Presentations for Club Officer Training

Webmaster and Past District Director (2020-21) Andrew B. Watt DTM created these presentations to help address some challenges that clubs were facing, to be used as part of club officer training in June-August 2024.

Advice for
Corporate Clubs

From Prospects to Members

Public Relations and Advertising

Due to Andrew’s own technical limitations, these are the only formats in which these presentations are available. Please contact the webmaster if you’d like to see these presented by their originator to your club or District-sanctioned club officer training.

Train the Trainer Events announced

District 53 is pleased to host two events for Toastmasters who want to learn to be facilitators of Club Officer Training (COT) events, either this summer or in the future.

The two events are scheduled for:

Training will be led by David Freedman, DTM.

Members can register here directly.

Please note, attending this training does not guarantee that you will be asked to take a facilitator role. IT also does not qualify as Club Officer Training in itself; you must attend one of the other Club Officer Training events either as a facilitator or as an attending club officer, for your club to receive credit for your training.

First Summer 2024 Club Officer Trainings announced

Program Quality Directors Bettyann Peck (2023-2024), and Mohan Padamati (2024-2025) invite you to Summer Club Officer Training (COT)!

All District 53 COT events are online via Zoom!

Please see more information and register at  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/D53COT-Registration

Summer Club Officer Training is targeted for incoming club officers for the 2024-2025 program year, but all club members are welcome to attend.

The June COT dates have been scheduled, as listed below.  July and August dates will be announced soon.

Club Officer Training Ends 2/29/2024!

Hello Fellow Toastmasters!

Club Officer Training ends soon — 2/29/2024!

While District 53’s offerings are now over, there are upcoming COT sessions from across the world that remain in order for anyone needing this Club Officer Training before the Feb. 29th deadline. This is part of Goal #9 in the Distinguished Club Program (DCP) to recognize clubs of excellence — and we’d love to see your club achieve that distinction.

It will take communication, a little bit of time, and maybe even a telephone call or two, but if your clubs are not seven-of-seven officers trained, please encourage each untrained officer to attend one of these sessions!!    Trained officers make stronger clubs, stronger areas, stronger divisions, and a stronger district, which makes Toastmasters a better place for every member!  4/7 trained should be an absolute minimum — and you can check which officers are trained in your club!

Please remind officers that, if they are going to attend another district’s COT, to have them fill out the survey with the details of the club officer’s name, club, division, and role and date trained.

Yours in Toastmasters service,
Bettyann Peck, DTM
District 53 Program Quality Director 2023-2024

Winter 2023-24 Training Dates Announced!

Link to Registration: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/D53COT-Registration

Club Officer Training (Winter Season) has started and will conclude at the end of February. Several sessions have been scheduled throughout the period for your convenience. District 53 has recruited a great selection of officers from high-performance clubs to facilitate and guide your workshop sessions this year. In your sessions you’ll…

  • Attend a breakout session based on your officer role.
  • Experience quality time with other officers in the same role, sharing strategies that work.
  • Work with diverse officers in many roles across the district to get proven tactics for membership, club quality, contest programs, open houses, and other club operations.
  • Attend at least 80% (120 minutes) of any 2.5 hour session to receive training credit.

The schedule of available training dates is as follows:

  • Wednesday, November 29, 2023, 6-8:30pm
  • Thursday, December 7, 2023, 6-8:30pm
  • Saturday, December 9, 2023, 9-11:30am
  • Saturday, January 13, 2024, 9-11:30am
  • Wednesday, January 24, 2024, 6-8:30pm
  • Saturday, February 3, 2024, 9-11:30am
  • Monday, February 19, 2024, 6-8:30pm

To register for any District 53 Club Officer Training event, use the link below. All training sessions are online by Zoom. The Zoom link is provided at the end of the registration page and is also included in your registration confirmation email and the reminder email that will be sent two days before the event.

If you’d like to know which officers still need to attend officer training, you can view the current TI training report for District 53 at this link. The deadline to attend a Club Officer Training (COT) is the last day of February.

Register Here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/D53COT-Registration

If you’d like to know which officers still need to attend officer training, you can view the current TI training report for District 53 at this link. The deadline to attend a Club Officer Training (COT) is the last day of February.

Summer 2023 Club Officer Training Announced!

Program Quality Director Bettyann Peck, DTM invites you to Summer Club Officer Training (COT)!

All District 53 COT events are online!

Please see more information and register at  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/D53COT-Registration

This year we have adjusted the training to be more flexible. There will be 3 classes that each officer must take.  The first is on your specific club officer role, the second is on Club Success Planning and the third is an elective that you can choose from available options on the day you attend.
To provide you with as much scheduling flexibility as possible, some sessions offer all classes and other sessions only have one of the three required classes.  You can take all three classes on the same day or on different days to satisfy the 3-class requirement.

