From the Elevator Lobby at One State Street to District 53 Governor

Paul Young was born in 1953 in Hartford, CT, His dad was a WW2 Vet that saw action at Pearl Harbor and the Pacific Theater and went on to marry a Brooklyn, NY girl, Alice.

Paul is married to Doreen Young and has two teenage sons Daniel and David.

Growing up in the multicultural south side of Hartford was a good developmental lesson for Paul who later moved to Wethersfield before settling in South Glastonbury, CT.

Paul served as an apprentice carpenter and worked the trade before moving into the copier industry in 1977 working for ACOPY.  The opportunities in this business have kept Paul at the same company (now IKON Office Solutions) to this day,

He now is a middle manager in the Facilities Management division with sites in the West Hartford, Farmington and Windsor areas.

Paul joined One State Street Toastmasters in June of 1996 when he learned about the club from a posting in the elevator lobby after remembering that his cousin Jeff was a member and had grown with the program. Rich Couture mentored Paul right from the start and he followed Rich from his Icebreaker to DTM.   It wasn’t until three years later that Paul found out that Jeff Young won the World Championship of Public Speaking in 1980 after coming in second in 1979!  Jeff has been an inspiration and mentor to Paul while he continues to learn through Toastmasters.

Serving as Area B1 Governor was the best job in toastmasters to Paul in that he served beyond the club and saw the leadership path as the one to take, becoming Division B Governor and being elected to serve as Lt Governor Marketing and Lt Governor Education were the rewarding next steps.

Rising from the elevator lobby at One State Street to being District 53 Governor is a story that can happen for you too!  Hop on Board and MIND THE GAP.