Document

District 71 Council Meeting

Saturday 15th May 20010

District Governor: Joe Gibbs “Find Your Voice”

District Council Meeting 15th May 2010 District 71: ‗Find Your Voice‘

District Governor: Joe Gibbs P a g e | 2

Meeting of District 71 Council 11:00 Saturday 15th May 2010 Sligo Park Hotel, Sligo, Ireland

AGENDA

1. Call to Order (Invocation, District Mission, Welcome, Apologies)

2. Adoption of Agenda

3. Report of Credentials Committee, Appointment of Tellers

4. Minutes of Council Meeting 14th November 2009

5. Proposals/Motions for re-alignment of Areas/Divisions

6. Report from Nominating Committee

7. Nomination and Election of Division Governors: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H

8. Nomination and Election of District Executive Officers: PRO, LGET, LGM, DG

9. 2009/20010 Mid-Year Audit

10. Reports of Division Governors and District Officers (Division Governors, Public Relations Officer, Lt Governor Marketing, Lt Governor Education & Training, District Governor)

11. Bids for District Conferences

12. Any Other Business

13. Announcements and Adjournment



Minutes of Council Meeting Autumn Conference 2009

11am Saturday 14th

November 2009 - Royal York Hotel, York, UK

1. Call to Order Conference Director Phil Heath welcomed District Governor Joe Gibbs. Meeting was called to order at 11am by District Governor Joe Gibbs. Joe Gibbs welcomed everyone to the Autumn District 71 Council meeting. The following Past District Governors were in attendance and were recognised: Gary Sander (Intermediate Past District Governor), David Thompson, Mary O‘Connor, Harry Knox

a. Invocation The invocation was read by Harry Knox

b. District Mission The District Mission was read by Lynne Cantor

c. Welcome District Governor Joe Gibbs introduced members of the District Executive in the following order: District Treasurer Geraldine Smith, District Secretary Deidre O‘Brien, District Parliamentarian Cecil Kirk, Immediate Past District Governor Gary Sander, District PRO Freddie Daniels, LT Marketing Jim Hegarty, LT Education and Training Teresa Dukes.

d. Apologies Apologies for absences were read by Deirdre O‘Brien David Ley President, North Norfolk Speakers Club Mary Murtagh Past District 71 Governor Matt Heslin Area 13 Governor James McGinty Division G Governor Loretto Kenny Area 28 Governor Bettie-Marie Burger Smit Area 40 Governor Jerry Ahern Area 8 Governor Jane Croke President, Waterford Toastmasters Marie Kennedy President, Kilkenny Toastmasters Linda Molloy Past District 71 Governor

e. Minute of Reflection A minute of reflection was held for all District 71 toastmasters who died during the year including: Betty Norman, Noel O‘Farrell, Angie O‘Hara

f. Procedures for the meeting The District Governor outlined the procedures for people participating in the meeting. The meeting was informed that only members of the District council can vote and contribute to the meeting. When speaking from the floor, council members were asked to speak their name and club clearly.

2. Adoption of Agenda Sufficient notice of the Council Meeting having been given, a motion that the agenda be adopted was proposed. Proposed by: Joe Gibbs Seconded by: Colm Wynne (AIB Toastmastsers) Agreed by the council.

3. Report of Credentials Committee, Appointment of Tellers Cecil Kirk gave the report of the Credentials committee. He informed the council that the number of Club‘s eligible to participate was 221 thereby giving a quorum of 74. The number of other eligible persons (Division Governors, Area Governors, Members of the Executive) numbered 93. The number of clubs registered was 81 (162 votes). The number of other persons present numbered 28. This gave a total number of 190 votes. A simple majority of 96 votes would be needed should a vote be required. Sue Sander and Peter Kieran were proposed as tellers should a vote be required. Proposed by: Cecil Kirk Seconded by: Phil Heath Agreed by the council.



4. Minutes of Council Meeting 9th May 2009

Comment: Roger Crews indicated his name was miss-spelt incorrectly in two places. Acceptance of the minutes was then proposed. Proposed by: Joe Gibbs Seconded by: Clive Willet (North Norfolk Speakers)

5. Confirmation of District Officer Appointments Two of the names listed on the District Officer Appointments page had incorrect spellings: Cecil Kirk and Anthony Day were spelt incorrectly. Subject to the necessary corrections the acceptance of the District Officer Appointments was proposed. Proposed by: Joe Gibbs Seconded by: Dermot Keary (Dublin Toastmasters) Agreed by the council

6. 2008/2009 Year-end Audit District Treasurer for 08/09, Margaret Stanway gave a presentation on the year-end audit Questions: Steve McGuire (London Communicators): What are the bank charges for? Margaret Stanway: Sterling account half yearly charge and cheque charges/Euro Accounts (Cheque Books) Steve McGuire (London Communicators): Can this be avoided? Margaret Stanway: Current Treasurer is responsible for looking it to that. Joe Gibbs: Geraldine Smith (District Treasurer) has set up the accounts for internet banking. All banking is currently done with Ulster Bank (Sterling and Euro accounts). Looking at possibly changing to the NatWest for the Sterling account. This should make it easier to change the names/signatures on the accounts each year. Acceptance of the audit was then proposed. Proposed by: Gary Sander Seconded by: Steve McGuire (London Communicators) Agreed by the council

7. Adoption of District Budget and Treasurers Report District Treasurer Geraldine Smith gave a presentation on the budget. Questions: Ian Bergel (Strictly Speaking Harrogate): Closing figures from last year are different from opening figures for this year – Just wondering why this is? Geraldine Smith: Budgets had to be submitted to TI before closing figures were available from last year. Joe Gibbs: There is a minimum reserve that is required to be left in the TI account each year. However there is now a built up in that reserve account. The current budget looks at using up some reserve by budgeting to spend more than the income from TI. However this assumes all funds are drawn down. People are encouraged to draw down funding available to them. Take-up of funds available to Area Governors and Division Governors for new clubs and marketing is usually less than 50%. Area Governors and Division Governors are encouraged to take up the funding offer.

Budget was then proposed for acceptance. Proposed by: Joe Gibbs Seconded by: Luanne Kent, Dublin Agreed by the council. Joe Gibbs: Thanks to Margaret Stanway and Jane Cameron for the work they did at District Treasurer and District Secretary last year. A vote of thanks was also put forward for Geraldine Smith and Deirdre O‘Brien for the efforts this year as District Treasurer and District Secretary.

