Sam Mehta, DTM, PDG Toastmasters Chronology

(1997 to 2015…… and beyond)

Joined Empire Statesmen Toastmasters Club # 1427 in Syracuse, NY in March 1997

Education Achievement Awards:

1. Competent Toastmaster (CTM) 1998 (January) 2. Advanced Toastmaster – Bronze (ATM – Bronze) 1999 (August) 3. Advanced Toastmaster – Silver (ATM – Silver) 2001 (March) 4. Competent Leader (CL) 2001 (May) 5. Advanced Toastmaster – Gold (ATM – Gold) 2002 (June) 6. High Performance Leadership (HPL) 2003 (June) 7. Advance Leader (AL) 2003 (October) 8. Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) 2003 (December) 9. Competent Toastmaster (CTM) - 2nd time 2006 (May) 10. Advanced Communicator (AC – Bronze) – 2nd time 2008 (May) 11. Competent Communicator (CC) – 3rd time 2009 (October) 12. Competent Leader (CL) - 2nd time 2010 (January) 13. Competent Communicator (CC) - 4th time 2011 (November) 14. Competent Leader (CL) 3rd time 2012 (December) 15. Advanced Communicator (AC – Silver) – 2nd time 2013 (February) 16. Advanced Leader Bronze (ALB) 2013 (March) 17. Competent Leader (CL) 4th time 2013 (October) 18. Advanced Communicator (AC – Gold) 2nd time 2014 (April) 19. Competent Communicator (CC) - 5th time 2014 (April) 20. High Performance Module (HPL) - 2nd time 2014 (October) 21. Advanced Leader Silver (ALS) - 2nd time 2014 (November) 22. Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) – 2nd time 2014 (November) 23. Competent Leader (CL) 5th time 2015 (January)

Club Officer Positions held at Empire Statesmen Toastmasters Club #1427: VP Membership 1997-98 (Select Distinguished Club) - Livermore Treasurer 1998-99 (Select Distinguished Club) – M. Dube Treasurer 1999-00 (Presidents Distinguished Club) - Allen VP Education 2000-01 (Presidents Distinguished Club) – Rizzo President 2001-02 (Presidents Distinguished Club) – Mehta Treasurer 2010-11(Presidents Distinguished Club) – Costello President 2012-13 (Presidents Distinguished Club) – Mehta

Positions held at District 65: Club Specialists/Club Coach 2001-02 (Energetics Club in Syracuse, NY) Chair - Audit Committee 2000-01 (R. Parmentor – DG) Chair – Audit Committee 2001-02 (M. Lamana – DG) Eastern Div. Club Specialists 2008-09 (T. Cannon - DG) / Mentor to LGM Chief Ambassador 2013-14 (Revitalized Education Program) Chair – Audit Committee 2013-14 (Kate Olsen - DG) Chief Ambassador 2014-15 (Revitalized Education Program) Chair – Audit Committee 2014-15 (Jared Kronenberg - DG) District 65 Officer Positions: Area 7 Governor 2002-03 (D. Hendricks – DG) Select Distinguished

Area Governor) Eastern Division Governor 2003-04 (M. Slyck – DG) Div. Governor of the Year LGM 2004-05 (H. Carlson – DG) Excellence in Marketing

Award from TI LGET 2005-06 (G. Penniston – DG) Excellence in

Education & Training Award from TI District Governor 2006-07 (Sam Mehta – DG) Distinguished District

Award IPDG 2007-08 (R. Logan – DG) Toastmaster International & District 65 Awards:

1. Division Governor of the Year Award (2004-05) 2. Excellence in Marketing Award (2004-2005) – Toronto, Canada 3. Excellence in Education and Training Award (2005-2006) – Washington, DC 4. Distinguished District Award (2006-2007) – Hall of Fame – Phoenix, AZ 5. Pat Penfile / Ben Luce Memorial Award – Highest D-65 Award 6. Outstanding Past District Governor Award - 2013-2014

