District Leadership 2022-23

Club Growth Newsletter November 2022

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As of the end of October 2022, District 91 had achieved a total of 628 new members.  A huge welcome to all new members and a big congratulations to all clubs.  As such I would like to remind everyone of the toastmasters’ promises:

The Toastmasters Promise

As a member of Toastmasters International and my club, I promise  

  • To attend club meetings regularly
  • To prepare all of my projects to the best of my ability, basing them on the Toastmasters education program
  • To prepare for and fulfil meeting assignments
  • To provide fellow members with helpful, constructive evaluations
  • To help the club maintain the positive, friendly environment necessary for all members to learn and grow
  • To serve my club as an officer when called upon to do so
  • To treat my fellow club members and our guests with respect and courtesy
  • To bring guests to club meetings so they can see the benefits Toastmasters membership offers
  • To adhere to the guidelines and rules for all Toastmasters education and recognition programs
  • To act within Toastmasters’ core values of integrity, respect, service and excellence during the conduct of all Toastmasters’ activities

New Clubs

On behalf of District 91, I would like to give a warm welcome to the return of

KPMG Kommunicators.  Congratulations on the charter of your club, and a big welcome to all members.

“Really delighted in KPMG’s club chartering again, supporting the learning and development of our teams. The club will focus on two specific KPMG values which are (1) Excellence: Never stop learning and improving and (2) Togetherness: Respecting each other and draw strength from each other’s differences.  It’s an exciting time for our members to connect, grow and be part of the Toastmasters community”.
Ga Lok Chung, KPMG Kommunicators

Incentives

District 91 offers incentives for clubs to grow their memberships.  The first was The Smedley Award awarded to any club that added five new, dual, or reinstated members from August 1 to September 30.  Winners of the Smedley Award will receive a ribbon to be displayed on your club banner as a reward for your achievement.  Congratulations to the following clubs:

  • Bristol Central Speakers
  • Connected Speakers London
  • Bloomberg London Toastmasters
  • City of London Toastmasters Club
  • Central London Toastmasters
  • London Public Speakers

Check out the incentives page here: https://d91toastmasters.org.uk/members/resources/incentives/

Debbie’s Top Tips

  • Consider themed meetings, or do you have a club anniversary to celebrate? This is an opportunity to make your club meetings memorable.
  • Consider hosting an Open House to promote your club.
  • Host a club membership-building competition to see which members can bring the most guests. The prize could be a box of chocolates, for example

Special Feature: Club Growth Webinar – New Member Orientation

What does a new club member’s journey look like and how can we help to orientate them?  Please attend the above webinar for some useful insights.  This hour-long webinar will be hosted by Juli Chapman from Beckenham Communicators.  This is suitable for all club officers and all new members.  Please register here to attend: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81608535946

In the meantime, two brave members from The Speakers of Croydon have shared their journey from guest to member.  The first is Oyinlola Idris:

  1. Why did you want to join / how did you find the club
  • I joined Toastmasters as a member at the Speakers of Croydon in June 2022 after initially attending as a guest at different clubs in 2017 and 2019. At both of the clubs I attended in 2017 and 2019 I considered joining as a member but was too afraid to take the definitive step!
  • I wanted to join to tackle the fear and anxiety I had whenever I needed to present a speech and speak publicly, whether that was at work, at a party, at a wedding etc and after having to deliver a presentation at work in May 2022 which bought all my fears back to the surface, I finally decided to join Toastmasters as a member once and for all in June 2022 to overcome my fear.
  • From my first meeting, I found the Speakers of Croydon club to be incredibly organised, warm and friendly. I received a guest pack with plenty of information, observed some excellent speeches by very competent speakers and received follow up communication the next day after the meeting
  1. What was your experience as a first time guest
  • My experience as a first time guest was very positive, during the networking break I was approached by various members who were very friendly, I was also given an opportunity to participate in my very first meeting during the table topics segment
  1. What was your inspiration to move from guest to member?
  • Seeing how confident and competent the speech members was very inspiring, I knew if I was a member of this club that I could learn from the other members and go from strength to strength
  1. How easy was it to become a member?
  • It was extremely straightforward, I completed the new member form and made payment all on the same day, soon after I was accepted as a member and joined the WhatsApp group and was assigned a mentor (this was all done in less than a week of me attending my first meeting) – the rest is history as they say!
  1. Were you assigned a mentor, what was that process like, how did it make you feel?
  • The mentoring process was very smooth, my assigned mentor contacted me pretty much immediately and was proactive, helpful and friendly. I felt comfortable approaching my mentor with any queries I had as a new member and we had many rehearsals of my speeches together!
  1. What roles you have done?
  • Nearly all the roles (evaluator, grammarian, timekeeper, table topics master). I have been assigned the Toastmaster role for a meeting in the next month and that leaves just the General Evaluator and Sergeant in Arms roles left to try!
  1. Have you done your ice-breaker or other speeches?
  • Yes, I delivered my icebreaker speech in August and have gone on to complete two other speeches since, with one of these being a speech delivered in the humorous contest speech (I was asked to participate in the contest which I was surprised about as I was a relatively new member, however, Speakers of Croydon pushes all members to challenge themselves). Of the three speeches I’ve delivered, I’ve won the best speaker award twice and really have the momentum to keep going in order to complete my presentation mastery pathway.

And here is another Member Andre Thomas sharing on his experience at Croydon Speakers:

Debbie Williams
Club Growth Director

News Round Up from Division C

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Division C, the Creative Division

This year, Division C is feeling creative. We want to create a super community with our corporate and community clubs in Central London. Let me introduce you to a few of our clubs here:

Bayes Toastmasters hosted an Open House on Monday 24th October. I had the honour of being the Toastmaster of the evening and got to wear my witches cape for the Halloween inspired theme! Well done to Vanessa Pochette (President) and Craig Moss (VP Education) for planning this event.

Early Bird Speakers boasts one of the highest members in the Division and has been busy submitting education awards across all levels. As the name suggests it meets in the early morning – the morning people are getting stuff done! Members leave the meeting energised for the day and feeling creative.
 
City of London Toastmasters raced ahead with new members at the beginning of this year, winning the Smedley Award in August and has signed up the most new members. Well done all! VPPR Cristina (Tina) Plamadeala has been getting creative on social media showing off her marketing skills. Tina has also helped to make some creations for the Division – example shared below. Thank you so much Tina!
 
Division C is joining the race to hit 5000 unique members. Our goal is to gain a net 100 members and we are well on the way with our vibrant and creative clubs, plus new additions to the family.
 
Last month we welcomed back KPMG Kommunicators into Area C58. We are very excited to have this club and thank you to Ga Lok Chung for his work in putting this together. The club has already completed eight ice breaker speeches over 20 first-timers taking on meeting roles. Well done to all the new Kommunicators!
 
This month we will be joined by another exciting new corporate club PA Consulting London. I have had the pleasure of attending their demo and launch meeting recently and look forward to attending more meetings over the next few weeks.
 

Emily McQuillen,

Division Director, Division C, 2022-2023

Renewals and Forex $-£

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From the Desk of the District Finance Manager

It is a pleasure to inform that our Q1 Financial Activities were all completed on time – the signoffs of our 2021/22 Year-End Accounts and Year-End Audit, and the DEC/Council-approved 2022/23 Budget was accepted by WHQ on 28th Sep.

We are now into Q2 of the Toastmasters calendar. I trust most Club’s bank signatories and accounts have been transferred over to the new Treasurers and Club Officers now have a good grasp of their budget in their Club Success Plan. Club Reserves have grown for many during the pandemic. As clubs return to face-to-face meetings, be mindful that venue hires and refreshment costs will now be incremental to zoom licenses and other costs that came in during the pandemic.

A quick scan of the renewals on 1st Oct, suggests to me that more renewals are yet to be captured. Making the situation more even challenging is the impact of the recent mini-budget announcement which plunged our currency to almost parity against the US dollar; a Sterling Weakness not seen since 1984.

With a weakening Sterling and with renewals not coming in as strong as they should be, an “MOT” on your club finances at this point may be prudent.