8. Reports of Division Governors and District Officers Written reports were included in the district council pack. All Division Governors and District Executive Officers gave a verbal report in the following order:

Division A Helen Hourican Division B Hilary Briggs

Division C Luanne Kent Division D Mary O‘Connor

Division E Jim Gregory Joe Gibbs: Thanked Jim for his work in helping with the conference

Division F Werner Van Den Hemel

Division G Constance Turner (on behalf of James McGinty)

Division H Chris Howell



Joe Gibbs: Thanks to Constance for stepping in at the last minute. Also thanks to James for his efforts in trying to make the meeting

Immediate Past District Governor

Gary Sander Joe Gibbs: Thanks Gary for his leadership for last year

District PRO Freddie Daniels

LT Marketing Jim Hegarty LT Education and Training

Teresa Dukes

District Governor Joe Gibbs

9. Bids for District Conferences Next Conference: May 2009, Sligo in the Sligo Park Hotel. Conference Director Ronnie Gillanders giving presentation at the speech contest this afternoon. November 2010: A significant expression of interest from Dublin. No business case has been received yet (WIP). Kate Thornhill gave an update on where the committee is. Proposed dates 12

th to 14

th November.

Committee currently looking at city centre hotel. May 2011: A strong expression of interest from a London club.

10. Any Other Business Noel O‘Beara (Fingal and Swords): Point of order: A reminder to the LT Education and Training that it is now afternoon (She said ‗Good Morning‘ in her report). Suggestion: Noel suggested to have the name lettering bigger on the names badges at future conferences. Noel also recommend that toastmasters visit other clubs as it‘s a great learning exercise. Also suggesting joint meetings with other clubs as this is also a great way of learning. Roger Crew Norfolk Speakers: Executive asked to follow up on discussions on difficulty in re-organising areas. (Due to 7 clubs in area max rule) To try and avoid issues Roger has had with this. Pat Foley: Question about votes for Division Governor. Why do all District Council members have a vote for Division Governor? Why is not just the members of the Division? District Governor (Joe Gibbs): Division Governors are appointed by the District council therefore all members of the council have a vote in the election of the Division Governors. Division Governor may not necessarily be from the Division (although this is unusual). It is difficult to arrange elections at a division/area level. This is one of the reasons the district doesn‘t have elections for area governors. Division Governors should also be able to articulate their position in front of the council. Parliamentarian (Cecil Kirk): For posts decided by elections, all eligible members of the body are entitled to a vote. Suggestion that people contact relevant candidates in advance so they are fully informed when they make their decision. Luanne Kent, Dublin: Question: Do number of votes for each person have to be announced? Suggest number of votes be kept on public record for people to ask if they wish? Parliamentarian (Cecil Kirk): In the past candidates have asked in advanced to not have the votes announced and the results were not announced. It is recognised practice to announce results and that will be the standard practice. District Governor (Joe Gibbs): If all candidates are in agreement the parliamentarian will look at it favorable if such a request is put forward before an election. Transparency is important also. Sander Lawes: Whatever decision is made, it should be consistent across all the elections in the council meeting. District Governor (Joe Gibbs): We will continue to announce results of the district elections.

11. Announcements and Adjournment Judges briefing – Minister Room lunch time briefing 1pm. Constants briefing and sound check – 1.30 in events centre. District Governor Joe Gibbs adjourned the meeting until Sligo in May of 2010.



Realignment Proposals for District 71 Division A

New Area with four clubs from Area 23. Macroom moving from Area 11 to Area 23.

New Area Area 23 Area 11

Powerdermills Carrigaline Beara

Slainte Cork Bantry

Bishopstown Crusaders Clonakilty

The A Team Macroom (from Area 11) Bandon

Kinsale

Division D New Area being formed with Enniscorthy and Wexford from Area 8 and Gorey from Area 40.

New Area Area 8 Area 40

Enniscorthy (from Area 8) DLS Communicators Carlow

Gorey (from Area 40) Dungarvan Kilkenny

Wexford (from Area 8) Tramore Portlaoise

Waterford State Street International

Division E & Division G & Division H Area 7 to be moved from Division E to Division G South West Speakers and Armada Speakers moving from Area 22 (E) to Area 42 (H)

Area 22 Division E Area 42 Division H Area 7 Division G

Cheltenham Cottonwood Speakers Bardwell Speakers

Northavon Solent Speakers Bicester Speakers Club

Thamesdown Chaseside Speakers Isis Speakers

Voice of Wales Hamwic Speakers Oxford Speakers

South West Speakers (from Area 22) Ridgeway

Armada Speakers (from Area 22)



Nominating Committee Report

The following Toastmasters are recommended to go forward for election at the District 71 Council Meeting at the Sligo Spring Conference on the 15

th May for positions in 20010-2011

Position Candidate

District Governor Teresa Dukes

Lt. Governor Education & Training Jim Hegarty

Lt. Governor Marketing Freddie Daniells

Public Relation Officer # Lucia Hughes

Luanne Kent

Division A Governor Marie Corbett

Division B Governor Dorothea Stuart

Division C Governor Peter Kieran

Division D Governor Pat Foley

Division E Governor # Phil Heath

Oscar Merkx

Division F Governor Siobhan Doherty

Division G Governor Graham Frost

Division H Governor Gordon Piggott

# Where more than one candidate has been nominated for a position, their surnames appear in alphabetical order.

Gary Sander, Nominating Committee Chairman



2009-2010 Mid-Year Audit Report



Division A Report



“Find your Voice ” The Division A team of Area Governors, Assistant Area Governor and Assistant Division Governors are working effectively to promote the Toastmasters organization in Division A

Education & Training: Division A training concluded well after some hold up from the bad weather in January,

and when it did happen a little later than usual, it as well attended.

Club Activity : Area Governors are reporting that all clubs are progressing towards achieving the DCP

programme for the coming year. Some clubs had slower attendance in the early part of the year but this has picked up and our overall figures are increasing on a weekly basis. PR/Marketing: Each club is continuing to promote their club through updating website activity, road signs local newspaper features, radio broadcasts, bring a friend, car bumper stickers, and other local activities. Conclusion: Overall we have a mix of very strong, strong and some weak clubs and we are hoping the realignment proposal for the Division will give an easier task to future Area Governors.

