District 106

Newsletter

January 2024

From the Desk of the District Director

Shock, Rhythm, and Talk Toastmasters club has added seven (7) new members during this program year (since 01 JUL 2023)! Remarkable progress by a consistently distinguished club. Their attention to communication and leadership progress for each of their club members is attractive to new members, even at our new dues structure which any human resources professional will quickly see as a bargain.

Toastmasters’ membership is effective. It has attracted nearly 150 new members to District 106 thus far during this program (fiscal) year. We have an effective product to “sell” and it still attracts those wishing to overcome their fears and grow their communication and leadership skills in a safe and supportive environment! Renew your efforts! Reach out with multiple personal invitations. We will continue to grow this district by adding new clubs and new members!

Club Officer Training (COT) season opened with a remarkable District 106 virtual Toastmasters Leadership Institute. More than 100 participants experienced what one participant called “the best Toastmasters event I have ever attended!” Congratulations to PQD Katy Hursh and her team led by event chair PDG Keith Hardy, DTM! Thank you for your commitment to excellence.

Over 60% of our clubs exhibited that commitment to excellence by training four or more club officers during the July – August club officer training round. If your club trained four or more officers, I salute you! I also remind you that your club is now positioned to gain an easy Distinguished Club Plan “point” if you train four or more officers during this COT round. There are multiple training opportunities on the D106 calendar in January and February.

Get four of your club officers trained during both rounds and your club is positioned to easily become distinguished. Combine this easy step with the continued grace from Toastmasters International Board of Directors granting districts a “Net 3” club membership growth again this program year.Get four of your club officers trained during both rounds and your club is positioned to easily become distinguished. Combine this easy step with the continued grace from Toastmasters International Board of Directors granting districts a “Net 3” club membership growth again this program year.

The holiday season is over! I hope you are each rested, refreshed, and committed to succeeding in pursuit of your Toastmasters communication and leadership goals. There will be many opportunities to grow your skills during the remainder of this program year.

Katy’s team could still use volunteers to help conduct club officer training sessions.

Matt Villella’s team can still use volunteers to assist with demonstration meetings for potential new clubs. Yes, there are groups of potential new clubs in contact with us and we feel very positive that we will soon begin to add new clubs to our district.

Contest season is “open!” Our spring contests are Table Topics and International. In those Areas having four or fewer clubs, each club in the area is permitted by District 106 to send up to two speech contestants per contest category to the Area contest. This same exception does not apply when moving from Area to Division. All contests will end with District championship events at our May 2024 conference. Evaluation and Humor contest finals will take place on May 3. Table Topics and International competitions will take place on May 4. By all means, go ahead and enter a competition. It is a rewarding and challenging experience. If you have not advanced, then please reach out to your Area Director, Division Director, and to Program Quality Director Katy Hursh to volunteer to staff Area, Division, and District speech competitions. These events don’t happen without dedicated volunteers… like you!

Open House Meetings are a great idea at any time! Involve your Area Director, Division Director, Club Growth Director Villella, and Public Relations Manager Sunkavalli! If you invite new members, they will come!

Katy Hursh and her team will welcome multiple volunteers to help make our District 106 conference an inspiring success. Our keynote speaker, Toastmasters International First Vice President Aletta Rochat, will also present a workshop. You want to be present at our conference on 03 and 04 May at the Marriott in Brooklyn Park, MN!

Your leadership team is rested and ready. Your task is to wear us out! Let’s work together to promote and to celebrate Toastmasters District 106! Yes… We can!

Edward Aylward, DTM

District Director, District 106

From the Desk of the Program Quality Director

The 2nd round of Club Officer Training began with the Toastmasters Leadership Institute on Saturday, January 6, 2024. Over 100 members attended and received Club Officer Training credit. If you missed this event, please register for one of the club officer training courses in January or February. All clubs with four officers trained earn a Distinguished Club Plan (DCP) point. When all seven officers are trained in both the fall and spring, your club will earn the Magnificent 7 award. Club officer training this round is focused on Pathways, Club Success, and reviewing your officer role.

