Join us in-person on October 14th to get to know your fellow Toastmasters and create connections that will help you and your club flourish! There will be ample time for socializing, helpful information, and table topics fun with light lunch provided.
Date: October 14th, 2023
Doors Open: 10:30am for Networking & Division A Director Coffee Chat
Location: Wallkill Valley Fire Department 112 Bona Ventura Avenue Wallkill, NY 12589
The meeting space is on the lower level, with ample parking in the back.
Tentative Agenda:
10:30 – 11:00 am
Networking & Division A Director Coffee Chat
11:00 – 11:05 am
Opening
11:05 – 11:45 am
“The More You Know” Speeches (5-7 minute speeches on helping your club with subjects like contests, hosting speech craft programs, and running Open Houses)
11:45 – 12:30 pm
Table Topics Marathon
12:30 – 1:00 pm
Social Time and light lunch
Wallkill Valley Fire Department (entrance off back parking lot for this event)View of the back of the building – enter here
I am very excited to be your Division Director for the 2023-2024 year. I have been a member of Toastmasters since November of 2020. My home club is Talk It Up Toastmasters (#8045) in Windsor, CT. I was also a proud member of Nathan Hale Toastmasters (#1484) in Manchester, CT for two and a half years before work obligations got in the way. Through both I have met wonderful Toastmasters that had a very positive impact on my personal growth.
In the last few years, I have completed 3 Pathways: Persuasive Influence, Presentation Mastery, and Visionary Communication. I am currently working on the Effective Coaching and Leadership Development Paths, as well as working towards becoming a Pathways Mentor and Distinguished Toastmaster. I was honored to receive the Area Director of the Year Award for 2022-2023.
I am excited to be a Division Director to serve more clubs in the District and connect with more Toastmasters. I see great value in the community and personal growth Toastmasters fosters. I want to see clubs growing so more people can experience the benefits it provides. Membership growth is going to be my focus this year both as Division Director and for my DTM project.
Division A will have virtual council meetings once a month with ADs (club officers also welcome!) on the first Tuesday of each month. I will also be organizing virtual workshops quarterly that are open to all members. Topics will have relevance to both growing our clubs and growing ourselves as leaders.
Saturday Success Series:
August 12th: Education-Based Marketing / Running Open Houses & Utilizing Guest Speakers
I am excited to be a resource so please reach out with any challenges or questions you have. I look forward to getting to know you all. You can reach me at divadir@d53tm.org.
Meet Stephanie Roy, everyone’s go-to Toastmaster! Get to know Stephanie and what she has gotten out of Toastmasters to not only further her career outside of Toastmasters, but also how she has given back to the organization in such little time! Stephanie Roy started her toastmaster’s journey in November of 2020 and if people would like to connect or find out more about what I do outside of Toastmasters, they can go to linktr.ee/stephanie.anne
Area 41 Director Stephanie Roy has joined the team that runs the District 53 website as a member of the editorial and authorship staff. Look for her byline on stories in the near future!
Stephanie Roy, Area 41 Director
Stephanie first heard of Toastmasters years ago from author and podcaster, Lewis Howes. Howes credits Toastmasters for a large part of his transformation from a washed-up football player to a Times best selling author and successful public speaker. Despite being inspired by his story, the timing wasn’t right for Stephanie to find a club, but the idea stayed rooted in the back of her mind.
Flash forward to the pandemic, Stephanie, like many of us, found herself with an unexpected amount of free time. As a self-admitted personal-growth-and-development junkie, she began searching for ways evolve her personal and professional skills. The idea of exploring Toastmasters resurfaced.
In October of 2020, Stephanie visited two clubs in her local area: Nathan Hale Toastmasters in Manchester, CT and Talk It Up Toastmasters in Windsor, CT. (Fun aside: because everything was virtual, her first visit to Nathan Hale was actually while in California!) Both clubs had their own unique personality and culture, and she recognized the value in both. Ever the over-achiever, she joined not one, but both clubs officially on November 1st, 2020.
Since then, she has fallen in love with Toastmasters and raised her hand for as many opportunities as possible. She took on the role of President in both clubs for the 2021-2022 year. Because of the shifting landscape for all of us, both clubs lost their VPEs a few months into the year and she stepped in to take on those roles as well. She passed the baton as President for the 2022-2023 Toastmasters year, but stayed on as VPE and picked up the role of SAA in both clubs.
With eyes firmly set on earning her DTM, Stephanie is serving as Area 41 Director this year as well as donating her time as a Club Coach. She has completed the Persuasive Influence Pathway, as well as level four in both the Visionary Communication and Presentation Mastery Paths. She is serving on the District 53 Conference Committee for the second year in a row, assisting with Winter Officer Training, and FebFest. In addition, she will be offering the Youth Leadership Program for a group in the Manchester, CT area beginning in February.
Outside of Toastmasters, Stephanie has spent the last 20 years as an entrepreneur and teacher, specializing in building empowering, community oriented villages within brick and mortar business. Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit from a young age, she pursued a career as a professional martial arts instructor and quickly established herself as an integral part in the growth of the business.
For the past ten years, she has brought her integrator and systems building expertise to developing personal and professional consulting programs through Momentum Learning Systems, LLC, as well as founding several complementary businesses. Most notable is Questers’ Way, a brick and mortar center that fuses family, fun, learning, and food into an integrated facility that empowers the community to learn and grow together.
Stephanie looks forward to bringing you news from Division D. Watch for her upcoming reports on FebFest and Winter Officer Training highlights!
