District 106

Newsletter

 September 2022

From the Desk of the Program Quality Director

Celebrate your club member achievements! The five clubs having the highest rate of completed education and leadership goals per member thus far in our Toastmasters program year are: The Informers (0.75 goals achieved per member!); Westfort Toastmasters (O, Canada!); Lino Lakes Toastmasters, our 21-22 achievements of our fellow Toastmasters. Is your club being recognized?

Register a table of 6 or 8 and make this a club celebration night! We are looking forward to seeing many of you there. Registration information is on the D106 calendar. Also, the Toastmasters International Convention in August was "We Are All Storytellers." That theme rings true. Some of the most powerful speeches are shared stories full of relatable ideas and very human situations.

Register now to celebrate storytelling at our September 15 "Story Sparks" event at the Camp Bar in St. Paul. Be there to gain insight into how you can hone your storytelling skills! Registration information is on the D106 calendar.

Tall Tales and Table Topics Speech Contests are scheduled for this fall! We are entering the autumn 2022 speech competition season. Club events are happening, and area speech contests will begin soon. Where can you find detailed information about speech competitions? Visit District 106 Toastmasters Speech Contests at (d106tm.org). Ask your Area Director, Division Director, District Chief Judge Susan Lau, or any trio member for additional information. Speech Competitions are fun!

Dedicated trainers are needed as we prepare for round two club officer training from November through February. Please get in touch with me with your interest and availability. Also, please send along the names of fellow club members who would be great trainers. Our team of trainers for round one worked hard to present many club officer training opportunities. They provided great information, and member feedback was well received because of the members' prospects for conversation in breakout rooms. Members made many valuable connections. You may be part of continuing that excellence.

Ed Aylward,

District 106

Program Quality Director

From the Desk of the Club Growth Director

Highlights from Nashville

The 2022 International Toastmasters Convention was held in Nashville, Tennessee. This was the first convention since 2019 that was held in Denver, Colorado. The 2020 convention was scheduled for Paris, France but was canceled due to the Covid pandemic.

It was wonderful to join Toastmasters from all over the world in Nashville and celebrate their district's achievements, attend the semi-finalist's speech contest, and then the final speech contest. It was a joy watching the opening ceremonies with 140 plus countrymen carrying their flags with pride across the stage. It brought tears to my eyes as they donned their native dress.

We attended workshops for the Trios on Monday and Tuesday. More members joined us Wednesday through Saturday. We heard many candidates speak who were running for international-level leadership positions. We learned about and voted on the 19 proposals recommended for adoption by the TI Board. It was incredible to experience the care and planning that went into every event,

One night, there was a country band who opened and wrote a tune about Toastmasters as the crowd chimed in suggestions. The final product was very catchy. Hopefully, it will be published and posted in the days that follow. It was a great opportunity for networking with other districts and learning how to best serve the district and members back home.

As we waited for votes to be tallied during the business meeting, people in the crowd started forming Conga lines and dancing around the room. The members had all kinds of hip music cued up and everyone joined in the festivities. I had no idea how silly and fun these Toastmasters people could be. The

dancing probably lasted a good 30 minutes before the votes were finalized.

 Our very own Stephen Shaner was awarded the highest honor nominated by Harold Osmundson. President Richard E. Peck presented Stephen Shaner with the President’s Citation award on stage. Each year at the Toastmasters International Convention, the International President announces recipients for a Presidential Citation. This citation is presented to members who have shown continual support and dedication to the organization. Recipients of this citation are selected at the sole discretion of the International President. Stephen is a past District Director of District 6 before District 106 was formed. He has served as a Regional Director, judged at the international speech contest, and served in several other high positions. Stephen is well known at all levels and highly esteemed by all districts throughout the world and loved by all. He has chartered over 60 clubs and continues to actively serve as a mentor to leaders in Toastmasters and other organizations. District 106 is truly blessed to have this AWESOME leader. I was amazed how many folks kept coming up to Stephen and giving him hugs and high-fives. He was even involved in the execution of the Golden Gavel event. 