Attending officer training helps you get better as a leader and benefits your club as well. To register for club officer training, go to https://d106tm.org/club-officer-training/.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at tm.katy.hursh@gmail.com.

Katy Hursh

Program Quality Director, District 106

From the Desk of the Club Growth Director

Happy 2024 fellow Toastmasters,

We have entered a new year, which also means we are halfway through our Toastmasters year. I hope that everybody had a wonderful holiday season and had some time to recharge.

I am excited to announce we currently have three demo meetings in the works, and hopefully we will have new clubs to add to our district soon. Within my team, we are working hard to reach all the clubs in our district to provide support. If we haven’t reached you yet, please contact me. I am more than happy to help. I am also thrilled to announce that our LinkedIn promotions in conjunction with Toastmasters International will be starting shortly. We are also going to be doing a YouTube campaign; we really want people to know about the great Toastmasters in our region.

I do need your help with the following:

• If you are not, please follow District 106 on all our socials. Have your clubs’ socials ready to go.
• Share, Share, Share - on your personal accounts and your club accounts. For every cent that we spend on this campaign, if you can share it, it makes it much more valuable. If you see something from our district, share it.
• This is a great time to have an open house to increase visibility. Remember, if you get two guests to join from an open house, let me know.
• Bring a guest and do some cold calls. Invite people to your club.
• Follow up with members that haven’t paid their dues and try to get them back into your club. This is an exciting time in our district.
• If you need assistance, please reach out.

I would like to send a shout out to Paul Bunyan Toastmasters club, who recently invited the media into their club as a guest. The reporter then wrote a great story about Toastmasters. This is a great way to get some free press. Reach out and invite them, you never know what will happen. If you need help with writing a press release, feel free to reach out; we have some examples to share. If you are doing something great to promote your club, I want to hear about it. Please reach out. I wish you nothing but the

best in 2024 in your Toastmasters journey and wherever 2024 takes you.

I'm honored to serve you as your Club Growth Director.

Matthew Villela, DTM

Club Growth Director, District 106

Email: tm.matthew.villella@gmail.com

From the Desk of the Youth Leadership Program Chair

Introducing the Youth Leadership Program

Are you looking for another way to use your Toastmasters and leadership skills?

Have you ever thought about the Toastmasters Youth Leadership Program (YLP)? Ed asked me to become the coordinator for the YLP, and I am excited to offer you the same opportunity to get involved.

If you would like to volunteer, you will be helping our youth become future leaders and future public speakers. In the process, you will be using your speaking and leadership skills to develop these future youth leaders and speakers.

If you are wondering how to begin, the first step is to find a group that is interested in developing youth and their leadership and speaking skills. You will help prepare an agenda for each meeting, and organize the final “graduation” event for parents and family. The youth meetings will include speaking, table topics, and evaluations.

Doesn’t that look like a Toastmasters meeting? It sure does to me.

These are some of the groups you could contact: Schools, 4-H clubs, Scouts, Junior Achievement, Civic club youth programs, and other organizations that have youth interested in speaking and leadership. Maybe at your church or place of worship?

Yes, Toastmasters has a manual and resources to guide you! Sound interesting?

Contact me via email or cell phone with any questions you might have and we can discuss:

• Email: twojays_in_nb@msn.com, please use YLP in the subject line.
• Cell: 651-428-5960, please include your name and best time to reach you.

Thank you in advance for your interest and participation in this very worthwhile Toastmasters Youth Leadership Program.

Sincerely,

Alan Gregerson, DTM

YLP Chair 2023-2024

From the Desk of the Public Relations Manager

Happy New Year 2024, and greetings from the Office of the District PRM! I hope that you are doing well, and I wish you all to have the best year and to achieve your Toastmasters goals.