DateClass 1: Officer RolesClass 2: Success PlanningClass 3: Electives
06/12/2312:00 pm
06/14/233:00 pm 4:00 pm 5:00 pm
06/15/236:00 pm7:00 pm8:00 pm
06/17/239:00 am10:00 am11:00 am
06/20/2312:00 pm
06/21/236:00 pm7:00 pm8:00 pm
06/28/236:00 pm7:00 pm8:00 pm
06/29/2312:00 pm
07/13/2312:00 pm
07/15/239:00 am10:00 am11:00 am
07/17/236:00 pm 7:00 pm8:00 pm
07/19/2312:00 pm
07/22/239:00 am10:00 am11:00 am
07/24/2312:00 pm

Register at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/D53COT-Registration

Goal 9 of the Distinguished Club Program is to get 4 or more officers trained each 6 months. But we are asking that each club set a goal to get all officers trained. Research has shown that clubs with all officers trained are much more successful. 

Train the Trainers Events

District Program Quality Director Patti Walter, DTM, is pleased to announce trainings for interested persons who would like to help facilitate the Club Officer Training sessions during the June to August 2023 training season — Train the Trainers!

The Train the Trainers sessions, for people willing to be facilitators for the Club Officer Trainings in June, July and August 2023, will take place on:

  • May 25, 2023 at 6:30 pm (Zoom link below)
  • May 30, 2023 at 6:30 pm (Zoom link below)

Facilitators…

  • give keynote addressess
  • lead conversations on officer roles in the club
  • facilitate sharing between people new to roles and old hands
  • guide and direct new club officers in their duties
  • help draw wisdom and experience from those who’ve done this role before

The skills you learn as a facilitator include…

  • Giving a presentation from an outline and script you did not create;
  • learning to make a canned presentation your own
  • managing time in an hour-long presentation
  • managing an audience which isn’t just your club’s members

As a facilitator, or a facilitator-in-training, you also…

  • make contacts beyond your own club
  • learn to hear from a diversity of voices
  • learn to summarize and synthesize a range of opinions quickly
  • learn your own role in the club from other Toastmasters in different situations

Join an upcoming Train the Trainer session, and contribute to your club, Area, Division and District’s success!

Topic: Train the Trainer
Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime

Join Zoom Meeting

Officer Roles: Help Your Club Grow & Succeed!

You signed up for Toastmasters to work on your leadership skills. Now, it’s time to lead.

Your club needs YOU to succeed.

And it doesn’t take more than an hour or two a month.

The first week of May is officer election time. We are all contributing members to our clubs. It is ALL our responsibilities to help the club succeed.

If it’s your turn to step up for your club, here are some things to think about:


Which Officer Role should you volunteer for?

If you’re at almost every meeting. If you enjoy encouraging others and leading a team to success. If you DON’T like a lot of admin type work, you will enjoy the President role.

If you have attention to detail and like numbers and data, you will enjoy the Treasurer role.

If you like taking notes and tracking action steps to keep your team on track to success, you will enjoy the Secretary role.

If you like guiding people towards growth and encouraging them to challenge themselves. If you like ensuring that those acts are rewarded and recognized, you will enjoy the Vice President of Education role.

If you like sharing socially and spreading the word about Toastmasters and your club, you will enjoy the Vice President of Public Relations role.

If you like nurturing relationships and welcoming new members, you will enjoy the Vice President of Membership role.

If you like creating a positive, focused, welcoming environment, you will enjoy the Sergeant-At-Arms role.


Time Commitments for each Officer Roles

President: commit to showing up to as many meetings as possible to lead

VP of Education: connect briefly with members at meetings or outside of the meetings about their Pathways progress. Update Basecamp and TI as needed.

VP of Membership: Check-in with members when their attendance is lagging and communicate with inquiries and guests

VP of Public Relations: find opportunities to promote the club in your area and online

Treasurer: main duties happen twice a year in renewal periods

Secretary: attend as many meetings as possible to take appropriate notes. Update TI as needed.

Sergeant-At-Arms:  commit to showing up to as many meetings as possible to ensure the room (virtual or in-person) is set up


Key tasks for success:

President (Role Overview):

  • Provide positive leadership to all officers and members
  • Build a cohesive team and ensure all tasks are completed
  • Oversee and facilitate club meetings
  • Lead by example and treat all members fairly and equally

VP of Education (Role Overview):

  • Set club agenda and assign meeting roles
  • Manage member progress in Pathways and act as the primary Base Camp Manager
  • Encourage member engagement in the Pathways learning experience
  • Plan speech contests (with help from your officer team)

VP of Membership (Role Overview):

  • Initiate contact with guests and help them feel welcome
  • Provide hospitality and membership information for guests
  • Reply to all communications from prospective members in a timely manner
  • Manage the process of converting guests to members

VP of Public Relations (Role Overview):

  • Promote the club to eligible guests and notify the media regarding the club’s existence and benefits
  • Develop and maintain club social media pages and website
  • Create club publicity campaigns
  • Ensure the Club Contact and Meeting Information is up to date in Club Central

Treasurer (Role Overview):

