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Each month this letter is sent to the President of each District 6 Club. I invite you to share this letter with your officer team and your club members. I hope the information contained will spark discussion at your club’s business meeting.
Dues Are Due – Dues Are Due – Dues are Due Now is the time for club members to be submitting their dues payments to the club treasurer for the October 2005 through March 2006 dues period. Following passage of the dues increase, dues are now $27.00 ($4.50 per month).
Each year, the club semi-annual report of membership and dues payments are collected and submitted to Toastmasters during the month of September. Dues are due at Toastmasters International no later than October 10th . Each club president should have received a paper copy of the semi-annual report of club membership. Dues may be submitted via mail with this form. Your club may now submit dues online at https://ecommerce.toastmasters.org. This is the preferred method for submitting dues, since you receive an immediate confirmation. To submit dues online, you will need your club number and club password. If you have problems logging in, club officers may request assistance by calling Toastmasters International at (949) 858-8255.
Fall Conference at Madden’s Resort October 14-15 Fall conference is just around the corner. If you have not registered already, now is the time to do so. While you are at it, please reserve your room at Madden’s Resort. Madden’s has a block of guaranteed rooms set aside until September 14th. After that date, rooms will be available on a first come first served basis. When reserving your room, make sure the resort knows you are with the Toastmasters District 6 group. I look forward to meeting many of you at Madden’s.
Club Success Plan Has your club filled out a club success plan? Successful clubs plan their work, and then work the plan, The first step is to fill out a success plan. I encourage you to engage your club members to set individual and club goals now and review them often over the coming months. By doing so, you will notice subtle positive changes in your club environment. Do you have a personal goal that aligns with your club goals? Let your VP of Education know and enlist the club’s support. We all benefit from individual achievements.
An ongoing challenge of all clubs is membership. Clubs adding five new members between August 1 to September 30 qualify for the Smedley Award. I challenge all clubs to add two new club members during at your next meeting. I know we can accomplish great things if we break larger goals down into smaller parts.
International Convention The International convention was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada August 24-27, 2005. A summary of the convention highlights can be found on the District 6 website at /InternationalConventionRecap.doc. Theo W. Black, DTM District 6 Governor District 6 Clubs Shine with Magnificent 7! What a race to the finish! August 31st has come and gone and the numbers show a huge success in getting the district’s club officers trained. A total of 57 clubs can boast that they are the cream of the crop when it comes to ensuring that their officers receive the important information necessary to become successful clubs. Click the link for Magnificent 7 clubs on www.d6tm.org for the names of all the clubs who earned Magnificent 7 status. Here’s what you’ve been waiting for! The club who wins the FREE Fall Conference registration is Break of Day, Southern Division, Area 85 in Rochester! Congratulations! As the winning club, Break of Day owns the prize and can assign it to anyone they choose. Do you have a club member who is a speech contestant? How about your toastmaster of the year? Is there a real spark plug in the club that is responsible for bringing in new members? However you decide, please let Kim Keilholtz know as soon as possible. Hotel reservations must be made no later than September 14th in order to get special room rates. Again…congratulations to Rochester’s Break of Day! Educational Awards Add Up to Success! The first coveted, official Toastmaster Calculator was presented to Erich Heneke from Tuesdays With Toastmasters in Austin, Minnesota! Congratulations Erich! Could the August winner be one of you? What’s in it for you when you do only manual speeches? Your speaking skills become sharper because you focus on key skill building. Why should you always prepare your speeches using the toastmaster manual? Because you will always perform at peak and your evaluator will have objectives to assess your performance. If your evaluator doesn’t know what you’re trying to accomplish how can they adequately evaluate your speech? How many times have you heard a member deliver a speech that seemed to have no purpose, was disconnected, and didn’t have a clear opening, body, and conclusion? I’ll guess many times. Do you recommend that they go back to using the manual? The reason people join our clubs is to learn the valuable lessons provided in the educational material offered by Toastmasters. What kind of example do your members set when they refuse to use the toastmaster material? Could it be one of the reasons your club struggles with membership? When do members reach the point that the manual no longer serves it purpose? The answer is never. The program is in place and is successful because it works. Many times I’ve heard speakers struggle with a presentation and the answer to their struggle is clearly defined in a manual. I would challenge each and every member who believes they don’t need to do manual speeches to go back and give it a shot. I guarantee your result will be a much more polished presentation. Why not bring back the WOW Factor to your speeches! Do manual speeches and work on educational goals! Jeannette Bauch, DTM
Lieutenant Governor Education & Training Greetings Toastmasters! Please share this with your club members and enjoy!
