Welcome to Division S Division Director, Gerry...

District 71 Newsletter April 2017

Compiled by: Division S & District 71 PR Team

Welcome to Division S

Division Director,

Gerry Dunn

Otherwise known as Scotland, Division S is the largest in

D71. At a monstrous 78,800 square kilometres it comprises a

third of the land mass of the UK, but with less than a tenth of the population. So we

have plenty of room! We also have the tallest mountains, the most lochs and some of

the most dramatic scenery you’ll find anywhere.

Scotland, with its 790 islands, is surrounded by the Atlantic to the North and West, the

North Sea to the East and the Irish Sea to the south West. As a nation, we have a rich

history. There is a legend that there were Toastmaster Clubs in Scotland many years

ago, that they failed to pay their renewals and now meet in caves and dark corners

under a different name. Who knows? Today in Division S, Toastmasters is thriving

again with 17 chartered clubs and 5 at the pre-charter stage.

This Division Director thing is all a bit new to me having only recently stepped into the

role. However as always in Toastmasters there is always plenty of help at hand,

particularly from our superb Assistant Director Jane Cameron and, of course, a brilliant

group of Area Directors.

At the time of writing we are looking forward to our Division S Contest and this year’s

event will held in the prestigious setting of the Scottish Parliament itself. It should be a

great day.



Area 30 Scotland’s First Area

By Area Director Lorna Bruce

Edwyn Newman tells us the story of Scotland’s oldest

club………..

Capital Communicators was the first Toastmaster club in

Scotland in modern times. Set up by renowned toastmaster John Smith in June 1995,

it has spawned several other clubs in Edinburgh, and still offers a benchmark for

excellence in public speaking and leadership, winning Distinguished Club status

every year since its inception.

Since the foundation of Capital

Communicators, Toastmasters

International has grown to over 20 clubs

throughout Scotland, forming a separate

Division within the organisation. Capital

Communicators was home to Erick

Rainey, finalist on two occasions in the

annual International Speech contest,

which is competed for by all 15,900 clubs

worldwide.

The club has a strong culture of personal

mentoring for both new and established

members, with a track record of success

for its members both in their business and

personal lives. Many members report that

the improvements in their ability to speak

publicly, chair meetings and address

groups have resulted in significant career

advancement, with concomitant increases

in income and job satisfaction.

The club meets in Edinburgh’s Georgian

New Town with most members repairing

to a local pub after the fortnightly meetings

to continue with social relationships.

Capital Communicators organises annual

dinners in January to celebrate Scotland’s

national poet, Robert Burns, and in the

summer and at Christmas time.

Club members are engaged in and have

been consistently successful in the four

annual contests run by Toastmasters

International – the International Speech

contest, Humorous Speaking, Evaluation

and Table Topic (impromptu speaking)

contests.

The Club has an excellent record of

encouraging involvement in organising

meetings, training, and leadership skills,

with an active committee, rotated annually,

steering the development and progress of

members’ skills and achievements.

Capital Communicators has maintained and grown its reputation as Scotland’s first

club and the force behind the growth of new clubs throughout Scotland, with a 22

year record of excellence in an atmosphere of friendly encouragement, enjoyment and

success.



Area 33 Area Director, Jacek Lasota

Jacek joined Toastmasters in 2011 in Warsaw, Poland to

improve his public speaking and his English. When he came to

Scotland for work, he joined Waverley Communicators club. He

is also a member of Edinburgh’s Advanced Club EAT.

Jacek is an accomplished speaker and previous Division finalist.

Last year when the new Area 33 was formed, Jacek was asked to

step up to the plate and take on the role of director of the new Area.

He said ‘yes!’. He has three very different clubs to look after. A

burgeoning city centre club (Waverley) a well-established club in a

small club (Linlithgow) and Scotland’s only corporate club (State Street).

He also has a fascinating pre-charter club Porty Communicators. With a core of experienced

members to support the new club, it’s well on its way to becoming chartered. For sure Porty

meets in one of the most picturesque locations in Scotland. Here’s the view Porty members

can enjoy during their network break!



Area 43 Area Director - Isla Cruden

Area 43 is our biggest area with our five clubs St Andrews, Perth,

Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness and a very special pre-charter club

They are separated by some huge distances. But there is a lot going

on in Area 43. Inverness Club President Laura Bruce reports on some

strange sightings on Loch Ness………

A floating meeting of Inverness Toastmasters “Inverness Toastmonsters” plans to put the “monster” back into its moniker this summer, with a one-of-a-kind meeting! The club’s new venue, Inverness College UHI, closes for six weeks this summer, so the club has had to source alternate venues for three meetings during July and early August. The highlight of these will surely be the 26 July meeting. The club plans to host an open meeting aboard a cruise vessel on Loch Ness! Members and guests are welcome, and the club plans a special guest speaker who is an authority on the legendary Loch Ness monster.