Toastmaster (New) Clubs Sponsored: (Club Sponsor) 1. Talk the Talk 2005-2006 2. Orange Orators 2006-2007 3. CARING Communicators 2006-2007 4. iOrange 2006-2007 5. Devil’s Advocate 2006-2007 6. Toasting the Blues 2006-2007 7. Praxair 2006-2007

TM DEMO Meetings: * GSAR - Syracuse Roman Orators - Rome Liverpool Linguists Liverpool UCF Toastmasters - Syracuse Tech Talkers - Liverpool Talk the Talk – Fayetteville Orange Orator - Syracuse CARING Communicators – New Hartford Devil’s Advocate - Syracuse Toasting the Blues - Syracuse Praxair - Buffalo Crouse Hospital – College of Nursing - Syracuse Veterans Administration Hospital - Syracuse

* Plus: 20+ others over the years

Assisted directly with Charter Meetings; Charter Paperwork for TI; and presided over the Charter Ceremony:

1. Talk the Talk 2005-2005 - Syracuse 2. Orange Orators 2006-2007 – Syracuse (Syracuse University) 3. CARING Communicators 2006-2007 – New Hartford 4. iOrange 2006-2007 – Syracuse (Syracuse University) 5. Devil’s Advocate 2006-2007 – Syracuse (Syracuse University) 6. Toasting the Blues 2006-2007 – Syracuse (BlueCross BlueShield) 7. Praxair 2006-2007 - Buffalo 8. Toastmasters of The Hartford 2006-2007 - Utica 9. Tech Talkers 2006-2007 – Syracuse (General Electric) 9. Geico 2006-2007 – Buffalo (paperwork only) 10. Liverpool Linguists 2006-2007 – Liverpool, NY

Speech Contest – Club, Area & Division as a Contestant: Club: (Empire Statesmen Toastmasters Club # 1427) Evaluation Speech Contest 1st Place 1998 International Speech Contest 1st Place 2009 Evaluation Speech Contest 2nd Place 2009 (spring) Evaluation Speech Contest 1st Place 2009 (fall) Humorous Speech Contest 1st Place 2009 Evaluation Speech Contest 1st Place 2011 (fall)

International Speech Contest 2nd Place 2012 (spring) Evaluation Speech Contest 1st Place 2012 (fall) Table Topics 1st Place 2014 Area: (Area 7) Evaluation Speech Contest 1st Place 2001 International Speech Contest 1st Place 2002 International Speech Contest 1st Place 2009 Humorous Speech Contest 2nd Place 2009 Evaluation Speech Contest 1st Place 2011 (fall) Evaluation Speech Contest 1st Place 2012 (fall) Table Topics 1st Place 2014 (spring) Eastern Division: Evaluation Speech Contest 1st Place Oct., 2001 International Speech Contest 1st Place April, 2002 (Area 12) International Speech Contest 1st Place 2009 Evaluation Speech Contest 1st Place 2011 (fall) Evaluation Speech Contest 3rd Place 2012 (fall) Table Topics 1st Place 2014 (spring) District 65: International Speech Contest N/A 2009 Evaluation Speech Contest 3rd Place 2011 (fall) Table Topics 3rd Place 2014 (spring) (Note: Sam Mehta was not eligible to compete in the club and district speech contests between the years 2003-2008, due to being a district officer). District 65 Conferences Committee:

As LGET (2005-2006) Attended and actively participated with the

Conference co-chairs – Dan Weselak and Bernie Czarnecki - and members of the conf. committee. Buffalo, NY

As District Gov. (2006-2007) Attended and actively participated with the fall

2006 Conference co-chairs – Mike Slyck and Mary Bell. RIT, Rochester, NY (100% of the conference committee meetings)

As District Gov. (2006-2007) Attended and participated with the spring 2007 Conference co-chairs – Bruce Gilbert and Amy Burnell – Syracuse, NY (100% of the conference committee meetings). Developed the District Conference budget

As IPDG (2007-2008) Attended and participated with the fall 2007

Conference co-chairs – Linda Tompkins and Laurie Hultberg – Ithaca, NY and DGF, Bob Logan (Attended 1st initial conf. committee meeting)

