Yes, 50 and counting! 50 is a fairly substantial number, wouldn’t you say? A 50th birthday is certainly a milestone. A 50th wedding anniversary is definitely something to celebrate, quite an achievement. I want to talk about another achievement.

Brenda Daniels, a member of Afterburners, this past weekend attended her 50th District Conference. Yes, 50! Over the past 25 years, she’s never missed a conference. She knows they are that important, so she’s never missed a conference since she joined Toastmasters.

I hope to reach her milestone someday in the future but right now I have attended five consecutive conferences and have served on the conference committees for all five. The purpose of my article today is to encourage you to attend the next district conference, which will be held on November 16-17, 2012.

After attending and volunteering at my first conference, Spring 2010, there’s no way I’d miss one now. I find they provide tremendous value for the money spent. As an IT manager I have attended many conferences and paid upwards of 10 times the amount we pay for a Toastmasters conference. And I have left those conferences with less; less knowledge, fewer educational sessions and less networking!

What do I get from attending our district conferences?

At every conference I learn something new and expand my Toastmasters knowledge. I get to meet new and “seasoned” Toastmasters that I haven’t met before. Finally, the most important reason I’ll never miss a District Conference is because that’s where all my friends will be and I don’t want to be left out!

In November, won’t you consider attending and volunteering at the Fall Conference? You won’t be disappointed! You’ll expand your Toastmaster knowledge, you’ll network with fellow Toastmasters and, most of all, you’ll have a fun time at “The Greatest Show on Earth,” the theme for the next conference. Explore all District 25 has to offer you outside the walls of your club. You’ll be a much better individual and a better Toastmaster for doing so.

I will be there . . . with only 44 more left to go until I reach my 50th!

Chuck Mencke
Public Relations Officer

 

By Jodie Sanders