Success Times – January 2013

Are Your Club Officers Helping Your Club Reach Distinguished Status?

Larry Goldsmith, DTM

January is when most of the mid-year training events occur for club officers. It is the second of the two training periods of the Toastmasters Year. Many officers feel that since they attended the training in July, they do not need to attend another training event. But the Distinguished Club Program goal #9 is for a minimum of four club officers to be trained during EACH of two training periods. That means even if your club met the goal during the first period, your club will not get the point unless a minimum of 4 officers attend this period training. It does not have to be the same officers that attended the previous training but a minimum of 4 officers must attend to achieve the point.

Ideally all of your club officers should attend the mid-year training. It is an excellent time to review what is expected of the role plus it provides the opportunity to meet with other officers from other clubs. You can meet and talk about struggles you have faced this year and share ideas on how you have overcome different issues. This sharing of knowledge strengthens all the clubs in attendance. That is why your club officers should be checking the District Website for events happening in the area. If you are an officer, make sure you plan to attend a training event and show you are invested in your club’s success. Bring questions or concerns you may have and take advantage of this idea sharing opportunity.

Club officers should plan to attend a training event together. It is a great time to review the club goals you set in July and determine how well you are meeting these goals or discover areas where you may need to work harder in the second half of your term. Revise your plan where needed or set additional goals if necessary. There is always ways to build membership or to strengthen the club.

Training events are also great for members looking to fill officer roles for next year. In the coming months clubs will be holding elections for the next year. This is a wonderful time to discover what the officer role is all about. As a current club officer you should be looking for your successors and this is a great time to invite these potential leaders along to meet people and build their network for the future.

Many of you as club officers will continue to grow as leaders in different roles for the club next year. Each position has their own duties, benefits and challenges. This is the time to look at the different roles and learn more about your next position.

This is one of the easiest club goals to achieve and yet many clubs miss it by one officer. With seven officers in the club, there is no reason to miss this goal. Some clubs have members serving in multiple officer roles and so their presence at training, so long as they attend their office session, can count as two officers attending training. With all this we still commonly have 40% of our clubs fail to achieve this point. Don’t let it be your club. Make sure a minimum of 4 officers attend training before the end of February.

The District Leadership would like to inform clubs that the District sponsored training for club officers for the 2013-2014 Toastmasters year will be held in June. This will mean officer elections should be held earlier than in previous years even though the officer lists are not due until the end of June. We will cover that Distinguished Club Program point next month.

Hit Me in the Face with a Pie

Larry Goldsmith, DTM

After the District Executive Meeting in September, Eileen James, the current Lt. Governor of Education and Training challenged our membership to beat the number of educational awards we submitted last year, when I filled that role. To make it interesting, Eileen and I made a wager. If we have more educational awards submitted by the Spring Conference compared to last year at this time, she gets to throw a pie in my face. If not, I get to throw a pie in her face.

Either way, Eileen or I will get a pie in the face at the Spring Conference, April 19-21 in Columbus, Ohio.

But why should we have all the fun? To we’ve decided to give the same, pie-throwing opportunity to two additional members as well: one pie toss for a member from the area with the most educational and one for a member from the area with the most leadership awards. Here are the guidelines:

Winners are based on submissions posted by April 17th, 2013.

1. The total overall educational awards will determine who gets the pie in the face. This is any award along the designated communication and leadership tracks. (i.e. CC, ACB, CL, DTM…). Pie will be administered by the Lt. Gov. with the most educational awards between the two periods.
2. 2The total communication awards submitted determines who gets the pie in the face. Pie will be administered by a member of the district determined by:
   • The Area with the most communication awards will be identified
   • The club in the area with the most communication awards will be invited to send a representative to throw the pie.
   • In the case of a club being unable or unwilling to send a representative, then the club with the next amount of communication awards will be invited to send a representative to throw the pie.
   • If no club in the area is able to send a representative then the Area Governor is invited to assign the representative from the area (including themselves) to throw the pie.
3. The total leadership awards submitted determines who gets the pie in the face. Pie will be administered by a member of the district determined by:
   • The Area with the most leadership awards will be identified
   • The club in the area with the most leadership awards will be invited to send a representative to throw the pie.
   • In the case of a club being unable or unwilling to send a representative, then the club with the next amount of leadership awards will be invited to send a representative to throw the pie.
   • If no club in the area is able to send a representative then the Area Governor is invited to assign the representative from the area (including themselves) to throw the pie.

Given these rules, if by some miracle last year’s leadership awards in April do not exceed this year’s numbers but last year wins the communication and overall numbers, then the results would be one of the three pies being thrown would end up in my face.

