ET – EPISTLES (news for District Officers) Vol: 6
We have motored into March.
March is here already and I find myself writing this edition on the Ides of March, leading me
to say for us in Toastmasters – it is not beware the Ides of March rather be aware the Ides
have come and we still have much to do, no assassinations necessary!
This month is when club dues are to be paid to TI. Please remind your clubs about this –
dues can be paid any time now to TI. A reminder you need to pay for 20 members or
achieve a net gain of 5 members to be eligible for DCP and in order to be in good standing a
minimum of 8 membership payments is required. With contest season in full force, please
make sure your contestants are in good standing and are all the way through the contest
season, along with their club. Well done to those clubs who have already completed their
April dues renewal.
Area Governors are now making their second of club visits and I thank those who have
completed their visits and submitted their reports. We do read these reports and appreciate
them coming in early, rather than a mad rush of many all in the last day to read. Please use
this opportunity to find out where you can help your clubs towards achieving their goals for
the year and note this in your official visit report. I have heard some Area Governors are
running the Moments of Truth at their area’s clubs at the moment and that has been very
well received by many. Please do take the time to talk to the committee of the club you are
visiting for help with the part of the report, requiring feedback from them, as it does help
produce a good report, with comments that we can all find useful for improvement – at club
and District level. Ask the questions and consider the information you put in your report – I
have found it interesting that in all of my clubs this round I am not on any report as being
interested in a future District Leadership role, a small example but just highlights that we do
need those questions asked. The busy Area Governors are now all planning or about to have
their Area Contests – if you have a good team of people to help you, it makes this a much
easier task and takes some pressure off you at this extremely busy time. I see some areas
are using one their club venues for these events and having the “host” club bring a plate this rotates around the area for each contest round, so as all clubs in the area have a turn
hosting and keeps the costs down.
The next District convention is in Waipuna (Auckland) from 8-10 May. The District Officer
training session at this event will be longer than usual as we are not meeting for training
prior to that this year. Please note the next point in bold as I have had many queries about
it, despite it being in the past three newsletters. Training will commence at 1pm and be
completed by 5pm – please bear this in mind when making your travel arrangements to
convention. District Officers will be free after the training to join in any Friday night
convention events along with the Candidates Corner. Please note that dinner is not
included in the training and is up to us to arrange our own dinner. Please visit the
convention page to register your attendance here http://www.toastmasters.org.nz/conventions and follow what is happening on their
facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/mayconvention2015?fref=ts.
The convention committee have been working extremely hard to bring us a wonderful array
of keynote speakers/workshops/educational speakers. I am looking forward to hearing all of
them and I am sure many of our members will be inspired and motivated by what is on offer
at Waipuna.
Applications for both the Dale Hartle (website of the year) and Alf Baker (newsletter of the
year), are now being sought, with all clubs having been sent an email advising them of this
and the criteria for each award. Please talk to your clubs about these awards and encourage
them to participate – more information can be found here http://www.toastmasters.org.nz/awards
Thank you all for your hard work to date in the District, we are tracking very well for our
goals and it is all down to the dedication and determination of a fantastic District!
There is still time left to be eligible for this award -February and March are the months
where the Talk up Toastmasters promotion takes place. This is a wonderful promotion, that
can be quite easily achieved by clubs at this time of year as guests come with New Year
resolutions still in mind, that involve improving their confidence, speaking skills or many
other reasons. Here are the details on this promotion - Tut, Tut! How will your Toastmasters
club "tut" in February and March? Tut? Talk-up Toastmasters membership building
campaign is running from now until March 31st. Add five new, dual or reinstated members
with a join date between February 1 and March 31, and you’ll receive a special "Talk up
Toastmasters" ribbon to display on your club’s banner and get a special discount code for
10-percent off their next club order.
This time of year is often when we are trying to ensure we have enough members for our
DCP, please look at the membership numbers in your area’s/division’s clubs and assist
where possible with promotional ideas and activities, such as the Talk up Toastmasters
promotion. Has a club near you had a recent successful membership campaign – what did
they do? Can you use their methodology for other clubs?
Don’t forget to advertise the Spirit of Success at your clubs and recognise your members at
this very important halfway point in their manual completion. The details of how to request
the certificates for your members are here http://www.toastmasters.org.nz/awards/spirit_of_success
Pace yourselves over this busy time and please ask for help if you need it, I can be contacted
at any time at [email protected] or 0275 843700. I don’t answer my phone
during business hours, however it is on from 6.30pm every day and all weekend.
“If
opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” – Milton Berle
Carol Mitchell DTM
Lieutenant Governor Education and Training