Contents of your August 2018 Newsletter:

1. Save the Date!
2. John Wesley Warren
3. Toastmasters International Convention in Chicago
4. Letter from the District Director
5. Letter from Program Quality Director
6. Letter from Club Growth Director
7. Helpful Links

Thursday, August 23, 2018: Club Proxy Assignment deadline (6pm)

Saturday, August 25, 2018: World Championship of Public Speaking (1pm)

Sunday, September 30, 2018: Club Dues Submitted to Toastmasters International (midnight)

Saturday, December 1, 2018: Winter TLI, Madison, Monona Terrace

 

John Wesley Warren

Member, Cream City Communicators

I joined Toastmasters on a hot summer day in 2011.

At the time, I anticipated presenting more often at work due to increasing responsibility, and needed to hone my speaking skills.  My table topics speech at my very first meeting involved a hypothetical distasteful to most Wisconsinites – spilled beer – and, from there, I went on to give many speeches on topics like voting rights and other issues that I am passionate about and daily work-related issues, like privacy of personal health information.

Along the way, Toastmasters allowed me to establish a personal speaking and leadership style in a safe and supportive environment.  I am still active in Cream City Communicators, where I speak frequently, volunteer for leadership roles, and have held club officer positions.

I am excited to apply the skills I refined in Toastmasters to a new challenge.  I was sworn in as a Trustee for the Village of Shorewood on June 4, 2018.  I am the first African-American to serve the Village in that capacity.  I hope to use my skill set to work with my colleagues and the community to proactively resolve a host of crucial issues facing the Village, including weighing economic development opportunities, balancing taxes and budget priorities, and striving for social and environmental sustainability.

I am grateful for what I have learned in the countless hours I have spent preparing for and participating at Toastmasters meetings, and especially thankful for the talented leaders and members of the Cream City Communicators Club, who have helped to improve my speaking and leadership styles, skills which will be put to good use in my new role.

 

2018 Toastmasters International Convention

As you have probably heard, the International Convention is in Chicago, IL this year.  That is practically in our back yard!

Did you know you don’t have to attend the entire event?  You can attend just the World Championship of Public Speaking (Saturday, August 25 at 1 p.m.).  See registration options for more information!

 

Attention Club Presidents and Secretaries!

Every club gets two votes at the Annual Business Meeting during the International Convention.  If the club President and Secretary are not going to attend the convention, those two votes can be carried by another club member, another Toastmaster in good standing from another club, or our District Director via proxy.  Don’t throw your votes away!  Learn how to assign them via proxy:  https://district35.org/2018_proxy_vote/  Let your voice be heard!

 

 

Ed Thelen, DTM

District 35 Director

Welcome from the District Director

Can you believe a new Toastmasters year is upon us?  I am honored to serve as your District Director for the 2018-2019 Toastmasters year.  It is both an interesting and challenging time within Toastmasters; I believe we have an exciting future ahead of us.

For those of you that do not know me, here is a little bit about my Toastmasters background.  I was introduced to Toastmasters by my supervisor in my first full time job after graduating with my Master’s degree in Accounting.  She had previously been a member of my home club, Tosa/Medical Toastmasters, which I visited and joined in January 1999.

Initially I was satisfied with just doing things within my club.  However, I took things one step at a time when I became a club officer, worked through the program, and then stepped into a District role after serving a few club officer roles.  19 ½ years later, I am responsible for leading over 2,000 Toastmasters in Wisconsin and the upper peninsula of Michigan.  It certainly has been an interesting journey for me.

After such a long time in Toastmasters, I get asked somewhat frequently, “Why do you stay in Toastmasters?”  I think I can sum up my answer in three short points:

• The learning never stops in Toastmasters. Each new member that comes into a club does so with their own personality.  They bring this personality into their speeches.  I could write a speech on all of the subjects I’ve learned about in Toastmasters.  At a recent TLI, I learned new items in the training for Club Treasurer even after serving in that role multiple times!
• There are always ways to challenge yourself. I can certainly point out these last two years in my other Trio roles of Club Growth Director and Program Quality Director as prime examples of challenging myself.  Not only were the responsibilities of the roles new to me, but now a lot more people were depending on the results of my efforts.  For others, these challenges may be serving on a committee, serving as a Club or District officer, competing or being a helper in a speech contest, working on a challenging manual or speech project, or completing a High Performance Leadership (HPL) project.
• Toastmasters has become like a second family to me. I treasure the many friendships that have been formed not only within my club and our District, but internationally as well.  Like any family, there are disagreements, but I’ve always taken pride that Toastmasters members do their best to resolve them in a respectful manner.

With the changes to our fall schedule and completing our first full year of Pathways, all of the factors described above will be important in making sure we make it a successful year.  I wish you all the best this Toastmasters year, and if I can be of assistance, please let me know.

 

Rozaline Janci, DTM

Quality Program Director

Hello District 35 Toastmasters!

