D53 Blog

Meet Your 2025 Keynote!

Meet your keynote speaker for this year’s 2025 Annual District Conference, Farzana Chohan, DTM — our Toastmasters International Director!

Toastmasters International Director Farzana Chohan, DTM, wearing a blue blazer and a blue-and-white blouse, with her hair partially down. The background is partially lawn and partially forest.
International Director for Region 5,
Farzana Chohan, DTM

Farzana Chohan, DTM, of Chesterfield, Missouri, is a leadership human-excellence strategist for Optimize Excellence, and has worked in the design thinking industry for over 20 years. In her current role, she leads and tracks the impact of strategic initiatives focused on community engagements, education, equity, inclusion, and culture of belonging.

Chohan earned a doctorate degree in management from Webster University in Webster Groves, Missouri. She additionally holds a master’s of architecture degree and has completed certification in project management and cognitive behavioral therapy. Chohan has served on the board of Women in Healthcare and the board of the Human Development Foundation (North America). She is a TEDx speaker, and the author of SUBTLE: Phenomenon of “Social Unconscious Biases, Terminating Larger Equity” (Amazon) and Leadership IN Women (Powell’s)

A Toastmaster since 2010, Chohan is a member of her home club, Aspiring Speakers in St. Louis. She has held several high-profile leadership positions within Toastmasters and has attained the Distinguished Toastmaster designation—the highest level of educational achievement in the organization.

“Everyone around the world can benefit personally and professionally in articulating convincing thoughts and growing as a leader,” she says.

As a member of the Toastmasters International Board of Directors, Chohan is a “working ambassador” for the organization. She works with the Board to develop, support, and modify the policies and procedures that guide Toastmasters International in fulfilling its mission.

Register today!

Area C32 Contest Results

Area C32 Director Annette Wright is pleased to announce the results of the C32 Speech contests held on Monday, 13 January 2025.

A big round of applause for our contestants and our functionaries who made our contest a success!   Please come out and support your fellow Toastmasters as they compete at the Division level on Saturday March 15th at the Manchester Church of Christ.   All of the details can be found here: https://d53tm.org/division-area-contest-schedule/.  Please also let our Division C Director Aimee Soucy know at  DivCDir@d53tm.org, if you can help out at the contest.

AND THE AREA C32 WINNERS ARE……..

For Table Topics:

For International:

Area D41 Contest Winners announced!

Area D41 Director Kate Scarcella is pleased to announce the results of the D41 Speech contests held on Monday, 27 January 2025.

Thank you so much to all of you that competed, filled roles, and supported our Area Contest. It was so great to see all of your smiling faces as we cheered on our fellow Toastmasters as they stepped out of their comfort zones and competed in both the Table Topics and International Speech Contests.  If you missed it, you can (and should!) see our winners compete at the Division D Contest on 15 March 2025 in Manchester, CT!

AND THE WINNERS ARE……..

For Table Topics:

For International:

Check out those smiling faces in the attached picture and please come and support our 1st and 2nd place winners at the Division Contest at the Manchester Church of Christ on March 15th at 11:15am!  All of the details can be found here: https://d53tm.org/division-area-contest-schedule/.  Please also let our Division Director Stephanie Roy know if you can help out at the contest.

Curious about Speechcraft?

Advanced Toastmasters know that the path to even greater success lies not in giving speeches of your own, but in helping others become better speakers themselves. We learn a great deal about our ability to speak from coaching others — especially when we work with beginners and help them achieve the early levels of mastery.

One of the ways to do this is to use the Toastmasters Speechcraft program. Designed partly to serve as a fundraiser and recruiting effort for your club, and partly as a way to grow your skills as a leader and coach and facilitator, the Speechcraft program is intended to help you help others. As a coordinator, you’ll be in a position to help five non-members trying to become better speakers through a four- to eight-week program in public speaking. You’ll get credit toward the Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) award; and people who complete the Speechcraft program are just a speech or two away from being Level 1 Toastmasters themselves when they become members of your club.

Want to learn more?

If you want to talk with someone who’s knowledgable about running the speech craft program, please reach out to our Club Growth Director at cgd@d53tm.org.

Youth Leadership Programs: a step to DTM

As we embark on the next century of Toastmasters, we are committed to supporting the next generations of communicators and leaders. 

Have you ever considered conducting a session of the Toastmasters training program for young people in your community, called a Youth Leadership Program (YLP). This could be part of your effort toward earning your Distinguished Toastmaster award!

Even if you are just investigating these programs – District 53 would love to know how the Program Quality team can better support YOU and the young people you mentor in the coming months and years to come. 

