be part of a historical celebrations. Please visit the District91 Conference website for more information.