For Immediate Release August 2001

Contact: Suzanne Frey sfrey@toastmasters.org 949/858-8255

MISSION VIEJO, CA— It was the World Series of public speaking, the Olympics of oratory, the final bout for the heavyweight title of “World Champion of Public Speaking.” Who would win? Recently, a crowd of 1,400 Toastmasters from around the world gathered in Anaheim, California, to cheer for their favorite speaker at the Toastmasters International Speech Contest.

Darren LaCroix, of Auburn, Massachusetts, emerged victorious and claimed the title of 2001 World Champion of Public Speaking with his seven-minute speech, “Ouch.” With a message of “don’t be afraid to fail,” the velvet-voiced LaCroix told of how he was inspired by motivational speaker Brian Tracy to pursue his dream of becoming a comedian and professional speaker ­ although nobody he knew considered him funny and he had a fear of public speaking. 

At that time, 10 years ago, LaCroix owned a struggling Subway sandwich shop and was heavily in debt. He moved back home with his parents and marched onward, joining four local Toastmasters clubs and taking every chance to polish his speaking skills. He also tried stand-up comedy, repeatedly bombing but never giving up. Today his picture hangs on the wall of his hometown comedy club. He is also a part time actor and speaker, but so far he has kept his day job as sales representative for Bose Corp. The point is that he never gave up on his dream. “I didn’t want to look back on my life and say, ‘I never did try that comedy thing, but I paid all my bills,’” he told the audience.

The speech contest culminated Toastmasters International’s four-day annual convention, held in August at the Hilton in Anaheim, California. A panel of 18 Toastmasters judges evaluated the nine contestants, who had advanced to the finals following a year-long process of elimination, using club, area and regional speech competitions. Criteria used in judging included speech content, organization, voice quality and gestures. 

Second- and third-place winners in the World Championship of Public Speaking were Jim Key of Rowlett, Texas, and J.A. Gamache of Laval, Quebec, Canada.

Toastmasters International is a non-profit educational organization that teaches public speaking skills through a worldwide network of clubs. The organization currently has nearly 180,000 members in 9,000 clubs in 70 countries. Since its founding nearly 77 years ago in October 1924, the organization has helped some four million men and women give presentations with poise and confidence. For information about local Toastmasters clubs, please call 1-800-9WE-SPEAK or visit www.toastmasters.org