New Year – New Growth Opportunities

New Year is a time for setting goals and making New Year Resolutions for many of us.

As we start the second half of the Toastmaster year it is time to reflect on how much progress we have all made towards our end goals for the Toastmaster year. As Club Growth Director for D91 I would ask you to think how your club can attract new members and boost membership retention.

You may wonder why I and my predecessors keep asking clubs to recruit new and more members? We do it for three reasons.

• Firstly, to improve your public speaking skills, you need feedback. Unfortunately, a smaller audience means less feedback and fewer opportunities to gain experience by watching other speakers, thereby slowing your own development.
• Secondly, a meeting with 20 or more people attending creates more ‘energy’, a ‘richer experience’, and more fun which many members, say helps them to deliver a better speech than it does when they are speaking in front of a smaller audience.
• Finally, it helps the District budget for the following year, allowing the District to run more and bigger incentives than it could with fewer members. Toastmasters International gives each District a percentage of each membership fee to disperse amongst clubs via the incentive programme.

This is why in January we are running a new membership growth award, Happy New Member.

Happy New Year Member

A new year – time to launch a new membership incentive scheme for clubs. To welcome in the new year the District has launched a new membership incentive for January. Happy New Member!

The first 25 clubs in D91 can win £30 for recruiting three new members to Toastmasters. These members must be new to Toastmasters; dual, renewing and transferring members do not count towards the three new members.

Already in the first few days of the year congratulations go to Wokingham Speakers in Area D21, who have recruited three new members. Kent Speakers are hot on Wokingham’s tail with two new members so far.

The incentive ends on 31^st January or sooner if 25 clubs recruit new members before that date.

Net 5 Incentive Winners

Congratulations to the following clubs who won a Net 5 Incentive award, by having 5 or more members at the end of December than the club “base number” which is set on 1^st July each year.

These clubs are in an excellent position to win the £100 Net 10 Award in mid-June. As are several other clubs who have a net gain of four members since the start of the Toastmaster year. There is still time for other clubs to join the party and win the Net 10 award in June.

Talk Up Toastmasters

In February and March once again District 91 will be awarding the first 25 clubs who recruit five or more new members. Full details can be found on the District 91 website.

Open Houses

Since January started, I have had the pleasure of sending Open House boxes of marketing and promotional goodies to four clubs and received enquiries from four other clubs.

Please invite your friends to attend an Open House if your club is planner one, giving them the opportunity to start their grow and communication skills.

Thank you and Happy New Year

Finally, I would like to thank all members who have helped keep their clubs running and recruited new members in what continues to be an uncertain time for us all. I would like to wish you all a healthy, happy, and successful 2022 both in and outside of Toastmasters.

Diane Richardson,
District 91 Club Growth Director 2021/22