As we begin a new Toastmasters year, I am happy, honored, and excited to serve our members as your Program Quality Director by bringing more awareness of the Toastmasters International educational programs. Join me in developing the 2018-2019 Program Quality Team that will support all clubs in achieving excellence. Through quality educational programs and working as a team to mentor and support each other, we can empower all members of District 35 to become more effective communicators and leaders.

Every club, every officer trained

To ensure our clubs have quality programming, we need our club officers trained. It has been proven time and again that clubs with trained officers become distinguished clubs. Well-trained officers can share with members their newfound knowledge, thus preparing other members to become future leaders of the clubs.

To earn credit for officer training for this year’s Distinguished Club Program, club officers need to attend training prior to August 31, 2018. For those officers who missed the Toastmasters Leadership Institute (TLI) in July, check the District 35 calendar for a make-up training session near you. Thank you to our Division Directors for scheduling and providing the training for the club officers!

Incentive: Super 7 Award – Clubs that have all 7 officers trained will receive a Super 7 Club Ribbon to hang on their club banner.

 I would like you all to save the date of December 1, 2018 for the District-wide Winter TLI in Madison. Our key note speaker will be:

Eldonna Lewis Fernandez

A Few Great Reasons to Attend the TLI in Madison:

• Great key note speaker and education sessions
• District Awards Recognition Luncheon for Clubs and Members

Moments of Truth

Constructive feedback is the greatest gift we can give in Toastmasters. Just as you take time to evaluate speakers and functionaries at a regular meeting, take time to evaluate the overall health of your club. Does your club provide a welcoming, supportive environment for members to achieve their goals? Are members getting what they need and want from the club?

The Moments of Truth module from The Successful Club Series is an excellent place to start. This special presentation outlines six key criteria for sustaining a strong and healthy club. How does your club measure up? What can you do to improve? Our year together will focus on 3Ms – Members Matter Most! Start working on your club’s Club Success Plan with your Club Executive Committee team right away to get your club off to a great start. You can always reach out to your Area Director, Division Director, or the Trio if you have questions, need resources, or are looking for guidance.

Pathways

Over the past year, many of you have enrolled in the Toastmasters Pathways Learning Experience (aka Pathways), which is a major change to the Toastmasters Education Program.  This is the first full year of Pathways. Get ready to take your Pathways experience to the next level as we continue to learn and grow together in this great new educational platform. For those of you not enrolled in Pathways, I challenge you to face your fears and step outside of your comfort zone and try Pathways.

 

Kris Pool, DTM

Club Growth Director

Helping Us Grow Stronger

One month into the 2018-19 Toastmasters year, and we have accomplished so much already, yet there is much more to learn and do during this year. As Club Growth Director, my focus will be on two specific areas: (1) membership payments and (2) building new clubs and strengthening current clubs.

October 1 is just around the corner, and as we think of back-to-school and falling leaves, it is also time to prepare for the fall dues renewal. All Toastmasters club dues need to be paid to Toastmasters International by midnight on September 30, 2018. Don’t wait until the last minute to submit and risk the website crashing on you—as soon as you start receiving renewal payments, process the payment and pay to International.

Why should you pay before the deadline? If the club pays renewals for at least eight members, your club will receive credit in the Distinguished Club Program (DCP). And you may not be thinking of it now, but contest season is just around the corner; a member must be in good standing (meaning they have paid and the club has paid dues) to be eligible to compete. If a member doesn’t pay, then s/he will lose access to Pathways. If a member pays, but the club doesn’t submit payment, then the member(s) will lose access to Pathways.

Throughout the year, if you come across areas that could benefit from a community or corporate Toastmasters club, let me know! I’ll be looking for sponsors and mentors to help charter and work with these new clubs. If you’re trying to complete the requirements for your Advanced Leader Silver (ALS) in the traditional education program, sponsor or coach can be an option.

We also have struggling clubs in our District that could benefit from experienced members. If you are interested in becoming a Club Coach, let me know. You’ll work with clubs with 12 or fewer members to help them to reach Distinguished status. This is an option for the requirements for your ALS. And it would also count as a requirement for the DTM in the new Pathways program if you are pursuing that route.

This is going to be a fabulous year. I’m looking forward to serving you, the members of District 35, and working together to help us grow stronger.

HUGS!

 

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Helpful Links

• The Toastmasters Educational Program offers something for everyone. Start your personal journey today!
• The Distinguished Club Program is one way to track club management and members’ progress. Here’s a handy one page summary of the Educational and Distinguished Club programs.
• Distinguished Club Program Reports available on the Distinguished Performance Reports Dashboard give current status of a club.
• If you are a club officer or want to become one, check out Club Management. The skills you will develop as a club officer have far-reaching applications, as seen in this list of transferable skills.
• For speech contest rules and training, refer to the Speech Contests. We also suggest all contest volunteers and judges watch TI’s Speech Contests on-line training module.
• You can’t learn without other club members! Refer to our Membership page for suggestions about growing and retaining club membership. The District Educational Achievements Report celebrates our members who have completed educational awards this year.

 

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