Area 60 Area Director Conor Hunter

Conor has five clubs in his big area. Glasgow and

Southside are both now well-established. The newer clubs

are Clyde and Central. Falkirk Orators is a small, but

thriving club to the north east of the city. Then there’s

Caledonian which is based in Glasgow Caledonian

University. Here is Jane Cameron DTM to tell us more about

it

Caledonian Toastmasters in Glasgow are a small but lively community club who are based on

campus at Glasgow Caledonian University. We are in the enviable position of having our

hourly, weekly meetings in a rent free location! We really appreciate the support from the

University and in return we assist the University’s Common Good Strategy, a collaborative

initiative that works to deliver social benefits.

Over the past year we have delivered a series of communication workshops at the University

to support the students, to gain speaking and leadership experiences for members and to

publicise our club. It’s a win-win-win situation! We also arranged a rehearsal and feedback

session to support PhD students for ‘The 3 Minute Thesis Challenge’. This is a national

competition where students present their research in three minutes, in a language appropriate

to a non-specialist audience and in an engaging way – sounds like an extended Table Topic!

We were asked to deliver a Presentation Skills workshop to students from The Enactus

Society – a social enterprise that inspires students to make a difference to their local

community. Our friends at Glasgow TM joined us at this session and again received

favourable feedback.

To recruit new members, we went along to the Fresher Fayre and practised our persuasive

speaking techniques.

There is an interesting

connection between

TMI and Glasgow

Caledonian

University. Professor

Muhammad Yunus,

University Chancellor,

was the recipient of

the TMI Golden Gavel

Award in 2015; this is

Toastmasters’ most

prestigious award. It

has been a great experience so far and we’d encourage other Clubs to investigate

speaking opportunities outside the Club meetings – it’s a win-win-win situation after

all.



Youth Leadership Program - Sudha Mani

As a Toastmaster, my journey

with Youth Leadership

Programme (YLP) began in

August 2016.

I was in West Lothian College

to discuss how I could help the

college get more women

interested in Science,

Technology, Engineering, and

Maths. During our

conversation, Colin Miller,

Head of STEM mentioned that

one of their challenges, their

students lacked confidence in their

communication and personal skills when they were looking for

employment. Colin asked me whether I could help students

prepare themselves and project their abilities.

I wondered whether a Youth Leadership Programme might be

of benefit. I had no idea of how to run the programme but I

received excellent advice from Karen O'Donnell, Sam Warner,

Brendan Haughton, Mairead Dillon and Surya Narayanan

(District 20/Div S/Area 88), as they have experience of Youth

Leadership Programmes. In February, Sam Warner and

Aletta Rochat, Region 11 Advisor, visited West Lothian

College to explain the benefits of the Youth Leadership

Programme and Toastmasters in general.

We had our first session on 1st February with 11 students. This

is the first Youth Leadership Programme by Toastmasters

within West Lothian and is sponsored by Linlithgow Speakers

which was the 4th Club in Scotland to Charter in the year

2005. The Showcase event for this programme is on 24th

May 2017

This is the new Pull-up for the District for the Community Programs

(used to be referred to as the Satellite Programs). With Pathways

coming, they are now mainstream and the Speechcraft, YLP and PR

Team have launched this new banner to publicise the programs. I

am delighted to launch it in my article, and thanks to Daniel

Saunders, Brendan Haughton, Mairead Dillon and Karen O’Donnell

for coming up with this terrific design.

Sudha Mani, Linlithgow Speakers



Gill Shaw has news of one of the most unusual clubs in the District…….

Burns Night An’ A’ That

North Highland Speakers is the D71’s most Northerly

Toastmasters Club. The club meets 3 times a month –

once in each of three locations – Dingwall, Tain and

Thurso.

January saw the club host an inaugural Burns Supper

in its usual Dingwall venue, Tulloch Castle Hotel.

Dating from the 12th century, there are rumours that

the ghost of the green lady roams the hotel.

Thankfully, she didn’t join us for dinner!

We supped on traditional Highland fayre, in our

private dining room – The Dungeon!

To start, Theresa Brown led us through some Burns-related table topics. For the main event,

tweaking the traditional format a little, we had a Toast to the Lassies from Jane Campbell

(Project 2 from the CC manual), and a Reply (in verse) from Gill Shaw, who also recited Burns

‘Address to the Haggis’.

Melanie Newdick provided entertainment over

coffee (The Speaking After Dinner project from the

Entertaining Speaker manual), before Lisa

Buchanan treated us to some fiddle tunes to send

us on our way home.

Gill Shaw

Inverness Toastmasters



Edinburgh Advanced Toastmasters (EAT)

Moira Beaton DTM

President Edinburgh Advanced Toastmasters

Usually, stories begin with an inciting incident, the point at which something dramatic happens. The story of EAT, however, began, not with an inciting incident, but with a brilliant idea.