Energized, empowered & eager…are three words that explain what the Toastmaster International Convention in Toronto did for me & many who attended the festivities last week. A fabulous way for you to network & build membership in your club is to attend an event outside of your own club. Start by attending the District 6 Fall Conference at Madden’s in Brainerd MN. Perhaps you’ll be so energized that you will want to attend next year’s International Convention in Washington DC. It’s nearly fall & back to school time for many people. This is an awesome time to put your membership building in high gear. Even adults that do not go back to formal education look at the fall to start a new educational venture. Get out that list of people you planned to invite to your club and invite them today! Review that list…add more names & spread the word about the benefits of attending your club. How are you doing with the membership building part of your DCP (distinguished club program)? Did you gain your 5 new members during August? If you did not get 5 new members in August, you still have time to receive the Ralph Smedley Award if you gain a total of 5 new members during August & September (make sure they are registered at TI – online or via mail). Try a “Back to School” theme… invite teachers, students, friends, neighbors, colleagues & pets (well, probably not pets!). When you register 5 new members during August & September your club is rewarded with the prestigious Ralph Smedley Award ribbon. Club membership building is led by the VP of Membership, but every club member must take an active role inviting guests in order for clubs to be successful. Invite guests today and get that Ralph Smedley Award! Winona Toastmasters held a great Charter party at Betty Jo’s in Winona last week. President Della Schmidt sees the club as a great way for members of the Chamber of Commerce to grow & network. Brian Hinton, Southern Division Governor was on hand to install the new club officers. Even if your club has been around awhile, consider holding an annual “charter” birthday celebration! Looking for ways to market your club & gain new members? Try the following ideas I picked up at convention: Join your local chamber of commerce. Attend the local meet & greets. Make business cards for club officers & all members of your club to help make connections for your club Assign a member to bring a guest each meeting. Make this one of your regular assignments. Try a Speechcraft program to introduce Toastmasters to your club. This is one of the best ways for clubs to build membership & serve the educational need for existing members. For more information see the link on the Lt. Governor of Marketing site, click on Speechcraft. (/District/Leaders/LGM/lgm-index_filtered2.htm). Send a message to our web editor Len Glaeser so that he can advertise your Speechcraft on d6tm.org. Members of District 6 that I spotted enjoying the festivities at the Toastmasters International Convention in Toronto: Teresa Hazel, Janet Fuchek, Dick Hedman, Dan & Noel Field, Bob Nowak, Keith Hardy, Judy Southwick, Cliff Heinch, Frank Mayers, Mary & Gary Swanson, Harriet & Bruce Beadell, Karolyn Hoard, Jeannette Bauch, Theo & Nancy Black, Mario & Sharon Pedercini, Terry & Judy Daily. When you see any of these toastmasters in your club or at district events, ask them to share something they learned or a new idea they gained from attending the International Convention. It truly was a great experience! Did I forget you? If so, contact me. Club Coach Program Sometimes a club experiences a dip in membership. Hopefully if you have experienced a dip, then you also feel the “up” when your new members join your club. Clubs with 12 or fewer members may have 1 or 2 Club Coaches appointed to their club to help coach the club to higher membership & distinguished club status. Club Coaches are volunteers and often the best coaches come from stronger clubs in the same area as lower member clubs. We are recruiting experienced Toastmasters who would like to gain valuable leadership experience by helping to coach a club. Contact Linda Larson & Brian Rohrenbach at clubcoach@d6tm.org. They will answer your questions, provide the training as a coach, provide you with a great support network & help find a club that needs you as a coach. Here’s to your success! You are Toastmasters & I am proud to be a part of an organization that includes YOU! Best regards, Pat Pat Croal Lt. Governor of Marketing
Contact me if you know a business, community or professional organization that would benefit from having a Toastmasters club. Making PR Easy
Help Others Find Their Voice You can easily promote your Toastmasters club using the great tools already prepared for you. Simply visit the District 6 Web site. The stories on the Testimonials page show how Toastmasters improves lives, use them to spice up a press release. Note the accomplishments of fellow Toastmasters on the District Public Relations Officer page. We encourage you to use the tools described below to retain, recognize, and recruit Toastmasters members. Promote Speech Contests Promote your Club, Area, and Division Tall Tales and Humorous Speech Contests with flyers and articles in your community papers or company websites and flyers. Recognize your winners in the papers and web with a press release. The District Web editor will post flyers for area and division contest at the following Web pages. Send the flyers to the webeditor@d6tm.org October is Toastmasters Month How will your club celebrate Toastmasters month? Do you know what your Division is planning? Throughout District 6 plans are being made to celebrate Toastmasters 81st Anniversary. Let us know what you are planning so we can help to publicize the event! Go to /District/Leaders/PRO/pro-templates.html for flyer and proclamation templates. PRO, Lonnie Yohannes, has requested proclamations from the cities of Mpls. and St. Paul, and the State of MN. E-mail pro@d6tm.org to let Lonnie know what cities and clubs have received proclamations from the cities that they meet in. Club Anniversary Celebrations Suggestions from Keith Hardy on making your club milestone-anniversary