December 1, 2006
Fellow Toastmasters:
Greetings:
Today we completed five months or about 40% of the district term-in-progress. With seven more months to go, we have so much to accomplish and so little time. Like in any business (yes, toastmasters in a business) we have made some remarkable progress and as in some businesses, we have had some temporary setbacks.
Two weeks ago, we completed one of the most successful conferences in the recent history of district 65. Record number of toastmasters attended several of the major events and we had amongst us a world champion of public speaking. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and for those of you who could not attend the conference, you may want to visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/tmdistrict65org/sets/ and take a photographic journey of the conference.
A record number of 212 new toastmasters have joined during the first five months bringing much needed fresh ideas, enthusiasm, and eagerness to learn and benefit from the toastmasters program. More than 80% of the active clubs in the district have added one or more member to-date. The southern division is currently leading in the new membership race by getting 67 members followed by central division with 60, eastern division with 49, and western division with 36. The net loss in the base-membership at the time of October renewals was about 5%. This will be easily recoverable, when each club in the district gets four or more members starting today. We also need to ensure that we retain the current membership levels by meeting membership needs and assisting them in achieving their goals.
We started with 93 clubs on July 1, although two of them (Purple Toast in the western division and Illustrious Articulators in the central division) had already ceased to function prior to July 2006. Two additional clubs in the western division, Above and Beyond and IM Talking were struggling clubs for the past two-three years, and decided not to renew their October 2006 membership. Of the 89 functioning clubs, one additional club in the western division, RSA Club will be closing down in January 2007. On the positive side, three new clubs in the eastern division will start functioning in January 2007 and several more during the first and second quarters under the tireless leadership of eastern division club extension chair, Lorraine Mott. Under the direction of district LGM TAZ CANNON, one or more new clubs are planned for the southern division during the first and second quarters of 2007.
The overall educational goals of the district are on target as individual members pursue their educational goals – religiously and passionately. We encourage clubs to increasingly use the new competent leadership (CL) manual in their regular club meeting roles. This will also make the club meeting interesting and productive. The district goal is to have one out of four members of the district complete at least one educational goal or more during the year. In addition, club and district officers can lead by example in completing at least one or more of the educational goals during the course of the year.
The mid winter club officers training will be under new management. LGET BOB LOGAN has the overall responsibility in execution of the club officers training program throughout the district. This is a major shift in the planning, coordination and implementation of the club officers training program and the first step towards, the highly recommended and effective method of “Training Club Leaders” (Toastmasters Leadership Institute [TLI] model of Toastmasters – catalog No. 217) in summer of 2007. There are to-date two training sessions planed for December with makeup sessions in January and February 2007. We want to improve from the summer training attendance of about 50% to the district goal of 75% during the mid-year club officers training program. The quality of presenters, the time and place of the training venue and careful selection of the training modules are designed in meeting the needs of the club officers. We want to continue to provide the necessary tools of information to the club officers so that they provide the necessary leadership in serving the individual needs of their club members and in-turn making their clubs become distinguished. The district goal this year is to have 50% of all clubs achieve distinguished status.
The new district web site continues to play an important role in keeping the district 65 membership informed of the impending events, timely updates and the continual building of new date-base of toastmaster’s related depository of information. Please visit this web site frequently as well as the provided links to the TI web site. Please contact web masters MELINDA and ANDREW SCHMIDT with your input on what additional features you want on the web site. We plan a second regular issue of the district newsletter Focal Point in the first quarter of 2007. Your suggestions are welcome and please direct them to the district PRO, KAY WHIPPLE.
The spring 2007 district conference committee members have already began their work and if you live in the greater Syracuse area, the conference committee needs your help and many volunteers to hold a successful conference. Contact conference co-chairs, AMY BURNELL and BRUCE GILBERT. The spring 2007 conference will be held on April 20 and 21 at the Holiday Inn, Carrier Circle, in East Syracuse.
The top-three district officers training program begins this evening this evening (Friday, December 1, through Sunday, December 3) where the top three district officers from seven other districts (the mighty region VI) will attend a two-day training session.
District 65 is one of the smallest districts in the “mighty” region VI. Given the geography, the size, and the in-depth talent of district 65 toastmasters, we can surely and comfortably function with 100+ active clubs in the district. It is the job of every toastmasters, club leaders, and district officers to enhance the performance of their clubs (educational goals and in becoming distinguished clubs) and extend the network of Clubs in the district (new clubs in all the divisions), thereby offering greater numbers of people across the towns, cities, and organizations, the opportunity to benefit from the Toastmasters educational program.
Share your arsenal of ideas (thoughts) so that we can think creatively and let me hear your spoken and written words of wisdom so that we can together take innovative actions in serving the members and in becoming a distinguished club, a distinguished area and a distinguished division. Being distinguished is not a privilege but a measure of success and nationally accepted standard of excellence within the Toastmasters organization.
I want to thank all club and district officers for their hard work, initiatives and perseverance. At the end of the day, it boils down to one member, one club and one area at-a-time in order to spread the words, achieve goals, bring success, and accomplish distinction.
With your continuous support, active participation at the club, area, division and district level events and your commitment in promoting the Toastmasters program, we will achieve success beyond the stated goals.
Best regards,
Sam
Sam Mehta - DTM
District 65 Governor - Toastmasters International
Serving Central, Southern, and Western New York State
http://tmdistrict65.org/
"Thoughts and Words into Action"