T I & U
Are you stimulated, excited and energized by your
club meetings? As a member of Toastmasters
International, do you participate in this
organization outside of your club? Our mission is to
provide growth in communication and leadership in a
supportive atmosphere. This is done both in the club
and also in various ways outside the club.
Each year our District runs four contests:
In the fall, the Humorous Speech and Table
Topics Contests.
In the spring the International Speech and
Evaluation Contests.
All contests begin in the club and go on to the Area,
Division and District. The Table Topics and Evaluation
end there. The Humorous Speech and International
Speech go on to Regional. Only the International
Speech continues on to the International Convention,
held the third week in August. Each level of
competition offers opportunities for every
Toastmaster. Besides competing, you can participate
as a leader by organizing or assisting with various
roles such as being a judge, an interviewer, a
sergeant-at-arms, a ballot counter or a timer.
Lastly, you can show up to support your club
contestants and see the best of other clubs, as well
as meet new people. At the District Conference there
are educationals: a District Council meeting, guest
speakers, recognition awards and two contests.
Another opportunity for growth outside the club is
speakouts. A speakout is a gathering of Toastmasters
for the purpose of completing manual assignments.
Speeches receive both written and oral evaluations.
You meet other speakers and expand your listening
skills.
During the year we often encounter several special
events. It could be a demonstration meeting to form a
new club, a youth leadership program,
a success/leadership, or even a speechcraft at which
you are invited to speak. These opportunities arise
when you show up and meet other Toastmasters. This
February, Division D held an Ideas Fair. This was a
memorable gathering of Toastmaster Clubs and District
Officials to exchange information and improve the
wealth of creativity of individuals and clubs. I was
delighted with the handouts I picked up from the
numerous clubs present. One individual visited from
New Jersey as a result of my Internet message and
visited several clubs before joining. Also I was
pleased to receive an inquiry from as far away as
Australia about the event.
Globally we can communicate with other Toastmasters
through three computer sources. The first is the news
group accessed through "alt.org.toastmasters" whereby
many people share ideas, make announcements or
inquiries and give general Toastmaster information
for the not-as-yet Toastmasters who read it. The
second means of global access is the World Wide Web
which promotes a good deal of wonderful Toastmaster
sharing. Amongst my favorites:
The in-depth, informative (FAQ's)
frequently asked questions initiated by Joel
Furr, the founder of the news group, which is
categorized into five areas (recently updated by Jim
Robinson).
Several wonderful newsletters, produced by
Tsukuba Toads, the bi-lingual club in Tsukuba, Japan.
The Toastmaster Testimonials collected by
Mike Steineck, (and put up by Michael Alexander)
whereby members from around the world share views on
how they benefitted from entering contests and
serving as an officer at all levels.
(http://solutions.solon.com/~mal/testimonials.html)
The Grand Rapids web page put up by James
Short is an excellent example of club information
with numerous links to other sources of information.
(http://www.iserv.net/~grtoast)
The Western Division of Florida by D.C.Stultz
is full of good information and often quite humorous.
(http://www.darlcomm.com/westdiv/index.htm)
The Toastmasters Treasury by George Hoffman
is full of ideas, resources, sayings and quotes.
(http://www.mindspring.com/~georgeh/sayings.html)
Check out Manhattan Chowder & Debate Society.
(http://www.columbia.edu.~lry2/debate)
Want to see what's going on across the
Atlantic? Check out London Athenians Speakers Club.
See what's happening in the Pacific
(http://www.ppn.com.hk/hktc)
The third source is chat groups through America On
Line, on Wed. nights and the International Relay Chat,
the first weekend of the month. Information on access
for both these groups is available in the newsgroup.
Next time you feel discouraged by your same old club
meetings, reach outside your nuclear nest to see what
others are doing in contests, speakouts, special
events, District Conferences, or on the Internet, and
bring back fresh new creativity to your club and your
life.
center
Written by Paula Horwitz ATMB, Area 44 Governor
for District 46 newsletter Forty-Sixer, February 1996
updated January 1997
Return to:
Newsletter Articles
Blue Ribbon Home Page
Email: brtm@rocketmail.com