  1. Why not re-visit your 2022/23 Club Budget/ Plan and re-validate the membership dues collection forecast to understand better the cash inflow expected for the rest of the Toastmasters Year?
  2. Re-assess all your club commitments, especially those recurring ones such as Zoom subscriptions, Meet-Ups subscriptions, etc. What about sharing the licenses with another club in your Area as often, club meetings do not clash on the same day/time
  3. Re-forecast your cash outflow, specifically those that are denominated in US Dollars, as this will now inevitably cost more with a weaker Sterling e.g., Membership Payments to TMI, Zoom Licenses, etc.
  4. Perform some sensitivity analysis on the number of members (new & retained) and on the US$-denominated expenses to see what your end financials will could be
  5. Use a simple worksheet (example shown) to create better clarity of your club’s financials

A quick sense-check will provide you with a better insight into your club finances; hence allowing you to take the necessary interventions where required, to ensure that your club remains financially sustainable for this year and beyond.

Eddy Quah
District Finance Manager

District Director: Thoughts on our late Queen

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Rupa Datta on how she was inspired by Queen Elizabeth II

I write this month’s piece (originally written for the September newsletter) in a rather pensive mood.

Like the vast majority of you, I’ve only known of HM the late Queen Elizabeth as our Head of State, a woman in leadership and someone whose life was devoted to service from a young age. I’m sure as time passes there will be more reflections and parallels and for someone who was present in different ways for different people, there will be different takeaways.

Last month, at the Toastmasters International convention in Nashville, I had the honour to carry the flag of the United Kingdom during the opening ceremony. It’s hard to describe the thoughts that went through my head when the decisions for allocations of flags were being made and what it was to participate in such an event that really demonstrated the diversity of our organisation.

Given the events of the last two weeks, the whole event feels much more poignant right now.

As we near the time where we are decide on renewing our continued commitment to Toastmasters, our clubs and our personal growth, I can’t help but draw some parallels:

  • Service

The third of our Core Values. We associate 70 years of her reign as a lifetime dedicated to service as she pledged in her speech on her 21st birthday in 1947. In many ways, she was unprepared to take on the role when she did yet did so with grace throughout her reign.

At Toastmasters, we have opportunities to serve everywhere and a safe space to fail from time to time as we are students of leadership and communication. There are opportunities available right now for you to contribute in your own way. This could be within your club or beyond. Just reach out and ask the question – rupa@d91toastmasters.org.uk How can I serve?

  • Lifelong learning

As above, our late Queen spent a lifetime learning her role probably had many mentors throughout her time, and no doubt became a mentor and counsel to others along the way. We may never again see the depth and breadth of experience that one person attained in one leadership position.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have met some incredible Toastmasters who have been with the organisation for decades (I was 2 when one of my mentors and guides joined the organisation!) You may have read it before, and I seem to be reading it a lot at the moment as someone I met last month is posting this quote by the first female to join Toastmasters and a past International President, Helen Blanchard:

‘If you get out of Toastmasters all there is to get out of Toastmasters, you’ll never leave Toastmasters.’

  • Stability

Change is a constant fact of life. We witnessed during the pandemic the extent to which our Toastmasters community was a source of stability for many our our members. As one era ends, and we enter another, for some of us knowing that we have that club meeting to attend every week with a supportive group of people can be an important anchor.

Having the option to renew every 6 months, also gives us the opportunity to review our goals and growth – it’s ok if it may be time to explore a different club or even ‘go beyond your club’.

I have different goals to when I joined Toastmasters in February 2016. Some of what we are witnessing this month, we have never seen before and may never see in our again in our lifetime – the formalities and different types of speeches. Different roles in Toastmasters give you that too – I reflect again having chaired a formal business meeting for District Leaders earlier this month and will be chairing another one for our District and Club Leaders at the end of the month.

I hope you continue your membership with us…and contribute some small steps to help our community grow to 5000 by the end of this Toastmasters year.

“It’s worth remembering that it is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change.”

HM Queen Elizabeth II

Rupa Datta

District 91 Director, 2022-23