AS ESTM Member (2010-2011) Attended and participated with the spring 2011

Conference co-chairs – Mel Chesbro, Judi Dixon, Jessica Hoyt – Syracuse, NY (Attended conf. committee meetings at NY State Fair). Chair of the C&L Nominating Committee; Emcee of the C&L luncheon; Workshop presenter on “Contest Judging.” Chief Judge of the Int. Speech Contest; Emcee/presenter of the Pat Panfile – Ben Luce Award (Chair of the Pat Panfile-Ben Luce Committee.

District Conference Presentations:

Presented several workshops at many District 65 conferences during the past 10+ years Club Officers Training: Presented at various club officers training program in Eastern and Central Divisions during the past 8 to 10 years.

Attended - Top Three District Officers Training Program: Pittsburg, PA Rochester, NY; Detroit, MI; Weston, MA (Region V) Attended Toastmasters International Conventions: Toronto, ON (2005) Washington, DC (2006)

Phoenix, AZ (2007)

Presented the following Power Point Slides Presentation (between 2004 and 2014) at Club, Executive Committee, and District Leadership – with following Successful Club Series; Leadership Program; Better Speaking Series, modules:

Attracting New Members to your Club Chartering a course for Success Build a Successful Team Moments of Truth Open House Maintain Strong Clubs Motivating Achievements Conduct Quality Speech Contest Achieve Success Standards Building New Clubs Creating the Best Club Climate Know your Audience Do’s & Don’ts of Area & Division Contests Beyond the Club Visits & Contests Education Contest and Goals Impromptu Speaking New Recognition System New Education Track Membership Building and Retention Toastmaster Achievements Keeping the Commitment Going Beyond Our Club Giving Effective Feedback Motivating People Keeping the Commitment

Other Presentations/Seminars:

Leadership & Toastmasters – 2003 (B2B Executive Network)

The four Pillars of Success (Toastmasters) - 2004

The Passion for Toastmasters – 2006

Don’t take your Club Members for granted – 2008

World of Oil (at Empire Statesmen Club – a joint presentation – fall, 2008)

World of Oil at Rotary Club – Drumlins, Syracuse - 2009

Contest Judging – (Toastmasters) - 2011

How to Conduct Product Meetings at Syracuse University – March 2014

List of Toastmaster “Speech Manual” Completed:

Communication & Leadership 1997 The Entertaining Speaker 1998 Special Occasion Speeches 1999 Speeches by Management 1999-2000 Speaking to Inform 2000 Storytelling 2000-2001 Moments of Truth/Finding New 2001 Members for your Club (Successful Club Series - CL) Public Relations 2001-2002 High Performance Leader 2002-2003 (Leadership Program Cord. – AL) Communication & Leadership 2nd time 2004-2005 Persuasive Speaking 2005-2006 The Professional Speaker 2006 Specialty Speeches 2007-2008 Technical Presentation 2007-2008 Competent Communication 3rd time 2009 Competent Leadership 2nd time 2010 Communication & Leadership 4th time 2011 Interpretive Reading 2010-11-12 Competent Leadership - 3rd time 2011-12 Technical Presentation – 2nd time 2011-12 Competent Leadership – 5th time 2011-12 Persuasive Speaking 2011/12/13 Story Telling – 2nd time 2013 Competent Communication – 5th time 2012-2013/2014 Competent Leadership – 6th time 2013/2014 High Performance Leader – 2nd time 2014

“Titles” of my Speeches over the period (1997-2014 and beyond)

(The purpose is to show and demonstrate variety and diversified subject-matter of these

prepared [and researched] speeches.)

1997 - 1998: (Communication and leadership #1)

– Death of Caesar

– Land of Diversity

in perspective 1998: (The Entertaining Speaker)

1999: (Special Occasion Speeches)

Year

1999-2000: (Speeches by Management)

2000: (Speaking to Inform)

– Who We Are?

