In This Issue: 

• The Club Mission
• Talk Up Toastmasters
• Dues are Due
• Leadership Roles – Go For It!
• District 35 Nominations for 2021-2022 Toastmasters Year
• Lead From Where You Are – D35 Annual Spring Conference
• D35 Spring Virtual District Council Meeting
• Congrats – Level 5 Completions!
• Congrats – Triple Crown!
• Congrats – Clubs with 100% Participation in Pathways!
• District 35 is #1!
• CGD – By the Numbers
• Division Demo Meeting Incentive
• D35 Virtual Business Fair
• D35 Research Team
• Introducing – Leveling Up Leadership
• New Club Incentive Extension
• Club Coaching Success Story

 

Kris Pool, DTM – District Director

The Club Mission

Are you ready to attend your club meeting today? Are you prepared for your role, energized, and ready to share in the camaraderie of your fellow Toastmasters.

You may not realize it, but sometimes even I can be sluggish and lethargic; I don’t always want to attend a Toastmasters meeting. When I feel like this, I still attend. I know that when I walk into the room or log onto Zoom, a switch gets flipped inside me when I see my fellow members. And when we open the meeting with the reading of the Club Mission, that’s when I truly refocus my energy and attention. Everything that has been going on in the world of work, home, and health goes away and I am totally focused on Toastmasters.

After an hour or two with my fellow Toastmasters, I am rejuvenated and motivated! I am ecstatic and want more! Does this happen to you? If not, why not? What can you do to instill more enjoyment and energy into your club meetings? One way is to have all members come together with a specific purpose, and that purpose is the club mission. Read it, say it, mean it, live it, and love it!

We provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth.

What are you doing individually and as a club to support your fellow Toastmasters and achieve this club mission?

 

Talk Up Toastmasters

Toastmasters love to connect, so take advantage of it. The Talk Up Toastmasters membership program is the chance to encourage your members to invite guests to a special meeting where prospective members can learn about Toastmasters’ many benefits. Then add five new, dual or reinstated members with a join date between February 1 and March 31, and you’ll receive a special Talk up Toastmasters ribbon to display on your club’s banner. Qualifying clubs can also earn a special discount code for 10% off their next club order. (The discount code expires six months from the date of issue and is not valid with any other offer.)

Applications and payments for members with a join date between February 1 and March 31 must be received at World Headquarters or online no later than March 31. The addition of transfer and charter members does not count towards Talk Up Toastmasters credit.

Read more about the membership campaigns at https://www.toastmasters.org/Leadership-Central/Club-Officer-Tools/Membership-Building/Membership-Building-Programs-for-Clubs

 

Dues are Due!

Toastmasters International is now open to submit membership dues renewals. 

It is time to renew your membership dues with Toastmasters. But it is more than just paying your money by March 31… your membership renewal is so much more!

Toastmasters members are always trying to find ways to save time, gain communication skills and confidence, and learn leadership skills. Members access these benefits through their Toastmasters membership. Toastmasters has proved itself to be the first-choice provider of dynamic, high-value, experiential communication and leadership skills development when compared to any other offering. Where else can our members go to access so much in one place? Toastmasters is a one-stop shop for so many benefits and members only need to pay their dues renewal by the end of March.

Keep in mind that members and clubs that do not meet the minimum of eight (8) member renewal payments will cause the club to lose their good standing. This can affect contest eligibility for contestants, and we do not want that to happen!

I invite you to pay your dues renewals today. Continue your professional development journey and continue to network with like-minded members. Do not lose out on this opportunity to enjoy the benefits of Toastmasters to its fullest potential.

 

Leadership Roles – Go For It!

When the opportunity presents itself, go for it! This was the message shared by Karim Ellis, keynote speaker back at our Winter TLI in December 2019.  It doesn’t matter if you are prepared or experienced – go for it! You’ll learn as you go along.

This is the mindset I encourage you take when you are asked to take on an officer role within your club or the district. Go for it! You have so much potential that can be developed into more if you go for the opportunity presented to you.

Why do volunteers take on leadership roles? In addition to increasing your own self-esteem, you help others improve their self-confidence. You can improve the lives of others by showing how you care and want to see them grow and develop into a better communicator and leader. It takes you beyond your comfort zone – remember, you can grow if you stay where you are. If you have a vision, you can share this with others and develop a plan to work towards that vision. And it’s an opportunity to make a difference!

