District Leadership Committee

Updated: March 12, 2024

Elections 2023-2024

John J. Hogan, DTM, Immediate Past District Director
Andrew
Andrew B. Watt, DTM, Past District Director, interim chair of DLC

Please Review:

Potential Candidates should review…

And then fill out…

Applications Forms

Please submit all the following forms to the District Leadership Committee Chair at the email address nominations@d53tm.orgs\

Be sure to read the role descriptions for District Officers, and the core competencies learned in these roles, in the District Leadership Handbook.

  • Thank you
    by Andrew Watt, DTM

    Fellow Toastmasters,

    I want to take a moment to thank all the people that brought us to today’s Business Meeting, and the election of our District officers for 2024-2025’s program year: the District Leadership committee members who interviewed a total of ten candidates for Division Director roles and the District trio roles; the members who nominated their fellow Toastmasters to these offices; the functionaries and presenters who helped run Tuesday’s Candidate Showcase; and the candidates themselves, who approached the roles for which they’re running with thoughtfulness and humility.

    On Monday, 8 April 2024 — I took time off from preparing for today to rush three hours north to see the total eclipse of the Sun. We spent three hours traveling north, before we found a suitable spot on an access road to a field outside Middlebury, VT. There was an unplanned encampment of about 100 cars along this gravel road, where my wife and I sat with a nice stranger named Mary whose brother asked her to go in his place (he was stuck at home with a fever of 100°), and some kids who were much more interested in playing in the mud and their harried parents, and a Indian family of maybe 30 people who had come in at least six cars in a caravan.  There were some teenagers who had road-tripped from Boston.  Together, we watched as the Moon took a bite out of the Sun through our eclipse glasses, and then swallowed the whole thing.  It took no more than two minutes, and it started ending almost as soon as it began.  We hung out another 15 minutes, but mindful of a long drive home getting longer with traffic by the minute, we pulled out onto the highway. Then we drove home, 3 hours of back roads, going the speed limit the whole way and uninterrupted by traffic or delay. 

    Those two minutes changed me, even so. Six hours of driving on unfamiliar roads, for a sight — stunning in its majesty — of a ring of light in the sky with a darkness at its heart.  I think that at least one of the ways I’ll subdivide my life in the future is “before I saw a total eclipse of the sun” and “after I saw a total eclipse of the sun.” 

    There’s no telling if being a District officer will change you in the same way — but I certainly think of my life as divided in two parts, “before District service” and “after District service.”  Yesterday I went to my town’s Annual Caucus, and agreed to be nominated to run in the election for Select Board, the committee of three that runs my tiny town.  I wouldn’t have had the courage to do that before I was a District Officer — and now I do.  My former fears… have perhaps been… eclipsed by a recognition of both my personal competence, and a desire to be of service.

    May today’s Business Meeting, where we elect our slate of District officers for the 2024-2025 program year, be the start of something similarly large, for all of us — and especially our candidates.

    Sincerely,
    Andrew B. Watt, DTM
    Past District Director 2020-2021
    Interim Chair, District 53 Leadership Committee 2023-2024

Upcoming Deadlines

Current News

Roles and Positions

The DLC will be conducting interviews for candidates for the following elected positions:

  1. District Director
  2. Program Quality Director
  3. Club Growth Director
  4. Division A Director
  5. Division B Director
  6. Division C Director
  7. Division D Director
  8. Division E Director

Other appointed candidates may be interviewed as well for other roles:

  • Financial Manager
  • Administrative Manager
  • Public Relations Manager
  • Area Directors

About Elections

A district leader has one of the most important leadership roles within Toastmasters International. The success of the district, its clubs and the members within each club depends on how well the district leaders execute the responsibilities of their office.

The District Leadership Committee (DLC) is seeking qualified candidates to serve in a number of elected and appointed leadership roles from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.

Service in any of the elected roles (District Director, Program Quality Director, Club Growth Director, or the five Division Director roles) or appointed (any of the Area Directorships, District Finance Manager, District Administrative Manager, or Public Relations Manager) roles will earn you a district leadership credit towards your Distinguished Toastmaster award. Please forward your nominees, either self-nominated or suitable candidates in your club, Area, or Division, to nominations@d53tm.org.

About the District Leadership Committee

The DLC interviews and recommends candidates to the senior elected roles of District Leadership: all Division Directors (DivDs), the District Club Growth Director (CGD), the District Program Quality Director (PQD), and the District Director (DD).

Under normal circumstances, the Immediate Past District Director chairs the committee. All other seats on the committee are filled according to the rules set forth for the committee in the Toastmasters Governing Documents, especially Protocol 9.0. The Committee’s guiding rules are found in the District Administrative Bylaws, and the protocols and policies governing District elections. The DLC Handbook and the resource page at Toastmasters.org are an important set of guides to the work of the committee.