Pedro Casillas (District Director)
In the days running up to the International Convention, leadership training, elections and the Annual Business Meeting takes place. The Board of Directors presented amendments to the Bylaws of Toastmasters International and Club Constitution. Every Toastmasters club has had the opportunity to vote on these proposed amendments and I as District Director for D91, have been entrusted with the proxy votes of those clubs who are unable to attend.
One proposal that raised most concern among our members would “allow individual members to submit their application and pay their dues online, when verified by a club officer”. The wording of the proposal appears to make it mandatory for all clubs, but it was confirmed that is not the case by Toastmasters CEO, Daniel Rex, and International President, Mike Storkey, when I raised the question with them.
The D91 Trio spent the day interviewing prospective senior International Officers and International Directors, as part of our role as District Leaders. The questions the Trio asked covered the status of Leadership Skills Development, as discussed in the Strategic Plan 2015, thoughts about the promotion of Pathways across the world and general marketing. From the answers provided we were able to shortlist those candidates we believe will go on to serve our organisation best.
Andy Hammond (Program Quality Director)
The first round of Club Officer Training (COT) is drawing to a close, and with some sessions taking place in the last few days, and reports still to be registered, we already have around 500 officers trained! Every one of those officers is now better equipped to support their members over the coming year.
Of course, it is an important part of achieving Distinguished status for your clubs. More importantly it means our members across the District will receive the quality club experience that will enable them to continue to grow, and to achieve their personal goals.
Don’t forget to check your club’s progress regularly on the Toastmasters Dashboard. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the success of our members and their clubs.
Florian Bay (Club Growth Director)
Ready, Steady, Grow! The year started with a bang in UK South regarding the growth of our clubs and of our members. I’ve been humbled by the drive and passion of many of our members, who approached me requesting more information and tips and how to start a club. I’ve received your message and guidance has now been produced for you to use. We’re now welcoming telecommunications multinational Verizon to our growing ranks of corporate partners. Multinational financial firms KPMG, Bloomberg and Morgan Stanley will follow very soon and join our growing ranks!
New community clubs are also popping up from Devon to London and from Shropshire to Wiltshire. I myself took the decision to lead by example and start a new club in my hometown of Beckenham. What an amazing feeling to revive the buzz and excitement that the club founders of London Victorians experienced 3 years ago! You too can feel the same and develop superb leadership, entrepreneurial and transferable skills at the same time!
We’ve got the guidance! We’ve got the tools you need! We’ve bottled up the experience of others! It’s now your time to shine and chose the extraordinary by changing the lives of others by launching a Toastmasters club in your community! Stay tuned for more news on our upcoming webinar series on membership growth, a lot of behind the scenes work is now taking place to unveil these in a couple of weeks!