2001: (Storytelling #1)

– waiting

ero 2001-2002: (Public Relations)

2003:

Performance Leadership 2003-2005: (Communication and leadership - #2)

ters – the ultimate organization

2005-2006: (Persuasive Speaking)

York State)

– USA

2006: (The Professional Speaker)

– Value Proposition

(education system at TM)

2006/07/08: (Specialty Speeches)

– Toastmasters Leadership Institute

2007-2008: (Technical Presentation)

y a healthy Club is a Successful Club

– The Energy Crises 2008-2009: (Communication and leadership - #3)

the world)

nd “Ronny Katgara”

Climbing the wall

Repeated defeats lead to Successes (Award winning at Area and Division Contests)

Duplicate Bridge – The Card Game

Net Book Computer + LCD projector for ESTM

The Financial corruption

Self-confidence worth $500,000! 2010-2011: (Interpretive Reading)

The Tiger The Patriot – An Old Story Act III; Scene II – “The Forum”

Highlights from the TWO famous speeches of the 20th century (Churchill & Roosevelt)

2010-2011: (Communication and leadership - #4) Determination

– T

-

trict 65 Population

– the European Theater

(gas at gas stations)

– The clandestine Black Surgeon

2010-2011-2012 (Technical Presentation # 2) “Water” – Our Life Line The Global Village Bottle Water – Do We Need It? The Magic Square Distinguished Club Program (DCP) 2011-2012: (Persuasive Speaking) High Speed Trains Upstate NY Non-Compliance Speech of Gandhi The State of District 65 “Cool Feet” iPad 2013: (Storytelling) #2 Forty Fortunes “The Demo” “Robby” The Ordinary Heroes A different time; a different place; what if you were there 2012-2013/2014: (Communication and leadership - #5) Sharing Information of Interest The Story Behind a Patriotic Song Club; District; and TI – An Interesting Relationship Bus 44 – A true Story Income Inequality in the news The Forum The Immortal “Hela Cells” Open House Why Toastmasters Core Values – The Guiding Principles

Syracuse Mayor Driscoll Receives "Communication and Leadership” (C&L) Award

April 2007 In April 2007, Syracuse Mayor Matthew J. Driscoll received the 'Communication & Leadership Award' from Sam Mehta, DTM.

Sam is the District Governor (2006-2007) and member of the Empire Statesmen Toastmasters Club # 1427. The prestigious 'Communication & Leadership Award' is presented to a non-Toastmaster, who is an outstanding communicator or a leader, usually a media person, state or local politician, or a business person. District 65 consisted of 98 clubs with 1900+ members. District 65 is located between Utica in the east, Buffalo in the west, Binghamton in the south and Oswego in the north.

Sam Mehta receives Pat Panfile-Ben Luce Memorial Award

(April 2009)

Sam Mehta, DTM, PDG is the 2009 recipient of the Pat Panfile-Ben Luce Memorial Award, considered by many to be the most prestigious award given to a Toastmaster in District 65.

The award is generally given to a Toastmaster who has shown exemplary leadership in organizing, communicating, executing, and spreading the benefits of the Toastmasters program, both within as well as outside the Toastmasters organization. In addition, the award recipient must demonstrate excellent communication skills in all aspects of the Toastmasters program.

The Ben Luce award was first given posthumously to the widow of Mr. Ben Luce, DTM, PDG, in 1975. A year later in 1976, the Ben Luce award was given to Mr. Pat Panfile, DTM, PDG, PID, PIP. In 2005, it was renamed the Pat Panfile-Ben Luce award. To date, 34 Toastmasters have earned this prestigious award, of which 23 are men and 11 women. A great majority of the recipients are either DTMs or Past District Governors, or both. Some have even achieved Distinguished District Governor status.

Speech delivered by Sam Mehta at the C&L luncheon

April 2012 The following speech was delivered by past District 65 District Governor, Sam Mehta, DTM (and chair of

the Nominating Committee) at the Toastmasters International - District 65 Conference luncheon, honoring

the Onondaga County Executive, Joanie Mahoney, with the Toastmasters International's "Communication

& Leadership" Award on April 30, 2011, at the NYS Fair Grounds, in Syracuse , NY.