Next year’s Toastmasters Convention will be hosted in the Bahamas. Start planning now to join this very exciting event. It is an event you can attend with your club or as an individual. The Trio will be attending, and I would love to have as many of you who are interested in attending join us. It’s a great time.

CALL FOR CLUB COACHES

We have some clubs in District 106 that need a club coach. A club coach is a person who attends club meetings regularly, providing positive feedback and helping the club gain strength by holding quality meetings. Using the tools of Moments of Truth and the Club Success Plan is recommended. So far, we have a few coaches who have stepped up to serve and earn their DTM. Please consider helping struggling clubs and developing your leadership skills in the

process. Reach out to Greg Scholz at toastmastergreg@me.com and Michael Carlton at tm.michael.carlton@gmail.com

Katy Hursh

District 106

Club Growth Director

Toastmasters International Annual Business Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee

 Our District 106 Trio is taking a moment to smile for the camera.

 L-R Club Growth Director Katy Hursh, Program Quality Director, Ed Aylward, and District Director Gopu Shrestha

From the Desk of the Public Relations Manager

Fellow District 106 Toastmasters and VPPR Officers! 

Promotion is key to bringing awareness in our communities about Toastmasters. Let people know about Toastmasters. It can be promoted through word of mouth, leveraging social platforms, media, and newsletters. It doesn’t matter what platform we choose if we communicate how Toastmasters can help them to become a better communicator, leader, and better person. We also need to keep in mind that we diligently follow the Toastmasters International brand guidelines.

I am so amazed at the talent that we have in our clubs and the members bringing the level of creativity, and passion in doing the work, promoting the clubs, and volunteering for roles every week.

In this newsletter, I want to focus on how clubs can leverage their club websites to effectively communicate with prospects and members. It can be used to share exciting news, upcoming events, conference details, and more. When setting up your website, be sure to follow the Brand Manual and incorporate the logo, stock photography, graphic elements, color palette, and typography. Toastmasters provides FreeToastHost and WordPress website templates for clubs and Districts. If your club needs a website, you can use FreeToastHost, a web host that's exclusive to Toastmasters clubs and Districts. Each website includes access to easy-to-use, web-based software for anyToastmasters club. If your club is listed on www.toastmasters.org, there is no cost for this service. Simply fill out the FreeToastHost request form. You may use the corresponding website template as a guide for your design.

Free ToastHost Club Website 

Need help with your FreeToastHost website? View the user docs and forum, or you may register for website support. If you are a new Club Website Administrator and need access, please submit a change request. As you update your club or district website, please be sure to delete outdated club and district website information that you no longer wish members or prospective members to view.

 District 106 Social channel presence by the Numbers:

Facebook: 396 Twitter: 159 LinkedIn: 156 Instagram: 256 YouTube: 122 TikTok: 5

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok for exciting updates, inspiration, and more.

Excited to announce that we are now on TikTok as well. Promote! Promote! Promote!

D106 PR Homepage   

If you have any questions, comments, feedback, or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out! 

Together we keep the Toastmasters brand strong!

PRM Team [Johnny, Bob, Dr.Sherri, Margie, Ashok]

Hybrid Meetings Information

Many clubs have been asking about converting to holding Hybrid Meetings click on the Hybrid Meeting link here for information on how to go from virtual or in-person meetings to hybrid meetings.

Ashok Sunkavalli

2022-2023 District 106 Public Relations Manager

ashoksunkavalli@gmail.com

Cell: (319) 431-2415

Message from the Club Quality Chair

Dear Toastmasters, 

Being a new club sponsor & mentor is not just about getting credits for a DTM. Although it is an essential factor in your decision to become a new club sponsor & mentor, it is also about helping District 106 grow. As the saying goes, the more, the merrier.  

As a new club sponsor & mentor, you help shape the district's personality, start people on their journeys to become better leaders & communicators, and make many new contacts & even friends. Undoubtedly, the experience will also teach you to become a better leader & communicator.

