Background
   The Story;
   of Toastmasters

My responsibility as being a “How to” resource to
assist Toastmaster club officers in reporting the
activities of their clubs to the media.
        Secondarily, I will be involved in preparing news
releases for District 3 conferences and articles about
Toastmasters programs generally.  
        Each club President  will be asked to  appoint a
Publicity Chairman.  Already have a committee of 75+
who will be helping me by sending clippings of their
club’s activities and suggesting approaches to the
media that will be helpful to us all.

Basic B’s for Publicity

        To my fellow Public Relations Officers:
 
        We are setting up a web site as a “how to” resource
to assist the VPPR in reporting the activities of
their clubs to the media.   I wil be involved in
preparing news releases for District 3 conferences and
articles about Toastmasters programs generally.  

        I  invite each club  VPPR  (Vice President Public
Relations) to be a member of my team.   Within each
Division I have asked for the name of one person who
can help coordinate our activities.   This person will
be responsible for getting the names, phones, contact
person and other pertinent data of possible media
contacts from their region. 

        You will be helping yourselves and our District 3 by
sending me clippings of  your club’s activities and
suggesting approaches to the media that will be
helpful to us all.  

        As an initial “How to” the following excerpt from the
Publicity Handbook published by the Sperry and
Hutchinson Company may be helpful.
        
1. Be the only person from your group to contact news
media.  Two members calling the same newspaper editor
or program director are bound to bring conflict or
confusion.
2.  Be quick to establish personal contact with the
right persons at each newspaper, radio and television
station in your area.
3. Be sure to write everything down.  Train your
memory, but don’t trust it.
4. Be prompt in meeting every deadline.
5. Be legible. Type news releases.  Use both spell and
grammar check to avoid such errors as using their when
you mean there, right when write is to be used.
6.  Be accurate. Double check dates, names, places
before you submit your copy.
7. Be honest and impartial.  Give credit where due.
8. Be brief.   Newspaper space and air time are
costly.
9. Be brave.  Don't be afraid to suggest something new
if you honestly believe you have a workable idea. 
Media people welcome original ideas when they're
practical and organized logically.
10.  Be business-like.  Never try to obtain publicity
by pressure of friendship or business connections. 
Never ask when a story will appear. Never ask for
clippings.
11.  Be appreciative of all space and time given your
club’s publicity. The media giving it also have space
and time for sale.
12.  Be professional.   Members of the press are
always invited guests. Never ask them to buy tickets
or pay admission.  Arrange a special “Press Table” for
large banquets. 

        To see the winning newsletters for 1999-2000 to get
ideas on how to set up your newsletter, check with
Glen Pike, DTM  at glenpike@geocities.com or our
internet page(             )  .   Remember we are all
here to learn from , evaluate, and support each other.
 Call the editor in other clubs and tell them how much
you enjoyed their newspaper.  If you’re having
problems, contact the VP of other  clubs to find out
how they are handling the situation or contact Lucille
Houston, ATM G at luchouston@prodigy.com or  contact
Mike Herskovits, DTM at Mike.Herskovits@motorola.com. 

        Finally, once the format of the newsletter is set up,
members know  what information is expected.  The more
people are involved in the information put into the
newsletter, the more it becomes “their newsletter” 
and the more solidly attached the members become to
“their club.”

        Some of the ideas  discussed at the workshop worthy
of newsletters are given below.   By comparing these
ideas with other newspapers, brain storming and
pooling your resources, you can have an excellent
newspaper without stressing out one person and have
fun while doing it. 

Accomplishments of members. These include CTM, ATMs,
DTM, CL and AL besides articles on promotions,
exciting vacations and other events in the members’
lives.  

Calendar 
        Club and District events, birthdays, and
anniversaries.  Be sure to include the date of your
club’s beginning.  President and VPs attend an Area
Council meeting and  will know dates of adjoining club
contests and adjoining Area contests. 

Member Profile 
         
Monthly interview a member.

Club Advertising/Member Advertising  Use this space to
advertise members’ special talents.

Speaking Tips This could include a brief summary of an
article in the Toastmaster  and any other book or
magazine.

Ask the President   Question and Answer format.

Member/Club Status on the DCP plan. Use this section
to keep everyone aware of who is advancing rapidly. 

Definitions CTM, ATM, TLI, DCP and other Toastmaster
jargon ----?

Feed back Fellow toastmasters often make affirming or
critical comments that are worthy of print. 

Officer list  Club officers and District Officers are
listed in this area. 

Benefits Toastmasters offers Ask members why they
joined Toastmasters and how they have improved.

Resource list   Many members have favorite books they
have used and several clubs maintain a library of
materials.

Vocabulary  The secretary of the club monitors a book
in which the weekly word is recorded. 

Executive meeting agenda.   The secretary of the club
provides the minutes of the monthly club executive
meeting. 
 
Additional ideas given by Phil Walls Jr.
(phil4030Walls@cs.com) and Deborah Baptisto in their
presentation on Web site experts included 

Member accomplishments
Executive meeting Minutes
Calendar Events
Member Profiles
Upcoming contests
Instructional Aids
Pictures
Recommended Reading