Kate Fraser Smith

With only a matter of weeks to go before the end of the program year, I am sat here in almost disbelief that the year has gone so quickly. The recent conference at Heathrow was such a brilliant example of what can happen when District 91 comes together. It was a fantastic display of speakers and talent and of course congratulations are due once again to Toastmaster Dan Magill who took another important step to becoming the next World Champion of Public Speaking.

I want to personally and publicly congratulate Bolu and Debbie for their superb leadership in bringing such a wonderful event together. I know that not only did delegates find the program and networking inspiring but they also felt well looked after by such a dedicated and talented team. Well done and thank you to the two of you for all you did for making “The Stage is Yours” one to remember.

One of the biggest responsibilities that a District Director has is presiding over the District Council’s Annual Business Meeting. While it took slightly longer than any of us would have liked, I want to thank everyone who worked so hard to ensure that this important piece of governance was carried out with the level of professionalism we saw. Special thanks are due to my amazing District Administration Manager Janet, our technical guru Rob Dewing, Credentials Chair Rupa Datta and my talented Parliamentarian, Vanessa King. I still feel tired thinking about all the prep we had to do – but thank you for your service team.

The council pack that we publish ahead of the actual meeting is a wonderful chance for all district officers to reflect upon the program year and of course record important thank you’s. If you read the reports contained in that pack, you will see an important theme that shines through – the team spirit and an overriding sense of service to our members. If you have not yet read through them then I really would encourage you to do so.

For many members the highlight of the council meeting is the election of the incoming district officers. Thank you to everyone who stepped forward offering their service in our most senior positions and congratulations to everyone that was successfully elected, especially my dream team trio members Debbie Williams who will become our next District Director on 1^st July and Seema Menon who becomes Program Quality Director. They, together with the lovely Lynne Cantor Gayor will form an amazing trio and I very much looking forward to supporting and championing them in my role as Immediate Past District Director.

Following the conclusion of the program year we will be holding a Hall of Fame to celebrate our year as Team 24/25. During this celebration we will also be revealing and presenting to name a few – Toastmaster of the Year, Area Director of the Year, Division Director of the Year and the special District Director award.

See you for one more time in the June newsletter.

Enjoy the sun – and remember, it’s just Toastmasters!

Steve Vear
District Director

From a Triple Crown to the Chair of the District Council

When I became a Toastmaster back in 2010 I was immediately sold with the idea of what the organisation was about, through the wonderful welcome and induction I received from my club Wessex speakers in Winchester. I very quickly set myself some objectives to work through my competent communicator manual and unlike a lot of members also got through my competent leader manual at relative pace. Within a year of membership I had also managed to achieve my advanced communicator bronze award.

I decided that I wanted to understand more about the organisation I joined and I remember going to a divisional speech contest early in my membership. This sticks in my mind because it was the first time I met Past International Director Jean Gamester. To my utter surprise my name was called out by her when she was on the stage and I was presented with something called a Triple Crown. Although the award was unexpected and very nice, I remember driving home thinking even at that point I wasn’t sure what it really meant to be part of an organisation as big as Toastmasters International.

In the couple of years that followed, I remember going to the conference in Swindon, one in London near to the Tower of London, one in Gatwick and when I was serving as Division Director I stepped up to become logistics chair for the Mayflower conference in Southampton. I remember vividly the thank you speech that Vanessa King DTM gave when she prepared to step down as District Director and remember thinking how proud I was to be involved with such an amazing group of people. Somehow I still feel tired when I think of that conference, but it holds memories I will always cherish.

It feels very strange therefore, to be less than a week away from our conference in Heathrow where I will chair the annual business meeting as District Director. The conference team under the leadership of Debbie Williams and Bolu has done an amazing job to put together such an exciting agenda. At the time of writing we are sold out of our Gala Dinner and VIP tickets. As you will see from Debbie’s article – there is still time to buy day tickets!

So…. If you want to build memories, spend time with friends, maybe even make some new friends, then you need to come along and be part of the fun.

You will not regret being helped to see how big and impressive this organisation is – but most importantly how impressive the talent and members are that we have here in District 91.

Buy your ticket today – and maybe one day you will be inspired to become the District Director too….

Yours in service,
Steve Vear