Please save the date for the “District 106 Practical PR Workshop” happening on Jan 18, 2024 @ 6 PM for 45 mins.

Register at: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYpcuuqqDIoGdYSE-lILNbka_iYZUAjD0QY

Did you know that Toastmasters has put together tools to help you and your club be successful online and in a hybrid world? This collection of online meeting resources put together by Toastmasters International includes:

• Online Meeting Infographic
• Online Meeting Tips
• Online Prospect Flier
• Online Member Flier
• Timer Zoom Backgrounds
• Digital Ribbons
• Zoom Virtual Backgrounds

… and more!

Online meeting resources are available at: Toastmasters International - Online Meetings

Hybrid meeting resources are available at: Toastmasters International - Hybrid Meetings

PRM Team [Ashok, Margie, Jason]

Ashok Sunkavalli

2023-2024 District 106 Public Relations Manager

ashoksunkavalli@gmail.com

Cell: (319) 431-2415

Follow us on D106 Website, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok for exciting updates, inspiration, and more.

YouTube: 160 LinkedIn: 204 Facebook: 458 Instagram: 303 X: 207 TikTok: 46

District 106 Awards Ceremony 2022-2023

From the Desk of the Club Growth Chair

New Clubs Need You!

New Year, New You? Are you working towards your DTM? If so I can help you earn it! Part of the requirements to earn the DTM is to serve as a new club sponsor or mentor! Those requirements are difficult to achieve for most because starting a new club requires a team to support you. We are offering the opportunity to serve as a new club sponsor or mentor if you want to join the team.  

What we are looking for in a new club sponsor or mentor candidate is someone who is willing to work with new clubs for at least 6 months. You will guide them in using Pathways, implementing the Club Success Plan, and participating in the Distinguished Club Program. You should also be familiar with the various club roles and offer the new club options in how to run their meeting. You will gain a lot of experience in leadership and communication, two of Toastmasters' activities which likely attracted you to become a Toastmaster in the first place. 

If this is something that sounds interesting to you, please get in touch with me to join the team at yprevost123@gmail.com , so we can enable your completion of the DTM requirement, new club sponsor or mentor. 

Yves Prévost DTM

Club Growth Chair

Yprevost123@gmail.com

From the Desk of the District Leadership Committee Chair

Leadership Nomination and Deadline Extended

Fellow Toastmasters,

I am excited to share that many nominations have been submitted for next year's leadership roles. Per request from a few members, I will continue accepting application until Jan 15, 2024.

We, the District Leadership Committee (DLC), will strive to ensure the continued success and growth of our Toastmasters community. This is an opportunity for all of us to make a significant impact.

Here is the list of nominations as of Dec 31, 2023:

1.    District Director: Katy Hursh

2.    Program Quality Director: Matt Villella, DTM

3.    Club Growth Director: Multiple Candidates

a.    Ashok Sunkavalli

b.    Anna Gaichas, DTM

c.    Brian Perry, DTM

4.    Division A Director : Lesley Harding

5.    Division B Director : Chengtao Wang

6.    Division C Director : Seth Baezthold

7.    Division D Director : Elizabeth Plamondon

8.    Division E Director : Christa Walter

---

To maintain the high standards of leadership in Toastmasters, it is crucial that our candidates meet certain eligibility requirements as outlined in the District Administrative Bylaws. These requirements are designed to ensure that our leaders have the necessary experience and commitment to lead our District effectively.

Here are the eligibility requirements candidates must meet:

ELECTED LEADER POSITIONS

All positions must be held by a member in good standing of a Toastmasters club in good standing. The responsibilities and qualifications of each elected leader position are as follows.

1. DISTRICT DIRECTOR As the District’s Chief Executive officer, direct the District in a way which fosters strong clubs; produces maximum growth in education completions, clubs and membership; and be consistent with the interests of members of Toastmasters International. Motivate the District to achieve Distinguished recognition. Achieve the mission of the District in a manner that motivates volunteer leaders and promotes a standard of excellence in all District activities.