Greetings and welcome Fellow Toastmasters and honored guests:

Today we are gathered here to honor a leader, a chief executive, a communicator - for the

Toastmasters International's highest award given to a non-Toastmaster - the "Communication and

Leadership award." Let me begin by introducing the dignitaries at the head-table.

Starting with our honored guest and Communication & Leadership Award winner, Onondaga

County Executive, Joanie Mahoney; Communication Director, Onondaga County, Mr. Martin

Skahen; our District 65 District Governor, Lorraine Mott, AC Bronze & AL Bronze; our Lt.

Governor of Education and Training, Stephanie Siuda, DTM, and our Lt. Governor of Marketing,

Linda Lathrope, DTM.

We are indeed living in historical times. Let me give you some examples. After a lapse of nearly

ten years, once again the top-three district 65 officers are women. The current President of

Toastmasters International is a woman from neighboring Canada - Pat Johnson. She leads this

large non-for-profit organization dedicated solely to excellence in leadership and communication,

with over 1/4 of a million active members, located in 116 countries, in over 13,000 Toastmasters

clubs. Over 100 of these Toastmaster Clubs are in our district 65 and 30 of them right here in the

greater Syracuse area. The longest serving past district 65 governor is a women - Nancy Scott,

DTM, who served as the district 65 governor (1981-82) almost 30 years ago. The three co-chairs

of this great conference are also women. (Mel Chesbro, Judi Dixon and Jessica Hoyt.) And today,

we are fortunate to have among us, the "First women County Executive, in the 217 year-history

of the Onondaga County - Joanie Mahoney.

I don't plan to read and repeat what is already mentioned in the impressive biography of the

Onondaga County Executive in the luncheon program. Instead, I will share with you, few other

highlights of the County Executive's career and her leadership.

When the County Executive took the oath of office in 2008, she pledged TWO very important

and unique "items" especially coming from a elected official - (First) to make the County government transparent, and (Second) to hold herself accountable as the CEO of the County, to

some 460,000+ residents of the Onondaga County. In over three years of her administration, she

has kept this pledge - intact. Incidentally, the words transparent and accountable have special

meaning in Toastmasters organization. We adhere to practice transparent communications and

accountable leadership. In an environment of rampant joblessness, fiscal crises, and crippling

economic conditions - both at national and state levels, County Executive Mahoney has managed

to keep the Onondaga County in black. This is a remarkable achievement and demonstrates fiscal

disciple. She has accomplished this with creative austerity measures, consolidations and reduced

spending -generating in savings-of-millions of tax payers’ dollars. Onondaga County's bond

ratings are sound and AAA rated and the financial outlook has been changed from "negative" to

"stable."

The relationship between the office of the County Executive and the office of the City of

Syracuse Mayor [Stephanie Miner] - who by-the-way is also a women and the first in the city's

history, is at its best in a long time. Last year, the County Executive endorsed Andrew Cuomo

for-governor, over the Republican candidate, and later served as co-chair of Governor Cuomo's

transition team. This was an act of political courage. County Executive simply believed that the

governor was the best candidate to help Onondaga County. Reaching out across party-lines is a

trait of a visionary leader. Instead of falling-back on the age-old phrase of "DOING MORE

WITH LESS" - Mahoney has implemented the concept of "DOING LESS WITH LESS" without

compromising on the level and quality of service to the residents of Onondaga County. Reducing

the size of the county government by modernizing and use of technology has been in the forefront

of her administration. For example the latest state of-the county address was watched by me live

on the web-cast. This was the first for Onondaga County. The list of items that have been

addressed and achieved by the County Executive Mahoney's over the past three years are

remarkable and too-many, to be mentioned here, in this venue. Her report card over the past three

years of her administration certainly gets an A+.

