by Terry Bay DTM Division A Director
Hello Toastmasters and Leaders,
I hope everyone is having a great summer. I consider the month of August to be about family vacations and getting back to school. With Toastmasters, we are always learning. We have many communication and leadership opportunities throughout the year. We are now into our second month of the Toastmaster year, with lots of exciting changes and happenings for the future. Some of the changes include an expansion of the clubs of District 25. We still have TLI Officer training continuing throughout the month of August, and our very own Trio will be making a trip to Philadelphia to represent D25 at the Toastmasters International Convention.
Recently, I was fortunate to hear a Toastmaster speak on her “Year of Yes.” It was a powerful speech on always saying “yes” to growth and educational opportunities. This led me to think about some Toastmasters that have said and continue to say “yes.” One is our very own Elaine Royal, who said “yes” and now finds herself at the Toastmasters International Speech Contest taking to the big stage to continue her journey of being a better communicator. Elaine Royal said “yes” and has impacted and inspired so many of us throughout her journey.
There are many opportunities to say “yes” throughout the Toastmasters year. The Toastmaster saying “yes” to being a club officer for the first time, the Toastmaster saying “yes” to District Leadership opportunities including helping and being a part of contests, and TLI training, and most importantly, the Toastmaster saying “yes” to their very first Ice Breaker Speech. I’m sure we all remember what that first speech felt like, and I’m sure if you are like me, you can appreciate the growth we have seen in ourselves from saying “yes” to that opportunity, and how much better we have become as leaders and communicators.
I challenge each of you to make this your year of saying “yes”, with an opportunity to not only grow yourself in communication and leadership skills, but also to inspire others to come along with you and create their very own Toastmaster year of saying “YES”!
