District 106

Newsletter

October 2023

From the Desk of the District Director

Celebrate! Congratulations to each of you! You are Toastmasters of Distinction! During this month of October, we have the great joy of celebrating the success of so many Toastmasters for accomplishments and contributions made to District 106 during the Toastmasters Program Year 2022-23. I’m looking forward to celebrating with each of you during our District 106 Awards Luncheon on October 21, 2023.

September closed with some milestones accomplished: special thanks to Public Relations Manager Ashok Sunkavalli, who submitted a D106 communication plan; thanks to Club Growth Director Matthew Villella for submitting a D106 marketing plan; and special thanks to Finance Manager Janet Osmundson for helping get a D106 budget approved by Toastmasters International and approved by our District 106 Council. In addition, a District 106 Success Plan was submitted to Toastmasters International. We are admirably positioned to succeed in meeting our communication and leadership goals leading to continued individual, club, area, division, and district recognition during this Toastmasters Program Year.

September also saw Program Quality Director Katy Hursh successfully complete 7 hours of training for Division and Area Directors. More than 85% were trained! Katy was also busy summarizing credit for our amazing club officers who completed their first round of officer training on or before August 31. Special thanks to the dedicated training team led by Beth Plamondon!

Mark your calendars now! A District 106 Holiday Celebration will take place on December 2 at Lexington Park in Roseville, MN, USA! We will gather from 6 pm until 8 pm Central Time. See you there!

From the Desk of the Program Quality Director

Learning to Fly – Speech Contests

"Can you hear that?" I said with excitement one evening as I grabbed my husband's arm to step outside. Standing in the dark, we listened intently to the flock of geese flying overhead, collectively honking at one another. They were flying in the dark successfully in unison. How did they get so good?

They first practice in their little pond (club), flapping and flailing until they catch air to skim across the water (completing a pathway). Once able to clear the water (compete in a contest), they are ready to take on their role in the V-formation (be a club officer), then serve in leadership (district role), mature to lead beyond the pond (club), and serve others at a greater level. You have grown beyond yourself by serving others with excellence in leadership.

The very idea of a goose rising off the ground seems impossible, and yet when you catch a glimpse of them flying overhead, it is breathtaking. In our Toastmasters clubs, we learn and grow to give effective speeches, take on roles, and lead meetings. We are becoming a better version of ourselves. In your growth journey, consider the goose and what it takes to learn to fly. We all start at the beginning. Learning to fly or speak takes practice. Keep moving forward and give yourself grace to grow into a strong, better version of yourself. It is contest season, and many of you have cleared the water and are putting your skills to the test.

Congratulations! The club and area contest winners will be recognized with certificates. The division contest will have first, second, or third place trophies for the winners. If you are not competing this season, I encourage you to contact your Area or Division Director and discover what their needs are for an upcoming contest and go through a rehearsal. This really helps a contest flow better and prepares the contest leadership team, knowing the expectations for the contest and catching any loose ends.

If you have any questions on speech contests, please reach out to me or Ben Smith, this year’s District Chief Judge. Ben is a past district Director who is very knowledgeable and fun to work with. Ben’s email is bensmithm@gmail.com.

*This month, on Saturday, October 21, from 10 am to 2 pm, there will be the Awards luncheon at Majestic Pines Golf Course in Ham Lake near Minneapolis. We will be celebrating the 2022-23 accomplishments of clubs, district leaders, and members who earned Triple Crowns, Magnificent 7, and announcing the Toastmaster of the year, to name a few. To register – CLICK HERE. Please register by Wednesday October 11th.

Toastmasters is more than public speaking - it’s where leaders are made.

Katy Hursh

Program Quality Director, District 106

From the Desk of the Club Growth Director

Fall and Pumpkin season are here. Do you have your costume ready for Halloween?

For the past couple of months, we have been reaching out to clubs and trying to help with quality and mentorship. We have some exciting announcements as a district. We are happy to officially announce our Club Mentorship Campaign. We are looking for clubs to step up and assist clubs that could use a boost. The "No Club Left Behind" campaign is important to ensure we have a strong, vibrant district. If we all work together, this is an achievable task, and it can also be a fun and engaging experience.

How does it work? If you are interested, connect with Dave Hoffman or refer to the information attached in this newsletter. We will pair you with a club, and four members from your club will make a commitment to attend their meetings for a few times. This will help with roles and provide an opportunity for speaking while having some fun. It will also be posted on the D106 webpage and social media. Don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity.

What else do we have going on?

We are proud to announce our Open House challenge. If you recruit members from an open house, we want to know about it. If you have recruited members from an open house in the past couple of months, we also want to know about it. Please email me at tm.matthew.villella@gmail.com if you want to qualify for some great prizes for your club.

I'd also like to give a special shout-out to Susan Lao and Dannetta Stickland for providing potential leads for potential Toastmaster Clubs. It's fantastic to have our members talk about Toastmasters and make connections.

At the end of the month, we are excited to hold some demo meetings and open houses on the North Shore. In an effort to enhance the Toastmasters brand, we have the Trio and Region 4 Advisor David Woodcock going out and spreading the word of Toastmasters.

Do you know anyone in Grand Marais? We are trying to start a club and will be having an open house/demo meeting on October 25, 2023. For more information, please reach out.

Finally, please encourage past members to continue their journey with Toastmasters and get their dues in.

Matthew Villela, DTM

Club Growth Director, District 106

Email: tm.matthew.villella@gmail.com

From the Desk of the Public Relations Manager

Fellow District 106 Toastmasters and VP- PR Officers!

Thank you all for undertaking all the internal and external promotional activities for your clubs, whether it's word of mouth, leveraging social platforms, or newsletters.

I wish you all a very Happy Halloween! I encourage all Toastmasters to promote Halloween-themed content on your club's social channels throughout the month of October. Share pictures, like, and comment. I'd like to share with you how some of the social media platforms used by District 106 are utilized in the context of Halloween.

Let’s start with Facebook. Here, the content you are most likely to post is about things you like, so you can think of Facebook as a place to share your enthusiasm for celebrating Halloween. Images and videos are the most popular, but text and links also receive some attention. With over 3.03 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the most popular social media platform that District 106 uses. How do you engage on Facebook? Like, comment, and share the content.

Instagram was designed for images and short videos and can also be good for posts with links. This is where you might share a photo or a short video of your favorite Halloween costumes. People primarily use Instagram on their mobile devices (phone/tablet), so they are usually looking for entertainment, relationship building, or on-the-go conversations. With about 2.35 billion monthly active users, Instagram displays content based on who you follow and which posts you like, comment on, or share.

The District PRM team is planning to host a special PR Practical Workshop in November 2023. Stay tuned for communication regarding the date of the event.

District 106 Social channel presence by the Numbers:

Facebook: 450 Twitter: 203 LinkedIn: 200 Instagram: 290 YouTube: 153 TikTok: 39

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

If you have any questions, comments, feedback, or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out! Together we keep the Toastmasters brand strong!

PRM Team [Ashok, Margie, Jason]

Ashok Sunkavalli

2023-2024 District 106 Public Relations Manager

ashoksunkavalli@gmail.com

Cell: (319) 431-2415

You're invited to join the PRomote the Possibilities specialty club! Our next meeting is Monday Oct 23rd at 7:00 pm CDT (guests are encouraged to join by 6:45 pm).

Meeting Zoom: link