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.
- Call for Nominations Form
- District Leader Nominating Form
- District Leader Agreement and Release Statement
- District Leader Biographical Information Form
- You will also need a recent photograph showing your face and shoulders at sufficient size.
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