D53 Leadership Team News and Letters
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 February - March 2007: A Letter from DG John Lynch, DTM
Reflect, Set and Achieve
As we enter into the months of March and April we can look back at our accomplishments to date and compare them to the benchmark standards that Toastmasters International provides us. We have just completed the Leadership Exchange period where you were able to share the success and opportunities that your club experienced with your fellow club officers, networking from around your Areas and Divisions. The goal of the Exchange was that you were able to take something tangible from these sessions back to your club and its members to make each of you more successful in the next four months and for years to come. Be sure to visit our District Website (www.district53toastmasters.org) for the most up to date training status and verify that all of your officers that attended training have received credit for the training.
As we move through March your club should be collecting semi-annual dues from your members so that you can submit your dues and report to World Headquarters by April 1st. If you have any questions or concerns about the reporting please notify your Area Governor so that you and the members of your club will remain in good standing. This is very important in determining if your club will reach Distinguished or better status by April 30th through June 30th. Yes, if you are Distinguished by April 30th as reported on the World Headquarters Website then your club has earned a $50 District 53 reward which will need to be claimed between May 10th through June 20th. You can choose to use this reward in our District Bookstore on May 19th or submit a receipt from Toastmasters International for the purchase of educational materials and we will reimburse you. Please see the attached document which will highlight the guidelines for the reward.
Now is a good time to review your club’s Distinguished Club Program (DCP) status on the World Headquarters Website and to revisit you Club Success Plan. With three to four months remaining in this Toastmaster’s year you can still help members reach their goals. Encourage you VP of Education to schedule speakers for rest of this year. Identify the members that are highly motivated and ask them to have a “back pocket” speech (one that can be delivered on 24 hour notice) to fill any last minute vacancies. If you have members that are close to reaching their goals and not enough speaking slots then contact your Area Governor to coordinate speaking opportunities at neighboring clubs. Your Area Governor is a great resource that is ready to help you and the members of your club reach your goals.
You should welcome your Area Governor to your club for their second official visit. They will be there to assess your club, provide you with a written report and notify the Senior Team of any where we may be able to help or support your Club’s success goals. This is our main channel of communication with you, the club officers and your members and it is very important that we are able to share that experience with you.
Many of the real growth opportunities that you will experience in Toastmasters will occur outside your club environment. You will hear us say “step outside of your comfort zone”, and the reason is very simple. For us to grow as individuals we need to experience events that are just beyond what we think we can do. You need to have the faith in yourself that you will perform in those situations. After you are able to navigate the opportunity you will ask yourself what the big deal was. You have grown as a person!
As we close in on the end of another Toastmasters year I ask each one of you to reflect on your experience so far this year. Look at your club, its members and their educational and leadership status. Talk with the members and set goals for the next two to twelve months. Encourage each member to set goals that are outside their personal comfort zone, write them down with a timeframe for attaining their goal and then achieve them. Share your success stories with your Area Governor and the Senior Team. This year we will be choosing our Toastmaster of the Year based on your success stories. You can easily be that person.
As you look to the future both short term and long term the best advice I can give you is to enjoy the journey. Set your goals and then go out and achieve them. Each and every one of you is a true leader that I am proud to serve. Continue to Lead with Vision in this the Year of the Member.
LEAD WITH VISION
John Lynch, DTM
District 53 Governor 2006-07
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 February - March 2007: A Letter from LGET Will Ryan, DTM
Dear Club President and VP of Education,
I hope you’re making great progress toward achieving Distinguished or better in the Toastmasters Distinguished Club Program (DCP). It’s not over yet. You still have four more months to reach—or even exceed—your goals. Remember in order to achieve Distinguished your club needs to either be at or above 20 members or achieve a net gain of five members. The starting point for the year is your club’s membership level on July 1, 2006.
Besides being focused on having your club do really well, I know you are also interested in supporting individual members in achieving their personal goals. Most members join Toastmasters to enhance their public speaking skills. Yet there are always some who don’t continue their forward progress. Consider wall charts for Competent and Advanced Communicator progress. They are a wonderful way to encourage members to sign up for speeches. Since nearly everyone wants to have a good public record (remember getting a gold star in grammar school?), the chart is a good motivator. Consider getting from a chart the TI on-line store. I think you’ll be impressed with the benefits that result.
