Behind every good speech, is a great writer.
Congratulations to the District 64 clubs who worked the program, increased or maintained their membership numbers and earned the title of Distinguished or better! How did they do it? Why not visit, observe, ask questions, listen and add their ideas to your own? Let’s see your club Distinguished for 2017-2018!
Distinguished:
Anishinabe
CHERing Voices
Daytimers
Friendly Time
Goodbye Jitters
Great West Life
Lean Talkers
Shaw
PC Superspeakers
Select Distinguished:
ASAP
Brandon Local (BLT)
Downtown Winnipeg
Manitoba Telecom
Red River Communicators
Talking Books
Wawanesa Speak Easy
Winnipeg
Wednesdays on Waverley (WOW)
President’s Distinguished:
Beausejour
Carillon
Dryden
Island Shore
Millenium
PACE Champions
PBS
Peak Performers
St. Ignatius
Testament
Vital Words
UM Masters
We Believe in Winnipeg
Whiteshell
I am a proud Canadian. I sit on my deck with my red and white flowers, my red and white clothing and a red and white mug. Our shed is also red and white. I have a white car and my husband’s is red. It’s Canada’s 150th birthday, and while I am always honoured to be Canadian, it’s not what’s making me a little nervous today!
The cause of my nervousness is that today, July 1, 2017 I am officially in the role of District Director, Toastmasters International, District 64, 2017-2018. I am honoured to be elected to serve our members and assist our leadership teams. I am nervous because I also represent and simultaneously serve the entire organization.
I am proud to be part of this diverse and inclusive organization. Toastmasters International is in most countries. There are thousands of clubs. There are millions of people who have benefitted from the program and millions more to come. It’s an organization struggling to modernize in a world of rapidly changing types of communication. Increasingly available access to information comes with more languages, cultures and political climates sitting as close as our mobile phones. Yet Toastmasters continues to grow and adapt. It continues to offer members a voice in the form of voting at the club, District and International levels. I am honoured to be part of it all.
As I reflect on my Toastmasters journey however, my best moments have been personal and local: the catch in my throat when my club presented me with my first membership pin, the joy when I completed my first icebreaker, the applause and approval of my club members when I succeeded at my first Table Topics speech, the appreciation shown by my club when I was awarded a Competent Toastmaster certificate (CTM, now a CC) and best of all, the satisfaction I continue to feel when other members succeed at any step in the journey to being better communicators and better leaders.
I have branched out from my home club in the succeeding years but Carillon Toastmasters is still there, supporting me and keeping me grounded. There, I am still just Sheryl. I am still honoured to be a member and still a little nervous when I do a speech. I will try to remember that while I am representing the world of Toastmasters International, and within it the amazing country of Canada, I also represent my club. I hope I represent them with integrity, respect, service and excellence. I am honoured, but still a little nervous.
Are you aiming to earn a DTM (Distinguished Toastmaster Award)? If so, read on.
Are you aware of the requirements? If so, read on. If not go here:
Application for DTM
How close are you to reaching it? How long do you estimate it will take? One of the requirements takes 12 months to complete and that is the District service (Area Director, for example). Some may take even longer (sponsor a new club or coach a low member existing club).
Here is why Pathways needs to be taken into your long term plans if you have a DTM award as a goal.
The current program is being phased out. CC’s, CL’s, advanced manuals, HPL manuals, all will become passé. They are not simply being updated – they are being replaced with a vibrant, integrated and modern program. The two programs will run at the same time for two years past the day the last region begins Pathways. For District 64 that means you have as little as 2 years, 10 months (depending how it goes in the preceding regions) to finish your goals in the current program. So far as we know, the only projects that carry over are District service, 12 continuous months in a club officer role, club sponsor/mentor/coach, Speechcraft and Youth Leadership Coordinators.
What does this mean to your goal to earn a DTM? It means if you haven’t completed your District service requirement your options are becoming limited. It means if you haven’t completed the sponsor/mentor/coach requirement, time is running out. How do you get involved? Ask your VPE.
By the way, once it’s here, all your new members will only have Pathways. Of course, you could just put aside whatever manuals you are working on and join them! It is so exciting, you may want to do just that.
In the meantime, keep learning from the program we have and grow your communication and leadership skills. As always in Toastmasters, the choice of how much you learn and how far you go is entirely up to you!
More questions? Watch the videos here. Check out the Pathways FAQ’s.
If time management is an issue, please check back in these blog posts and refer to Glenn Watt’s blog on that very topic!
Read about events and people of District 64 Toastmasters in the most recent issue of our newsletter: