1 June 2023

Greetings Toastmasters of District 53,

John J. Hogan, District Director

District 53 Toastmasters,

Here is an opportunity for you to meet with incoming District Director Patti Walter and outgoing District Director John Hogan.

This is the final “Coffee Hour With the District Director” for the program year.

In this informal and unstructured Zoom event, Patti and I are available to answer your questions. The only agenda is your interest and concerns.

Please join us for this Zoom event on Saturday, June 10, from 8:30-9:30 am.

Thank you!

Yours in Toastmasters service,
John J. Hogan, DTM
District Director 2022-2023

Monday, 22 May 2023

Fellow Toastmasters —

.Patti Walter, Program Quality Director

Conference is over, elections have been held, and there’s so much left to do between now and June 30. You should be well on your way to electing officers for next year, and posting the results of your elections to Toastmasters.org. Officer training begins June 1 for all club officers — and we’ll be holding live, in-person sessions this year as well as online training.

I wrote up a great recap of the events of our District Conference, which is available here — so much fantastic stuff happened, there’s not space here to put it all!

I look forward to seeing some of you at our Train the Trainer events, for helping people who’d like to be facilitators for Summer Club Officer Training events to prepare for these roles.

Yours in Toastmasters service,

Patti Walter
District 53 Program Quality Director

16 January 2023

Greetings fellow Toastmasters!

Bettyann Peck, Club Growth Director

We all know Toastmasters love to connect, so take advantage of it — Let’s Talk Up Toastmasters! This exciting membership program starting February 1, 2023, is the chance to encourage your members to invite guests to a special meeting where prospective members can learn about Toastmasters’ many benefits.

Here’s how it works for your club:

  • When you add five new, dual, or reinstated members with a join date between February 1 and March 31, you’ll receive a special Talk up Toastmasters ribbon to 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 other offers
Applications and payments for members with a join date between February 1 and March 31
must be received at World Headquarters or online no later than March 31. The addition of
transfer and charter members does not count towards Talk Up Toastmasters credit.

I look forward to seeing the remarkable results of your efforts that will benefit you and your
clubs!


Yours in Toastmasters Service,

Bettyann Peck
Club Growth Director, 2022-23

2023 Conference
6 May 2022 — Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place —
Springfield, Massachusetts

Conference Registration Is Live!

Get the Early Bird discounted rate for a limited time!  Rate ends April 7, 2023.

Register here.

See the video welcome to the District 53 Conference from International President Matt Kinsey!

Recent District News

Click HERE to see All District News

Congratulations: New Clubs!

We are excited to welcome two new clubs…

  • Big Y Toastmasters of Springfield, MA!
  • Voya Toastmasters of Windsor, CT!

We congratulate and welcome the charter members of these clubs to District 53, and we look forward to seeing them at upcoming events like Club Officer Forums, Monthly Member Education, and Club Officer Training days!

Sincerely,
Bettyann Peck, DTM
Club Growth Director, 2022-23

Upcoming District Events

District 53 Podcast

Club Officer
Forums

Read about our new offering, the Club Officer Forums, where club officers can meet and connect with other officers in the same role from across the district from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm. You’ll have a chance to share your best practices, work through your concerns and obstacles, and develop new ideas into action plans. Read more about them here.

Monthly Member Education Program

MMEP is a members monthly educational program. Join using the link on our District Calendar for the specific date! Or put it on your calendar, and use the Zoom Link provided here:  https://tinyurl.com/D53-1st-Wed

1st Wednesday. of each month — next on February 1st at 7:00 pm! (December’s Topic: How and When to Use our Social Media Sites)

March topic: March 1st at 7 pm! Navigating Pathways, come with any questions you have. We promise to either answer them or get answers to them.

Need more information or want to suggest a topic? Contact PQD Patti Walter at pqd@d53tm.org

Volunteer Opportunities

The Volunteer Opportunities page has been updated – 18 August 2022.

If you have additional volunteer opportunities to post, let us know!

Our District Mission…
We build new clubs and support all clubs in achieving excellence.

Coronavirus Update – Revised November 21, 2021 – Review New Information

As vaccinations proceed apace across New York State, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, there is hope for a return to in-person meetings in the future. Public health agencies and officials are starting to loosen mask restrictions and travel limits, and more facilities are opening to semi public meetings.

Since each Toastmasters club is an independent entity, each club may decide to return to in-person meetings by a majority vote at a regularly scheduled and announced business meeting. The District suggests that a committee of club members develop a procedure that meets local public health guidelines and satisfies any requirements imposed by the host venue. Please include processes for members and guests to attend virtually wherever possible in your club guidelines. Know also that your club and its officers have insurance to protect you against physical damage to your host facilities, but that this protection may not extend to claims arising from a member or guest’s health care.

District 53 Toastmasters has a more complex route back to in-person meetings than individual clubs. Many of our historic venues for TLIs, Club Officer Training, and District meetings are still closed to outsiders, and are choosing to remain so until later this year.

For a complete update with important new information, go to the District 53 Coronavirus Update.