Page Updated
April 15, 2008

Directory

About Us

Directory

Find A Club

Division A

Division B

Division C

Division D

Division E

Division F

Calendar

53 News

D53 History

Past D53 Governors

Education

Training

Contests

Conferences

Marketing & Membership

Resources

Useful Links

Site Map

Links to Toastmaster Clubs

On-line File Cabinet

Suggestions? Email to

d53 Toastmasters Email Group

To help with the filing process, Toastmasters International has put together a set of detailed instructions to help you. Before beginning the filing process, please print the instructions and read them carefully.

In District News: Toastmasters International honors MassMutual Financial Group with new award!

Our Six Divisions Compete Check the Division Calendars for Tall Tales and International Speech Contest dates and locations: Follow the Links: Division A Tuesday, April 22 Division B Thursday, April 24 Division C Thursday, May 1 Division D Thursday, April 17 Division E Wednesday, April 30 Division F Thursday, April 24

Word on the street about this year's District Spring Conference! Our roving reporter uncovers the latest buzz here!

Former NASA Astronaut Named as Recipient of C&L Award Daniel T. Barry, M.D., Ph.D, scientist, retired NASA astronaut, and reality TV contestant has been selected as one of approximately 80 outstanding leaders throughout the world to receive the Toastmasters International Communication and Leadership award this year. Dr. Barry is currently President of Denbar Robotics of South Hadley, MA and spends his time creating robotic assistants for home and commercial use; concentrating on assistive devices for people with disabilities. The C&L Award is presented to a non-Toastmaster who has demonstrated outstanding communication and leadership skills in the District 53 community as defined by over 130 Toastmaster Clubs in Connecticut, Western Massachusetts, and Eastern New York. Daniel Barry will receive his award at the Toastmasters District 53 Spring Conference on May 17, 2008 at The Delaney House, Holyoke, Massachusetts.

Division E will host a Spring Conference to Remember ! The 2008 District 53 Spring Conference will be held on Saturday, May 17th in Holyoke, MA. The Conference committee has selected the following theme: Pioneer Leadership Spirit ~ Explore New Possibilities. The objectives of the District Conference are to expand on the Toastmaster speaker and leader as a Pioneer; e.g. finding methods to help members further their public speaking abilities and pioneering new public speaking technologies in our business and entertaining presentations. Register Today and Save! Keep your eye on the Spring Conference web pages ... more.

Become a Distinguished Club in District 53 Time remaining in this DCP year:

District 53 "The Traveling Gavels." Six "Traveling Gavels" named Alex, Bo, Chris, Drew, Ennis and Francis were introduced to encourage joint Toastmaster Club meetings and to extend the fellowship of Toastmasters. Read more, keep your eye on the moves of the "Traveling Gavels." Congratulations to CIGNA Lunchtime #9617 for capturing all traveling gavels! Ute Brinkmann, DTM presents Gil, The Golden Gavel to John Parla of CIGNA Lunchtime for capturing all 6 traveling gavels! Members of CIGNA visited clubs in all three States, CT, MA and NY and participated in their meetings. They traveled 670 miles to reach this lofty goal. Talk about dedication, about enthusiasm ... and leadership. Current Gavel Location Gavel Name Club Name, Number Alex IBM Poughkeepsie Speechmakers Club #315 Bo CIGNA Lunchtime #9617 Chris Pfizer Thames River #7135 Drew Nutmeg #764 Ennis Middlesex County TM #8340 Francis CIGNA Lunchtime #9617 Update: The gavels have been returned to their home Divisions. We'll be posting their specific locations shortly - stay tune!

WELCOME • New 2007-2008 Toastmaster Clubs

• Club #1135247, Nerac, Inc, Tolland, CT
  The Club meets once monthly on Tuesday at 11:00 am at Nerac, Inc, 1 Technology Dr, Tolland, CT.
  The club was chartered on March 31st and is assigned to Area C4. The club Mentor is Area C4 Governor Arnie Holmes, ACS. The club Sponsors are LGM Marsha Kiley, ACB, CL and Arnie Holmes, ACS.
• Club #1148625, PUB Toastmasters, Bridgeport, CT
  The Club meets at 12:00 pm every 1st and 3rd Thursday and every 2nd and 4th Tuesday at Peoples United Bank, 850 Main St, Bridgeport Center, Bridgeport, CT 06604. Open to all.
  The club was chartered on March 11th and is assigned to Area D5. The club Mentors are Fred Ferris and Ed Borsuk from UHC Toastmasters. The club Sponsor is Tom Fitch from Nutmeg (Division D Governor).
• Club #1069071, Farmington Speaks, Farmington, CT
  The Club meets at 3:00 pm every Wednesday at Bank Of America 70 Batterson Park Rd, Farmington, CT, 06032. Contact club for membership information (Phone: 860 409 5895).
  The club was chartered on August 28th and is assigned to Area D4. The club Mentor is Margaret Goodrow, CTM. The club Sponsor is Aliena K. Ali.
• Club #988118, Greater Bridgeport Toastmasters, Bridgeport, CT
  The Club meets at 12:00 pm every 1st and 3rd Wednesday at 350 Fairfield Ave 3rd Floor, Bridgeport, CT. Open to all. Contact club president Tom Long for membership information (Phone: 203 610 8528). Visit the club web site.
  The club was chartered on October 10th and is assigned to Area D5. The club Mentors are Konrad Eldracher, CL and Brian P. Cavanaugh, ATMG. The club Sponsors are Raymond F. Durkin, ACB, ALB and John E Bate, CTM, CL.
• Club #1114303, YCC Express, South Deerfield, MA
  The Club meets at 12:00 pm and 5:15 pm every 2nd and 4th Wednesday at YCO Building (First Floor), 16 Yankee Candle Way, South Deerfield, MA 01373 in the Computer Training Room. Contact club for membership information (Phone: 413 665 8306 x 4192. Visit the club web site.
  The club was chartered on January 16th and is assigned to Area E2. The club Mentors are Cathie McCoy, ATMB and Mike Finn, ACG, CL. The club Sponsor is Mike Finn, ACG, CL.

Something New - Geography and Geocodes
Nigel Reed, Public Relations Officer from Plano, TX, District 50, has volunteered his time and resources to "geocode" and map all Toastmaster Clubs.  You might ask, "What is geocoding?"
To geocode, is to take a street address and convert it into latitude and longitude (geographic coordinates) so that it can be displayed on a map.
The end results are Google Maps with a pushpin marker for every Toastmaster club location. When you click on the pushpin, Club contact information is revealed. It is still a work in progress; not all pushpins are "perfectly" placed on the Google maps. However there is a procedure to follow to move your pin.   Check out the D53 TM Club Atlas.