If that’s not enough motivation for you, consider this:

• Development and Learning – enhance your understanding of Toastmasters, develop social skills, gain new perspectives, increase self-esteem, and remain physically and mentally active
• Belonging and Protection – make new friends and meet people, show appreciation of others, and engage in social interactions
• Career Recognition – increase welfare through tangible rewards or benefits, find opportunities to network with potential business contacts, enhance your resume, and develop skills for future employment

Still not convinced? How about:

• Autonomy – do something on your own (innovate, experiment, receive feedback for improvement)
• Mastery – improve skills you enjoy doing and gives you satisfaction or develop new skills to increase your confidence
• Purpose – understand how you are a part of something bigger and how your contributions help to meet the mission of the club/district and how you can help the organization as a whole

The opportunity is here now for district leadership and coming up very soon for club leadership. Go for it!

 

Rozaline Janci, DTM – Immediate Past District Director

REMINDER: District 35 Nominations for 2021-2022 Toastmasters Year – DEADLINE EXTENDED TO FEBRUARY 28, 2021

District 35 continues to accept nominations for Division Directors, Club Growth Director, Program Quality Director, and District Director. A candidate may nominate himself/herself or nominate another Toastmaster. Each candidate will need to submit a candidate application (links are below) for any of the offices along with the officer agreement and release form.

The deadline for receiving the applications has been EXTENDED TO FEBRUARY 28, 2021. The committee will adjust their schedule and conduct interviews in March.

• Call for Nominations – District Leader Qualifications and Responsibilities
• District Leader Nominating Form
• District Leader Agreement and Release Statement
• Candidate Application
• District Leader Competencies

Please send your application to DLC Chair Rozaline Janci:  rozaline.janci@usbank.com

We are also looking to fill our appointed roles of Area Director, Public Relations Manager, Finance Manager, and Administrative Manager. If interested in any of these roles, please submit the paperwork (same as an elected position) as soon as possible. You won’t go through the interview process, but we do need the paperwork.

Go for it!

 

Lead From Where You Are – D35 Annual Spring Conference

May 13-15, 2021 Virtual Event

Join your friends from across the district for networking, education, keynote speakers, the annual business meeting, speech contests, and more!

 

 

 

Ed Thelen, DTM – Past District Director 2018-2019

DISTRICT 35 SPRING VIRTUAL DISTRICT COUNCIL MEETING

District Council members:  mark your calendars for Saturday, May 15, 2021 (time TBD) for our virtual Spring District Council meeting that is required to be conducted.  The District Council consists of the District Executive Committee (DEC) comprising of all of the District leaders along with the Club Presidents and Vice Presidents Education.  (Note: Other members of District 35 are welcome to attend the District Council meeting but have no voting privileges.)

A Google form will be made available by Saturday, April 17 for individuals to fill out to register for the District Council meeting.  You will have until 7 p.m. on Friday, May 14 to indicate you are attending the District Council meeting and be credentialed.  NO exceptions will be made to this policy.  Being credentialed means you will be supplied electronic votes as we come up to voting items during the District Council meeting.

In order to facilitate a smooth process this year, I will offer training to to help our District Council members prepare and be comfortable with the voting process on the day of the District Council meeting.  This training will be conducted on April 11 from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. via Zoom.  Please visit the District 35 calendar for details.

The District plans to use Zoom for the hosting platform for the meeting with the election platform for voting yet to be determined.  These will be tested prior to the District Council meeting and instructions will be sent for the voting.  The agenda and any supporting documents must be published at least 14 days in advance of the meeting.

As a reminder, no proxies are allowed for the virtual District Council meeting.  Therefore, we need as many District Council members to attend the District Council meeting as possible.

There are generally two important votes at the District Council meeting.  The first vote will be to approve any realignment changes proposed from the Realignment Chair.  The other vote will be to elect our Division Directors, Club Growth Director, Program Quality Director, and District Director.

As you can see, this is an important event to get District 35 prepared for the upcoming Toastmasters year.  Block off your time to attend the April 11 training and May 15 District Council meeting today!

Teri McGregor – Program Quality Director

Congratulations to the following members who completed level 5 since our last newsletter!!

Effective Coaching

Stephanie Mosher

Strategic Relationships

Michael Prudhom

Presentation Mastery

Michael Prudhom

 

Congratulations to these Toastmasters who have earned 3 or more education credits!

