Dear Toastmaster friends and guests,

It is with great pride that I welcome you to the Internet site for District 61 Toastmasters.

It is an honour and a privilege to serve you, and I plan to do this to the best of my abilities.

Throughout the years, I have had the good luck of being able to depend upon amazing collegues who have permitted me to reach even my wildest dreams.  I wish, with all my heart, to give back to this organization all that it has brought me up to now.  Do you have any dreams?  If you do, I encourage you to talk about them.  All along the way, you will find close by, a member willing to help and  to accompany you.  Your life can be transformed, as it has been for thousands of Toastmasters around the world.  This transformation always moves me deeply.  Toastmasters changes its members’ lives one at a time.  It permits us not only to improve our communication and leadership skills and to reach our potential, but also to become the person that we dream of being.  Isn’t this extraordinary?

Just as Martin Luther King said in his famous speech presented on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial :  « I tell you my friends, that even if we have to face the difficulties of today and of tomorrow, I still have a dream. »   I ask you, fellow Toastmasters and future members, what is your dream?

Don’t let people around you tell you that you are dreaming in technicolour- that your dream is impossible.  When they say this, tell them that the colours are magnificent—colours of the rainbow or of fireworks.  No dream is impossible!

For those of you who were at the 2010 Spring conference at Chteau Montebello,  you will remember Craig Valentine—winner of the 1999 International Speech Contest—tell us about the many times that people tried to divert him from his dream.  He never stopped repeating his mantra : « My dream is not for sale »  Today Craig earns a living from his dream which is to be a professional speaker.

Believe in the power of your dreams, and I hope that by the end of the year, you will be able to celebrate the achievement of your dreams. 

The theme for 2010-2011 is a call to action:  Dare to dream and shine.  By reaching for your dreams, not only will you become the person you truly desire to become, but you will inspire your colleagues that they too, find the courage to move forward and dare to dream.

In June 2011, or even before, I hope to have the pleasure of celebrating the achievement of your dreams.  I wish you a marvellous, dream-filled year, and may you shine brightly!

This year, I want to put all my heart and my energy into the accomplishment of my dream : to serve you. 

Thank you for your confidence, with love

Lise.
Lise Blondin
District 61 Governor
Dare to Dream and Shine!
Achieve Greatness Together!

Translation : Sandra Holman