by Emily Murray DTM District Director
January’s Outstanding Member of the Month is the perfect example of what having a little support can do! Having been a member since 2020, a good friend encouraged Savannah Smith to dip her toes into trying roles beyond the club. Once she did, she jumped in with both feet, and now you can find her everywhere! In her pursuit of the Nemileta Incentive, she really expanded her network and is taking advantage of every opportunity she comes across. She may not have had an official district leadership role yet, but she hasn’t let that stop her from lending a knowledgeable, helping hand in many places to prepare to have her first official role this year.
You may have seen her at TLI. She oversaw registration and attendance tracking for this season’s TLI sessions, and her skills at forms and formulas really shone. She created all the Google forms for registration and attendance and developed a plugin to ensure that all registrants received email confirmation. (Honestly, I don’t speak tech so have no idea what a plugin is, but I know how important those confirmations are, and having someone develop a better, easier way for our district to do it is invaluable.)
Savannah has her sights set on the future and has volunteered to be an Area Director next year. To set herself up for maximum success, she has been an assistant Area Director for the past few months. She has stepped up to be the Area 61 Contest Chair so that she can have experience running contests before she needs to do so as an AD.
Savannah has agreed to be the 2024 Conference Registration Chair. She is applying her wonderful data-tracking skills in yet another way for our benefit and with our gratitude.
And last but not least, Savannah is Sharing her Sunshine outside the district by helping with demo meetings and working with a group to encourage them to start a new Toastmasters club. She is sharing her knowledge as a Speechcraft guide.
Every single time I see Savannah she is smiling. She is always happy to share, she is always happy to support, she is always happy to help, and she is always happy to just be there. It is that warm positivity and demonstrative sharing of her sunshine that has earned Savannah this month’s Outstanding Member of the Month accolade. Congratulations Savannah!