Helen Hourican Division A Governor

Area 3

Talking Heads, Garryvoe: Celebrating its 20

th anniversary this year, the Talking Heads Garryvoe Club is holding

a special celebration night bringing together past and present members for an evening of dinner and dance. The Club has many experienced members who are full of ideas which makes this club a joy. Here‘s to the next 20 years. Midleton: A Charming and progressive club, Midleton has achieved a steady and growing membership this year in no small part due to its dedicated team. Never short of imagination, the club recently held a very successful and entertaining poetry night in the very atmospheric and historical setting of McDaid‘s pub. They are currently working on the next batch of new members. Blarney: In a town noted for its traditional ‗gift of the gab‘ from the Blarney Stone, Blarney club is true to its heritage with invigorating meetings held in the Blarney Woollen Mills Hotel. The membership base is strong and Blarney club is working on a plan to attract new members. With their Enthusiasm and commitment, watch this space. Glanmire: Glanmire Club, in the heart of the woodlands, is going from strength to strength with almost 30 members registered this year. The gracious hosts for this year‘s International Speech and Evaluation Area 3 Final contest, the romantic Vienna Wood‘s Hotel is a charming setting. Glanmire is aiming for their Select Distinguished Club status. Guardian: New and steadily growing, the Guardian club are making great efforts to attract new members. Meetings are held in Garda headquarters in Cork City where you can be sure of a warm welcome and maybe a

slice of cake at tea break. This is an ambitious and eager club. Catherine Kelly Area 3 Governor

Area 11

Bandon 7364: is thriving – and survived! – under the able leadership of Alice Murphy, President when their Club‘s venue was severely flooded in early December. Unable to find another venue in flood covered Bandon, Alice invited the club into her own home – and continued. Later she found another venue in Bandon for the Club – Kilbrogan Inn. And, this Spring they are hosting the Area Speech Contest. They have my admiration. The Club is up to date with renewals etc. Bantry 772301: continues to be a warm friendly club which adheres to all the Toastmaster‘s criteria for positive,

friendly meetings etc. They are doing their best in spite of pressing personal issues in the case of both President, Leonie Ni Carthaigh and Sheila Maguire, EVP. Their energies have been split between serious family circumstances and Toastmasters. They have 11 paid up members. Beara 678448: are a very vibrant and enthusiastic club whose enthusiasm for Toastmasters is palpable

especially that of President, Grace O‘Sullivan and Matt Higgins. The are on an isolated peninsula and are doing well in attracting new and renewing members but unfortunately got some problems with paying renewals on-line as some ‗members‘ membership lapsed during the summer and they had to send renewed membership papers which has taken time. Clonakilty 2272: remains a thriving club under the able Presidency of Nick Smith and his very enthusiastic committee who also travel to support other Area clubs. Clonakilty has over 30 paid up members, renewals all in on time and is in line for Distinguished Toastmasters Club. Kinsale & District 1223085: has blossomed since they moved into their new venue in the Trident Hotel. They

celebrated their Charter Dinner in great style with Immediate Past District Governor, Gary Sanders presenting the Certificates. They are a very enthusiastic, competent group of people who are well able to manage their club and attract new members. President Johnny Cargin, EVP, Myra Heffernan, Secretary ,Aine Cooney, Membership,



Imelda Rice-Coughlan, and , PRO/Sgt at Arms &Treasurer Joey and Ger O‘Leary respectively deserve special commendation for all their hard work. Macroom 9470: Macroom is under the able and enthusiastic Presidency of Anthony Galvin who has been on a membership drive recently. They have many solid long-standing members and continue to thrive and do very well at contests – even going as far as District! They are up to date with all administrative matters.

Ann Dinneen Area 11 Governor

Area 17

The Galtee Toastmaster Club (Mitchelstown) is still struggling – but holding steady - with very few signed up members, but still manages to have modestly-attended, good quality meetings. The Club hosted the Area Final for the Club Humorous and Topics Contests last Autumn but has been hit by key personnel departures within the past 12 months. The Club needs a better Internet presence and more Public Relations work. The Fermoy Toastmasters Club (Fermoy) is having a vintage year after many years of struggle. Membership is up and the club ―face‖ is almost unrecognisable due to the influx of many new fresh faces within the past two years. The Club celebrated its 40

th Anniversary (founded 1970) in March with a very successful semi-formal gathering.

Long time menber Kevin Walsh won the District 71 Table Topics Contest in York – Nov 2009 The SpeakEasy Toastmasters Club (Mallow) has a very strong Internet presence – witness its recent YouTube postings – and continues to be a formidable outfit. Membership is very strong and so too is enthusiasm and participation rates. It still ranks as the Club to beat within the Area – both in Membership and in (most) Contests. It does need to develop new Faces and perhaps more new talent. The Fáilte Toastmasters Club (Charleville) is hosting the Serious Speech and Evaluation Area Final this April. Sadly, due to their continuing battle to find a suitable permanent venue for their Club, they shall be hosting the Final in Kilmallock instead. The appointed Club Coach Bridget Elliot is winning the battle to save the Club as more and more people become regular attendees.

Brian O’Farrell Area 17 Governor

Area 23

Powdermills Our club has achieved the Distiguished Club Programme. Club meetings are enjoyable,

entertaining, and informative - due to caliber of members and adherence to good standards. Our guests are very impressed and join up quickly. We were invited to hold a club meeting at the HQ of the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind at Model Farm Road in March. It was a great success and we have been invited back. The only downside at the moment is the loss of good people from the club - as they have to relocate abroad/away from Ballincollig due to promotions/redundancies in their professional lives. We miss them very much. Crusaders is located in a prime area to attract potential for new members. Club PR is up and running but

members are slow to join. The club has some very enthusiastic people who will encourage more to participate more fully in the club. Cork Club has great membership and excellent leadership this year. Many members have been involved with the club for many years and this gives a great sense of tradition and presence to this club Carrigaline Club has a very good team and has had a very good year, but more members need to be encouraged to make more speeches. PR is being promoted strongly. Slainte has had a very successful year under the leadership of a good committee and is a well established club and progressive club. Bishopstown Toastmasters is a strong and growing club. It has good membership and meets on a weekly basis A Team is continuing to provide a platform for experienced speakers

Area 36

Tralee Club, home of the famous Rose of Tralee Festival, is enjoying a very successful year.