It is said that there are TWO types of people in politics: those who want to "be" somebody great

and those who want to "do" something great. Joanie Mahoney definitely falls into the latter

category, and obviously the people who live and work in Onondaga County, are the beneficiary

of witnessing her leadership-inaction.

I now request the district governor, Lorraine Mott, to come to the lectern and present the district

65 "Communication and Leadership Award" to Onondaga County Executive - Joanie Mahoney.

2nd Distinguished Toastmasters (DTM) Award (November 6, 2014)

Outstanding Past District Governor Award – 2013-2014 (November 15, 2014 – Fall 2014 District Conference - Rochester, NY)

Major Accomplishments & Milestones Achieved during District Governor

Sam Mehta’s Years (2006-2007)

1. 32 of the 87 eligible “Clubs” became Distinguished (37%) – 12 Distinguished; 14 Select Distinguished; 6 President’s Distinguished Clubs.

2. 10 of the 19 “Areas” became Distinguished (53%) 3. 2 of the 4 “Divisions” became Distinguished (50%) – (Select Distinguished,

Southern Division; President’s Distinguished, Eastern Division) 4. Exceeded TI’s educational goals by 15% (for CC’s) and 74% (for AC’s) 5. Exceeded TI’s “new club” building goal by 2 clubs 6. Exceeded TI’s Membership building goal by 231 members – highest number of

new members in Region VI, consisting of 7 other districts and 5 larger districts. 7. Built a record number of 10 new clubs in 100 days (March 15, 2007 to June 26,

2007) or one new club every 10 days. (Also lost 6 clubs in the first four months of the year – July to Oct. 2006). Year-end clubs numbered 97 clubs (a new record in D-65).

8. A record of 290 charter members joined District 65, in addition to 578 new members joining the district during the year. Total 868 new and charter members

9. Year-end membership numbered 1918 members (highest membership on record to-date in D-65).

10. Eastern division lead the district 65 with 32 clubs (first time in D-65 history) and 705 members; followed by Central division with 26 clubs and 529 members; followed by Southern and Western divisions, having 20 & 19 clubs each.

11. A total of 261 educational awards were presented during the year, including 141 CC/CTM, 61 AC/ATM, and 46 CL’s.

12. The District year ended with $23,454 in bank as against the budgeted $12,142. A surplus in funds of $11,312. All “actual” major line-item expenditures were below the budgeted amount. A record for the district in remaining under budget for all line-items expenditures.

13. The “Table-Topic” Contest at District level was reintroduced (after a lapse of 15+ years) with overwhelming success and high levels of contestant participations at club levels.

For the First Time in History of District 65:

14. For the first time in District 65 history, a world champion of public speaking was invited to participate at the fall 2006 district conference program.

15. For the first time in the recent history of D-65, the district directory was published in record time (100 hard-copies distributed during the last week of July 2006), and included first-time information on (a) list of PDG with their contact information, (b) sample copy of TM Application; (c) sample copy of Area Gov. Report., (d) TI organization chart; (e) New Communication (CC/AC) & Leadership (CL/AL) chart.

16. For the first time in the recent history of D-65, the 20 longest serving Toastmasters (1958 to 1977) in D-65, were specially recognized and honored at the spring 2007 conference. Their respective names and the clubs they represent appeared in the spring district conference booklet.

17. For the first time in the recent history of District 65, over 37 Toastmasters were given individual recognitions (with certificates signed by TI President (Johnny Uy) and DG (Sam Mehta) for their exemplary services, at luncheon program, at the district’s spring conference in 2007.

18. For the first time in the recent history of D-65, a sitting mayor (of City of Syracuse) was given the C&L award at the luncheon, during the spring 2007 district conference.

19. For the first time in District 65 history, the Toastmaster Leadership Institute (TLI) program was introduced for club officers training program. The program includes traditional mandatory modules as well as optional modules.

20. For the first time in District 65 history, a special “Train-the-Trainer” session was conducted by an International Director, at Waterloo, NY, to coach a team of finest district trainers, and in process make the training program modules more effective, interesting, and educational.