Bonniejean Alford	Elizabeth Pollock
Susan Brushafer	Kris Pool
Yujing Fen	Michael Prudhom
Jessie Franklin	Jennifer Riley
Helen Grothe	Christine Roalfs
Tom Gust	Debra Ruskamp
Mary Hiss	Kathy Shine
Rozaline Janci	Matthew Smith
Stephanie Mosher	Susanne Willis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Successful Toastmasters clubs are active in the education program.  Members give speeches and work on leadership projects and share their experiences as they learn and grow.  Toastmasters International provides data about Pathways enrollment broken down by club officers, club members and new members.

Congratulations to these clubs who have 100% participation in all 3 categories!!

LaCrosse Area Toastmasters

Green Bay Yackers

Fox Speak Toastmasters Club

Keynoters Club

Tosa Medical Club

Church Mutual Club

Wisconsin Rapids Area Toastmasters Club

Talk of the Town

The Breakfast Club

Thriving Communicators

Oak Creek Toastmasters

Truckmasters

District 35 is number 1 in the Region in all 3 categories!

                                                                                                                                        Members enrolled:  85%

                                                                                                                                        Club officers enrolled:  94.2%

                                                                                                                                        New members enrolled:  76%

Jennifer Kibicho, DTM – Club Growth Director

CGD BY THE NUMBERS—EXCITING UPDATES

MEMBERSHIP PAYMENTS:

Since July 2020, we have welcomed 194 new members to our District 35 Toastmasters family! Indeed, 83 clubs have added at least one new member. Congratulations to the following 11 clubs that have added 4 or more members:

PAID CLUBS:

The Club Growth Team is excited to report that of 115 clubs in our District:

• 97 clubs are in Good Standing (with 8 or more paid members)—up from 90 clubs in December 2020
• 10 clubs are within reach of Good Standing status with 1-7 paid members—let’s set a goal to get these 10 clubs in good standing (minimum of 8 paid members to be in good standing)

We thank our Division and Area Directors, Club Presidents, Vice Presidents Membership, and members who have worked so hard to recruit and retain members!

 

DIVISION DEMO MEETING INCENTIVE

Each Division has an opportunity to earn up to District Dollars (DD$) for hosting a demo meeting before March 31, 2021. A Division can earn 200 DD$ per demo if they charter a club within one month of the meeting; 150 DD$ per demo if chartered within two months of the meeting; or 100 DD$ for hosting a demo meeting. To be eligible for the incentive, you must keep the Club Growth Director informed about your plans, including date for the demo meeting and contact information on the possible chartering club. Here is a summary of the Division Demo Incentive:

• DD$100 per demo meeting
• DD$200 for demo PLUS charter club within one (1) month
• DD$150 for demo PLUS charter club within two (2) months

We will be announcing the winners of this exciting incentive in our April 2021 Newsletter!

Keep in mind that any new club that charters before the end of June 2020 will have the $125 new club chartering fee waived, as well as the $20 new member fee for all charter club members. More information is given below.

 

DISTRICT 35 VIRTUAL BUSINESS FAIR

Club Growth Team is thrilled to announce an upcoming district-wide Virtual Business Expo to be held via Zoom on Monday, March 29 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. This online event will give Business Leaders in our District the opportunity to connect and learn how they can partner with Toastmasters to meet their organization’s professional development needs.

Please email me at kibichodtm@gmail.com if you:

• Work in a large organization (more than 250 employees) and do not currently have a Toastmasters club in your organization
• Know of an organization that can benefit from Toastmasters
• Would like to volunteer to help organize and manage this virtual event (think of your Pathways project…. Building a Social Media Presence, Manage Projects Successfully, Public Relations Strategies, Make Connections Through Networking, Create a Podcast, Write a Compelling Blog, and more)

If you need to complete an HPL or DTM project, this is the perfect opportunity!

Here is the link to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/district-35-virtual-business-expo-tickets-140641172533 

 

DISTRICT 35 RESEARCH TEAM

We are looking for individuals to assist the District 35 Research Team. The Research Team will support the Club Growth Team by researching businesses and organizations within the District and help connect with potential leads for new Toastmasters clubs. The Club Growth Team is looking for volunteers.

