Here is your new District 65 Newsletter for July 2017
Click the image above or link below to download
Here is your new District 65 Newsletter for July 2017
Click the image above or link below to download
by Ellen Pieklo, DTM, CISSP
July 2, 2017
Dear District 65 Toastmaster,
Welcome to the new Toastmasters year. I look forward to meeting with many of you during our time together as we all have much to learn from one another. The 2017-2018 theme for District 65 Toastmasters is: “Make Toastmasters Part of Your Story.” While we want to succeed as a district, what matters more is that we all have much to learn and gain as members and officers within District 65.
Throughout the year, the team and I have heard your concerns and want to address these with you now. Below, you will find some important changes to note, as you start this year’s Toastmasters journey:
June 29, 2017
Dear Toastmaster,
Each year, clubs have the opportunity to vote on important matters that impact the future of our organization at the Annual Business Meeting. This includes international officer and director elections as well as proposals to amend the Bylaws of Toastmasters International and the Club Constitution for Clubs of Toastmasters International. Clubs in good standing are entitled to two (2) votes for each election and proposal.
The Annual Business Meeting will be held on August 26 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Your voice is important, and you have a significant role to play in this process. Start by learning about the candidates and proposed amendments. At your next club meeting, discuss which candidates best meet the future needs of Toastmasters International and which proposals you are in agreement with. Make it official with a vote to determine how the club’s votes will be cast.
If no one in your club is planning to attend the meeting, you may designate a proxyholder to cast the club’s votes. Proxyholders are required to vote in the manner a club designates; if a voting preference is not designated, the proxyholder may vote in their own best interest.
More information on voting by proxy will be emailed to club presidents, secretaries and liaisons in July. If you have any questions about the voting process, please email proxyinfo@toastmasters.org.
Mike Storkey, DTM
International President
Toastmasters International
www.toastmasters.org
In conclusion, I hope that together we can learn ways to “Make Toastmasters Part of Your Life Story.” I look forward to an exciting year and wish the best of luck to each and everyone one of you.
Sincerely,
Ellen Pieklo, DTM
District 65 Director, 2017-18
from Mike Storkey, DTM – International President
June 29, 2017
Dear Toastmaster,
Each year, clubs have the opportunity to vote on important matters that impact the future of our organization at the Annual Business Meeting. This includes international officer and director elections as well as proposals to amend the Bylaws of Toastmasters International and the Club Constitution for Clubs of Toastmasters International. Clubs in good standing are entitled to two (2) votes for each election and proposal.
The Annual Business Meeting will be held on August 26 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Your voice is important, and you have a significant role to play in this process. Start by learning about the candidates and proposed amendments. At your next club meeting, discuss which candidates best meet the future needs of Toastmasters International and which proposals you are in agreement with. Make it official with a vote to determine how the club’s votes will be cast.
If no one in your club is planning to attend the meeting, you may designate a proxy-holder to cast the club’s votes. Proxy-holders are required to vote in the manner a club designates; if a voting preference is not designated, the proxy-holder may vote in their own best interest.
More information on voting by proxy will be emailed to club presidents, secretaries and liaisons in July. If you have any questions about the voting process, please email proxyinfo@toastmasters.org.
Sincerely,
Mike Storkey, DTM
International President
Toastmasters International
By Sam Mehta, DTM, PDG
Every new year is an opportunity to strive for improvement. The best way to do this is to take a look at the year that has just finished and review at all the great accomplishments.
Your District 65 Trio and the entire district council are reviewing these reports to assess the district’s strengths and weaknesses. They will then develop a strategic action plan to make improvements for our members, clubs and the district.
Below is a summary report on how individual members, respective Clubs, Areas, Divisions, and the District performed during the year 2016-2017 ending June 30, 2017. These detail analysis are based on the basic information provided by TI as of year-end.