All meetings are well organised and there is a great diversity of age in the club. Recently, they had a St. Patrick's Day Theme meeting and adorned the room with decorations, great fun was had by all, as well as cupla focal gaeilge. Tralee hosted the officer training in February, all attending enjoyed great camaraderie and education. Killarney Club, set in an enchanting haven of lakes and mountains is going from strength to strength this year

with a record number of new members. They started a mentoring programme in September and this has been a tremendous success. There is a real sense of growth palpable in the club. West Limerick Club holds their meetings in Newcastle West, home of the natural beauty of the Castle Demesne.

This is a very friendly and enthusiastic club with a good mix of experienced and less experienced members. They are reaping the benefits of great exposure in the local media. Their educational presentations are particularly good and extremely well delivered. Elizabeth Brosnan Area 36 Governor



Division B Report The Division has continued to develop during the year, with specific emphases on growing new clubs and running educational events. Education & Training: The Division-wide Club Officer Training in January covered over 150 officers, including

some from Divisions G & H, at 3 events. In addition to topics such as succession planning and contest organisation, there were workshops on Coaching skills, Goal Planning and a fun and innovative session on Retention (entitled ―How to destroy your club!‖). The Division supported Excalibur which ran an event with Michael Tipper on Memory Skills and put on an informative session on Voice by Fergus McClelland. A range of workshops are being run prior to the Division contest, and a new series of Leadership focused events will kick off on 24

th

May. Club Strength: Despite the closure of one company club (Thomson Reuters), another is preparing to relaunch as an open club in June (CareerBuilder). The focus on encouraging new club start ups earlier in the year is showing signs of progress as five of the six Pre-Charter Clubs should have Chartered in the next 6 weeks. One further new club is launching on 27

th April.

Club Standards: The quality of Evaluations was one issue raised during Club Officer Training and Bob Ferguson – a District 71 Evaluation Contest winner – will be running a Masterclass in April for over 100 people. PR/Marketing: A number of clubs have set up Facebook and other Social media groups to attract members. The London Speaker continues to be a fantastic tool for internal and external communication, under the professional editorship of Assistant Division Governor Dorothea Stuart. Celebrations: Grosvenor Square has just passed its 30

th birthday, and Holborn Speakers its 10

th anniversary.

Conclusion: The enthusiasm and commitment of the Area Governors has continued through the year, allowing us to build on our ambitions to increase the quality, and expand the network, of clubs. I am very grateful for the support of non-Council members – Kate McNeily and former Division Governor, Dick Dixon.

Hilary Briggs Division B Governor

Area 6

Area 6 is comprised of 4 clubs, all clustered around the South Kensington and Victoria areas of London. London Cardinals (674907) – Still going strong and already have amassed 8 DCP points (joint highest in the

Division) this year. This is a keen, successful club with a high standard of speaking and still a prime candidate to spawn a new club sometime in the future. London Corinthians (7951) – Another large club still going strong. High standards combined with a rich history make this a very successful club. Has been going for 20+ years and I have no reason to think it won‘t last another 20. London Olympians (5235) – Growth still continuing with membership now at 40. A friendly club which attracts

many guests and new members. The club is successful, with victories in the last two Area contests. Polish your Polish (1095711) – Membership has remained stable despite an exodus of Poles back to Poland

due to the recession. It has developed relationships with several Polish networking organisations (and even got a feature on Polish TV) which should provide a steady supply of new members in the future.

Gary Edwards Area 6 Governor

Area 29

Area 29 has four clubs located in West London and a pre-charter club in the Centre, all highly motivated. London Athenians (7365) - full of lively, talented members. Its welcoming nature has helped it become one of the largest clubs in the country. It is extremely active running special events such as ―backwards meetings‖. The club aims to attain the President‘s Distinguished Ribbon again this year. Riverside (2731) - The club has a wealth of knowledge within its enthusiastic membership and strong committee.

This club has produced numerous winners for the speech and evaluation contests. It is aiming for the President‘s Distinguished Ribbon again this year. Trojans (589261) - An energetic, welcoming, club with a multi-national membership, high attendance and a wide variety of speeches. It plans to achieve the President‘s Distinguished Ribbon this year. West London Speakers (558719) - Now 4 years old, this vibrant club attracts professionals from all parts of the world. It has a thriving mentorship programme and annual interclub debating session. Lawspeak (Pre Charter 1436001). Based in the Law College with a very successful launch in February 2010 attracting 70 people! It is very close to completing the charter paperwork with over 20 members.

Lilian Nandi Area 29 Governor



Area 31

With 3 months to go to the end of the year Area 31 is firmly set to achieve President‘s Distinguished status with the ACCA Breakfast club about to charter with 27 members which means the area will have had 2 new clubs in the year. Speakeasy@creditsuisse (2656) – This is a very established corporate club which has the distinction of having a second member achieve DTM status in the last year. The club is already Select Distinguished and is aiming for President‘s Distinguished status. Women in Banking and Finance (8923) – one of only two clubs that exist for Women only, this is a very well run

club with productive meetings. Members are starting to participate in more events in the wider TM community which is helping to improve the club‘s profile. Citi Criers (589935) – Citi Criers continue to go from strength to strength and provide a great example of how to run a corporate club. The club committee is very strong and there is a great sense of pride in what they are achieving. Canary Wharf Communicators (778270) - Now reaching the end of their 4th year post charter, the club has

suffered from low retention this year, however a planned membership drive should ensure they finish the year strongly and achieve Select Distinguished status. Thomson Reuters (1078232) - has not recovered and is no longer running. Speakers Corner (1352811) - having chartered in September, the club is growing in stature and meetings are

developing and improving at a great pace. ACCA Breakfast Club (Pre Charter 1414048) (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants – London

branch) launched in Nov 09. The President has been very active in visiting existing clubs and has received strong support from the sponsoring clubs. Now has 27 members - charter paperwork being completed.

