Tag: officer training

Greetings from Nassau!

Posted on | by Andrew Watt, DTM

Hello, fellow Toastmasters!

It was a busy week for the D53 District Trio on-site in Nassau, Bahamas for District Officer Training and the Toastmasters International Convention. Just like the training our Club officers, Area and Division Directors are required to attend, we too have completed our training as well and it was amazing. I’m super excited to bring back to our district the things needed to help our clubs achieve excellence in District 53!

District 53 Program Quality Director Bettyann Peck, DTM, in front of the Toastmasters logo and holding a portable Toastmasters logo, at the 2023 International Convention

Member engagement, quality club meetings and education excellence was the forefront of our PQD sessions along with building new clubs. District Conferences were on everyone’s agendas as well during several days of intense PQD training sessions. Meeting with Program Quality Directors from around the globe was immensely helpful to gaining insight on what we all need to do: We build new clubs and help existing clubs to achieve excellence!

Congratulations to the Club Officers that attended the required Summer Club Officer Training (COT) sessions held in June, July and August and a huge thanks to all the facilitators that conducted the sessions over the last three months. As you know, the updated club officers list required by June 31, 2023 is the way officers can be notified about training. We have added makeup COT sessions to assist those clubs that missed it and that can be found on our website d53tm.org. You can also attend in other districts!

I’m thrilled to announce that our SC2024 Conference Co-Chairs Richard E. Peck, DTM, PIP and David Freedman, DTM have already started preliminary steps to provide you with a great District conference and we will provide additional details as things progress. Be on the lookout for “Save the Date” notifications from Public Relations Manager Zahary Fisk in the district newsletter as well as on our website.

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

Summer 2023 Club Officer Training Announced!

Posted on | by Andrew Watt, DTM

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. 

Officer Roles: Help Your Club Grow & Succeed!

Posted on | by Stephanie Roy

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:

District Officer Training Dates

Posted on | by Andrew Watt, DTM

August 25, 2023

Just like Club Officers, your District Officers (senior team, Division Directors and Area Directors) go to training as well! The following is the calendar and brief descriptions of each training that the District Officers are expected to participate in over the next several weeks.

The District Officer Training dates for the 2023-2024 program year have been announced:

Link to event: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85988949476?pwd=eDFHSDRROGdOWWppUURKOEtNN2E1UT09

What’s in these educational sessions?

  • Area Director Expectations: The role of Area Director is that of visitor, coach and guide to the officers of four to six clubs in a geographical area. For some Area Directors in District 53, this can be five clubs in the same city. For others, it can be widely spread clubs more than two hours apart. In this session, you’ll learn what’s expected of Area Directors in District 53, and how to create a successful experience for yourself and for the officers of the clubs in your care.
  • Effective Area Council Meetings: The Area Director has a team of people to help them coordinate the work of clubs when they work together — the President and the three Vice Presidents of each club are voting members of the Area Council, which decides local matters of importance to those clubs. How can you get them working together where it matters?
  • Effective Division Council Meetings: The Division Director is a “coach of coaches,” lending support and guidance to the Area Directors that make up their division. How can you lead effective meetings for this group, and how can you work together to bring clubs to success, together?
  • Building Successful Teams: If an Area Director or Division Director did everything they were supposed to by themselves… they’d be exhausted. An Area or Division Director needs a team, and as a Toastmaster you have to know how to build a successful team to achieve your objectives.
  • Successful Club Visits: Twice a year, a District officer is required to visit a club and to report on its conformity with the Toastmasters brand, its successes, and its opportunities for growth. This officer is usually the club’s Area Director, who files a written report on the Toastmasters.org website (under District Central) by the end of November and the end of May. We’ll talk about how to conduct yourself during this visit, and what kinds of things you should be alert to, and report on, to your District’s other officers.
  • Coaching Clubs to Enhanced Quality: Many clubs don’t just want to be clubs; they want to be distinguished clubs, or select distinguished clubs, or even president’s distinguished clubs. We’ll talk in this session about the strategies for achieving that goal.
  • Establishing and Supporting New Clubs: The District Mission is “We build new clubs and support all clubs in achieving excellence.” Creating — chartering — new clubs is the first part of our mission. We’ll learn how that goal is accomplished in this session, and what each officer can do to support this mission-critical goal.
  • Organizing Speech Contests: In order to be a champion, a speaker in the International Contest or one of the other Toastmasters contest cycles (Humorous, Table Topics, Tall Tales, and Evaluation) has to advance from a club contest to an Area Contest, a Division Contest, and a District Contest. In this session, we’ll learn how to create a fun and exciting Speech Contest experience for contestants and functionaries alike.
  • Thriving in the District Recognition Program: Just as clubs have the metrics of the Distinguished Club Program (DCP), District officers have their own metrics for success to be designated as a Distinguished, Select Distinguished, President’s Distinguished, or Smedley Distinguished Area, Division or District. We’ll talk about what those metrics are, why we’re aiming for them, and what we can do on a personal level to help the District achieve these goals locally and regionally, for our own success and the success of others.

•••

If you’d like to be an Area Director, contact the District Director, District-director elect or your Division Director. If you’d like to attend one of these sessions as an observer and for your own learning, you’ll need permission from a member of the senior team (District Director, Program Quality Director, or Club Growth Director).