Tag: Patti Walter

July 24 from your District Director

Posted on | by Webmaster

Hello members!

We are almost one month in, and time is going by so fast. Your Senior Team has been busy interviewing candidates, preparing for training, creating success plans and revising our annual budget.

Just like we have asked our officers to attend training, your District team will also be attending training in the upcoming month.  Our team of Area Directors and Division Directors will be attending a four hour session in August, and your District Trio will be attending a two-day session in August just before the Toastmasters International Convention in Nassau in the Bahamas!  The District Trio are there to attending the Annual Business Meeting on your behalf. At this meeting voting will occur electing ten new members to join the International Board of Directors, and the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors.  Your district officers have interviewed all candidates and are ready to share what we have learned with you on August 2 and 3 at 8 pm.  You can find the link on our district calendar.

We are not the only ones who get to vote.  Each club has 2 votes in this election.  Clubs have responsibility to either attend the Annual Business meeting and vote, or proxy their votes to the District Director. We will talk about how to do this on August 2 and August 3.  Information on this process can also be found at https://d53tm.org/proxy-assignment/. Reminder the last date to assign proxies in August 11th.

Also remember that members’ international dues are $45 for the October 2023 to March 2024 period — when paid before July 31, 2023. After that time, dues rise to $60 per six months. Encourage your club’s members to pay early, and help them use the new self-pay feature (if your club has voted for it) to do so quickly and easily.

I can’t wait to share with you what we learned during our August training. I hope you are enjoying your summer.

Keep Speaking!!!  

Patti Walter, DTM
District Director 2023-2024

Happy New Year from District 53!

Posted on | by Webmaster

Happy New Year District 53 members…actually Happy Toastmaster New Year.  My name is Patti Walter and I am your new District Director. First, I would like to thank you for giving me this opportunity.

Patti Walter, District Director 2023-2024
Patti Walter, DTM
District Director 2023-2024

I would like to take a moment to introduce your new district team. I have been a Toastmaster since May of 2013.  I have also been your Program Quality Director, Club Growth Director, Division Director, and Area Director for 2 terms.  I reside in Ludlow, Massachusetts, and I am a recent retired Learning and Development Consultant.   I enjoy spending time with my children and six grandchildren.

Our Program Quality Director this year is Bettyann Peck, DTM.  Bettyann was previously our Club Growth Director and Public Relations Manager.

New to the trio, in the position of Club Growth Director is Mohan Padamati DTM. Mohan was our previous Public Relations Manager, and a prior Division D Director and Area Director before that. 

Zachary Fisk will be joining us as the new Public Relations Manager. Zachary also has been a Division Director. Administration and Registration manager Norm Thibodeau. Also on our team is Webmaster Andrew Watt. We are still recruiting for Finance Manager and Executive Secretary.  Please feel free to let me know if you are interested in either position. 

I am so grateful that these members have stepped up to assist with running District 53 this year!

I want to conclude by sharing a little bit about my goals this year. First, I want to make sure the District grows! I hope to see that we are in a better place on 30 June 2024 then we were on 1 July 2023.  I want to continue to get out to the clubs and see what we as a district can do better.  I want our members to understand what our district does and the enormous number of opportunities that are out there for our members to grow as communicator and leaders.  I have said in the past that it takes a village.  

The District Team cannot do it by themselves.  We are always looking for new people to step up and assist in and share their idea.  Please reach out if you have questions or idea.  Finally, I am open to visiting clubs, attending open houses, giving speeches or provide an ear for concerns.  Reach out to me at dd@d53tm.org. Let’s become distinguished together this year.  Together we can do this.

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

Episode 3: Patti Walter

Posted on | by Sarita Patel

Our Members Matter with Patti Walter, PQD

Meet Patti Walter, the 2022-2023 D53 Program Quality Director! Get to know Patti and learn about her Toastmasters and leadership journeys. She openly shares why she considered embracing district leadership and her motivations behind supporting not only her friends and colleagues but all the clubs, areas, and divisions within our District.

Interested in being a guest at one of Patti’s clubs? Find out more information below!
Prospeakers
Blue Chip Toastmasters

Interested in learning more about leadership roles and opportunities, email us at pqd@d53tm.org. 

From the PQD – 22 May 2023

Posted on | by Andrew Watt, DTM

D53 had its first successful hybrid conference.  SPRINGBOARD to Success. What a great weekend! If you were not able to join us, let me recap what we did.

After a continental breakfast at the Springfield Sheraton — Monarch Place hotel on Saturday 6 May 2023, we jumped right in with our Keynote Speaker Joe Grondin. Joe spoke about developing our signature: how do you develop your own unique voice and presentation style?

Our members then were able to choose one of our three great breakout sessions to attend. Thank your Mary Cheyne, Ann Canfield and Heather LaPierre for your great sessions. 