Rory Marriott Area 31 Governor

Area 33

This Area contains 6 clubs in the City / central London. Bank Speakers (1107650) – A morning club that has a very friendly atmosphere. The club is well organised, and has a great culture of pulling together. The club is on schedule to achieve President‘s Distinguished status this year. Broadgate Speakers (5964) – Sponsored a new club this year on the basis of the large number of guests and members it attracts. However, it is now experiencing a churn in membership and is looking to rebuild and retain membership over the coming year. CareerBuilder (1182993) – A company club impacted by the harsh economic climate, and which has ceased to

be active. The club will shortly be re-launched as an open club within the same area of London. MLP London Bridge (760422) – Has great leadership and energy which I‘m sure will reflect in it achieving

President's Distinguished status this year. St Paul’s Speakers (7989) – A very friendly club, it contains a good mix of members at different stages on their

Toastmasters journeys. Since it‘s re-launch a year ago, there has been a steady increase in membership which it has retained. 1st London Toastmasters (Pre Charter 1376237) – Launched in September 2009, it is attracting a good stream of guests and new members. It will soon be in a position to charter.

Andy O’Sullivan Area 33 Governor

Area 34

Area 34 represents five clubs in Central London. City of London (2027) A long-established open club, meeting downstairs in a pub near Liverpool Street Station, with a very wide and diverse membership base. From a low start, the club has grown strongly again this year and with very lively and interesting meetings. Holborn (3194) Our second open club, meeting at the Rugby Tavern in Holborn. The club has spawned

Bloomsbury Speakers, where guests are currently being directed. Holborn is an excellent club with lots of strong speakers and experience. London Business School (4824) A club for the students of London Business School. Its big advantage is a very intelligent and keen membership base. It has rejuvenated well again this year and the committee want to ensure more continuity from year to year going forward. Tube Talk (5257) Tube Talk is a company club, serving the 40,000 staff of the London Underground. It has a

very stable membership base with very low turnover of members due to their mentoring process. It also has



excellent internal marketing campaigns, support from the HR department and several dedicated long-standing members. It is an exceptionally professional, stable and interesting club to visit, with many strong speakers.

Bloomsbury Speakers (Pre Charter 1407974) A spin off club from Holborn Speakers, it had its first meeting in

Oct 09. It has been growing very fast with active help from its sponsoring club and planning to charter very soon.

Christopher Hall Area 34 Governor

Area 45

Area 45 is comprised of four clubs located in central London. Berkeley Square (2390) is 11 years old. It meets early on a Wednesday morning 2-3 times per month.

Membership is strong, although being a central London club, people come and go as their careers and travel demands take them and retention is an issue. Career development and networking are the prime movers. Early Bird (835375) is a relatively new club, approaching its 3

rd birthday. The president is a strong networker who

has helped attract a consistent stream of guests and new members, raised membership to over 50 and weekly attendance to over 40. The club has had to move venue again recently to avoid a significant cost increase. As its name suggests it meets extraordinarily early every Thursday morning. A new club, Covent Garden Speakers, is

about to be launched by a group of keen new members. Grosvenor Square (4141) is London‘s oldest club which meets near Marble Arch. Membership has rebounded

this year under the direction of its experienced President and new committee. The new venue is working well and helping to attract a wide range of guests.

Whitehall Speakers (Pre Charter 1286395) Launched in spring 09, the club, based in HM Revenue and

Customs/The Treasury, meets at lunch times. Despite a change in President and work pressures on key

members, it now has 20 signed up members and should charter very soon.

David Adams Area 45 Governor

Area 47

Area 47 comprises of 5 clubs: 3 mixed gender/open (incl 1 pre-charter), 1 all female, and 1 advanced club. Excalibur (9079) – is an advanced club, attracting some members from other Divisions. It is achieving its aim of

attracting a wider audience and provides the opportunity for members to ‗trial and test‘ different approaches, whilst receiving thorough feedback from experienced Toastmasters. London Communicators (501) – Is a thriving club at full strength, though some of the pressure on capacity has been taken off with the launch of Angel Speakers in November last year. A well run club with a solid membership and committee, striving to achieve President‘s Distinguished status. Northern Lights (647094) – Has overcome several challenges this year including turnover of several committee

members. The leadership has grown though this so the club remains strong, with a healthy, active membership. Striving to achieve President‘s Distinguished status. Women in Banking and Finance Speakers – City (893055) –This is a semi-closed/all female club supported by the 30 year-old Women in Banking in Finance Networking group. Under a determined leader it continues to grow and develop, and is striving to achieve President‘s Distinguished status. Angel Speakers (Pre Charter 1407974) was Launched in November 2009. The founding members ensure

quality meetings, well-attended by visitors. It continues to gain momentum and plans to charter this year.

Lynne Cantor Area 47 Governor



Division C Champions Division C covers 156 miles of the northeast slice of Ireland and includes 32 clubs—and growing. It‘s been a wonderful year for our Division, and thanks to a fantastic team who maintain a strong commitment to the Toastmaster vision and goals; we‘re on track to reach all of our goals—including President‘s Distinguished Division! Thank you to all the members of Division C who have done so much to make this a successful year. Training: We expanded our Club Officer Training to a one-day, value-added learning event open to ALL members. With sessions delivered by highly motivated, dynamic presenters, including Ted Corcoran, Past International President, it was a most successful day (in spite of competing with a rugby match). The feedback from this training was tremendous--and enthusiastic members are motivated members—and motivated members attract new members. Club Growth and Retention: We‘ve had one new club charter, and we have three more pre-charter. We‘ve also

taken advantage of the Club Coach program and now have three assigned coaches, and we‘re proud to say that all of our clubs have renewed, so there will be no club loss this year. Also, we started the year with 900 members and post dues renewal showed 1004 members Distinguished Division Status: All seven of our Areas are promoting the goals of the Distinguished Club

Program to meet the needs of the individual members. This combined with net club gain, puts us on course for Presidents Distinguished Division—which of course was our goal. Additionally, seven members of the Division C Council are actively pursuing their HPL‘s, this combined with the opportunities to serve as club coaches, sponsors and mentors, means that several current Area Governors will achieve their AL-S next year, which sets a solid foundation 2010/11.