a special event. Make sure the guest list includes current members, all past members, the original members listed in the charter paperwork on the back of your charter certificate frame, the District Governor, Lt. Governor Education & Training and Lt. Governor Marketing from the year the club chartered, the media, and a guest speaker from the community where you meet. Send invitations to club presidents in your Area plus your Area and Division Governors, the current District Governor, and the club's mentors, sponsors and sponsoring club. The program usually consists of historical speeches by current and past members, table topics geared toward highlights from club history and a motivational speech to keep on keeping on by the guest speaker. Cake and other refreshments usually accompany the occasion. Of course there's the option to have the event at a restaurant where a meal would be included. Metropolitan Toastmasters recently celebrated their 50th Anniversary with a stand-out crowd of former and current members, as well as guests. During the festivities, member Craig Ostrem received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his many-years-long dedication to the club adding to the fun. Club Milestone Anniversaries July through September 2005
July
August
September Share your Club PR plans and Tools Be a show off! Share your website, flyers/brochures, newsletters, and PR plans with your Area Governor. Have you changed your flyers/brochures and websites to reflect new TI fees? New fees effective October 1st: New Member fee $20 and monthly TI dues is $4.50. We have updated the fees on the District 6 brochures on the PRO website. Contests Fall Conference- Theme: Larger Than Life! (District Tall Tales and Humorous Speech Contests and more) Hurry up and sign up so you don’t miss this great event! The magnificent colored leaves will be awaiting you at Madden’s Resort on Gull Lake. Sit outside by the cozy warm fire listening to storytelling while enjoying warm, gooey, chocolate, marshmallow s’mores. Paul Bunyan’s legacy lives on … the art of the tall tale is robust and well within the walls of many Toastmaster clubs. The District 6 Fall Conference will be held at Maddens Resort near Brainerd, October 14-15, 2005. The total package for the conference is $109. Be sure to make your resort reservation before September 14 for the reduced rate of $94.79/per night. To register, use the conference registration form and the resort registration form at www.d6tm.org. For more information contact Kim Keilholtz at kim@d6tm.org or 612-926-8567. Annual Public Relations Contests 2005 PR contest winners are now featured on the PRO website: /District/Leaders/PRO/pro-index.html. Viking Club brochure, Lawson Thrill Speakers’ website, and St. Paul Speakers’ newsletter Specialty Clubs Hobbies, activities, sports- most people have favorite pastimes. Specialty clubs help promote certain aspects of speech giving, themes or presentation possibilities. A special focus can also help build membership. It’s worth a club discussion… and who know who may join in? Help Us Help Others
Youth Leadership Do you wish you had built your own communication and leadership skills when you were a teen? Sponsor a Youth Leadership seminar, give back to the community, and help deserving youth gain a boost in self-confidence. Youth leadership seminars sow the seeds of effective speaking and leadership skills in the young. The Youth Leadership program has eight sessions that are each one to two hours in length and is conducted as a meeting with youth taking leadership roles. A Toastmaster gives an educational talk at each of the meetings. The cost of the program is covered by the Toastmaster leading the session or a sponsoring Toastmaster club. Contact Jean Keating at youth@d6tm.org for more information. Making News Rochester Chamber Clubs teamed together in July as the “Walkie Talkies” at the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life event in Rochester MN. This Year the Walkie Talkies raised more money than any other team turning in over $10,000.The Chamber Toastmasters and their spouses find this is a great opportunity for fellowship and a way to give something back to the community while supporting a worthy cause. Cathy Kray was quoted in an article about Relay for Life. Cathy was a speaker at the event, as well as a participant. She used a tall tale to “make a little fun of cancer.” Cathy has had a number of family and friends with cancer. She is the president of Speakers by Design. Cathy was in the Sun Sailor Eden Prairie edition on 7/28/05. http://www.mnsun.com/articles/2005/07/28/news/ep28relay.txt Tuesday’s with Toastmasters in Austin has a feature article about Toastmasters, which includes personal stories from John Fair, Tami Hjelmen, and Erich Heneke; what to expect in Toastmasters; and dispelling the thought of city residents that the club was for Hormel employees only but rather it is open to the community. This was in the 7/30/05 edition of Austin Daily Herald. Area 73 club representatives were interviewed by Thisweek Newspaper about their upcoming Speech contests on September 9, Toastmasters’ testimonials and the basics of Toastmasters. http://www.thisweek-online.com/2005/September/2lkvltoastmasters.html Tips of the Month One of the most effective membership building programs for clubs is Speechcraft. This program is designed to teach leadership and communication skills to small groups of non-Toastmasters over several weeks. Learn more about this Success/Leadership workshop by contacting the Speechcraft Coordinator Evelyn Genta at speechcraft@d6tm.org. Submit press releases to local papers, then follow them up with articles about your club that mention the member about whom the release was sent. Key Links Toastmasters in the News:
/District/Leaders/PRO/pro-index.html. Lonnie Yohannes
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The names "Toastmasters International", "Toastmasters", and the Toastmasters International emblem are trademarks protected in the United States, Canada, and other countries where Toastmasters Clubs exist. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. |