D53 Leadership Team News and Letters
- March 2006: A Letter from DG Paul Young, DTM
- March 2006: A Letter from LGET John Lynch, DTM
- March 2006: A Letter from LGM Will Ryan, DTM
March - April 2006: A Letter from DG Paul Young, DTM
Mind The GAP To Success! This letter is going to Club Presidents and Vice President Educations to encourage you to raise the bar during your term as club officers. How will your time at the helm be remembered? Are you creating your legacy? What will club members remember you for? Here is an interesting exercise, please take a moment and write two paragraphs.
The first one must describe what happens at a healthy club during a full toastmaster’s year from your point of view. Be creative in describing fun theme meetings, special events, a well attended contest, a field trip to the district conference, a division or district contest winner from your own club! This is your Legacy Target!
Write the second one as a moment of truth reflecting what is going on at your club now by asking yourself these questions:
- What would be a visitor’s first impression of your club?
- How are you orienting new members?
- Does the club atmosphere breed Fellowship, Variety and Communication?
- How good is your club at Program Planning and Meeting Organization?
- How are you doing with maintaining Strong Membership?
This is your self assessment or starting point on your journey to success, It is your destiny to plan the way to close the GAP between the two paragraphs that you wrote. For some interesting ideas visit www.district53toastmasters.org , try looking in our virtual file cabinet on the website for some creative ways to rev up your club.
Motivate your other officers and members to close the GAP between your current club status and your Legacy, MAKE IT HAPPEN! I know that you can make a mark on your club that will be remembered for years to come.
- Club President, here is your Legacy, your chance to do it right while you have the steering wheel in your hands.
- Club Vice President Education, here is your success plan for the future, prepare to be club President next year.
You have found your voice; now make a mark on your toastmaster world. Be a Distinguished Club this year. Live Long and Prosper!!
MINDING THE GAP
Paul Young, DTM
District 53 Governor 2005-06
March 2006: A Letter from LGET John Lynch, DTM
Fellow Toastmasters: Did you know that we are offering every club that attains Distinguished Club status in the Distinguished Club Program by April 30, 2006 a $50.00 gift certificate to the District Store? That is eight weeks and counting to add valuable educational materials to your club library. As we close in on attaining our club goals, the District Leadership team is planning a number of great opportunities to assist you in reaching your highest potential as a Club. Yes, it is crunch time with less than four months left to our year.
We have just completed the second round of officer training as of February 28th. You are now equipped with both the information and the networking that will allow you to continue to be successful as an officer. Your club members will continue to enjoy a healthy environment filled with quality educational opportunities which will in turn foster self confidence and personal growth.
As you continue to march toward higher goals, the focus needs to be on your members delivering manual speeches at every meeting. All of your Club’s speaking slots need to be filled so that members are able to reach their personal goals. Know the personal goals of all of your members and provide them with every opportunity to speak that you have available.
To provide your members with additional speaking and growth opportunities each Division will be sponsoring a Speech-a-thon. The Division Speech-a-thon will start with an “Evaluation” workshop. Best practices on how to do an effective evaluation will be presented by seasoned Toastmasters so that you can put your new skills right to work. These opportunities will be communicated via mass email notifications and our District website www.district53toastmasters.org.
As we enter March Madness, the goal is to reach the Final Four in April. Yes, four Competent Toastmasters per club by April 30th. By utilizing the District sponsored “1/2 CTM Certificate” program along with the Speech-a-thons, goals one and two of the Distinguished Club Program are well within your reach. Remember to send the names of those who have reached the half-way point in their CTM to me so they can be recognized by our District for their achievement.
Another key element in our member’s growth is Speech Contests. As we enter into the Spring Speech Contests, every club should encourage and hold both the Tall Tales and International Speech Contests. The winners will then have the honor of representing their club at the Area level. Real personal growth occurs when you step out of your comfort zone. This can be one of the most rewarding experiences that your members can have in the club environment.
Now that a couple of months have passed since our last letters to you, revisit the two goals that you chose in January to help your members be successful. How would you rate your performance toward reaching those goals? Remember that while goals are an important part of each one of us we should not lose sight of the journey that fulfills those goals. Your challenge is to go forth and lead your members to success.
John Lynch, DTM
Lt. Governor Education and Training (LGET)
March 2006 : A Letter from LGM Will Ryan, DTM
Dear Fellow Toastmasters,
We’re approaching April renewals. This is a critical event in our process to achieve membership goals. So it’s a good time to ask yourself what you are doing to ensure that all members of your club renew.
Imagine that you’re a member who has drifted away from Toastmasters. Perhaps a new job and involvement in your son’s Cub Scouts took you away from your quest for a CTM. Even after your other commitments have been successfully completed, your habit patterns don’t include Toastmasters. After a while, you stop thinking about your club and your goal of achieving CTM. “Out of sight, out of mind.” If this were your situation, how would you react to a phone call from one of your club members telling you that you’ve been missed and asking you to return?
Believe it or not, most members are clearly touched by a personal phone call and they often attend the next meeting with a renewed commitment. We’re all creatures of habit and when members become inactive, it can be as simple as getting out of the habit of attending meetings.
My home club, Southern Berkshire Toastmasters, used to regularly connect with members we hadn’t seen in a while. We passed post cards around during meetings for members to add a personal message like, “I miss seeing you and hearing your wonderful stories.” For some reason, we’ve gotten out of the habit of sending these cards to missing members? We haven’t been challenged by low membership over the past few years, so maybe we’ve become lazy. Clearly this is a process that needs to be re-initiated while the club is strong and thus “attractive” to members.
District 53 is on the verge achieving Distinction, and your commitment to club membership is critical to reaching this goal. When you address the membership needs of your club, you’ll find great satisfaction in knowing that your effort was instrumental in the health of your club and our District’s success. Please help yourself and help your club. Encourage everyone to renew.
Minding the Membership Gap,
Will Ryan, DTM
Lt. Governor Marketing (LGM)