by Jesse Ford DTM IPDD
Have you ever had that feeling when you meet somebody that you just instantly thought to yourself… “Oh man this is going to be good.” I don’t want to seem cliché, but in Toastmasters it seems to happen a lot. If you look around at any district event you will see members doing everything from setting up and tearing down, holding roles and so on. Honestly, it can be quite overwhelming and just magical when you think of all these people doing all these different things while some of the best companies in the world probably can’t get their employees to do the same things.
Over the last few months leading up to the District Conference there were so many things that needed to happen. Clubs held speech contests, venues were located, planning calls were had and members stepped up to help at Areas and Divisions. This time of year, also has TLI and so many other things going that it is often referred to by district leaders as the craziest six months of your life. That is, of course, until you decide to do it again. Who shined bright during this time? Insert the June Outstanding Member of the month and your District 25 International Speech Contest Champion…Elaine Royal!
Since winning the district speech contest Elaine has written an article for Hot Topics, been going on a small tour around clubs in D25 and so much more. Elaine Royal, representing her home club of Skymasters, did an absolutely amazing job with her speech “Brake Lights.” I won’t spoil the story, but man, it was like every time I heard her speak, she just kept getting better. So, what’s next you ask… I am happy to share that Elaine is moving forward to the Semifinals! Way to GROW! Thank you again to all the members who helped during the 2024/25 Contest season. Congratulations again to the district 25 International speech contest champion and June Outstanding Member Elaine Royal.