Qualifications At the time of taking office, the District Director shall have served at

least six consecutive months as a Club President and at least 12 consecutive months as a Program Quality Director, Club Growth Director, or Division Director, or a combination thereof.

2. PROGRAM QUALITY DIRECTOR Under the guidance of the District Director, strive to have every club and each member reap the benefits of Toastmasters and to have every club become Distinguished. Provides direction and counsel to Division Directors, Area Directors, and Club Officers on the educational opportunities in Toastmasters. Design and conduct successful District training programs, conferences, and other District educational events.

Qualifications At the time of taking office, the Program Quality Director shall have

served at least six consecutive months as a Club President and at least 12 consecutive months as a Program Quality Director, Club Growth Director, or Division Director, or an Area Director, or a combination thereof.

3. CLUB GROWTH DIRECTOR Under guidance of the District Director, make the benefits of Toastmasters membership available to greater numbers of people. Plan, develop, implement, and direct District marketing objectives. Develop and direct programs for new club development, club rescue efforts, club membership promotion, and membership retention. Achieve Distinguished District goals for membership and club growth. Promote standards of service to the member and to the club.

Qualifications At the time of taking office, the Club Growth Director shall have served at least six consecutive months as a Club President and at least 12 consecutive months as a Program Quality Director, a Club Growth Director or Division Director, Area Director or a combination thereof.

4. DIVISION DIRECTOR Achieve the mission of the District within the Division,

accomplishing District goals in membership building and retention, club extension, and educational accomplishments. Ensure that each club realizes its mission and fulfills its responsibilities to members. Achieve Distinguished Division Program goals and ensure that Areas and clubs within the Division achieve Distinguished recognition. Serve the Division clubs by providing District support and resources through the Area Directors.

Qualifications At the time of taking office, the Division Director shall have served at

least six consecutive months as a member of a District Council.

All Elective Officers (as stated above):

Every officer must have been an active member of a Toastmasters club in good standing for the entire preceding 12 months, or a member for 12 consecutive months within the past three years within the district where the officer shall serve.

One District at a Time:

A member may only be a candidate for elective office in one District at any given time, ensuring their commitment to the role.

One Position at a Time:

A member may only serve in one position within any District Executive Committee at any given time.

These eligibility requirements ensure that our leaders have a deep-rooted connection to Toastmasters and a well-rounded understanding of our organization's functions. They also guarantee that only those who have dedicated themselves to our cause are eligible to take on leadership roles.

An Opportunity for You

If you meet these eligibility criteria and have a deep commitment to Toastmasters, we encourage you to consider stepping forward and becoming a part of our District leadership. The impact you can make is immeasurable, not only on your own personal growth but also on the growth and development of the entire Toastmasters community.

To express your interest, we have provided the necessary forms and guidelines. Please fill out the following forms and submit them by January 15, 2024:

Candidate Application Form (Submit) [Click Here for Form]

Nomination Form (Submit) [Click Here for Form]

Officer Agreement and Release Form (Submit) [Click Here for Form]

Biographical Information (Submit) [Click Here for Form]

Photograph (Submit) [Email]

By taking this step, you not only demonstrate your commitment to the Toastmasters mission of developing communication and leadership skills but also your dedication to strengthening our District and the global Toastmasters community.

The future of Toastmasters is in our hands. Let us come together, support one another, and nominate the best leaders to take us into the Year 2024-25. I have no doubt that, with your involvement, we can achieve greater heights and inspire others to become the leaders they were meant to be.

Thank you for your dedication, passion, and commitment to Toastmasters. Let's embark on this journey together and create a brighter and more inspiring future.

Yours in Toastmasters,

Gopu Shrestha, DTM

Chair, District Leadership Committee 2024-25

Toastmasters International District 106