Two Toastmaster friends were drinking coffee and eating cake, in a cafe in Edinburgh and talking about Toastmasters (as happens when two or more Toastmasters get together). Invigorated by the caffeine and sugar, they came up with a brilliant idea – “let’s start an advanced club”. But, by the time the coffee pot was empty and the last delicious crumb had been eaten, the idea of forming an advanced club didn’t seem so urgent. Like many good ideas whose time hasn’t yet arrived, it was put aside - but not forgotten. A year later, the idea was resurrected and re-examined. By this time, the two had become four, enthusiasm quadrupled and the EAT steering committee was formed. We asked Waverley Communicators to be the sponsoring club, which they generously agreed to do, appointed two members as club sponsors, sent the Application To Organise to Toastmasters International (TI), recruited more members on to the committee and organised a demo meeting. By this time, there was no turning back. We were nervous but excited. Forming a chartered advanced club in Scotland had never been done before. What if it failed and no-one joined? At the first meeting, on 9 May 2016, advanced, nearly-advanced and not-very-advanced Toastmasters from clubs in Area 30 and Area 33 came to support the new venture, ask questions, and help clarify the

club’s purpose, vision and the experience we wanted to give the members. “Why do you want to charter?” was one of the first questions. A hosted advanced club in Division S, Thistle Speakers, already existed and moved freely around the country with no fixed abode and no members’ dues to pay to WHQ. Why did EAT want the stress of chartering? The answer was simple – we felt that aiming to charter would give the club the focus to attract members and keep them; being chartered would mean working towards DCP goals even though we would probably never be President’s Distinguished; and being a chartered club would, not only add another club to Division S, but would be a long-term commitment and fix the club firmly in the Toastmasters community. At the time of writing, nearly one year after

the first meeting, it seems to be working.

The club has 16 enthusiastic, paid up

members who regularly attend the monthly

meetings, speech slots are booked until

July, and we have had to extend our

meeting time by 15 minutes and add an

extra meeting on 22nd May to

accommodate more speeches. We have a

monthly committee meeting where we

discuss innovations to fine-tune the

meetings and help the members reach a

higher standard of toastmastering!



Meanwhile, at the other end of the A9 the members of Perth Toastmasters decided to

publish their own Newsletter. Nick Mockler gives us a flavour………

FEBRUARY – BUSINESS AS USUAL!

Members attended to second round of club officer training for all the clubs in Scotland.

Despite uncertainties back in July with the appointment of a committee consisting of

members who never served on one before, we now found ourselves in a position where we’re

one of the best performing clubs in Scotland (i.e. The Distinguished Club Programme). This

is a measure of the club’s quality in terms of providing the best service for members.

To help out Isla Cruden, Nick volunteered to be Assistant Area Director for the North

Scotland clubs, visiting Dundee and St. Andrews. Nick lead by example and gave two new

speeches and general evaluations at both clubs which were well received.

Alan Palmer and Norma Whyley (Dundee Toastmasters), and Nick.

Chris Leung (St. Andrews Toastmasters) and Nick.



Aletta’s trip to Division S, Scotland

There was considerable excitement among the Toastmaster community in Scotland,

when Region 11 Advisor Aletta Rocha came to visit us earlier this year. Leaving Cape

Town’s balmy January for our dreich Scottish midwinter is surely over and above the

call of duty. Our District Public Relations Manager, Karen O’Donnell, along with our

Scottish Leadership Team, put together a full and varied schedule for Aletta.

Tuesday 31st January

Training workshop in Edinburgh, presented by Laura

Bruce & Aletta Rochat. Division S Toastmasters in

attendance.

Wednesday 1st February

Aletta gave an after-dinner speech to the Highland Business Women in

Inverness. Councillor Margaret Paterson was guest of honour and many

Inverness Toastmasters were in attendance.

Thursday 2nd February

Lunch meeting with Aletta presenting to Glasgow

Financial Sector with Bailie Josephine Docherty in

attendance. From this event there were not one but

two leads for possible new clubs through Women in

Business and Finance and the Glasgow Junior

Chamber

Aletta Rochat & Sam Warner presented at West Lothian

College – Provost Tom Kerr endorsed the Youth Leadership

Program.

Aletta Rochat presented “How to Deliver a Great Speech With

No Time to

Prepare” to the Thistle Toastmasters of

Glasgow.

The following day she was off back to

South Africa and temperatures in

the high twenties, but hopefully carrying with her the warmth of the Scottish

welcome. It was something of a whistle stop tour but I’m sure Division S will

feel the benefits of Aletta Rocha’s visit for some time to come.



Pre-Charter

Porty Communicators

Have you ever delivered a speech while the wind ruffles

your hair? Or delivered a Table Topic while feeling the sand

between your toes?

Would you like to evaluate the swooping dive of a gannet as

you listen to an ice-breaker, or count the ahs as you spot a

dinghy sailor tumble into the water?

All of these are part of the peripheral entertainment at Scotland’s youngest pre-charter Club -

Porty Communicators.

Meeting every second Wednesday, at the Dal Riada on

Portobello Promenade, on the outskirts of Edinburgh,

Porty Communicators has a good balance of

experienced founder members (including a DTM) and

enthusiastic new members who are working their way

through their Competent Communicator manuals. It is

actively supported by members of Haymarket

Toastmasters, the sponsoring Club.

Led by former Division Director Eoin Mc Dunphy ACS

ALB, the Club is Edinburgh’s first out-of-City-Centre

Club and it is targeting members along the shores of the

Firth of Forth, from Leith through to Musselburgh.

Meetings strike a healthy balance between genuine

opportunities for self-improvement, and two hours of

enthralling and educational entertainment.

If you would like to deliver a speech in your swimsuit, or evaluate in armbands, please contact

[email protected].

The meeting might even be al fresco

(Scottish weather permitting !!!)…… Our

network break?

Eoin McDunphy

President, Porty Communicators.

mailto:[email protected]



Try your hand at our April Crossword

All correct answers will enter a draw

Winning name will be published in next newsletter

March

Crossword

Winner

Elizabeth

Jordan

Division G



Celebrating 20 years of

Hertfordshire Speakers

On Monday 27th March, over fifty members from clubs across the

counties of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire in the UK, gathered at

Mill Green Golf club to celebrate the 20th anniversary since the

chartering of Hertfordshire Speakers club, the first Toastmasters

club in Hertfordshire.

It was an evening of fine food, fun and fellowship, made especially

memorable by the presence of the club’s two co-founders: Viv

Starkiss and Bob Ferguson; District 71 District Director, Michael

Collins and guest of honour, local Mayor, Pat Mabbott.

The evening’s program included, speeches by the Mayor,

Presentation by Michael, 20 year celebration cake cutting by Co-

founders, an after-dinner speech and celebration table topics led by

Kevin Baggs, DTM.

The event was superbly hosted by club

president Peter Ford; his humorous style

ensured a convivial atmosphere

throughout the evening.

In his after-dinner speech, club co-founder

and member, Bob Ferguson, DTM, said: “I look

back with pride at the way Hertfordshire

Speakers club has helped people from all walks

of life improve their presentation and leadership skills.”

Bob went on to say how gratifying it was to see members from Hertfordshire Speakers club have gone

on to spread the toastmaster message by chartering other successful clubs in the area and beyond.

He ended by wishing Hertfordshire Speakers club many more successful years to come.

John Kendall the lead organiser thanked the mayor &

helpers who made this a great occasion.

You can listen to further reflections of the co-founders

by clicking on the links below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qdlor7VzcHg

Slide show for more happy pictures https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnTw9G86zNc&feature=youtu.be

Toastmaster John Kendall with Mayor Mabbott

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qdlor7VzcHg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnTw9G86zNc&feature=youtu.be



OPPORTUNITY KNOX

Just over a year since Harry Knox DTM retired from a lengthy

teaching career, he is bringing his love of teaching to Uganda.

He and his Toastmaster wife Ursula have embarked on a

whole new adventure.” Opportunity Knox”, was officially

launched as a Registered Charity on Monday April 10th.

For over a decade they have been sponsoring a child in Uganda

through World Vision. In November 2015, they travelled to Uganda with World Vision Ireland and

visited health clinics, farms and schools and witnessed the daily lives of many impoverished Uganda

people. They were deeply moved by the experience. They were very upset at the poverty and how

dishevelled and hungry the people were in the rural villages.

Whilst sitting under a shaded tree, in Tiira Village, just on the Equator, Ursula sat and listened to a

young Ugandan man, John Kennedy, as he described how World Vision Ireland had helped him. This

30 year old man had impressive communication skills, was articulate and fluent in English. Through

many online communications that followed with John, Harry learned about the neglected rural people

in Uganda and at the same time forming the seeds of a novel type of charity to help the poorest

families there.

He believed that the idea of a “no overheads” charity

where 100% of the donated funds, would be spent on

the activity targeted by the charity, would be

successful. During two further visits to Uganda, they

assessed the poorest of the poor families and

discovered that the greatest need the villagers had

was help with paying the school fees of their children.

They put in place a scheme which in one year, has

helped 40 families with over 195 children. For less

than €100 per child, they provided mattresses and

blankets for the children to sleep on; paid their school

fees, lunches as well as uniforms and exercise copies. Harry and Ursula fund all the administrative

needs of the charity as well as their twice yearly visits to Uganda to monitor the spending of the

donations by the public, from their own funds. No one is employed by the charity. So in just over a

period of 12 months the charity has bloomed from nothing more than an idea and an experience into

concrete action.

Harry and Ursula believe in openness and transparency into all of their actions and they make this

possible through their informative website and their Facebook page, both called opportunityknox.ie.

This will be a time-limited charity of years providing 5 years of education each to no more than 200

children. Will you help Harry and Ursula to achieve their mission?

Harry Knox, DTM



“It’s-a-kinda-magic” Manchester Conference

12 - 14 May 2017

The Manchester Conference will soon be here. I hope that you are getting as excited as I am

to meet up with old friends and meeting new. Listening and learning from our two Key Note

Speakers one on Friday and the other on Saturday (see their introductions below). Listen to

some fantastic speeches and learn from the evaluations. Have some great food and you

might even learn something if you are not careful while attending the seven fantastic

workshops on a variety of subjects. For the first time, we will be having poster sessions

where you can wonder about looking and talking to the presenters about a number of

different subjects that will help you in Toastmasters.

Some Speakers are informative, some are entertaining,

and some are thought provoking… John is all three.

Don’t miss John’s keynote at the Opening Ceremony

Friday, 12th May 2017.

Click here for John’s personal introduction and

invitation

John Hotowka

Ross is an award-winning speaker, author and

business leader. His personal warmth and irrepressible

humour, creates a stimulating environment in which his

audiences grow and learn.

Be sure to arrive early to the International Speech

Contest Saturday, 13th May ’17 to see Ross’ inspiring

address.

Click here for Ross’ personal introduction and invitation

Ross Mackay

Red Skelton,

D71 Program Quality Director

http://www.toastmastersmagic.org.uk/

https://youtu.be/PzTVUk9TDA8

https://youtu.be/PzTVUk9TDA8

https://youtu.be/bCeY8Bta7CA



District Director Interview

What have been your major achievements this year?

My goal was to leave the District in a better place than I found it. The

theme of my messages this year have been focused on getting

members to see value in the organisation that they can apply in the

“real world”.

Ensuring that the cross geographical spread of membership is

equally represented, is so important for the continued success of the

District. My strategic appointments of key support roles this year

reflected this.

Have you any regrets?

I didn’t put in the training for my last marathon and I struggled big time!

What do you think your legacy will be?

Wow, another heavy question. I feel that the role of District Director should be an

ambassadorial role, reflecting the membership. I’d like to think that many other members see

that the available roles of leadership within the organisation are welcoming and open to more

ordinary members who also can also bring a wealth of experience with them for the good of

the organisation.

What have you learnt & gained from your role?

I have learned that the one communication style does not work with everyone. Discovering

what makes a person tick and, more importantly, what makes a person thick is key. I have

gained many friends whom I would happily meet up with to share a beer.

What surprised you about your role & wish to tell your successor?

While on paper the role is about leading an organisation, it is very much about leading people.

Toastmasters is at its very core a people organisation. We should never lose sight of that. I

sometimes get asked whether it gets political. While I’ve no doubt that there are similarities

like being prepared to compromise, no one gets paid for taking on a voluntary role.

Always refer to Toastmasters Policy documents - here say or the fact that it was always done

a certain way is not good enough. Also, I’d say to put the role in perspective, anyone is open

to stepping down at any time. Find ways to motivate people. Find people that you can truly

trust. Building relationships and influencing people will help you.

Michael Collins, District Director



Program Quality Director Interview

Red Skelton

What have you learned and gained from your role?

I have learned a great deal actually. I have learned the importance of

leadership and getting everyone work together in working towards a

common goal. For example, the Dubhlinn conference last November and

currently, the Magic conference being held in May. It takes a team of people working together

to make events such as these successful.


The biggest point I would make to my successor would be two fold actually. The first would be

concerning conferences. You need to trust your conference team and let them work the

details. You are there as an advisor and to ensure that all the fine details are being covered.

But, you need to empower them to do their best. The second thing is regarding training. Try

to find new and entertaining ways of conducting training. Everyone dreads attending training

if it is going to be the same thing each time. Make it interesting, engaging and fun and the

attendees will be more open to the training and will be eager to learn.

What new things have you introduced & worked?

The biggest thing I introduced is the way I conducted the mid-year District Officer Training. I

did away with the usual segments of training and brought in others to do training on things

that was important to them. This got others involved and created a fun and learning

environment in which to conduct mid-year training.

Clever use of Opportunity provided by the visit of Olivia

Schofield to the Division M Conference.

Division M in conjunction with Powertalk, ISAX and

Bank of Ireland, along with our Community Program

and PR Teams, have arranged this fabulous midday

presentation at the Montrose facility of Bank of Ireland.

This is the second one, in this series – last month they

brought Julie Kertesz to the same venue for a packed

house.

Moves are afoot to form a new club from the group of

approx. 70 attendees.

Hats off to Mairead Dillon, Karen O’Donnell and

Brendan Haughton for this community initiative.

Thanks BOI for sponsoring the event!



Club Growth Director Interview

Patricia O’Reilly What have you learned and gained from your role?

The District has chartered 6 corporate clubs with two more chartering in April.

I have learned that when it comes to setting up a corporate club one size doesn’t

fit all. You have a better chance of success if there is just one enthusiastic,

driven and capable person within the company who will liaise between you and

management. I have learned how important it is to listen – listen to what the potential members

want because they are the ones who are, in most cases, giving up their lunch hour to attend a

Toastmasters meeting. One of the more successful ones worked because we suggested they

could have their lunch during the meeting. Ten months into my role I have gained a sound

knowledge of corporate clubs.


The volume of the work involved - club growth, member retention and renewals, appointing club

coaches, club sponsors and mentors, monitoring Area Director club visit reports and timely

submission of club officer lists. You need the support of your fellow members on the District

Leadership Team, the Division and Area Directors and other capable toastmasters in the District.

At the outset, I thought the challenge would be club growth. However, ten months into my role it’s

member payments that have turned out to be challenging.

What new things have you introduced & worked?

Toastmasters International runs three membership building campaigns during the year. In an effort

to boost member payments I added two more – one in November/December which was very

successful and one that is running until the 30th June. Again recognising the importance of bringing

in new members and member retention this year there will be an award for District 71 VP

Membership of the year.

This is the time of year when we appeal to Clubs and members to get their subs in, register new clubs and for Area Directors and Division Directors to check on their clubs to ensure they are in good standing. Remember there is NO GRACE PERIOD this year.



PRM – Karen O’Donnell

What have you learned & gained from your role?

WordPress, GoToWebinar and Constant Contact were some ‘platforms’

that were alien to me this time last year. I quickly got to grips with them in

order to communicate with members and they are very much my daily

‘tools of the trade’ now. I have learned that Teamwork really works –

working on various teams has secured strong connections in all the

divisions through our frequent collaborations on PR projects – these teams throughout the district

has hugely contributed to the success of PR this year.

The monthly newsletter - what were the benefits in this approach?

We have produced 9 newsletters already this year – first in our district! The first half focusing on

a particular division, and Division Directors were eager to let the rest of the District know what

was going on in their Division. Clubs got very involved in offering articles and members were only

too delighted to take up the baton each month when it was their turn. I have received very

positive feedback where members were getting to know members in different divisions. Thank

you to all the members who contributed to our newsletters.

What new things have you introduced that worked?

• External PR Events

This has raised awareness of Toastmasters to people in our communities. We have had many

successful community events where we have fostered excellent relations with large institutions,

i.e. Banks and Chambers of Commerce, thus leading to more potential club growth throughout

our District.

• Social Media Incentives

This incentive encouraged clubs to engage more in social media – raising awareness of

Toastmasters. The club videos testimonials are so creative – and these do get noticed. Many

clubs have commented that guests are finding them through videos and posts on social media

• The Travelling Toastie

This engaging fun initiative has seen members visit clubs not only in our district, but much further

afield. Members would email me with stories of how this initiative has injected new life into their

Toastmasters experience. This initiative supports challenged clubs as Travelling Toasties are

encouraged to visit and participate in the meeting. It also is an opportunity for members to speak

to a different audience and to learn how other clubs work.

• Monthly Newsletters – as mentioned in previous question.

• New District 71 Leaflet

I have now produced a District 71 leaflet – to maintain the

integrity of our district, I also applied for branding authorisation

from TI headquarters - which I have now received. Our first

officially branded District 71 leaflet. This leaflet contains more

local information which can be used to promote our clubs.

• PR Tips – Conference Calls

Part of the District PR Role is to provide ongoing training to club

VPPRs. We have had a wide range of topics, from membership

magic to digital succession. Most of these were recorded and

are available on our website. Many wonderful ideas sprang from

the sharing of experiences and information on these calls.



District Treasurer Interview - John Cox

We have seen an increase in dues & a fall in the pound – does this mean more can be spent District projects? Yes and No. As we get 25% of membership income we are clearly

getting 25% of the additional dues coming into the District. However the

budget takes this into account and remains fairly constant as the one drawn by the DLT up

and approved by the DEC. It is partly based on predicted membership income for the

District, and the District Reserves at the beginning of the year. The budget is set

in euros. We have this year fixed the rate of 1.25 euros to the pound so any fluctuations in

the pound will just mean that any UK expenditure will not go as far (or potentially go

further).

Will Brexit have any impact on us? Unsure at this stage. Any arrangements that are made between the UK and the Irish

Governments may of course have some future impact. Because TI membership income is

in dollars and we run a sterling and euro bank account any variation in rates of exchange will

have some, though probably not a significant impact.

What surprised you about your role & wish to tell your successor? The challenges of dealing with three currencies. The complexities of the TI accounting

system. Ensuring DEC members claims are accurate and timely.

IPDD – Kevin Lee What do you like about your role of IPDD? It's a significant step down in pace and responsibility compared to being District Director! There is an opportunity to further shape my legacy in the District and to take on any specific duties that are important but not mission-critical, e.g. District Regalia. In relation to Pathways, what meeting platforms will be available to clubs? The Pathways platform is available to all members. In addition, I anticipate that EasySpeak and FreeToastHost will continue to be valuable tools for club website and meeting management. If current members get a ‘free’ digital pathway once Pathways is rolled out, will dual members get 2? Dual members at the time of 'go live' in our District will received two Paths. However, if you are a member of three or more clubs, you still only get two!



Administration Manager Interview

Sam Warner

What have you learned and gained from this role? I have got a much broader view, a helicopter view if you like, of the District

and how it operates. It really does run like a business, with all its major

facets, Finance, PR (Public Relations), Marketing, Education & Training etc.

I have enjoyed working with new people whom I might never have had the chance to work with

due to geography. I have learned that I would like to campaign in the future for another District

role, and understand that they are a serious commitment in terms of effort, time and action, and

so it’s been very useful to know what I’m letting myself in for.

What surprised you about your role?

How easily I would be welcomed and accepted by the DLT (District Leadership Team). The DLT

had members on it that had been there for a few years already so I wasn’t sure how my new face

would fit in. They made me feel welcome and part of the team right away. There is a good structure

that I was able to put into my diary for the whole year that enabled me to work my life around it,

and it’s fairly fixed.

Is it your responsibility to maintain members information, if so, how often do you data

cleanse this information?

I’m glad to say it is not my responsibility to do this task for all the members. The member

information for District 71 (D71) is extracted from TMIWHQ (Toastmasters International World

Headquarters) and the D71 list is refreshed every month for the purposes of communication emails

and overseen by the District Director.

Is there a lot of travel for your role?

There’s a fair bit to be honest. You have to remember all the roles are voluntary. I wanted to really

throw myself into the role and do as much as I could so I have completed quite a few trips. To

undertake the role fully, there’s two DOTs (District Officer training for Area and Division Directors),

in June/July, and one or two more in January. Two DEC (District Executive Council) meetings, two

conferences (until next year when we will have one per year), two handovers, two Division Contest

attendances and for me, additional travel to Glasgow to accompany Aletta Rochat (Region 11

Advisor) on part of her Scotland leg of her trip to District 71.

How much time do you spend doing your role?

This varies and some months have more events in them than others, so it’s not simple to say.

There’s a calendar of events to aid in planning so it’s pretty easy to work out how much time you’ll

need. If you evened it out, I probably spend about 12 hours a month, but that’s including very quiet

months of about 4 hours and busier months with travel and events like DOT, DEC or Conference.

Plus, of course, I am a member of my own club, a sponsor, VPE and VPM of a new pre-charter

club, a mentor for a new corporate club, I run two Youth Leadership Programs (YLP) every year, I

run at least one TLI (Toastmasters Learning Initiative) a year, I’m Immediate Past Area 39 Director,

I’m mentoring 7 people and I’m a Pathways Ambassador. So I have more than just District

commitments. I think I might be addicted to Toastmasters!



Mullingar Toastmasters Club - 20th Anniversary Celebration The three great events of Toastmasters are: 1924

Founded; 1973 Women allowed in;1997

Toastmasters comes to Mullingar - founded by,

wouldn't you know, a woman: Carol Whyte. In

1997 Posh Spice was a singer, Tiger Woods a

winner, Lipotor a dinger said Carol. - Lipotor's

something to do with cholesterol.

Mullingar Toastmasters Club doesn't do

cholesterol. Or meetings either. We do events.

Thursday Mar-23 the event was the 20th

Anniversary with a theme

meeting on the Showbands.

Club President, Alma Manny said Mullingar can't claim to be centre of

Toastmasters but Mullingar definitely is the capital of the Showband.

Joe alas couldn't make it, but Joe's brother Ben saxophonists with the

Drifters could. Also there were Tommy and Jimmy Swarbrigg who

represented Ireland twice in the European song contest - when it was

a song contest - said Pauline McCabe dedicating her speech to the

Swarbriggs. District Director Michael Collins presented Pauline with

her DTM.

Lorcan Sleator spoke of how 'the Showbands changed the culture of

Ireland', Lorcan said, 'and made me the man I am.'

The third speaker was

Geraldine Smith striding

up with something over

her head. A knickers? No.

It was a cardboard surround of

Joe Dolan's face. Geraldine told us that Joe has

'Endless Magic - That's What He Has.' Geraldine

related one night Joe was rushed by private jet

from Top of the Pops to a gig in Dublin where he

was mobbed by women and had his trousers

torn. 'There's no show like a Joe show.' Geraldine said. After the three speeches Emcee Pat

Kenny introduced a first-time speaker in Toastmasters, much to former president's Ted

Corcoran's agitation. You can't be doing that whispered Ted to Alma but Mullingar is a bit

creative and the speaker definitely a female opened her mouth not to speak but to sing, 'You're

such good-looking woman', in a male contralto voice. Ted and the audience were pure

delighted.

Indeed, Ted said we're one of the most creative clubs he's seen, as helped by Alma, he

presented an award to each of the 18 Past Presidents. The Swarbriggs and Dolans got a

special award. It was a great event - possibility the fourth great event in Toastmasters history.



Ten Years a Toastmaster 2007 - 2017

Fellow Toastmasters All……..I wish to say thank you for the past 10 wonderful years. I gave my Ice-breaker in March 2007 in Crusaders Toastmasters. I walked away from the door of the club twice that night. On the second turn I ran into a friend who came to support me. Little did I know what was coming down the line.

I have had the privilege to work with wonderful individuals in creating 3 wonderful clubs, Bishopstown Toastmasters, EMC Ireland Forum

and West Cork Toastmasters. Night time Toastmasters did not work for me as I required someone to mind my young children. Bishopstown

Library had recently opened in 2008 and a Saturday morning club was born January 2009. I could bring my children to the library and we had Toastmasters upstairs. EMC Ireland is a great corporate club and has produced great speakers and leaders. West Cork Toastmasters, a weekly Saturday morning club, meeting in beautiful Rosscarbery, with tremendous support from the Celtic Ross Hotel, has a membership of 32 and it is celebrating it's first anniversary on April 22nd next. To name individuals who contributed to creating these fabulous clubs, who contribute to their development and growth would be a very long list indeed. There are 4 special people that I could not but mention:

• Mary O' Shaughnessy……… The Lady of Toastmasters. A warm, witty, very wise and wonderful lady.

