By Greg Pick, DTM, Immediate Past District Director “The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service of others.” —Mahatma Gandhi My experiences in Toastmasters have demonstrated the truth in this quote from Mahatma Gandhi. Point number six of the Toastmasters Promise states, “To Serve my Club as an officer when called upon to do so.” As a club officer, we support the members so they can experience the benefits of our meetings. Serving at the club level provides a good foundation for every member. Once we take a step outside our club to take on...
By Chuck Mencke, DTM, Area 45 Director In the July 14, 2018 edition of Hot Topics, I wrote an article on “Mentoring – In the Spotlight.” I touted the benefits and importance of mentoring and how Pathways has finally put mentoring in the spotlight. To recap, each Pathways path now requires a Level 2 project “Introduction to Toastmasters Mentoring.” By completing the mentoring project, and two other required projects, Level 2 is done and that is when the fun can begin! You now have the option to activate the “Pathways Mentoring Module.” It may seem like one of the 11...
By Maribeth Fontabla, PM4, President, World Renowned Grand Prairie Toastmasters I joined Toastmasters in March 2018. The reasons I joined Toastmasters is for to become a better speaker and further develop my leadership skills. At the time that I joined Toastmasters I was working as one of the assistant service managers in the psychiatry department at Parkland Hospital and an officer of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association Texas Chapter as a Member-at-Large. After a few months of attending the club meetings and assuming the different roles in the club meetings I saw the other available opportunities to help me enhance...
By Chris Raneri, DTM, Club Growth Director Remember when we could just make up our own rules to conduct business in our Toastmasters clubs? Oh wait! We always had to follow parliamentary procedures, we just didn’t know what they were or how to implement them. Club business like elections, passing motions, and budgeting are common things that have specific rules to follow that we often create our own rules or have incorrect procedures passed down from officer to officer over time. For example, the first time I witnessed a club election, the officer nominations were discussed, then written on a...
By Robi Ley, DTM, District Director Our Annual Conference is more than an event, it’s an experience. It’s even more exciting when experienced with your fellow club members. That’s why we offer the Club Pass. This registration option allows more of your club members to attend and experience the Annual Conference. Here’s how it works: Your club pays a Conference Registration fee of $130. Up to 10 members of your club can then attend the conference and have access to every event; gallery seating for contests, education sessions, Friday Night Fun, and gallery seating for the DTM Ceremony. If a...
By Robi Ley, DTM, District Director This month’s Outstanding Member has been active in Toastmasters and in our district for many years. This year, she has taken on several tasks that have kept her quite busy. Setma Maddox was a regular trainer for the first and second rounds of TLI, including the sessions in Abilene and Waco. In addition, Setma took on the role of our District’s Speakers Bureau Chair. She is revamping, reorganizing, and reenergizing this valuable district asset. Her task included sifting through past information to ensure our members are well-represented and the community has a great resource...
By Greg Pick, DTM, Immediate Past District Director In 2008, Toastmasters introduced the Competent Leader manual that put definition and form around the fundamental leadership skills being implemented at club meetings as members performed their roles. Although learning these fundamental skills resulted in personal growth, my understanding of leadership increased tremendously when I implemented my first High Performance Leadership project. I learned the most effective way to recruit members occurred when I asked people directly. As I gathered members for a contest team, I asked for volunteers by email, then by standing at the lectern. Both methods yielded no results. ...
By Tahseen Mohammad, Youth Leadership Chair Tahseen Mohammad is born in a small town in south India. When he was in high school, his parents migrated to a famous city Hyderabad for their children’s education. Tahseen grew up in a middle-class family. His father was a historian, archeologist and public speaker who spoke in seven different national and international languages including English, Arabic and Persian. On the other hand, his mother was a shy home maker who dedicated her life for the right upbringing of her children. Tahseen completed his masters’ degree in Urdu language literature, and a post-graduate diploma...
By Steven Timmons, District Public Relations Manager Can you believe that we have passed the first anniversary of the Pathways learning experience rollout in District 25 – February 13, 2018. Today, I would like to provide some reasons why more members should implement the Pathways learning experience. As I review my Club’s Roster, I see that we have a significant percentage of members that have not enrolled in Pathways even though we have both an Ambassador and a Pathways Guide in our ranks. I expect this ratio represents the state of the Pathways enrollment across the District. Similarly, I know members who...
By Greg Pick, DTM, Immediate Past District Director, District Leadership Chair, Pathways Coordinator Greg lived in his birthplace, Cincinnati, Ohio, until he graduated from college at the age of 23. He is a member of Tau Beta Pi. He was born December 11, 1960, and is the oldest of three sons. He has been with the love of his life and better half – Fredelita Picante Pick since January 2004. They wed on April 19, 2009. He has seven children, a brood (11) of grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. His hobbies include finances, fantasy football, and reading. Greg earned his Bachelor of...
