March 2023

View as Webpage

Spring Has Arrived!


The weather may seem like winter is still here, but Spring has officially arrived!


With Spring’s arrival, many of us are busily looking to take stock in what we have, clean our houses to remove unneeded items, and get ready for more activities with family and friends. Now is also a great time to take stock of where we are in our respective Pathways journeys, remove any impediments to continuing our Pathways journeys as needed, and plan to attend upcoming District 60 Toastmasters events, such as the Annual Conference. Don’t forget to renew your membership in your Toastmasters Club before March 31, 2023!


Spring’s refreshment can give us renewed motivation to undertake activities that have been considered but for which no action has been taken throughout the winter doldrums. Take advantage of that reinvigorating feeling of Spring to progress through your Pathways journey. Doing so will have the double effect of not only achieving personal goals related to public speaking confidence and leadership growth, but also help your club finish strong by June 30, 2023. Start today!


David Veights

D60 Club Growth 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

1. Personal Growth and Developing Skills for Career Advancement


a. Be a Public Relations Superstar! - Part 2


Being the Vice President of Public Relations (VP PR) of a club is not an easy thing, especially if you're taking your role passionately. No Toastmasters club officer role is supposed to be easy - hence the growth in your personal life, career, and so on - accept the challenge to do something you haven't done before in a supportive environment, with access to documentation and people who have done the job before you.


On March 8, we hosted a great workshop called Promote your club like a PRO! where JD Thomas, DTM, past Public Relations Manager for District 60 and District 123, shared some great information on how you can promote your club. If you would like to see his presentation, please email me at prm@toastmasters60.com.


I am often asked - how can I best promote my club’s events? From an open house to a regular club meeting, there are many things that you can do to ensure your event is visible and guests will come. For example, when I recently visited a club, one guest told me that he had seen the post on social media and had decided to come because it was close to where he lived.


That said, please click here to see what an ideal promotion roadmap might look like.


Emanuel Petrescu

D60 Public Relations Manager 

b. Leadership Roles for 2023-24


District Leaders for the next Toastmasters year (July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024) will be elected on May 10. The elected roles are District Director, Program Quality Director, Club Growth Director and six Division Directors. Check out the Candidate's Corner to see who the nominated candidates are.


These newly elected District Leaders will be looking for enthusiastic Toastmasters to take on various appointed roles within their teams, including:


  • Area Directors - responsible for supporting 4-6 clubs. You will exercise and develop negotiation, consulting, organising, and interpersonal skills, and become adept at finding just the right resource to solve a particular need. This role is ideal for a successful club leader who would like to explore the world of Toastmasters outside their club,
  • Public Relations Manager,
  • Finance Manager,
  • Administration Manager.


For additional information on these roles, please check out the District Leadership Handbook, and if one of these roles sounds interesting, please contact our current District Director, Andrew Mertens, at DD@Toastmasters60.com.

2. District news: 


a. 2023 Conference - Early Birds Are Booking! Offer ends April 1.

Your chance to save on conference registration is almost gone! On April 1, the in-person cost will increase from $190 to $220. And, only Early Birds will have access to videos of all eight great workshops. Online registration remains at $45.


Register now to lock in outstanding value. Included in your fee:


  • Three District contests - Table Topics, Evaluation, and International Speech Contest
  • Keynote address by Ramona J. Smith, 2018 World Champion of Public Speaking
  • Your choice of two (from eight) remarkable workshops - and, if you’re an Early Bird, access to video of all eight
  • Breakfast, lunch, and dinner (in-person only!)
  • Surprise presentations
  • Communication & Leadership Award
  • George Keenan Award
  • Of The Year Awards
  • Unlimited opportunities to learn from your fellow Toastmasters!


To register, please click here.

b. Call for George Keenan Award Nominations - please submit by April 10


The George Keenan Award is given each year to an active Toastmaster in District 60 who continues to serve and promote the Toastmasters organisation within the district and externally.


The Selection Committee, consisting of past recipients who continue to be active in District 60, is asking for your nominations for this award. They will then meet to consider all eligible nominations, and select a recipient who embodies the Toastmasters values and who continues to serve Toastmasters in District 60.  


Find out more here.

c. Contests Update


Thank you to everyone - contestants, officials, organisers - for completing Club and Area contests! We are now about to embark on Division level contests, featuring the very best Table Topics speakers, Evaluators, and prepared speech makers in all six Divisions.


