What's New in Toastmasters D60? July Newsletter

July 2020: Your Checklist for Success

The new Toastmasters year has begun, and we have a LOT to do! Each month, we'll chart what you need to prioritize, and give you the tools you need to be successful in your role.

Whether you're a Club member, a Club Officer, or an Area or Division Director - we all have a crucial role to play as we learn to become better communicators and leaders. Let's make the most of the coming year!

Wendy Williamson DTM, District Director

Click here to see the training calender and reserve your place

For Club Officers - your July projects:

Attend Club Officer Training
Write your Club's Success Plan
Submit your Club Officer List to TI

Being a Club Officer is quite the responsibility - you're in charge of ensuring all of your Club's members get full value from their participation.

To help you grow into that leadership role, District 60 offers you online, interactive training . Sign up now to reserve your place and take on your tasks with confidence!

Plus - when all seven Club Officers complete their training, each receives a great gift: a three-in-one pen that features a black ink ballpoint pen, laser pointer and hidden 8GB USB flash drive. The laser pointer projects 150-200 feet. And...batteries are included!

Then, use what you've learned to craft your Club's Success Plan . Click here to download a manual that will help you and your Executive create a Success Plan that will earn you Distinguished Club status.

Submit your Club Success Plan to your Area Director no later than September 30, and earn a Toastmasters "Word of the Day" pack. It's never too early to plan for success!

For Everyone: Time To Recognize Excellence

Every year, District 60 celebrates outstanding achievement, and recognizes:

Toastmaster of the Year
President of the Year
Area Director of the Year
Division Director of the Year.

Nominations close July 31, so if you know a Toastmaster who has excelled in:

Club & Membership Building and Retention
Distinguished Status
Education and Training
Leadership, Commitment and Support
Public Relations

then click on the link below to access the nomination forms.

Pro tip: you can nominate yourself!

Click here to access the nomination forms

For Club Officers: How Can I....?

Each month, we'll address the biggest elephants in the room. Read on to discover the questions we get asked most frequently, and how District 60 Clubs and members are rising to the challenge.

We're meeting online. How can I attract new members?

Having at least 20 members is key to maintaining a vibrant, successful Club. Now that we're having to meet online, the techniques we use to find new members must change.

Here's how some District 60 Clubs are succeeding:

"Follow up every lead - send them your meeting co-ordinates immediately, and tell them how welcome they'd be to visit your Club. We have four or five enquiries from MeetUp every month, and Club Leads (sent to us by District 60) have proven to be really valuable too." Vipul Jain IP5, VP PR Bay Street Breakfast Club

"We've taken proactive steps in reaching out to former members. Some left because they're no longer close to the club (distance wise) so the virtual format helps bridge that gap. We've also opened up our guest lists from previous meetings, and given them our virtual co-ordinates." Ahmed Abubakar, VP PR Trinity Toastmasters

"Ask your members to bring a friend or family member to the next meeting. We sometimes get one or two new faces at a meeting - and having people experience a great meeting is the first step in getting new members." Sam Jama, VP PR Grosvenor Toastmasters

We're having problems getting members to sign up for Pathways. How can I increase our adoption rate?

Now that Pathways is the only program Toastmasters can follow, it's essential all your members are delivering speeches and projects from one of the 11 available Paths. Otherwise, your club - and your members - aren't making trackable progress.

"This catalog is a great way for members to review all of the projects within a path, making it easier to choose a path, and then commit to completing it." Louise Bark LD3, MD1, Area 66 Director

"Our new VP Education, Fabiola Burelo, had the idea of showing each member's achievements in a visually impactful manner. We implemented a Google spreadsheet (screenshot below) that members can check online whenever they want and see their progress by level." Liliana Nakamura PM2, VP PR UnstoppableXpeakers

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For Everyone: Take The Pathways Survey

How’s your Pathways journey coming along? While many members continue to reach new levels of success in Pathways, others are finding areas where support would be welcome.

As part of District 60’s commitment to quality in training and education, we're planning to host focused Pathways workshops in support of member engagement and achievement.

What areas would you like to learn more about?

Complete the Pathways – where are you at? survey and share your thoughts!

Click here to complete the survey

For DTM Candidates: What are the new rules?

Becoming a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) is still the pinnacle of Toastmaster achievement. There are new ways of earning the award, given our transition to 100% Pathways, and you can read about them here .

What if you've made great progress in the legacy communication program (you're an ACG), but didn't manage to complete the other qualifications for DTM?

Good news - TI has given you more time to complete your ALS and/or act as a Club Coach. You can read more about the extensions here - and if you want to be a Club Coach, please contact Shukla Datta DTM, shukladatta53@yahoo.com, our Club Coach Chair.

Click here to check which Area and Division your Club is in

For Everyone: Is Your Club in a New Area - or even New Division?

Every year District 60 rebalances the allocation of Clubs - to take account of new, charter Clubs and suspended Clubs, and to achieve a fair alignment per the TI guidelines.

From July 1st, all Divisions experienced some changes. Find out which Area and Division you're in!