With so many positive benefits, what are you waiting for to submit your name as a new club sponsor & mentor? District 106 needs you to grow. We are looking for Toastmasters at all levels to begin their new club sponsor & mentor journey. You will have support when you are assigned a new club.

We look forward to hearing from you. Please contact me if you have any questions at: yprevost123@gmail.com

Yves Prévost DTM, PDD

Cub Quality Chair 2022-2023

Bringing People Together With Meetup

by Division E Director George Kane 

When I followed up on a club visit to Wilder Side, Club President Margie Peterson asked me if District 106 had a Meetup account. I asked District Director Gopu Shrestha and Program Quality Director Ed Aylward, and I learned that we did not.

Meetup is a social media platform for organizing in-person and virtual events for people with similar interests. I know of a few Clubs that post their meeting notices on Meetup and have seen that it can be a useful membership-building tool. In addition, it provides a way for people seeking public speaking training to search out and connect with groups that can give it.

Some Toastmasters clubs have the advantage of association with a larger organization that addresses their target audience. Meetup will get their meeting notices seen by members of the larger organization. But the tool is less helpful for a stand-alone Toastmasters Club. If people search for public speaking, they are likely to find such a club, but if they do not join the Meetup Group when they first encounter it, nothing will bring them back to see later meeting notices.

I realized that Meetup could be perfect for Division E, where nearly all clubs are in St. Paul. Anyone looking for Toastmasters Clubs who specifies an area that includes St. Paul would be sure to find the group and will have a choice of clubs. When anyone RSVPs to a meeting, they will become a Meetup member of the St. Paul Toastmasters Meetup Group and will, if they choose, receive email notices for all of the clubs in that group.

For over a dozen years, I have had a Meetup Account that permits me to manage up to five groups. Unfortunately, I was only managing two, so St. Paul Toastmasters is only my third and will not cost me any more than I am already paying.

The St. Paul Toastmasters Meetup group is just now getting off the ground. I have made officers in six clubs Event Organizers, who can post their meeting notices. As of this writing, only a few clubs have done so, but I expect many more to follow soon. Gopu Shrestha suggested I invite Division C, the closest to St. Paul, to join, so Division C Director Bob Dummer and I have to work that out. I'm willing to expand the use as far as the district wants.

I have asked the event organizers to inform me of any members they get from Meetup. I'm eager to report success stories!

George Kane

Division E Director

george.francis.kane@gmail.com 

PxD106 Story Sparks

Pet stories. You probably have a heart-warming, funny, or possibly ridiculous story about a pet. Or, maybe you just enjoy stories!

About this event

This event is free and open to the public!

Humans sitting around the campfire telling stories--we have been doing this since the dawn of time. It's almost in our DNA. We love sharing and listening to stories.

If only there were an event that would allow you to share your stories, on a stage, in front of a whole bunch of people. Well, there have been several different organizations that put these on. Moth Story Slams is one of the more public events. We at District 106 don't believe Moth should have all the fun and have decided to put on our event. We've had so much fun, we are doing it for a third time, after a long break!

This event will have mystery; we have no idea who's telling us a story. This event will have drama; we have no idea who will win. This event will have comedy; the theme is "Pets," and there is bound to be a ton of laughs. This event will be fun; we've got a great Master of Ceremonies (Ray Young). Was it mentioned we are doing this on a proper stage at a comedy club in downtown St. Paul? Well, we are! And it's all free!*

* Please note: This is going to be in downtown St. Paul and parking will have a cost associated with it. Good thing, the event is free, right?

WHEN:  Thursday, September 15, 2022

TIME:   6:30 pm – 9:00 pm

COST:   Free       

WHERE: Camp Bar, 490 Robert Street, St. Paul, MN 55101

 2022 District 106 Fall Speech Contests

Speech Contests can't happen without volunteers. Learning how to conduct different roles for the Tall Tales and Table Topics contests is a great experience. 

Consider becoming a contestant and develop your skills as a public speaker. You will gain experience and learn from more experienced speakers. Learn more about how you can participate in the Fall Speech Contests by clicking on the link below.