contest

D91 Leader Letter January 2023 Program Update

by
leader speaking to large audience

Program Quality Update

Training, contests, club success and the D91 Conference

We are now just over halfway through the Toastmasters year. It is a good time to review progress against your Distinguished Club profile.

At the District Officer Training this weekend we ran sessions to help Area and Division Directors identify what clubs need to achieve to become Distinguished by the end of June.

While becoming a Distinguished or higher achieving club is important for tracking members’ progress as well as that of the club itself, please also remember to have “high energy” and fun meetings, so that guests want to join, and members want to keep attending.

Training

The Club Officer Training sessions are now under way. A quick reminder that training in D91 is three hours long and includes a session specific to the officer’s specific role. It is important that training records are updated on a regular basis.

Area Directors, please let your Division Directors know as soon as possible who has attended your training and the role they perform at which club(s) as soon as possible so that the records can be updated. Doing this will avoid having to remind people to attend when in fact they have already attended a training.

Please also remind your clubs that if they have all seven club officers trained, they will win a set of club officer pins if this is the first time that they have achieved that goal this Toastmasters year. They can also win a £60 voucher if the club has already had 7 officers trained in the summer round of training.

Area and Division Training events can be found on the D91 Calendar

Contests

Please remember that club contests can be online, in-person or hybrid. Area and Division contests must be hybrid. This was agreed upon at the District Executive meeting in Brighton in September 2022.

Conference

The District 91 conference in May. The location contract is currently being reviewed and a conference update was provided at our District Officer Training over the weekend. Keep your eyes out for confirmation of the conference location very soon!

Diane Richardson

Program Quality Director

Autumn Contests & 2023 D91 Conference News

by

District Conference 2023

Hello, it’s Diane Richardson here, your Program Quality Director,

I am delighted to say that the District 91 Conference has been booked for the weekend of 6th and 7th May in Central London. I cannot divulge where it is going to be yet, but I think you’ll be excited when you find out. As always it is going to be a smorgasbord of great talks, seminars, and of course the District Contest finals. If you attended last year, you’ll know that this is an event not to be missed!

Whether or not you have attended this conference before, you should know that a tremendous amount of work goes into organising it.

We are still looking for volunteers to help with the conference team. We are looking for a Finance Manager, a PR Manager, and a Sponsorship Manager urgently. Other vital roles such as a Registration manager and IT manager will be needed soon after.

Just a taste of the benefits members of the last conference team gained can be found in these two examples from 2022-2023 Area Director Bonnie Wong and Division Director Rose Nakibirango.

If you are inspired to join the conference team, please contact either Angelie Bharwaney on angeliebharwaney@gmail.com or myself on diane@d91toastmasters.org.uk

Bonnie Wong, D29 Area Director

Rose Nakibirango, Division K Director

Club Officer Training

After a few late entries I am pleased to say that 125 clubs in the District now have 4 or more club officers trained.

However, I would ask every Club President to check that all the correct number of officers trained are shown on the club Dashboard, before the end of October as records cannot be updated after the 31st October and despite the best efforts of everyone occasionally someone is missed.

Pathways Workshop Tips

On Sunday 16th October Massimo Guadagnino, this year’s Pathways Champion and his team will be running a webinar on how to get the most from your Pathway’s journey. The Pathways Champion team have lots of creative ideas and suggestions on how members can gain the most from their Pathways experience. They will also be explaining how you can start your Pathways’ journey within a day or two of joining a club. If you are a new member or a member who has yet to start a Path, then this is a great first step to start your pathways journey. Experienced members will also learn lots of useful tips on how to complete some of their level 4 & 5 projects. To register for the webinar please click on the link below  https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89058848593?pwd=YVRUN2laZ204RGFobkRKZ05oQTAzdz09

Diane Richardson,

Program Quality Director, 2022-2023

Contest season is upon us

by

This year, it is all online. Time to keep calm and compete!

To assist with your preparations, our District Chief Judge, Neil Coleman delivered a fantastic webinar on the rules and regulations and shared tips to help you all. The webinar is available on the District 91 website for you all to review, along with support documentation. There are complimentary Zoom training sessions which Divisions have created to support you to, do seek these out. Good luck to all.

The District Conference in May 2021 will now be a virtual event, in line with Toastmasters International guidance, that all contests at Area, Division and District level, have to be online in this Toastmasters year. As a District, we have the experience of delivering a fantastic virtual conference, so let’s build on this. To head up the conference team, we require a Conference Director. In performing this role myself in 2018, this served as my HPL project and was one of the most stretching, rewarding and fun roles I had undertaken within Toastmasters. This opportunity would definitely fit someone with great organisational skills, that can build a team to support them, combat challenges and be a Zoomin human. If you are interested in becoming our next Conference Director, or simply looking to volunteer to be part of the May 2021 conference team, contact me

Education and Training

The education achievements are flowing in thick and fast with close to 350 awards so far.  Over 140 members have received their Level 1 award, through to 16 members completing their chosen path, 3 members completing the Pathway Mentoring Program and 11 members attaining Distinguished Toastmaster. Congratulations to you all.

The District webinar series is now well underway, with a full programme scheduled for your all on Sunday’s evenings, through to the end of November. There’s a blend of personal development and Toastmasters specific webinar opportunities for you to join. The details are also linked through the District Calendar.

To support the webinar series, the planned relaunch of the Trainers Bureau is now scheduled for the autumn. This will provide those members seeking to step away from purely delivering speeches to develop and enhance their training skills.

A date for your diary!

Save the date for a quiz evening on Friday 4 December from the Program Quality Team