Officer Updates

Fellow Toastmasters of District 53,

We have some updates on District officer assignments.

I have received notification from John J. Hogan, DTM that he has to step back as the chair of the District Leadership Committee (DLC), although he will remain as Immediate Past District Director.  I have appointed Andrew B. Watt DTM, Past District Director 2020-2021, to lead the DLC until such time as John may or may not resume his duties. Both the resignation and the appointment take effect as of 9 February 2024 at 3:00 pm Eastern Time, to maintain the DLC’s continuity. Please forward all paperwork for the nominations process to Andrew B. Watt at nomination@d53tm.org from this point forward — Nominations are due by February 15, this week! John can be reached separately at ipdd@d53tm.org, although we ask you not to present him with any non-urgent communications at this time.

I’m also pleased to report that Kate Scarcella CL EC3, has been appointed as District 53’s Club Extension Chair, one of the committees under Club Growth. More information will be forthcoming about her role in the near future. If you know of a possible club location, or would be interested in helping organize new clubs in District 53, please contact Kate at ClubExtChair@d53tm.org.

In Toastmasters service,
Patti Walter, DTM
District Director 2023-2024

Call for Nominations

Greetings to all of you from the District Leadership Committee!

This notice serves as the official Call for Candidates as mandated by Protocol 9 of Toastmasters International Governing Documents. District 53 seeks qualified candidates for the following offices:

  • Five Division Directors, one or more candidates for each Division: A, B, C, D, and E.
  • Club Growth Director, two or more candidates
  • Program Quality Director, one or more candidates
  • District Director, one or more candidates

Time is of the essence. Nominations are open now. Nominations shall close at 11:59 pm (EST) on February 15, 2024. Please read Form 450b, the Official Toastmasters Call for District Officer Nominations

All nominations, including incomplete nominations, received after this date and time shall be considered to have been received late and will not be evaluated nor scheduled for interview by the DLC. 

Any Toastmaster who self-nominates or is nominated by another Toastmaster after this date and time MAY have the option of running as a Floor Candidate. There are limiting criteria for running as a Floor Candidate. Don’t delay: submit your nomination today!

A complete nomination will include the following five items:

  1. Candidate Application Form
  2. District Leader Nominating Form
  3. Officer Agreement and Release Form
  4. District Leader Biographical Information
  5. Headshot image (JPG, 225 x 150 pixels)

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

Call for District Candidates

If you are interested in leading your District in building new clubs and supporting all clubs in achieving excellence, watch this video from 2023-2024 International President Morag Mathieson.

Please direct all questions to me at either nominations@D53tm.org or to IPDD@d53tm.org.

Yours in Toastmasters service,
John J. Hogan, DTM, IPDD
Chair – District Leadership Committee

Nominations Committee 2023-24

District Director Patti Walter and Immediate Past District Director John J. Hogan are pleased to announce the membership for this year’s District Leadership Committee, which handles the nominations process for elected officers to the roles of District Director, Program Quality Director, Club Growth Director, and the five Division Director positions.

You can review this year’s first call for nominations here.

The 2023-2024 District 53 Leadership Committee is complete as follows:

  • Chair John J. Hogan, DTM, IPDD
  • Division A – Sharon Mercado, DTM, PDD
  • Division B – Richard Frantz, Jr. DTM, PDD
  • Division C – David Pelland, DTM
  • Division D – Steve Lanning, DTM
  • Division E –  Mary (Beth) Van Kempen, MS1

Despite these names listed here, all nominations for the listed roles, or inquiries about the nominations process generally, should go either to nominations@D53tm.org or to IPDD@d53tm.org. Do not contact the members of the committee individually about the nomination process or the status of any specific nomination; always send nominations and inquiries to me as the chair of the committee.

Yours in Toastmasters service,
John J. Hogan, DTM
Immediate Past District Director

First Call for Nominations

“The time has come, the Walrus said, to talk of many things.”

Through The Looking-Glass, Lewis Carroll, 1871

Dear Toastmasters of District 53:

Lewis Carroll may have been poking fun at monarchy, religion, nonsense as reason, or myriad other subjects, but my intent is clear. It is time to begin the conversation for District 53 Leadership in the 2024-2025 program year!

“What’s that, Hogan? We’re barely through the first quarter of THIS program year!”

To maintain continuity of leadership and member services, developing our district’s leadership is an ongoing endeavor. District Director Walter has asked me to chair this year’s District Leadership Committee (DLC), and I have enthusiastically accepted her request. The DLC will seek qualified candidates for several offices:

  • Division Director – there are five vacancies; all five must be filled.
  • Club Growth Director – at least two candidates are required; more are welcome.
  • Program Quality Director – at least one candidate is required; more are welcome.
  • District Director – at least one candidate is required; more are welcome.

Perhaps you have been considering one or more of these roles for some time. NOW is the time to throw your hat into the ring and take decisive action. Perhaps you are saying to yourself, “I don’t know if I am qualified to run for one of these offices.” If this is you, I have a great opportunity for you! Join me for one of two Meeting for Future Leaders of District 53 events. These sessions will be on Zoom, and they will be 30 minutes in duration.

  • Saturday, October 21, 2023 – 9:00-9:30 am.
  • Thursday, October 26, 2023 – 7:00-7:30 pm.

Use this link for both: https://tinyurl.com/Future-Leaders-of-District-53

In the meantime, feel free to drop an email with any questions to IPDD@d53tm.org

Thanks for reading this message to its end, future District Leader!

John J. Hogan DTM
Immediate Past District Director 2023-2024

District 53 appoints Leadership Committee

10 December 2022

District 53 is pleased to report the appointment of the District Leadership Committee (DLC) for 2022-2023.

Akihiro Ishii, IPDD 2022-23
Aki Ishii, Immediate Past District Director

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

Immediate Past District Director Akihiro Ishii DTM will chair the committee, as previously reported. All other seats on the committee are filled according to the rules set forth for the committee in the Toastmasters Governing Documents, namely that each division be equally represented. 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.

The committee representatives are:

  • For Division A: John Lewis, DTM
  • For Division B: Rich Dirksen, DTM
  • For Division C: Bette McIntire, DTM
  • For Division D: Roger Brown, DTM
  • For Division E: Donna Sobel, DTM

A page explaining candidate nominations and committee processes is found here. Interested candidates and persons wishing to nominate others may write to nominations.@D53tm.org. Elections will be held at the Spring Business Meeting, currently scheduled for May 2023, and officers elected will serve from July 1, 2023 until June 30, 2024.

The deadline for nominations is 7 March 2023.