Area 2

Iarnrod Eireann was originally a corporate club, but we are now open to all and located close to the financial district in Dublin. Thanks to assistance from the Dublin Club, we are re-building and hope to be back to charter strength before June. We then aim to achieve Select Distinguished status this year. Meetings are well run with a high standard of speeches and evaluations. We are also the home club of the current District Toastmaster of the Year. Hellfire has an excellent mix of experienced and new members. We meet weekly and usually have four manual

speeches! Meetings are fun and surprising - besides our weekly debate, we have experimented with new formats like Powerpoint Karaoke and Job Interview training. Recently, we started a Speechcraft programme for the unemployed, which is designed to help them improve their communication skills and demonstrate the advantages of Toastmasters. Vox Populi is ―the coolest toastmasters club in the world.‖ We've focused on leadership skills with great results and we're on track for Presidents Distinguished. We still meet at Larry Murphy's pub the 1st & 3rd Wednesdays, but we‘ve added a second venue, the Burlington Hotel, the 4th Wednesday of the month. The enjoyable, friendly atmosphere in the club has seen membership rise to 50 members, with 17 new members already this year. Dublin 2601 has secured 15 new members and our membership is now full. Our public relations campaign includes video podcasts of Toastmasters related information on YouTube, which is linked via our website. We can also be followed on Twitter. We have an unprecedented number of visitors each week, and we are currently directing visitors to other clubs in the area, particularly Iarnrod Eireann. We aim to achieve the President‘s Distinguished Club.

Area 5

Comprised of four great clubs along the East Coast, south of Dublin, Area 5 is an enthusiastic and energised Area. Throughout the area, there are four very active groups of club officers who work hard to keep each club achieving their goals, and this year all four clubs expect to achieve President‘s Distinguished status. Dun Laoghaire has a real sense of pride and achievement. With 15 new members this year, we have a great mix

of experienced and new members. Terrific organisational skills, evaluations, and time management are only a few of the strengths this club offers in their fabulous new meeting venue. It is a vibrant club with an enthusiastic group of club officers who are encouraging the use of the Competent Leader Manual to great effect. Bray- always extends a warm welcome and you can almost feel the wealth of experience surrounding you. There

is a real sense of camaraderie & support with great participants throughout the meeting. With a great new venue, there is lots of chat and fun to be had afterwards in the bar. Educational presentations are extremely well delivered, and we have 12 new members. Sadly though, Chris O‘Toole the Club President died in January, and he remains a big loss to this close knit club, so we dedicate this year to Chris. Greystones-With 9 new members, this club is one of the warmest and friendliest clubs around. Without fail, many visitors comment on the great mixture of humour and formalities that make this clubs great. Lots of members are working on their CL Manual, which is enthusiastically encouraged by our hard working club officers. This club enjoys great exposure in the local press and media, and as a result, they continue to have visitors attend every meeting. Wicklow- Has many skilled speakers and evaluators as well as great team spirit. This club hosts three past Area

Governors as well as a past District Gov. It is a relatively young club that will benefit from more visitors and members attending club meetings in the future. A lot of hard work is being carried out by the committee to ensure



that the clubs goals are being achieved, and the Competent Leader Manual is actively used in this club to great effect.

Area 10

Clontarf Marino moved to the Regency Hotel in September. The new venue, our website, leafleting, word of

mouth, and the welcoming atmosphere at the club meetings have helped us to attract nine new members already this year. We currently have 29 members and more expected before the end of the current season. We expect to have 4 CC‘s and one AL-B, so we are on track to achieve Select Distinguished status this year. Fingal is a hard-working and experienced club that has the honour of being the home club of a Past International

President. We are confident that we will again achieve Presidents Distinguished Club with six DCP goals already registered and the final assignments to reach our goals already scheduled. Eight new members have been recruited since September, keeping the membership is steady at 35, and we are particularly pleased with the enthusiasm and progress of our newer members. Swords is a welcoming and friendly club; this in turn fosters an atmosphere that is conducive to learning and appreciating all that Toastmasters has to offer. Twelve new members were welcomed this year, we will have four CCs and two CLs this year, and all officer training was completed and dues paid on time. So, we will achieve our goals. East Coast has had a few slow years with membership holding at eight. However, we are planning to be eligible for the DCP and to achieve five goals this year, with the help of our coaches, Maura Ruddy and Vincent Kirby, who are doing a great job. Toastmasters from other clubs have been supporting the club by taking part in the programme, and with an Open Meeting scheduled the end of April we hope more will join us. Malahide is in its 29th year and we‘ve had seven new members join us. Our members range in age from 19 to 80. We had four entries for the Evaluation Contest, two of whom had only started evaluating recently, and we had three eloquent speakers enter the speech competition. The buzz words for our year are enthusiasm and take a chance, and our hope is that by having a good atmosphere and friendly members, people will be at ease to believe in themselves.

Area 16

Area 16 is comprised of five successful clubs in the North/West area of Dublin and South County Meath. They are all strong, vibrant and friendly clubs and on target to meet their DCP goals. We had a very successful mid-summer Area-wide joint meeting as well as an Area-wide Tall Tales competition. There is great co-operation between all of the clubs, which makes it easy for Brian Banfield, Asst. Area Governor, and I to liaise with all of the Clubs. Castleknock Toastmasters has a high profile in the local Community and is a strong, vibrant, and friendly club

with 49 members and growing. Castleknock proudly hosted the very successful Area Humorous Speech and Table Topics Contests. Castleknock is also on-target to meet their Distinguished Club Program goals and they have recruited sixteen new members so far this year mainly through word of mouth and their free ad in local newspapers. Clondalkin is successfully placing special emphasis on new members and is aiming for the President's Distinguished Club. The DCP is promoted in the Club by including as many speeches and leadership roles as possible to progress educational goals. This is achieved in a friendly, educational, and supportive environment, which is a feature of Clondalkin Toastmasters. Clondalkin held the very successful Area-wide Tall Tales competition this year, and they also run a very successful Toastmasters program on the local radio every Saturday. Glasnevin is a very friendly, experienced and efficiently run club. The club is in a successful rebuilding process with their dynamism, enthusiasm and confidence springing back. Glasnevin has recruited nine new members and plan to achieve the Distinguished Club award this year. Lucan is the longest standing club in Area 16. It has 40 members and growing with 13 new members. Lucan is

well organised, energetic with committed support from experienced members, including DTMs, and past officers. Lucan will definitely achieve Select Distinguished Club at least, but maybe more. Lucan Toastmasters has a wealth of experienced members which they use to keep all top standards. Phoenix-Tara is the newest club in Area 16, chartering in June 2006. We hosted a very successful, mid-summer

joint meeting for the Area clubs, as well as a great Area International Speech & Evaluation Contest. We have achieved Distinguished Club for the last 3 years, and intend to achieve Select Distinguished Club this year. Current emphasis is on promoting Leadership and Mentoring. We‘re also fortunate to have all four of our past Presidents remain active in the club. The club is run by the President and his committee in a friendly, efficient and motivational way.