Cheer on your champions! Register for your Division’s contests (being held April 15, 22 and 29) using the D60 Event Calendar. And feel free to attend other Division contests too, and discover even more talent.


Winners of each Division contest will proceed to the District Finals, held during our Annual Conference in May.

d. New (and existing) Members - Attend the next Welcome session


An especially warm welcome to the 658 new members who have joined a District 60 club since July 1 last year. Your club will provide a safe, supportive environment for you to develop your communication and leadership skills, and the District provides even more opportunities.  


To find out more, please register for one of our upcoming online Welcome sessions:



Everyone is welcome, long-standing members included!

e. Do you speak Immigrant? 


We are about to launch our second social media campaign this year, tailored to newcomers and immigrants from Toronto.


The purpose of this campaign is to show how other immigrants who joined Toastmasters improved their confidence which helped them in getting better jobs and promotions and overall establish themselves as professionals in their new country.


If you are an immigrant or know someone at your club who would want to participate, please fill out this form or email prm@toastmasters60.com

3. Celebration, Congratulations and Thank you!


a. Speakpreneur!


Welcome to our latest brand new club, Speakpreneur!


Speakpreneur is the name of the Toastmasters club established within Futurpreneur, the only national, non-profit organisation that provides financing, mentoring and support tools to aspiring business owners aged 18-39.


We are very excited to support you and your members as they discover the many benefits of Toastmasters!

b. Club Visit Reports


Congratulations to Fiona Bruce (Area C32) and Louise Bark (Area C36) who have joined Gin Aldeguer (Area A12) in having submitted all of their second-round Club Visit Reports! Amazing!


The reports are due no later than May 31, but the earlier the Club’s Executive meets with their Area Director to discuss the draft report, the more time there is to act on it and help club members get the very most out of their membership.

c. Congratulations to the following clubs who are already Distinguished in this Toastmasters year!

President’s Distinguished:

  • High Park Speakers
  • Inspiring Women Toastmasters
  • Roncesvalles Speakers Circle

Select Distinguished:

  • Eglinton-Yonge Toastmasters
  • Keynote Speakers Advanced Club
  • Liberty Leaders Toastmasters
  • Orange Nation
  • Toast Of CIBC Toastmasters Club
  • Toast To Your Health
  • Toronto Business Toastmasters Club
  • Toronto Go-Getters
  • West Mall Toastmasters Club

Distinguished:

  • Applewood Achievers Toastmasters Club
  • Bay Bloor Speakers
  • CHAAT Toastmasters Club
  • Deloitte Toronto Toastmasters
  • D60 Advanced Leadership Toastmasters
  • Ebony Toastmasters Club
  • Gavel and Glass Toastmasters Club
  • IO Speaks
  • Sun Life Speakers Corner Club
  • Talk of Mackenzie Toastmasters Club
  • TELUS House of Speakers
  • TGIF Advanced Toastmasters
  • Toronto # 1 Toastmasters
  • Z3roDay Cybernauts Toastmasters Club

4. Club Officer Information:

a. Membership dues are due!


The deadline to submit club membership dues for April to September is March 31.


To remain in good standing and to continue to enjoy the benefits of Toastmasters, please submit your membership payment to Toastmasters International through member self-pay (if that is available to your club) or to your club treasurer who will submit the payment on your behalf.


If you have already paid an annual fee last September, your Treasurer will ensure the April to September dues are paid to Toastmasters International by March 31.

b. Club Visit Reports - no later than May 31


Club Officers and Area Directors - now is the time, if you haven’t already done so, to meet and discuss the second annual Club Visit Report.


This process is designed to highlight and celebrate what each club is excelling at, and identify any challenges the club might be facing. It’s then the Area Director’s role to find resources to help each club with their individual needs, and to find ways of sharing each club’s best practices.


It’s a natural adjunct to Moments of Truth (if you’re not sure what this is, find more information here). And it’s a great start to finishing the Toastmasters year strong.

Follow Us On Social Media

Facebook      Instagram      LinkedIn      Twitter      YouTube      TikTok

District 60 Leaders

Andrew Mertens, DTM

District 60 Director

DD@toastmasters60.com

Andrew Horberry, TC5

Program Quality Director

pqd@toastmasters60.com

David Veights, DTM

Club Growth Director cgd@toastmasters60.com