MEMBERS:
The 6 Toastmasters who achieved their DTM are as follows: Melvie Hall-Bellinger of Frederick Douglass TM Club; Kelly L. Saucke Roland of Postprandial TM Club; Gerri Sullivan of Orange Orators; John McCormick Daybreakers Club; Rachelle Cohen of Mohawk Valley TM Club; Lillian Marie Knight Faison of Lyceum Club.
There were 16 ‘Club Coaches’ active during the year and 9 were awarded their completion certificates and 7 are pending.
Four New Club Sponsors and Mentors were active during the year to support building of two new clubs.
It is estimated that the district lost approx. 50% of its membership base [i.e. 970+ members] during the course of the year. The membership retention rate therefore was approx. 50%.
CLUBS:
Two new Clubs were chartered during the year. ‘Lawley Lingo’ in Rochester and ‘Toast the Grid’ in Syracuse.
Two Clubs [FLCoE in Cortland and Port City in Oswego] have not renewed their membership dues in April 2017.
Three Clubs [Olean, Crown City, and Geneseo] have not met their minimum requirement of 8 members on the club’s roster.
The new TM year begins with 6 ATO’s [Application To Organize] in process.
A total of 32 Clubs became Distinguished Clubs or better as follows: 19 Clubs became Presidents Distinguished; 6 Clubs became SELECT Distinguished; and 7 Clubs became Distinguished.
Some 65 Clubs did not achieve Distinguished Club status.
Some 32% of the clubs [1/3rd of the clubs in the district] have 20 or more members and operate at charter strength; 54% have less than 20 members; and 14% of the clubs have less than 10 members. Therefore 2/3rd of the clubs continue to function below charter strength, as has been the case for the past several years.
The first club officers training had 353 officers [50%] trained and the second club officers training had 283 [40%] club officers trained. This average out to 45% of club officers trained during the two training sessions. Not a single club had all seven of their club officers trained at both training sessions.
The following 7 Clubs were suspended during the year:
Positively Speaking and Simon TM Club in division ‘C’; Speech Petrol and Twin Tiers in division ‘D’; Verbal Spartan, Savvy Speakers and Devil’s Advocate in division ‘E’
The year was ended with 97 “paid” clubs.
The following 11 Clubs achieved 10 or more educational awards as follows:
The following six clubs recruited the highest amount of new members:
AREAS:
Only two Areas out of a total of 23 Areas became Distinguished Areas. Area 15 [Area Director, Saundra Loffredo] in Buffalo; and Area 51 [Area Director, Celia Beaucage] in Syracuse.
There are FOUR Areas that have over 100 members. Area 15 with 129 members; Area 11 with 126 members; Area 24 with 106 member; and Area 51 with 101 members.
DIVISION:
Only one Division out of 5 Divisions became a SELECT Division. Division “B” lead by Division Director, Corey Wilson.
Division ‘A’ is the largest division with 479 members; followed by Division ‘E’ with 384 members; followed by Division ‘B’ with 351 members; followed by Division ‘C’ with 262 members and Division ‘D’ with 197 members.
Division ‘A’ and Division ‘E’ has largest number of clubs with 25 clubs each. Division ‘B’ has 19 clubs; Division ‘C’ has 16 clubs; and Division ‘D’ is 15 clubs.
DISTRICT:
The district fell short by 425 members to achieve the Distinguished District “Member Payment” goal of 4,114 payments.
The district fell short by 15 Clubs to achieve the Distinguished District “Paid Clubs” goal of 112 Clubs
The district fell short by 12 Clubs to achieve the “Distinguished Clubs” goal of 44 Distinguished Clubs.
Congratulations to all members, club and district officers for your contributions and efforts during the year.
Sam Mehta, DTM, PDG
By Keith Maderer, DTM – Club Growth Director
Toastmasters International has some great training tools available to new club officers and anyone that is interested in becoming an officer.
There is a focused video tutorial for each of the Toastmasters Club officer roles. There are several modules for each role and it is a great starting place for any Toastmaster interested in helping their club by building stronger leadership skills.