  • Record and maintain accurate and up-to-date financial club records
  • Manage club bank account, make deposits, and write checks as approved
  • Collect and submit membership and renewal dues
  • Create a budget and lead an annual audit

Secretary (Role Overview):

  • Take minutes at club and executive committee meetings
  • Organize and maintain club records and files
  • Update and distribute membership rosters
  • Update the club and officer list at Toastmasters International

Sergeant-At-Arms (Role Overview):

  • Store club equipment and materials
  • Manage meeting facilities (virtual and/or in-person)
  • Provide hospitality and membership information for guests
  • Distribute club materials

Important final note: YOU ARE NOT ALONE! There is a team of District Leaders that have your back. Find out who your Area and Division Directors are. Attend Officer Training in the spring and fall and ASK QUESTIONS! We are here to help you and your club succeed AND have fun doing it 🙂


Essential Resources from Toastmasters International:

Need Club Officer Training? Check These Out

You can attend a Club Officer Training in another Toastmasters District.  If you do, be sure to post your training date and the District attended at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AlternateCOT.  We will reach out to the other district to validate your training attendance.  We can’t guarantee your club will get training credit unless you post your attendance in this AlternateCOT log.

Listed below are several opportunities that we selected because they are all online and have a format similar to what we use in District 53.  All times listed have been adjusted to EST.

DateTimeHost DistrictRegistration Link
Mon, 01-30-239:30-11:00pmDistrict 1 (CA)Register
Sat, 02-04-2310:00am-2:00pmDistrict 27 (VA, DC, MD)Register
Mon, 02-06-239:30-11:00pmDistrict 1 (CA)Register
Sat, 02-11-2310:00am-NoonDistrict 46 (NY)Register
Sat, 02-11-2312:30pm-2:30pmDistrict 46 (NY)Register
Sun, 02-12-232:00pm-4:00pmDistrict 36 (DC, MD)Register
Wed 02-15-236:00pm-9:00pmDistrict 10 (OH)Register
Wed, 02-15-239:00pm-12:00amDistrict 57 (CA)Register
Wed, 02-16-236:00pm-8:30 pmDistrict 10 (OH)Register
Sat, 02-18-2310:00am-1:00pmDistrict 14 (GA)Register
Sat, 02-18-2311:45am-3:00pmDistrict 39 (CA)Register
Tue, 02-21-239:00-11:00pmDistrict 101 (CA)Register
Wed, 02-23-236:00-9:00pmDistrict 10 (OH)Register
Thu, 02-23-239:00pm-12:00amDistrict 57 (CA)Register
Sat, 02-25-2311:00am-1:00pmDistrict 36 (DC, MD)Register
Sat, 02-25-2312:00noon-2:00pmDistrict 101 (CA)Register
Tue, 02-28-237:00-9:30pmDistrict 83 (NY, NJ)Register

From the PQD – 12 February 2023

We are 2 months into 2023 and there is so much that has happened — and so much to come.

Here is what is going on with Program Quality, which deals with our education, training, and contest programs.

Patti Walter, Program Quality Director

Officer Training: Officer training is completed. My thanks for the help of Chad Babcock. Stephanie Roy and Mohan Padamati, who put the program together. Also, thanks to the number of facilitators that stepped up to present at one of our sessions. Missed training? Don’t worry! If you missed training you can find other Districts’ trainings on our website.

Conference: COME ONE COME ALL!!!! TICKETS ARE ON SALE!!! Come join us at our 2023 spring conference. “SPRINGboard to Success.” The committee has planned a jammed pack day. Make a weekend of it and spend Sunday at the Basketball of Fame or MGM studios. Accredited Speaker Joe Grondin DTM will be doing our keynote along with other sessions. Come see old friends and make new ones. Looking forward to seeing you all.

Contests: The contest season is upon us. Area contests are under way and Division Contest will follow shortly afterwards. Consider volunteering for a functionary position or a judge if you are qualified. Send me an email at pqd@d53tm.org and I will get your name to our Chief Judge Andrew B. Watt DTM. A list of the scheduled contests is on our d53tm website. Come enjoy some great speakers.

Also remember we have other monthly events going on such as MMEP and Officer Forums. MMEP is open to all members and is held the first Wednesday of the month. This is a great place for members to get their questions answered and learn more about Toastmasters. It is held the first Wed of the month. The Officer Forum was created to give officers a chance to network. With elections coming up soon this is a great place to introduce potential officers to the role. So bring a guest or two…Dates and details can be found in our monthly newsletter and on this District calendar. (Note: if you are not receiving our monthly newsletter, please let me know so we can add you to the list at pqd@d53tm.org.

Remember, we are a village. I am asking you to step up to the plate and help us. The District has many volunteer positions open. Many will fit nicely into your Level 4 and Level 5 projects. Even if you only have 1 or 2 hours a week or 2 hours total, we can find something for you to do to build your confidence as a public speaker, and develop your leadership skills!

Patti Walter
District 53 Program Quality Director