The challenge is on and the numbers are close after six months. Where are you in your educational goals? Are you part of Team Larry or Team Eileen

Education

Eileen James, DTM

Club officers are required to attend training twice per year, once in the summer season and once in the winter. Training is open to all members. Please check out the training schedule on the District calendar.

How’s your club membership? Is your club roster at 20+? A strong club is one with 20 – 30 members, giving all the opportunity to speak often enough to meet goals and to participate regularly in meeting roles. Invite those you haven’t seen for a while to come back. Invite guests, sponsor and mentor, make it fun and appealing to all.

Planning is going well for the Spring Conference to be held April 19 – 21, 2013, at The Blackwell, The Ohio State University. Plan now to attend. There will be lots of high-lights: educational sessions, contests, Networking opportunities, election of next year’s D40 leaders, fun! And of course Larry will get a pie or two. More information can be found at http://d40toastmasters.org/2013-spring-conference.

If you would like to be a presenter of one of the breakout sessions, fill out the application found at http://d40toastmasters.org/call-for-speakers and forward it to Education Chair Ron Borland. You can fill out the form on line, or you can print and send by email to borland_r_c@yahoo.com. The spaces in the name should be underlined.

A main attraction at any conference is the District Speech Contests. Speech contests begin at the club level in January. Winners progress to the Area level in February. Division contests are held in March. Winners there compete at the District level, held on Saturday, April 20, during the Spring Conference. We have two contests in the spring: the Evaluation Contest, in which members compete based on their own evaluation skills; and the International Speech Contest. The winner of the District International Speech Contest will compete with other District winners at the Toastmasters International Convention in August 2013. Be there to hear our best speakers from around the district as they put on their best performance in an effort to win.

Greetings

Earl Kersting, DTM

Welcome to 2013! A brand new year, and a chance for a fresh start. At least, that is the theory behind making a New Year’s resolution. How are we each going to resolve to do better, to improve, or to grow during 2013?

You are already one step ahead of many. You are a Toastmaster. You have taken a proactive role in your own destiny. You are taking steps to improve your leadership skills, your ability to communicate, your self-confidence. You are seeing the results of those efforts, or you would not still be an active member. However, have you considered taking your commitment to improve to the next level? Have you considered joining an additional club?

Your first question is probably, Why would I want to start attending another club’s meetings? Think back to when you first started presenting speeches at your club, and the incredible value of the feedback you received when it came time for your evaluation. Think of the feedback you received when other members of the club started to provide those short notes offering tips for improvement. Remember how you incorporated that feedback into your next project, and how project after project, you continued to receive valuable suggestions for your continued growth and development. Now ask yourself, What if I could receive even more feedback, more frequently, and from a wider pool of fellow Toastmasters?

You might be surprised to learn that a large number of tenured Toastmasters currently belong to two, three, or more clubs. Why do they do it? They have discovered how much faster they can improve when able to not only present projects more often, but more importantly, when they are able to receive evaluations and constructive feedback from a much wider range of Toastmasters, from a much more diverse range of backgrounds. If you belong to a corporate club, consider also joining a community club to expand the diversity of members providing feedback. You already belong to a community club? Try joining a church-based club for a different point of view. You already have earned your Competent Communicator and are looking to be challenged even more? Join an Advanced club. No matter what type additional club you belong, you will immediately start to receive feedback from members with whom you would not have if you remained a member of only one club.

If your New Year’s resolution is to continue to improve your leadership skills, your ability to communicate, and your self-confidence, why not take your membership to that next level and achieve your goals faster?

Where Leaders are Made

Ron Borland, DTM

That’s what District Conferences are all about. Great leaders – our district leadership team – communicate with us about what’s going on in our district and what we can expect in the future. Great communicators – our contestants, keynote speakers, and educational program presenters – lead us by example and by sharing their stories and experiences with us. All to help us as Toastmasters become better, more effective leaders.

Your opportunity is now. Are you one of those great communicators? Do you have a message that will resonate with other toastmasters, will help them become better, more energized leaders? If so, please consider this your invitation to submit a proposal for an educational presentation at the 2013 District 40 Spring Conference to be held April 19 – 21 at The Blackwell on the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus.

We are currently accepting educational presentation proposals and will be reviewing them over the next three weeks to identify the best possible combination of educational presentations for the conference program. If you have a message you are willing to share with your fellow Toastmasters from District 40, please complete the form you will find on the call for speakers page on the District 40 website at http://d40toastmasters.org/call-for-speakers.

I look forward to seeing you all at The Blackwell in April. And I promise you an educational program you will never forget! Are you going to be in the audience or are you going to be one of the Great Communicators leading the program? It’s your choice now.

Ron Borland, DTM

Education Chair, 2013 D40 Spring Conference

Toastmasters Leadership Institute Schedule

See the district calendar here.