August 2022 View as a Webpage in Your Browser

Hello District 60!

With less than a week to go until Labour Day, many of us are contemplating “back to work” and with it, all sorts of new opportunities and challenges. As you think about those, it’s an ideal time to think about how Toastmasters can help you achieve your best.

It was a huge revelation when a D60 Toastmaster suggested to me that, rather than thinking separately about work challenges and Toastmasters challenges, I could think about them as one and the same thing. That is, if I had a work presentation I knew needed to go really well, I could test it out at a club meeting (and get credit in my chosen Path).

Since then, I’ve seen D60 Toastmasters:

Try out their doctoral dissertation defence, and apply the feedback
Test a work conference presentation, and refine it so that the key points landed better
Practice job interview questions and answers (and land the job!).

Pathways gives you the opportunity to do all of this and more. This chart will help you match your personal objectives to all of the presentation opportunities offered in Pathways (I know, it’s a bit of an eye chart at first, but focus on column AO - it will all come into focus!).

What do you want to achieve in 2022? There’s a Pathways presentation for that!

Andrew Horberry

D60 Program Quality Director

Table of Contents:

1. Personal growth and developing skills for career advancement

2. District news

3. Celebration, Congratulations and Thank you!

4. Club Officer Information (including Aug 31 COT Round 1 sessions)

1. Personal growth and developing skills for career advancement:

a) Opportunities with the Program Quality Team (please email Andrew Horberry at pqd@toastmasters60.com):

Conference Chair - if you’re looking to develop your project management, interpersonal, and creative thinking skills, this is the role for you. Our annual conference will be held May 6, 2023, and you’d lead a team that brings all the many components together into an energising, innovative and celebratory day.
Contest Chair - a key role in supporting contests at Area, Division and District levels. This year in addition to the International speech contest, we are also considering Evaluation and Table Topic contests. This role will help you develop your organising, critical thinking, communication, and interpersonal skills.

b) Workshops (included in your membership dues) to Grow Your Skills

Evaluate to Motivate

Evaluations tell us what we did well and what we can do differently. But can they motivate us? Yes! Join this workshop and learn:

How to connect with the speaker
How to encourage them to improve
How to motivate them to deliver more speeches!

Facilitated by Heather Haigh, DTM, and hosted by Creatively Speaking Toastmasters in person or online, Tuesday September 27, 6.00-7.30pm. Register here.

Using Proven Structures for Effective Impromptu Responses

Ever stuck for words when somebody, out of the blue, asks for your opinion? Join us for this workshop and:

Learn seven structures to frame your response coherently
Hear concrete examples to inspire you
Practice the technique using a mini-Table Topics format.

Facilitated by Michel Adedokun, and hosted by Sunrise Orators online, Thursday September 29, 7.30-8.30am. Register here.

Getting to YES!

Negotiation is a skill needed at work, at home, and among friends. It is unavoidable. From this workshop, you will learn:

That it is possible for parties on both sides of the table to get what each wants
Successful negotiation is a skill that can be learned
Listening is the greatest skill to be brought to the negotiation table.

Facilitated by David Bachan, DTM, and hosted by Creatively Speaking Toastmasters in person or online, Tuesday October 11, 6.00-7.30pm. Register here.

2. District News:

a) Distinguished Club Program (DCP) Update

There is a key change to the DCP this year for clubs with fewer than 20 members. Previously clubs would either need 20 members or a net growth of 5 new members to participate in the DCP. Effectively immediately, clubs will either need 20 members or a net growth of 3 new, dual, or reinstating members as of June 30 2023. Also, this is applicable to the 2023-2024 year as well.

3. Celebration, Congratulations and Thank you!:

a) Congratulations to our Of-The-Year-Award winners!!

Thank you for your unwavering dedication and pursuit of excellence in ensuring that our members have the most memorable and valuable experience possible.

Toastmaster of the Year → Cate Posner

Club President of the Year → Carol Wilson

Area Director of the Year → Paul Falkowski

Division Director of the Year → Carrie Webster

And many thanks to all the nominees and nominators. You all contribute in so many ways to the success of the District and in helping our members succeed. Thank you for all that you do!

b) Our new Region 6 International Director!

Congratulations to Dawn Frail, DTM, past District 60 Director and current Club President of Speaking From Experience Advanced Toastmasters, for being elected International Director for Region 6!

Over the next two years, Dawn will play an important role guiding Toastmasters International's policies as we work together to help even more people experience the benefits of Toastmasters' membership.

All the best Dawn, you will be amazing!

c) A Brand New World Champion of Public Speaking!

On August 20, Cyril Junior Dim was judged to be the best in an outstanding field of International Speech contestants. You can see his brilliant speech here. Congratulations, too, to Alexandre Matte from District 123 (our neighbours to the north and east) and Mas Mahathir Bin Mohamad, who placed second and third respectively

All of this to say: it’s not too early to begin your planning to become the World Champion of 2023! All of these outstanding speakers began their journey at their club contest, and your club will be holding its contest in December or January.

4. Club Officer Information:

a) District Council Meeting - September 19 at 7:30pm ET

Calling all Club Presidents and Vice Presidents Education!

Please click here to register for the District Council meeting scheduled for Monday September 19 at 7:30pm ET.

Your voice is key to the success of the District and we look forward to you joining and actively participating in this important meeting where the district budget and district appointments will be presented for approval.

b) Last chance COT Round 1 sessions:

Wednesday August 31st at noon Pacific Time (District 4): Click here
Wednesday August 31st at 5:00 pm Pacific Time (District 10): https://bit.ly/DivD22training

c) Calling all VPs of Public Relations!

Meet Emanuel Petrescu, our PRM for this year. You can learn more about Emanuel and his mission here. He encourages you to reach out if you have any questions or have anything to share.

d) Building the district’s social media team

Ever wonder what makes a great social media campaign? A clue is in the name: social. There’s a great opportunity to join our social media team and learn to create compelling copy, design and monitor the success of campaigns. Interested in helping? Email prm@toastmasters60.com