We’ve talked a lot this year about leadership, and I’d like to remind you that until June 30, 2008, achieving the Competent Leader (CL) award is still possible using the old system. There are fewer requirements under the old system and current club officers can still achieve CL between now and the end of our fiscal year in June. Many of our club officers are taking advantage of this transition period to attain their CL. And, if two of your officers accomplish this goal, the club gets two DCP points!
When your club achieves Distinguished, you’ll know that you and your club officers have done a great job supporting your members. DCP is a proven measurement system that yields outstanding results. My years in Toastmasters have taught me that when club officers focus on supporting members as they grow and develop as speakers and leaders, then the club does well in the DCP program.
I look forward to seeing and hearing your club members as they compete in the Tall Tales and International speech contests this spring. We’ve got a superb Spring Conference planned for May 19, so mark your calendar and be there to enjoy the camaraderie of other Toastmasters and to cheer for your contestants.
Will Ryan , DTM
Lt. Governor Education and Training (LGET)
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 February - March 2007: A Letter from LGM Karin von Kaenel, CTM
Dear Presidents and Vice Presidents of Education,
You’ve been in your job for several months now. You’ve been working on making your club successful: You’ve thought about how to attract new people, cultivate confident club members, develop strong leaders, encourage the club to adopt new ideas, and how to enable your club’s members to achieve their goals.
How are you doing? What is your current status? Where are you in achieving your goals?
Does your club offer a positive environment for club members to grow? Do you have everybody’s buy-in to make your club meetings a risk-free zone, where club members feel comfortable trying new things and they know they’ll be supported?
Many clubs are currently struggling with membership goals. Do you want to grow your club’s membership so you can have a Distinguished Club? If yes, you need your club members to get the word out.
Often, members don’t know how to do that. But your clubs members want to grow. Your club’s goal, to grow the membership, and your members’ goals, to challenge themselves and try something new in order to grow, are actually complementing each other.
If a member takes the initiative and learns how to publish meetings in the local newspapers, that club member will grow through the experience. As a next step, that club member might want to take on the next challenge and publish the meetings on the local TV channels, on the local radio channels, or on the web.
Encourage your members to meet new challenges. Personal transformation won’t happen over night, but when club members have the necessary support to reach outside of their comfort zone, they can attain new goals which will in turn make them more confident because they grow.
I encourage you to communicate with your club’s members to find out what their goals are, then see if you can find parallels between your club member’s goals and your club’s goals, and see if you can help your club’s members to go where they haven’t gone before.
If you have any questions regarding marketing, membership building, or going beyond your club, please don’t hesitate to ask.
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With best wishes for a successful Toastmasters year,
Karin von Kaenel, CTM
Lt. Governor Marketing (LGM)
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 September - October 2006 : A Letter from PRO Ute Brinkmann, DTM
Public Relations. It’s not that hard – just do it.
Fellow Toastmasters,
Do something new with Public Relations this spring. Same old, same old gets – yes – old.
We are in Toastmasters to stretch ourselves, to overcome hesitation and to help our fellow club members.
What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?
Would you help bringing new people to Toastmasters? Walk in the library and find out about local newspapers? Find out about local radio stations, local TV stations, discover new ways to get Toastmasters on the web? Make flyers and distribute them all over town? Submit an announcement (bulletin entry) about your local club via email to radio, newspaper and TV?
Speech contests are more than just announcements, they are “news”. Make a photo and get an article ready for submission. The PR manual has pre-written announcements; the district web site (www.district53toastmasters.org) has information in the "File Cabinet."
What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?
Would you help keeping people in Toastmasters? Create a newsletter for your club? Inform your fellow Toastmasters on happenings within the club? Have material ready for people who inquire about Toastmasters and guests who walk into a meeting.
What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?
Would you dare to grow personally? Leaving the place of same old, same old and try something new? Getting out of your comfort zone and expand your horizon?
There is no guarantee that the media will publish what you submitted. However there is plenty of satisfaction when we realize we have stretched ourselves and widened our comfort zone, when we recognize we did overcome uncertainty in this specific field and when we contribute to the well being of our local Toastmasters club.
Personal growth through PR – it’s what you put into Toastmasters that makes it all happen.
and let me know when you hit some success so we can celebrate.
At your service in the year 2006 – 2007
Ute Brinkmann, DTM
Public Relations Officer (PRO)
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