District Leadership 2018-19

My fellow PQD from Eastern Europe, Lukas Liebich, made a very interesting point in a call a few days ago. He pointed out that Pathways project can be used by members to directly benefit their home clubs while learning new skills at the same time. It was not until I looked at what exactly Pathways can offer from Level 3 onwards that the penny dropped for me.

‘Develop a Communication Plan’ – ‘Planning and Implementing’ – ‘Public Relation Strategies’ – ‘Building a Social Media Presence’ – ‘Writing a Compelling Blog’

These are some of the many elective projects available from Level 3 onwards and that any member can choose to do to progress on the next step on their chosen learning path. Just think about what your club and members could do with these projects.

Is your club looking for help with PR? Then delegate to a member to work on as part of their ‘Public Relation Strategies’ Pathways.

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Another busy and inspiring month, including club visits, our first virtual District Executive Committee (DEC) meeting and an opportunity to meet up with the Chief Executive of Toastmasters International, Dan Rex.

I was honoured to be invited to a very special evening at Woking Speakers, celebrating twelve and a half years since they first chartered. (Yes, I know it is an odd anniversary, but that’s Woking Speakers!). I was also at their charter dinner in 2006 when I was Division Governor, so it was especially pleasing to see them thriving, and to catch up with some dear friends.

I was also invited to attend PMI UK Toastmasters Club in the splendour of St Botoph without-Aldgate and Holy Trinity Minories. A fascinating and challenging venue in which to deliver my talk on “Excellence” and to answer members’ questions. Thank you to Area K58 Director, Vijaya Avula for arranging that, together with meetings with Club Officers and members from Bloomberg London Toastmasters.

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Many new initiatives aimed at fulfilling the 1 – 70 – 100 vision are about to be started in the coming weeks. You too can be a driving force in helping the District achieve this vision and become a better leader in the process. We are looking for volunteers to take on the following roles:

Corporate Liaison Officer – Would you like to expand your network in the corporate world and to be the face of Toastmasters in the corporate world? Join our team of experts supporting corporate clubs and open new doors for you in the business world! You will be responsible for visiting corporate clubs, organising networking events and corporate summits to support our corporate clubs and their leaders.

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Life has been challenging recently so I hope you will indulge me as I reflect on my experiences.

We each have a different reason for joining Toastmasters, albeit with a common aim of improving some aspect of ourselves. We also have different reasons for staying as members, as long as we continue to feel we get some benefit.

My Toastmasters journey began nearly 18 years ago when I decided that I needed to improve my ability to deliver presentations and training, and to better deal with questions in public meetings. I found that delivering prepared speeches and evaluations helped with the former, and Table Topics gave me the skills and confidence to cope with the latter.

After eight years of personal growth and great leaps in my self-confidence, I reached a point where my enthusiasm began to wane. It was at that point that I started a new club, County Communicators. The experience of seeing a group of 20 new Toastmasters embarking on their own personal journeys was inspiring, and made me realise how much I could give back by supporting others.

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Renewal season is still open, and there is one day left to ensure your membership continues for the next 6 months. Reach out to your Club officers to ensure your membership does not lapse. 

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