Experiencing Excellence at WBC Toastmasters

It is in my heart this morning to share an amazing experience I had over the weekend.

Saturday morning, I had occasion to (in a small way) support the club contest at WBC – Toastmasters. What I experienced is a clinic in how to ensure an unforgettable, indelible impression on a guest.

When I arrived Saturday morning, I didn’t know anyone. I didn’t even know the faces of people I needed to find. Suffice to say, that didn’t last long. I walked in and someone immediately called me by name (they were guessing, of course, since no one could have known who I was). From that moment on, I was treated as though they had known me their whole lives. Every single person, every single interaction was warm and kind and filled with a generosity of spirit that I rarely see – even in the great Toastmasters clubs to which I belong. I was embraced as though I were one of their own. Honest to goodness, when it came time for me to leave, I really didn’t wish to.

When I returned home, I dropped a note to the club thanking them for their generosity, and almost immediately I received notes from several members of the club, filled with the same level of effusive kindness that I could never really be worthy of – though they certainly could.

I guess there are two points here – one is the reminder that TM clubs are, of course, very special places – often filled with very special people. The other is that I wonder if we ever fully leverage the power to use our clubs to help one another. All clubs, of course, have strengths and opportunities. An obvious strength of WBC – TM is to create indelible impressions on visitors. If only there were a way we could bottle that and share it across all of our clubs, I could only imagine the growth and energy we might see in both the area and the district.

Sorry about the lengthy treatise here. Truth be told, I could have written at quite some length about the endless array of kindnesses shown to me on Saturday, but I think you get the picture. 🙂

– contributed by a member of District 25 who wishes to remain anonymous