Area 18

Area 18 consists of 4 clubs with enthusiastic, motivated members. Despite difficult economic environment, membership numbers are holding well and we need to continue promoting the valuable skills and experience gained through the Toastmaster experience. Engineers have well-run, well attended meetings. The Club uses the D71 website to manage the meeting

agenda and has started to chart the CL progress of members on the website. After a training session on how best



to use the website, an offer was made to do a longer session with others Clubs in the Area. All members are assigned a mentor when they join and are encouraged to get involved early. Rathfarnham is a thriving, vibrant club where meetings are lively, humorous and innovative. They are maintaining a strong membership count of just over 40 paid up members including seven new this season. Recently, a contingent of eight toastmasters from Taiwan chose Rathfarnham as a stopping point on their European tour and an article and pictures of the visit was published in their Fall conference magazine. So, Rathfarnham now has international renown! Powertalk is a small corporate club, and unfortunately, due to retirements, we have lost some of our more

experienced members. However, with the help of a Club Coach, we are working on membership re-building and have already doubled our numbers from 8 to 16 at present. Our new members are highly motivated, which augers well for the continued growth of the club. We are also on target to achieve Distinguished Club status this year. Tara has had a challenging year due to the economic downturn and a decline in attendance. However, a

significant increase in new members has led to lively meetings benefiting from a new energy. There has been a big push to use the D71 website resulting in increased usage by members, especially new members. Tara is also hosting a PR event in June with a special guest, well known political and human rights activist, Senator David Norris.

Area 19

Dundalk- The season is progressing very satisfactorily for the Co Louth club. The membership base has

increased nicely to leave a very secure platform for next year. We recently organised two interesting meetings with an extra dimension, a joint meeting hosted with Newry, and a presentation by one of the country‘s leading voice coaches. We had five clubs represented at an informative and social evening. The DCP is also in sight. Drogheda - A large membership base gives confidence to Drogheda to have constant lively meetings. A joint

meeting with Navan is on the menu for early May. We are also focused on the Distinguished Club‘s honours list. President Patricia O‘Reilly is mustering efforts to get the club‘s first Competent Leader on the scoreboard. There is good confidence that a strong finish by a number of speakers will happen and the club‘s banner further adorned. Navan- A burst of new members has given an impetus to push on with efforts to gather up points in the DCP. One definite goal is the first CL for the club. A joint meeting with Drogheda will be a first for many members and should be informative. The tradition of providing judges at recent competitions in Dundalk and Drogheda continued with those travelling commenting that this was very beneficial and rewarding. Hillsborough membership has recovered significantly after the loss of members over the summer of 2009. So far, nine new, enthusiastic members have been recruited and the quality of the meetings has improved dramatically under VPE, Michael Crozier. Hillsborough Speakers club remains the Flagship club in the North and hopefully with continue to do so with the enthusiastic support of its membership. Newry celebrated its charter status on 17th April at the Whistledown hotel in Warrenpoint. The founding and establishment of the club has taken three years of hard work with members of Hillsborough Speakers Club, Drogheda and with some assistance from Dundalk. Club membership at last count was 24. Newry members are enthusiastic and need to be willing to take on more responsibility if the club is to succeed long term. Cookstown has had a difficult few years in retaining existing members and attracting new members. However, the executive committee have an active marketing strategy which has brought in a lot of new members and raised the attendance; although still slightly short of twenty active members. Club membership remains a top priority with an active marketing campaign to the wider community. Belfast had its 1

st meeting in March in the Crescent Townhouse, Botanic in Belfast. Acting President - Kerena

Crowe, of Hillsborough Speakers' Club, has put a lot of hard work behind the scenes in organising the club. Response has been enthusiastic and many new members have been recruited already so they expect to charter rapidly. It is important the responses are turned into new members joining and participating in the running of the club.

Area 26

Area 26 consists of four clubs in the Dublin South City area, two corporate and two ‗open to all‘ clubs. Most of the clubs are long established, with a mix of experienced and new Toastmasters. Society and Eblana are both thriving. AIB is struggling somewhat, as are many corporate clubs; however, a rescue plan is in place. PwC is a new, enthusiastic corporate club that is well on track for its first CCs this year. Co-operation from other

clubs is excellent, and their help is much appreciated. We are aiming to be at least Distinguished this year. AIB is the in-house club for Allied Irish Banks. Our membership has fallen greatly; however, the present

committee is rectifying this. We will have at least 8 new members by year end. Our ambition for this year is to be a Distinguished club for the first time since 2003. Eblana - We are a long established club with many experienced members. We have an active recruitment policy and are planning on achieving at least Select Distinguished this year. Society - One of the early Dublin clubs our membership is primarily Chartered accountants but we welcome all comers. We enjoyed a 40

th Anniversary meeting with great attendance and nostalgia. We are aiming to achieve

Select Distinguished this year. We have registered six new members so far and expect to reach eight by year-end.



Division D Report This has been a great year for Division D with the chartering of 2 new clubs – the first in Wexford and the second at State Street International in Kilkenny. There is also the prospect of a 2

nd State Street Club in Naas – maybe

before the summer break? I had hoped that the areas would look more favourably on the District offer to provide money for marketing of the clubs/areas but it would appear that many areas would prefer to retain their own style of publicity. All clubs are actively working on membership building and there would appear to be a greater awareness of how they should achieve the DCP goals. Division Summary The future looks very good for Division D with the arrival of 2 new clubs – and possibly a third before the end of the year. The Division structure will change with the realignment of clubs in Areas 8 and 40. Clubs from Enniscorthy, Gorey Wexford will move over to form a new Area – No. 50? I‘m very grateful to Jerry, Pat, Loretto and Bettie-Marie for all their hard work they put into their areas during the year – your diligence and friendship is much appreciated

Mary O’Connor DTM Division D Governor

Area 8

Area 8 now has 6 clubs with DLS, Dungarvan, Enniscorthy, Tramore, Waterford and the new Wexford club. I was particularly impressed with the good attendance at both of our Club Officer Training sessions and how well the different clubs worked together and got into the spirit of things. DLS (De La Salle Communicators) This is a good strong club working under good leadership. Many of the senior members are a great inspiration to newcomers. Dungarvan: is currently working on a membership building programme and is progressively gaining strength in all activities Enniscorthy: is a very energetic and enthusiastic club. It has a strong membership and all members are very active in the club programmes. Tramore: is also involved in a membership building programme with members showing a greater enthusiasm for achieving club goals. They have had some very unusual Icebreakers. Waterford club – the senior club in the area - will celebrate their 35 anniversary in the autumn. Has a steady stream of guests thanks to good publicity and regular Icebreaker speeches. Wexford: Chartered in December 2009. Members are enthusiastic, well motivated and anxious to make good progress It has been my pleasure and a privilege to have served the great clubs in Area 8 during the past year!

