I love November, maybe because it’s my birthday month and I always have a little celebration, or maybe because it’s the chance to bring out some of my colourful winter jumpers or maybe because this year it’s been Contest time. Others complain that November is ‘just cold’. I encourage you instead to see it as an opportunity to snuggle up with a nice hot chocolate, a cosy blanket and the chance to sit down with the latest District newsletter or Toastmasters magazine, there is so much to read and discover.
November has certainly been busy for all the club growth team. From visiting division contests, assigning mentors and coaches, running drop in sessions, organising demo meetings, emailing clubs with all their incentive wins and so much more.
Meet the team behind the scenes.
I kicked off the month visiting Division contests and having the honour of recognising clubs and members on their achievements. It was an absolute delight to be invited to both Division D with Division Director Smita Narayan and Division A with Division Director Yogendra Paranjpe. I’m very much looking forward to seeing all the winners at the District contest.
Division contests are just one way of showing guests the brilliance of toastmasters and I was delighted to see non toastmasters in the audience. Another way is to celebrate a club anniversary which City of London did earlier this month. Do read their 30th anniversary article below.
Moving from established clubs to newbies. Last month we introduced ‘Toastmasters at the BBC’ and it’s wonderful to hear their enthusiasm, what they have gained already in just a few meetings and the benefit of meeting people from their own organisations who they would never have met otherwise. They appreciate the support being offered by Division B director, Mary-Anne Ledger and Area Director Riccardo Ginevri. Casper Willcock, our Mentor lead, is delighted to have found great support for this new club in newly appointed Mentors, Ricardo Ginevri and Malcolm Braganza. We are sure they will achieve great things in no time.
Behind the scenes, our Demo Lead, Ramesh Halai is the master at organising meetings for a potential new club so they can see how a club meeting runs and the roles involved. We have several in the pipeline and with the help from Kate Jones and Lydia McDowall, we are working hard to turn these into Chartered clubs, so watch this space.
Since renewals, across our district, several clubs are working hard to regain stability, rebuild membership, and re-energise their meetings. Several of these clubs have been assigned Club Coaches to help them get back up to full strength. Want to know more about what Club Coaches do, the benefits to both the Club and the Coach, then read the article here by Simon McKee.
Club growth is always a focus and we are continuing the ‘How to grow your club series’ of drop-in sessions. Emmanuel Karamagi has already presented Speechcraft.
Future drop-ins will include: Club growth strategies, Club Marketing and Running an Open House, so do watch out for further information on these sessions.
We have a wonderful mix of clubs including Corporate Clubs and Arnaud Sartre, our Corporate Lead is looking to see how we can strengthen our relationships with Corporate Sponsors to ensure these clubs continue to thrive. If you are in a Corporate Club, do you ever invite the Executive Sponsor along? Encourage them to attend even just part of a meeting to see what you do, how much you have progressed and the wonderful benefits a Toastmasters Club has to offer.
Several clubs this month would have been in receipt of vouchers in recognition of achieving various incentives. Congratulations all you winning Clubs, well done! It is no simple task to simply send out a voucher it is in fact quite a complicated process with lots of moving parts and the fab duo of Shubham Jain, Jeevan George John assisted by Janet Alkema have worked incredibly hard to simplify the process so you receive both an email, a voucher and details on how to claim, so please ensure you do. (Claim that is).
City of London 30th Anniversary
Club Anniversaries so far this year
Congratulations to all the other clubs below who have celebrated a milestone Anniversary this Toastmasters year so far. Whether 1 year, 5, 10 or more it is great achievement. Celebrate your success. It’s a fabulous way of bringing people together.
Based on the Official Charter Date
| Club | Month | Years |
| London Corinthians | November 1990 | 35 |
| City of London | November 1995 | 30 |
| Croydon Communicators | September 2005 | 20 |
| Windsor Speakers | August 2005 | 20 |
| Kings Cross Speakers | September 2015 | 10 |
| Paddington Toastmasters | August 2015 | 10 |
| Liberty Speakers | October 2020 | 5 |
| Wye Knot Speakers | July 2020 | 5 |
| Sky Osterley Toastmasters | November 2024 | 1 |
Top Tip of the month
Want to grow your membership – celebrate a club anniversary. A great opportunity to reconnect with less regular members and past members. To bring in guests, past and new and showcase what you do.
That just leaves me to say, wrap up warm, take care in the ice and keep telling all your friends about Toastmasters!
Last Updated on 28th November 2025 by Allen Paul