To learn more, check out the Youth Leadership Program at Toastmasters.org, and contact our Program Quality Director at pqd@d53tm.org for more information.

Standard Toastmasters image of four people (three men and a woman), dressed in "business casual" and shaking hands, smiling and greeting one another.

February: Bring A Guest Month!

Standard Toastmasters image of four people (three men and a woman), dressed in "business casual" and shaking hands, smiling and greeting one another.
Bringing a guest widens your network of colleagues, friends, and influences.

Hey D53! Think of February as “Bring A Guest Month!” Challenge each other to bring a guest to every club meeting in February. 

Invite:

  • Family
  • Friends
  • Co-Workers
  • Community Members
  • Anyone who wants to become a more confident communicator or leader

And remember: When a guest attends your meeting, invite them to join the club. Sometimes, guests just need to be asked. ☺

Flyer for Conference 2025

The 2025 Conference Committee is pleased to provide members with this flyer outlining the planned agenda and highlights from this year’s District Conference, May 16-17, 2025 in Troy, NY!

Please consider distributing this flyer to your club’s members either by email or in person, to get them excited about attending and participating in our annual District-wide celebration and educational experience!

Nominations for the C&L Award are Open

District 53 is pleased to announce that Terry Goodemote, DTM, has been named the Chair of the Communication and Leadership Award Committee for the 2024-2025 program year. Nominations for the Communication and Leadership Award are now open. If you have questions about the process, you can reach out to Terry Goodemote at clchair@d53tm.org.

The nomination period closes on Sunday, 24 March 2025.

Communication & Leadership Award
The Communication and Leadership Award

The Communication and Leadership Award is given each year to the non-Toastmaster individual that exemplifies quality leadership and communications skills across our District. We look for people that have a strong regional or state-wide impact in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts, and deliver high-quality results with superior attention to communication and messaging.

The winner will be expected to deliver a speech at the District 53 Annual Conference in Troy, NY on 17 May 2025.

Call for Nominations

Dear District Leaders,

Happy New Year!

As this year’s Chair of the District Leadership Committee, I’m inviting you to become participants in the process by which we nominate, interview and elect candidates for our District Leadership positions.

In this news item, I am Publishing the Call for Candidate Declarations and Nominations, which will be open until 19 February 2025.

I am who I am today because of Toastmasters leadership. I know that many people feel this way, and say this often. Our development starts in the club with our education program — but it grows in the leadership roles in the club, and even more so in District leadership as Area Directors, Division Directors, and with the higher levels of District leadership as Club Growth Director, Program Quality Director and District Director. I experienced the greatest amount of growth in these roles, and I think this is true for all of the District leaders who have previously held these roles. You will experience this same kind of exponential growth in leadership. There you will encounter the challenges of listening to others who think differently than you do, and building shared values toward the achievements of goals and missions. It is in leadership roles that we build community and common ground together.

The mission, should you accept it, will begin with entering the nominations process as a candidate, now. This is where you will learn how to present yourself as a candidate, run an effective election campaign, follow the ethical and corporate guidelines for elections, and manage your expectations. If elected, you will learn to manage budgets, direct education programs, and do outreach to organizations beyond Toastmasters. If you’re uncertain about these sorts of roles, consider taking a role as a club officer as practice this year, and come forward to District leadership next year.

At our annual business meeting this spring, we will elect these members of our District Executive Committee:

  • one (1) District Director to lead our District;
  • one (1) Program Quality Director to lead our education and contest programming;
  • one (1) Club Growth Director to lead our outreach, marketing and membership retention efforts;
  • and five (5) Division Directors to lead, mentor and coach our twenty-five Area Directors, and to run Division-level programs for our District

Additionally, the District will need 20 to 25 Area Directors to visit clubs, to coach club officers, to lead and facilitate educational programming, and to lead Area- and Division-level contests.

International President Radhi Spear would be delighted if you put your name forward, or any other qualified candidate, from your Club, your Area, or your Division — or anyone you know in the District!

Any person in the District may nominate any other person in the District for any of these eight roles. You may nominate yourself, as well. Each Nominator or (self-nominated Toastmaster) should review these four documents, and mail filled-out copies of these nomination forms to nominations@d53tm.org, so I can distribute them to the District Leadership Committee.

Please review some additional election resources below.

I hope that I will get to meet you soon as a declared candidate for one of District 53’s eight exciting elected District leadership opportunities!

Sincerely,
Jeff Sobel, DTM PID
Chair, District Leadership Committee 2024-2025