Shaping Ourselves for Success!Toastmasters District 61Simon Parcher, DTM - District Governor - 2007/2008
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Our District Leaders

Our District leaders will share with you some of their thoughts throughout the year via these pages.


Message from the District Governor
Simon Parcher, DTM
2007 - 2008

Simon ParcherIt is with real pride and enthusiasm that I greet you as your District Governor, or welcome you as a guest to Toastmasters.

The Toastmasters program exists so that people everywhere can have the opportunity to improve their public speaking and leadership skills. Through expending a little effort in the Toastmasters laboratory, our members achieve real success as well as a marked increase in self-confidence and self-esteem.

In the years that I’ve been a member I have had countless doors opened to me thanks to the benefits of the Toastmasters program. I want to share this and let the world know. I can show you the Toastmasters manuals and presentations but I cannot demonstrate the intangible. You will have to personally witness the incredible personal growth experienced by our members as they break free from their prisons, much like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon.

This year we have even more to celebrate. District 61 member, Chris Ford, is taking office as the President of Toastmasters International. We will also be host to the Regional conference in the Spring of 2008. The international theme chosen by Chris Ford is “Shaping Ourselves, Shaping our World”.

To honour Chris, the district 61 theme for 2007-2008 dovetails with his theme. It is “Shaping Ourselves for Success!” Just as it is necessary for an athlete to train for competition, it is necessary for us to get into toastmasters shape in order to better meet personal and professional challenges.

I wish you an interesting visit to our website and a rewarding time as a member of Toastmasters. I invite you to join me this year as we spend some time “Shaping Ourselves for Success!”

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Message from the Lieutenant Governor Education and Training (LGET)
Frank Schilder M.B. DTM
2007 - 2008

Frank SchilderWelcome to Toastmasters. You may have heard of us, but do you know what we have to offer? Have you ever thought about how important the skill of communication is in our everyday lives? Meetings, interviews, talking to a sales representative, leaving a voice mail…. We do it all the time. Do we do it well?

Public speaking is the number one fear in the world. There is a saying that people would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy.

Toastmasters can help you. Through our club meetings, members learn to overcome fears of public speaking in a very warm supportive environment. We actually encourage members to experiment and not fear mistakes so that everyone has the opportunity to learn and develop.

Our program is built on three cornerstones:

· giving prepared speeches
· doing impromptu speeches where you have to speak “off the cuff”
· evaluations of our presentations.

Every meeting has opportunities for speaking (prepared and impromptu speaking) but we do more than that. We also offer feedback at every meeting through evaluations and other roles that help you learn and improve in every aspect of communication.

The best part of our program is that you get to practice continually. It isn’t just a three-day course where the skills are crammed into you and then you are sent on your way only to forget much of it after a couple of months. The longer you are a member and the more you get involved to develop your skills, the stronger you become as a communicator and leader.

Beyond communication, Toastmasters is about leadership too. Strong leaders are strong communicators. Whether through club meetings roles, club executive opportunities, or programs designed specifically to develop leadership skills, our members learn how communications plays a key role in leadership and how to develop their leadership skills.

Explore our District site. Amongst other information, you will find a list of our District clubs that you can use to find a club near you that fits your timetable. Then come on out to a meeting (or two or more). Guests are always welcome. We will be excited to have you join as a member, but we won’t rush you into it. You can come as many times as you like until you realize how much we have to offer. You will see how our program offers opportunities to develop communication and leadership which in turn will improve your self-confidence and self-esteem as you. Come and see how Toastmasters helps members overcome their fear of public speaking and enables its members to be strong speakers and leaders.

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Message from the Lieutenant Governor Marketing (LGM)
Leona Hamel, ATM-S, AL-S
2007 - 2008

Leona HamelFellow Toastmasters, Friends, and Prospective Members,

As District 61’s Lieutenant Governor of Marketing, I am truly looking forward to working with this year’s outstanding team of leaders who, I’m certain, are as excited as I am about “Shaping Ourselves” and “Shaping our District” for even greater Success!

District 61 is a proud and healthy district, and we owe that to our enthusiastic, dedicated members (Yes, YOU!) who recognize the benefits from your Toastmasters membership, partake in the programs, and are always ready to spread the word to others. Our vision is to help you to continue to take advantage of the opportunities for growth through the various Toastmasters programs and events.

Now, for a district, any district, to remain healthy, it must never lose sight of the three critical areas for its continued success: membership building, club building, and club coaching. As most of my efforts this year will be devoted to recruitment, retention, and recognition, I thought I would share some of my goals with you:

· Work closely with Lise Blondin, this year’s District Public Relations Officer, to maximize our district marketing efforts

· Add a marketing tool kit on our Web site and promote it to our clubs

· Appoint a marketing team, a minimum of one Toastmaster from each division to assist with identifying club leads, possibly coordinate visits, assist with securing a meeting location, and/or follow up with prospective members when needed

· Create a pool of sponsors and mentors for prospective clubs

· Promote, recruit, and together with our District Governor, assign club coaches to assist clubs with 12 or fewer members

· Establish demonstration teams within each division to lead demo meetings for prospective clubs and/or rebuilding clubs

· Serve as a resource, providing excellent customer service to our members and prospective members (if I don’t have the answer for your question, you can be sure I’ll find someone who does!)

I realize that some of them are fairly ambitious; however, I am confident that together with your support and participation we can and will create an even healthier, more successful District and, in turn, increase membership satisfaction and growth.

Your District team anticipates an active and exciting 2007-2008. Remember, we’re here to support you the member, your club and our District! Let us know how we can be of service to you!

Wishing everyone success in their goals for 2007-2008!

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Last updated: 2007-10-16 by the Webmaster
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