Please visit them today by clicking the image above or the link below:
https://www.toastmasters.org/leadership-central/club-officer-tools/club-officer-roles
Each month we would like to share some great tips from our PAST District 65 Governors and Directors. They have been there, in the trenches, both locally, regionally and internationally. We can all learn from their experience and wisdom.
By Linda Lathrop, DTM – Past District Governor 2012-2013
Your success and the success of your club is determined by your vision of the possibilities but you must also have a plan. Realistically you should review what happened during the past Toastmaster year 2016-2017 and evaluate what worked and what needs to be improved upon, what changes are needed, and what exciting new ideas can you implement. Involve all of your club members.
A few years ago I was the president of a struggling club and we set a goal to reach twenty members and be a distinguished club. The club officers worked together to develop the club success plan using the manual provided by Toastmasters. Each time the club met I spoke about our plan giving updates on our progress,. We celebrated as new members joined, we celebrated when education awards were achieved, and we charted our progress. As a result we became a select distinguished club!
What you can do:
The seven P’s of success are: planning, promotion, people, potential, positivity, perseverance, and possibility.
There are six things you can control according to Mark Sanborn www.marksanborn.com
My favorite word is possibilities. Remember that you are a promise, a possibility, and a great big bundle of potentiality!
Nothing is impossible… if you do the work.
Speaking of Possibilities!
Linda Lathrop, DTM
Past District Governor 2012-2013
By Keith Maderer, DTM – Club Growth Director
One of the most important ways to build a great club is by having fun, inclusive and engaging meetings. While every club’s personality is different, the most successful clubs have a nice balance between structure and laughter. Every month we will try to share a different idea on how you can add some FUN to your meetings.
Try to allow 1-3 weeks preparation for this meeting to assign roles and give details of the topic and proceedings.
Choose a member to be the defendant, real or imagined, and assign a crime to them. One of the members portrays the character on trial. The meeting can be fun if the charges are something funny. For example, they could be charged with stealing the cookies from the cookie jar, Santa Claus damaging a roof, or Popeye selling steroid enriched spinach.
You can also search google for: “Worlds Dumbest Criminals”, or click the following link for other great ideas from Reader’s Digest. http://www.rd.com/funny-stuff/worlds-dumbest-criminals-politicians-bosses/
Assign members to be the bailiff, judge, lawyers, news reporters, and conduct a mock trial. Vote for or against acquittal. The charges against the accused and the description of the scenario are handed out a week or two before the meeting. The two prepared speeches are the opening arguments by the prosecutor and defense attorney. Table topics is the testimony of the witnesses. News reporters will offer feedback on the opening remarks and testimony.
The judge is the general evaluator who oversees the entire trial meeting. Give each evaluator 2-3 minutes to comment on the speakers opening remarks and witness testimonies.
Typical 1 Hour Meeting Agenda and Roles:
Have fun with the roles. Take liberties to exaggerate and enhance testimony. Encourage members to add insight and humor throughout.
Most importantly, engage all members, use CC or advanced manual speeches to fill the speaking roles if possible… and have FUN.
If you have a FUN Meeting Idea that you would like to share, please send your ideas to Keith Maderer at KeithMadererDTM@gmail.com. If your idea is selected, it will be printed in the newsletter, and shared on the District 65 Blog.
Now we can all experience what the New Toastmasters PATHWAYS learning experience will look like.
Club Officers and mentors can now use this great tool to help prepare new members for their Ice Breaker speech project. It is very well laid out with some great worksheets, video content and a progress evaluation.
Even if you are already a DTM, take it for a test drive. I know I learned something new each time I reviewed it. I bet you will too.
Click Here to Access: (no login required)
Pathways Training Module – Ice Breaker
or copy this link into your browser:
https://www.toastmasters.org/websiteApps/Pathways/tm100101_SCORM12_20151004/tm100101/index.html