Choice Words

from Division E Governor Rena Weikle

Seasons Greetings

Division E Toastmasters!

The Holiday Season is on the horizon and it seems life becomes especially busy at this time of year.  I would like to take this chance to wish all of you a safe and joyous season. I hope that you will have a chance to take some time to reflect on the many blessings each of us has… the bessing of living in this wonderful province, secure in the knowledge that we belong to an organization that values self improvement and leadership, and provides us with an affordable, self paced program to improve our communication and leadership skills.

I hope that each of you will begin 2012 with your eye on your goals, and a path sketched out to achieve them. And most importantly, I hope that you will take time to tell the people closest to you that they matter… because that is really all that does!

Happy Holidays!

Rena Weikle
Division E Governor 2011/2012

Choice Words

from Division E Governor Cecile Coppens

June 28, 2011

The Continuation is Here!

Every end is a new beginning. Yes, June 30 is the end of the Toastmasters year.  The current officers are completing their responsibilities.  Already the new teams have been assembling and preparing to take over the leadership roles in the clubs, areas, division , districts and regions of Toastmasters International.

Remember those goals we were encouraged to set last fall?  This is an ideal time to pause and reflect on our progress.  How’s the harvest?

What’s next?  We get to decide!  I hope that we all continue to choose growth in ways that energize and sustain us in all aspects of our lives.

Choice Words

from Division E Governor

Cecile Coppens

Thanksgiving Time

I give thanks. We’ve just experienced the official Thanksgiving Day. I appreciate the encouragement to  pay extra attention to what I appreciate in my life, but I don’t need a special day on the calendar to nudge me into thankfulness.  Sometimes that appreciation appears as a monologue in my mind, and sometimes, such as now, I express it to others.

In my Toastmasters life, I thank each Division E trainer and club officer who attended the training or took the online version, and each Area Governor who confirmed the online training. The District Statistician’s latest statistics for Division E show 73.2% completion, with 15 clubs having 7/7  officers trained. Well done!

I thank all who participated in the recent Judges’ Training, ensuring that Division E maintains a high standard of judging at our contests. I thank every contestant and contest official and audience member who attends the Fall Contests. These are dynamic events at every level, from Club to District.

I thank every Toastmaster who takes the time to set some goals for the year. In the world of nature, we harvest at this time of year. As Toastmasters, we plant seeds– ideas that become goals that can grow and mature and be harvested by June 30.

Choice Words

from Division E Governor
Cecile Coppens

Happy New Year!

In fact, according to the calendar, we have already completed almost 1/12 of the new Toastmasters year.

This year’s theme for Division E is Choose Growth. For me, those two simple words have great power. We have the right, the freedom and the opportunity to make countless choices in our lives. Some of those choices focus on our comfort. Some challenge us to stretch and grow beyond our comfort zone.

Some personal growth happens circumstantially, without much input from us. For best results, we can add intention and attention. Clarity is the key. What do I want? What will I do? What do I have the will power to do? There is the power! That’s the difference between wishing and achieving. I will do what I choose. I choose what I will do.

The path of growth is not always easy. Sometimes we need to pause, refocus and Catch our Second Wind, as our District Governor reminds us with his theme for this year. Each of us made a lifechangin choice the day we joined Toastmasters International. Whether we joined days ago or decades ago, whatever path we choose as Toastmasters, within the club or beyond, we are an essential part of the whole organization.

Let’s look at our present situation in life and in Toastmasters. Let’s decide where we want to be. Let’s support each other and celebrate together in Division E this year as we choose growth.

The next offering of Club Officer Training will take place on:

Saturday, August 28, 2010
8:30 – 11:30
Salvation Army Temple
38 Bateman Crescent
Saskatoon

This session is for all Division E Toastmasters, especially the current Club Officers.

If you are not currently a club officer, you are encouraged to attend the training for the role that is most likely to be of interest to you in the future.

After the concurrent training sessions, we’ll all gather to hear a keynote speaker.

On March 20^th, I was fortunate enough to attend a very special event. It was the 25^th anniversary of the Meewasin Valley Leaders Club. (The club originally chartered as Meewasin Valley Toastmaster, but has taken on a leadership focus during the last year and has changed its name to reflect this) The event was a wonderful time, a gathering of past and present members. We were fortunate to have the Club Charter Mentor in attendance, and he is still a member. It was wonderful to hear of some of the past history of the club, and our new members spent some time looking to the future.

As fabulous as the event was, upon reflection I can’t help but feel that we missed an opportunity. (more…)

Spreading the word about Toastmasters is the job of the Vice President Public Relations (VP PR) – right?

Actually, although this falls under the standards of the VP PR, it is the responsibility of all members of the club, whether they are members of the club executive or not. Each of us owes it to our club, owes it to our friends, family, and co-workers, to let everyone you come into contact with know about Toastmasters. We have one of the best kept secrets in the world, but we don’t want to keep it that way.

So how do we let the world know? (more…)

When you first joined Toastmasters, do you remember reading the membership application form? On the back, at the bottom there was an item called A Toastmaster’s Promise. That promise reads:

A Toastmaster’s Promise

As a member of Toastmasters International
and my club, I promise…

• To attend club meetings regularly
• To prepare all of my speeches to the best of my ability, basing them on projects in the Competent Communication manual or    the Advanced Communication Series manuals
• To prepare for and fulfill meeting assignments
• To provide fellow members with helpful, constructive evaluations
• To help the club maintain the positive, friendly environment necessary for all members to learn and grow
• To serve my club as an officer when called upon to do so
• To treat my fellow club members and our guests with respect and courtesy
• To bring guests to club meetings so they can see the benefits Toastmasters membership offers
• To adhere to the guidelines and rules for all Toastmasters educational and recognition programs
• To maintain honest and highly ethical standards during the conduct of all Toastmasters activities (more…)

Communication skills are something that we learn in Toastmasters. Most of us are members to improve our interpersonal communication, yet we often neglect one of the most important areas for that communication – communicating with our members.

For those of us who are on club executives, or in District officer positions, it is extremely important to ensure the lines of communication are open to our members. Our members are the reason for our existence. They are the lifeblood of our organization, and yet we often forget that they need information from us. We need to stay connected with our members. (more…)

When a finely tuned athlete finds they are lacking a skill, or when they are suddenly unable to do what they could in the past, do they just throw in the towel and quit? Do they sit and scratch their head and wonder what to do? Do they struggle through the adversity by themselves? Some do, but most will turn to help from outside themselves. They turn to a coach.

It is no different with a Toastmasters club. Let’s face it, clubs have natural cycles. There will be periods of high membership, energy and excitement, and there will be periods of low membership, low energy, and low motivation. We all have to expect that this will be how things go, but our hope is that the former situation is experience more often and lasts longer than the latter. The good news is that we don’t have to suffer through the “lows” in isolation. Toastmasters has coaches for our clubs. (more…)