The Charter Presentation

The charter presentation marks the debut of the new Toastmasters club. The charter presentation is an excellent opportunity to recognize those who helped form the club and to generate publicity for the club, so you should plan the event carefully.

Although you have submitted the charter documents and money to Toastmasters International, the club is not officially chartered until World Headquarters has received the documents and money, has confirmed that all of the paperwork is in order, and has issued a charter number for the club. Once this occurs, allow ample time for World Headquarters to prepare and ship to the District Governor (or club president if the club is undistricted) the club charter and charter member, club sponsor, and club mentor certificates. Allow four to six weeks (six to eight weeks outside the U.S. and Canada) for processing of the charter forms and preparation and shipping of certificates.

Consider this time as you select a date for the charter presentation. Don't schedule the presentation so soon that none of the documents arrive in time for the ceremony. Also, contact the District Governor well in advance so he or she can plan to attend. If another club helped to sponsor the new club, invite its members to attend. (Sometimes the sponsoring club may wish to present the new club with a gift, such as a club meeting plaque (Catalog No. 384 or 1979) or a Toastmasters highway sign (Catalog No. 363 and 363-A).

In addition to inviting the District Governor and members of the sponsoring club, the new club may want to invite other guests as well. These may include company officials, local government figures, Area and Division Governors, and other District officers. Send formal invitations to all invited guests. Be considerate of the club budget, however, and plan for any expenses involved for these guests. If the charter presentation involves a meal, the club may want to pay for the meals of a few guests. A small overcharge on meal tickets can provide funds to cover the costs of guests.

Publicity
The club's location and the size of the city will affect your publicity efforts for the charter presentation. Regardless of where your club is located, you can receive publicity if you work with the most appropriate media. Don't overlook suburban weekly papers and local radio stations. Company clubs should consider both company and community publications.

Following are some tips:

• Coordinate your publicity efforts with your District Public Relations Officer;
• Send an announcement to the local media as soon as the charter presentation date is set;
• Follow up with a more detailed release as close to the date as deadlines will allow;
• If local publications cannot send a photographer to the meeting, send them a photo of the presentation with a caption identifying the people, the date, the place, and the occasion;
• When your District Governor is in town, arrange for him or her to appear on local radio or TV talk shows, if possible.

Planning the Presentation
The charter presentation party is a special event and all arrangements, including the event's program, should be carefully planned. The Toastmasters International manual Put on a Good Show (Catalog No. 220) can help you in your preparations. You will need assistance, however. Form committees to handle such things as decorations, seating, arrangements for special guests, entertainment (if any), registrations, and refreshments or banquet service. If you are planning entertainment, the entertainment should not be extravagant or take time away from the program. The event should include a short Toastmasters meeting followed by the charter presentation. Prepare a printed program for the event. Covers and insert sheets are available from Toastmasters International (Catalog Nos. 93-1, 97-A).

Following are some tips:
1. Program opening.
Welcome everyone and acknowledge special guests. If attendance is large, don't attempt to introduce everyone. Present the most important guests. If several clubs are represented, introduce the president of each club and ask the club's members to stand as a group; don't announce each member. Be sure to introduce the sponsor(s) and mentor(s) of the new club. If you wish, someone can present an invocation and/or a pledge to the flag. Then introduce the Toastmaster of the meeting.

2. Table Topics.
If a meal is being served, allow time for guests to eat, then introduce the Table Topics Master during dessert. Plan to call on only three to five individuals for responses to help keep the program short.

3. Prepared speeches.
Provide a speaking program, with several members presenting manual speeches. Select speakers who have shown the greatest amount of selfconfidence and poise.

4. Evaluations.
The speech evaluations should be moderate in tone, helpful, and encouraging. Select evaluators who have demonstrated skill in giving good evaluations.

5. Charter Presentation.
The Toastmaster introduces you to begin the charter presentation ceremony. The District Governor usually presents the club charter, although any District officer or dignitary may do so. Be sure to properly introduce the presenter with his/her name and title. The presenter makes a short speech explaining the purpose of Toastmasters International and its clubs, then makes the formal charter presentation. The President of Toastmasters International sends a special letter to the new club, which you should read to the guests, along with any other special messages the new club has received.

6. Conclusion.
At the end of the program, briefly thank everyone and acknowledge those who helped to organize the club and the event program. Then adjourn the meeting.