We made it!  District 25 is a Distinguished district! That’s thrilling for me and it should be for us all. It was my privilege and pleasure to serve as Lt. Governor Marketing, and now, as I begin my work as Lt. Governor Education and Training, I’d like to share my perspective on our achievements in 2011-2012.

Our final numbers are impressive. We rank number 20 among districts in the world. That’s great, and this post could be devoted entirely to detailing our happy numbers. But as the members of our 2011-2012 trio (Diana Patton, Bonne Stroman and me) have said, the district’s numbers matter only because they reflect what happens at the club level. That’s where individual Toastmasters hone their skills while inspiring and mentoring colleagues.

In the year just ended, we launched a simple but powerful marketing initiative called Tell Your Story. We gathered and are now sharing several dozen testimonies about what the Toastmasters program has meant in the lives of real-world members. If you shared your story, THANK YOU!  If you’ve not yet done so, please do it at your earliest convenience. I hope the number of stories shared will grow because they provide more effective marketing ammunition than any incentives we can give prospective Toastmasters clubs. They show that the Toastmasters program in D25 is what it promises to be—an affordable, fun, effective self-paced training method in which every member can improve their speaking and leadership skills in a safe environment.

We chartered 18 new Toastmasters clubs this year, more than enough to achieve our goal despite the loss of nine clubs and a dearth of leads, particularly in the first half of the year. We also recorded 5,800 member payments despite a dues increase.  Overcoming the obstacles took outstanding contributions from what now-past District Governor Diana Patton refers to as “the army” of people willing to help. I say THANK YOU to everyone in our army—all of those who provided a club lead, participated in demo meetings, served on the Marketing Committee, organized open houses, membership-building contests and Speechcraft programs, did anything to ensure that club meetings were sufficiently excellent to attract and retain members, or simply offered advice and encouragement.  THANK YOU for letting it shine in these and other ways. We have a strong foundation upon which to build. So let’s explore the possibilities!

Dean Lampman
Lt. Gov. Education and Training

 

By Julie Cosgrove