D40 - 3rd Newsletter - August 2025

2025-2026 District 40 Hashtags

#EmpowerYourGrowth #EvolutionOfLeadership #District40 #ToastmastersInternational

To Follow Us On Social Media - Click On The Icons Below

Share This Email

D40 Family Grows with Vital Voices Toastmasters Club

On July 8th, 2025, our #District40 family grew a little bigger as Vital Voices Toastmasters Club #28678791 became our District's first and newest chartered Club for the 2025-2026 Toastmasters Year.

Vital Voices celebrated with a beautiful charter ceremony on Wednesday, August 6th, with several District Dignitaries in attendance, including: District Director, Tracy Baker, DTM, Club Growth Director, Sue Schindler, and Division E Director, Toastmaster Charlie Monette.

Kudos to Club Mentor, Toastmaster Lynne Strathman, and all of the Officers and Members of Vital Voices Toastmasters Club. Continue to #EmpowerYourGrowth!

Click here to learn more about Vital Voices Toastmasters Club

Toastmasters International Convention:

Aug 15th Proxy Deadline | Virtual Attendance

Toastmasters Clubs have important votes to cast during the 2025 Annual Business Meeting (held concurrently with the 2025 Toastmasters International Convention). These votes will result in the future leaders of Toastmasters International.

However, for your Club's vote to count, you MUST ASSIGN A PROXY.

For proxies to be assigned and votes to be cast, each Club President or Secretary must log in to the Toastmasters International website to specify who will cast the club’s votes.

A club can designate an individual member in any of the following three categories as proxyholder: an active member from the club, District 40 Director, OR another active Toastmasters member (from a different club).

The designated proxy must attend the entire Annual Business Meeting, in person at the TI Convention in Philadelphia or virtually.

The deadline to assign a proxy is August 14th, 2025, at 11:59 EDT.

Make sure your Club's voice counts. Assign a proxy ASAP.

For More Info on Assigning a Proxy - Click Here

Can't attend the 2025 Toastmasters International

Convention in person?

Well, you still have an opportunity to participate and engage in this premier event, including: Educational Sessions, Hall of Fame, President's Inauguration, the Annual Business Meeting, and celebrating District 40's International Speech Contest Semi-Finalist, Toastmaster Taylor Candella, as he rises to the next level in public speaking.

Consider investing in a virtual Convention pass today.

Click Here for More Details on International Convention Virtual Pass

Smedley Membership Building Period

Can your club add five new, dual, or reinstated members with a join date between August 1 and September 30?

Accomplish this goal and you’ll qualify to receive a Smedley Award ribbon, named in honor of Ralph Smedley, which you can display on your club’s banner. Qualifying clubs can also earn a special discount code for 10% off their next club order. (The discount code expires six months from the date of issue and is not valid with any other offer.)

Applications and payments for members with a join date between August 1 and September 30 must be received at World Headquarters or online no later than September 30.

Click here for more info on the Smedley Award and other Toastmasters Membership Building Programs

2025-2026 District 40 Hashtags

#EmpowerYourGrowth #EvolutionOfLeadership #District40 #ToastmastersInternational

Anonymous Club Quality Survey

The Club Quality Team is encouraging all District 40 Toastmasters to take a moment to complete an anonymous Club Quality Survey. This survey is designed to help Clubs understand what their members value concerning their Club experience; what motivates their participation, and what their expectations are.

#EmpowerYourGrowth and support the #EvolutionOfLeadership by taking a few minutes to fill out the survey today.

Click here for more the Anonymous Club Quality Survey

Emerging DTM Mastermind Group - Rebooted

Interested in becoming a Distinguished Toastmaster? Then the Emerging DTMs Mastermind Group Program is the place for you. This is another opportunity #EmpowerYourGrowth and support the #EvolutionOfLeadership in District 40.

The Program is open to any Toastmaster who has completed a Level 3 and is interested in becoming a DTM.

Since the July 26th event, the Emerging DTM Mastermind Group has undergone a reboot.

The July (DTM Project and Application) has been rescheduled to a virtual-only event on Tuesday, August 19th, from 7-8 pm EDT.

Future sessions of the Emerging DTM Mastermind Group Program will take on the following format:

1) An in-person event that has a speaker and an opportunity for breakout sessions to discuss various ideas on becoming a DTM. These in-person events will rotate locations between Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

2) The second event (7-10 days after in person session) will be a virtual “Chat & Check-In” session. This event will be an opportunity for anyone who did not get to attend the in-person event to chat with those who did attend and discuss the topic. It will also be an opportunity for a “check-in” to discuss progress and roadblocks and have accountability as each Toastmaster strives to complete his/her DTM.

The first in-person is scheduled for:

Date and Time: Saturday, August 16, 2025, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Topic: Club Success Plan

Location: Woodbourne Community Library (Woodbourne Community Room - West Half), 6060 Far Hills Avenue, Centerville, Ohio 45459.

Presenter: Kelly O'Keefe

Capacity: Limited to 40 in-person participants.

The first "Chat & Check-In” (virtual) session is scheduled for:

Date and Time: Tuesday, August 26, 2025, 8:00 PM - 8:45 PM

Topic: Club Success Plan and achieving DTM requirement

Location: Zoom

If you have any further questions or queries about the Emerging DTM Mastermind Program, email EmergingLeaders@d40toastmasters.org.

Wednesday Webinars - August 2025

Continue your learning journey with District 40's Toastmasters Leadership Institute during the month of August . If there are any subjects that YOU want to learn more about, please reach out to Distinguished Toastmaster Hullaby directly, as this year's Wednesday Webinar Coordinator.

Click here to register for the August 13th & August 27th webinars

2025-2026 District 40 Hashtags

#EmpowerYourGrowth #EvolutionOfLeadership #District40 #ToastmastersInternational

Reminder to Submit Your Club Success Plan

Want to be distinguished next year? The club success plan is the first milestone in this journey, and must be submitted by September 30th.

For More Info: Check Out the Webinar Wednesday Recording

Final D40 Club Officer Training - August 2025

District 40 will offer one (final) Club Officer training session during the month of August. This session will be held on Monday, August 25th, starting at 6:00 pm ET via Zoom. Registration details can be found below.

Additionally, this link includes training sessions that are being offered outside of our District. If you attend one of these sessions, please connect with your Area and Division Director.