We continued after our breakout with our tall tale contest. Boy do we have members who can tell some tales.  Our D53 Tall Tales Winners were:

  1. Christine Austin
  2. Poonam Hassija
  3. Kevin Haven

Then at lunch we presented our Communication and Leadership Award to Patricia Nicolari, founder and executive director of PROUD Academy.  Patricia spoke about the work that she does with passion and conviction, demonstrating again why she deserved our recognition and honor.

After lunch we continued on with our second set of breakout session. Again we had great sessions from Heather Turner, Steve Lanning and Stephanie Roy.  Thank you all.

After a break, Joe Grondin returned to the stage as he talked to us about Mrs. Elliot’s  Lessons. Joe shared with us the four leadership lessons his favorite teacher taught him at a time he needed it most.   Joe also shared some great memories he had with his students and family.  Both his sessions were educational, relatable and entertaining.

We concluded the afternoon session with the hall of fame awards for both the 2022-2023 and 2021-2022 program years. Congratulations to the following recipients of the awards for 2021-2022

  • Division Director of the Year Beth Van Kempen
  • Area Director of the Year Elizabeth Keeling
  • Toastmaster of the Year Jackie Kessler

We also announce the 2022-2023 award winners. They are:

  • Division Director of the Year Chad Babcock
  • Area Director of the Year Stephanie Roy
  • Toastmaster of the Year  Elizabeth Keeling

At the conclusion of the Hall of Fame, our International Director for Region 9, who represents us to the Toastmasters Board, Jeff Sobel DTM, swore into office the following District 53 officers for the 2023-2024 Toastmasters International program year:

  • Patti Walter, DTM  — District Director
  • Bettyann Peck, DTM — Program Quality Director
  • Mohan Padamati, DTM — Club Growth Director
  • Stephanie Roy — Division A Director
  • Ebru Unal — Division B Director
  • Selina Torjee — Division C Director
  • Mark Wing — Division D Director
  • Elizabeth Keeling — Division E Director

Congratulations to all!

A happy hour followed, then a wonderful dinner.  Our after-dinner entertainment was brought to you by our Division International Speech Contest Winners, as they competed for the title of District 53’s International Speech Contest championship.   These five came to the contest ready to go! Congratulations to all our contestants at club, Area, Division, and District levels.

Our winners were:

  1. Michael Whitehouse
  2. Donna Plen
  3. Craig Moore

We concluded on Sunday with a warm breakfast, out of this park networking and a final keynote from Joe,  who left us all dancing in our chairs.

You might be saying, “Oh, I missed you all!” Don’t worry… we were having to much fun to notice you weren’t there. But you can join us in May 2024, when the next amazing conference rolls around! Buy your ticket in February, and I’ll see you there!

In the meantime please join us for some officer training coming up in June and July, or join us for Train the Trainer sessions if you’d like to be a facilitator this year.  Psst— you don’t need to be an officer to go to training!  It is open to all.  

Yours in Toastmasters service,
Patti Walter, DTM —
Program Quality Director, 2022-2023

Train the Trainers Events

Posted on | by Andrew Watt, DTM

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

From the PQD – 12 February 2023

Posted on | by Andrew Watt, DTM

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

From the PQD’s Desk

Posted on | by Andrew Watt, DTM

November 7, 2022

Fellow Toastmasters,

Can you believe that it is already November?  In less than 2 short months we will be into 2023.  Where did the time go?

I wanted to share what is happening with Program Quality.

Officer Training: (open to all) Thanks to the help of Chad Babcock. Stephanie Roy and Mohan Padamati, officer training dates will be rolled out shortly.  The winter sessions will be 2.5 hours long.  We will be offering shorter lunchtime sessions for those of us that find it easier to meet during the day and not at night or weekends. We will also be including different electives this time around for our longer termed officers.

Conference:  SAVE the Date:  May 6th.  David Freedman, Janice Dimock and their team is busy getting our conference planned out. Be on the lookout for more information regularly, including our great keynote speaker, location, pricing and list of presenters.  This promises to be a great networking and fun-filled program for all Toastmasters in the District.

Contests:  The contest season is upon us. We will be hosting the International Speech Contest as always, and the Tall Tales Contest will be our secondary contest..  Area contests will be held on line between Jan 16h and March 15th and Division Contests will be hybrid between March 16th and April 16th.  Area and Divisions Directors will be sharing dates as they are finalized.  We will also include them on the Contest Page and District Calendar.  Keep coming back to find out more. Division contests will be held during our Conference. 

Also remember we have other monthly events going on such as MMEP and Officer Forums.  Dates and details can be found in our monthly newsletter and on this website calendar. (Note: if you are not receiving our monthly newsletter, please let me know so we can add you to the list. pqd@d53tm.org.

To close all these events are here to help our members and our district.  It takes a village.  Please be a villager and help us grow our district.  There are many volunteer opportunities open and we will work around the time commitment you have to offer.

Sincerely,
Patti Walter
D53 Program Quality Director, 2022-2023

REVITALIZING DISTRICT 53 – OUR MEMBERS MATTER!!!!