• Sharon O' Neill............ Bishopstown Toastmasters was the club to launch the tsunami that is Sharon O' Neill, a tidal force of enthusiasm and energy. I was there to hear Sharon give her Ice-breaker and I was fortunate to hear Sharon give her final speech to achieve her DTM.

• Elaine Beare........... I also was there to hear Elaine's Ice-breaker and it is Elaine who is the driving force of EMC Ireland Forum. Elaine has also achieved her DTM.

• Michael O Sullivan DTM……….. The man who light my flame for Toastmasters. My mentor, a man who believed in me and gave immense time and support. Without Michael I do not believe the above would have come to pass.

The greatest joy of Toastmasters for me has been its potential to create change, to create a metamorphosis in the confidence of individuals. From Caterpillars to beautiful Butterflies. I have had the joy of being a Travelling Toastie and visiting many clubs, big and small but all with warm and welcoming members. I have met Ice-Breakers to members with 20 – 40 years of membership behind them. You all have contributed greatly to my life over the past 10 years in very positive and supportive ways. I am deeply grateful for your friendship. It has been an amazing journey and it is not over yet!!!! John Keating, West Cork Toastmasters



Words to the wise from 2 new clubs Peter Lawton – Anglian Advanced Speakers (advanced club) Why did you start the club? This Advanced Club was started because a significant number of people had an appetite for a club which would help them achieve a more professional level of speaking and perhaps get paid for so doing. What was the most difficult part of getting the club chartered? The most difficult part of getting to charter was persuading 20 Toastmasters to join what would be their second club with a second set of fees and dues. What did you learn from the experience? I learned a huge amount (this was my HPL project, after all). But most importantly, I learned how to sell a concept (which I believed in passionately) successfully. What advice would you give to someone who was thinking of starting a club? My advice to anyone starting a new club from scratch would be not only to get the best team around you, but a team which understands the project and believes in it wholeheartedly.

Karen Henry – Accentuators (corporate club)

Why did you start the club? The two founders of Accentuators, Karen Henry and Keith Stephens, are Toastmasters and had experienced first-hand the many benefits of Toastmasters membership. We could see the relevance of perfecting employees’ leadership and communication skills to Accenture’s business. As a top employer

of graduates, a Toastmasters club in the company provides an additional forum for soft skills development that complements the existing talent development framework. What was the most difficult part of getting the club chartered? Getting the paperwork and payment organised. It was not difficult to get people and the company to provide funds, but being a corporate club, it was challenging to have this processed correctly internally, and paid to Toastmasters International in the right way. We put enormous effort into internal company communications about Toastmasters, which resulted in over 100 people attending our launch event, and the club membership being oversubscribed, with a waiting list. What did you learn from the experience? To spend time with each individual potential member to understand their motivation for joining Toastmasters. Recruit and motivate a core club management team who will commit time and enthusiasm to making the club a success.

Patricia O’Reilly, Club Growth Director



Letters or articles for submission: Letter, Max 200 words – longer is an article! Please

address these to me at [email protected] depending on space, we will

endeavour to put a compilation of these in future.

The next edition, May 2017, is being compiled by Division “E” Director, Ken Siviter. Ken

is looking for articles and contributions for the newsletter. If you have news, views and

Toastmasters New Year Resolutions or reports please send them in as soon as

possible, before 10th May 2017.

Please email them to Ken Siviter:- [email protected] & copy to

[email protected]

Publishers note : The District 71 Newsletter is published by the District 71 PR Team

headed by Karen O’Donnell, PR Manager with assistance from Sandra Losty & Brendan

Haughton. Each edition is compiled by one of our Division Directors and their team.

ANY MEMBER CONTACT INFORMATION IN THIS NEWSLETTER IS FOR THE SOLE USE OF TOASTMASTERS’ MEMBERS FOR TOASTMASTERS BUSINESS ONLY. IT IS NOT TO BE USED FOR SOLICITATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF NON-TOASTMASTERS MATERIALS OR INFORMATION.

Our Division Directors are spear-heading the monthly newsletters and Division E will

be compiling our newsletter for May.

Plans are in hand to run two Pilot Speaker to Trainer workshops

from the Success/Communication’s series. One will be in Cranfield

and the other in Dublin. These are join initiatives between Daniel

Sandars Speechcraft and Brendan Haughton and Mairead Dillon,

YLP, supported by Red Skelton. Places will be strictly limited and for

Toastmasters who will agree to run similar workshops in their own

Areas or Divisions.

Expressions of interest please :

UK: Daniel Sandars : [email protected]

Ireland: Brendan Haughton: [email protected]




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