If you need to complete an HPL or DTM project, this is another fantastic opportunity

Volunteer Today – contact me at kibichodtm@gmail.com

 

Jean Rossett – Club Growth Director Committee Chair

Introducing, Leveling Up Leadership – Online Specialty Club

I am excited to announce that District 35 is in the process of chartering a new online specialty club, Leveling Up Leadership, with a focus on business and leadership.  We conducted the demo meeting on January 13 with 28 attendants!  At the organization meeting on January 20, new members voted on the club name, meeting days and frequency, and inducted five club officers.

Leveling Up Leadership will meet via Zoom on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month at 12:00 Noon Central Time.  Club President, Morgan Murphy, stated her mission is to “take the individual ideas of members and help propel those into reality as a cohesive whole. I want this club to promote and fulfill the leadership needs and wants of the members, as well as challenge ideas to help foster the growth of the club and each of its members.”

The club held its first official meeting on January 26. Emcee and Table Topics Master, Morgan Murphy,  brought us the theme of New Beginnings with “Genesis” as the word of the day.  Members shared their favorite new beginning stories and I gave the inaugural speech titled, “What Did I Get Myself Into?” I talked about my leadership style and penchant for volunteering.  Business Tipster DeDe Obuch provided two valuable insights:  1) Be replaceable and 2) Make your boss look good.

We are still looking for additional charter members.  Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to help get this new club up and running!  Please join us at our next meeting on February 9th. We are eager to network with like-minded individuals from around the globe and share experiences in business and leadership.  Please contact me, Jean Rossett, at jeanrossett@yahoo.com for the meeting link information and membership application.

 

 

 

New Club Incentive Extension

Exciting news!

The Board of Directors has extended the waiver for charter fees and new member fees.  As the effects of COVID-19 have continued to create challenges in organizing new clubs, the Board of Directors had put in place an incentive for the months of November 2020 to January 2021 to support Districts in building clubs. The Board received requests from various Districts requesting to extend the incentive program as it has been beneficial in club building efforts. The Board met to review the progress of the incentive program, along with requests, and have extended it through June 30, 2021.

Effective immediately, any new clubs that organize now through June 30, 2021, will have the charter fee ($125 USD) and the new member fees ($20 USD per member) waived. To qualify, new clubs will need to fully complete the charter process, pay the $45 USD membership dues for each charter member, and pay the prorated amount for the next renewal cycle (April 2021 for clubs organizing through March or October 2021 for clubs organizing April through June) by June 30, 2021.  This incentive is also applicable to prospective clubs that have already submitted the charter fee.  If the prospective club completes the process of organizing their club by June 30, 2021, the charter fee will be refunded.

The Board understands the challenges the pandemic continues to have on club building efforts, and they hope the extension of the incentive can assist you in reaching your goals for the program year.  For any questions on the incentive, please contact the New Clubs Team at newclubs@toastmasters.org 

 

Keith H. Cumiskey, PDD, DTM – Club Coach Chair

Amazing Club Coaching Success Story

Toast on Tap is a 10-year old corporate club at Molson Coors in Milwaukee. At this time a year ago, they had six (6) paid members. Today they have 28 with expectations to grow even more. So, what happened?

Last year, Area Director Shelly Runte supported the club at an Employee Expo where the club shared the value of Toastmasters with employees. They began working with senior management and Human Resources who are now actively supporting Toastmasters. As the Toastmaster year was ending, Shelly wanted to continue the momentum and relationships that had been building. She agreed to continue another year as club coach.

Stephan Church joined as a coach and brought the experience of successful corporate clubs from Rumble Don’t Mumble (Harley-Davidson) and NM Speaks (Northwestern Mutual).

Most of the membership growth consist of young, upwardly mobile, professionals from across the organization. They recognize that Toastmasters can provide them with immediate access to develop communication and leadership skills they will need to meet their goals.

Membership and participation have blossomed to the point where additional meetings have been added. Breakout sessions provide more speech opportunities for the new members, with experienced members facilitating.

Club members joined a Toastmaster meeting at Harley-Davidson and were exposed to ideas and motivation from a thriving corporate club.

Both Shelly and Stephan are passionate about building long-term success with this club.

If you are inspired by the coaching success at Toast on Tap, consider serving as a club coach. Currently, 34 clubs in the District are eligible to accept a coach. Three clubs have requested a coach that we have not yet been able to fill. In today’s virtual world, you have an opportunity to coach a club that you would not normally be able to attend. Time is running short for some clubs who could use an outside perspective.

Contact Keith Cumiskey, PDD, DTM at khcumiskey@ra.rockwell.com for more information about club coaching.