Jerry Ahern Area 8 Governor

Area 27

Area 27 comprises of Cashel, Clonmel, Emerald and Thurles clubs, with a total membership of 107. At this

point in time we have two clubs that have achieved Distinguished or better. Three clubs have produced two CCs each and one club has produced an Advanced Communicator Gold. Congratulations and well done to those and to all the other awards that have been issued and will be issued before the end of the year. The end of this Toastmaster‘s year sees us having a four club joined meeting. Speakers from each club will be evaluated by members of other clubs, thus bringing a new and fresh approach and response to our efforts to improve ourselves, to develop our members and increase the value of Toastmasters to all members. It has been an exciting year for me as Area Governor; I have been supported very eagerly by all club presidents and their executives. All our area and club finals were eagerly attended and contested. I could not have imagined how rewarding it was personally to have the opportunity to influence the course of events and the experience of interacting with so many incredible people. Thank you Toastmasters, Division D and particularly Area 27.

Pat Foley Area 27 Governor



Area 28

The Area in General is progressing well with four clubs Athy, Kildare, Maynooth and Naas. Each club in the area is very active in promoting and advertising the communication and leadership skills that Toastmasters can bring to members. I have enjoyed working with the committees in the four clubs and wish them every success in the future. Athy: This is a very good club with a lovely atmosphere at meetings. Very hardworking officers are guiding this

club. The club is not shy about trying out new ideas. At a recent meeting the Mission Statement was read out by one of the members on Skype – live from Australia. Kildare: There is a continuing ongoing drive to increase membership numbers in the club and it is bearing fruit

with some excellent Icebreakers this year. The standards of evaluations are a feature of this club and with time there is a good future for this club. Maynooth: A feature of this club is the number of guests who attend meetings and who become members.

There is a wonderful variety of speeches ranging from Icebreakers to Advanced and as such is an example to all. Lively Topics sessions continue to enthral. Naas: Our most established club continues to thrive. I recently had the pleasure of joining them to mark the

occasion of their 20th Anniversary. Naas continues to be well organised, enthusiastic and energetic, with great

support by experienced members. Loretto Kenny Area 28 Governor

Area 40

The second half of this year has proven to be a very exhilarating and rewarding time in Area 40. We have acquired a new corporate club in our area – State Street International, and although with a bit of a struggle, it is

chartered and is part of the fold. But it is the existing clubs that have proven to be the champions of the season. Kilkenny Club is positively thriving, and it is always a good sign when extra chairs are carried into a room for meetings. Gorey club is also a treasure and, under strong leadership, is going from strength to strength. Sadly they have recently lost one of their biggest character members, Benny Ronny – but the legend lives on. Although Portlaoise club had a bit of a speed wobble coming into the year, they have also proven to regenerate

enthusiasm by holding a past members evening that was fun and most importantly brought great Toastmasters camaraderie to the night. A lot of members ―past‖ have returned to the fold and the club is in a healthy condition. All in all, the area has been a joy to govern and the potpourri of colourful and enthusiastic people has made the

job very easy. It is especially the genuine welcome that has overwhelmed me every time! Bettie-Marie Burger-Smit Area 40 Governor



Division E Report

Division Governor: Jim Gregory

Areas: 7, 15, 22, 30, 39, 43, 48

Division E remains the largest geographical area within the district. Despite the challenges of distance and personal health issues during the year, the division has remained strong, being well managed by the area governors and club officers. The Division is set to meet or exceed all of its targets. The success of the division is a testament to the hard work and dedication of each area governor and the assistant division governor whose reports follow.

Assistant Division E Governor: Oscar Merkx

Areas: 30, 43 (Scotland)

The Scottish areas are growing from strength to strength with Waverley Communicators recently chartering. Aegon Communicators and Loch Ness Toastmonsters are the latest confirmed pre charter clubs but there are plans for several more in the coming Toastmaster year. We are also developing Thistle Speakers, the first Scottish advanced club. Another area I have worked on has been to encourage members to actvely pursue completion of their DTM. I have enjoyed being assistant Division E Governor and providing my support.

Area 7

Clubs: Oxford Speakers, Bardwell Speakers, Ridgeway Speakers, Bicester Speakers.

Education & Training The Club Officer Training has been well attended and vibrant with a high focus on building leadership and increasing the number of Educational in the Area. We now have 15 Educationals in and Area 7 pool and this will increase further. There is wider engagement in the CL manual. Two significant HPL projects are nearing completion. Oxford is in the process of introducing a library of books and audio CDs on public speaking.

Club Standards All clubs are now in high spirits and the meetings are run very enthusiastic. Oxford, Bardwell, Ridgeway and Bicester all have strength in depth with high standards of speeches and evaluation. Isis, the youngest club, has struggled in the first part of the year, dipped in membership, but is now recovering.

PR/Marketing The PR and marketing tends to differ in each club. Oxford use web-based approaches and daily event bulletins. The Ridgeway have been proactive with events. All clubs supported a Skills Fest event at the beginning of the year. Bardwell and Oxford have revamped their websites. All clubs are now receiving regular visits from guests.

Club Growth The three Oxford based clubs naturally get a high ‗churn‘ due to international visitors and academia, but this is a healthy situation. The Ridgeway also have a high churn. Isis is currently below 20, but is in the preliminary process of joining forces with Said Business School. This should strengthen the club in many ways, but will need careful integration management. The Ridgeway and Oxford have increased membership, with slight increases in Bardwell; Bicester is steady, while Isis suffered the departure of many students

Conclusion There has been a resurgence of enthusiasm in all clubs and the clubs are binding together well, leveraging off each other‘s strengths. The standard of speaking and evaluation is increasing and the engagement in the leadership track has improved significantly. We are expecting three DTM awards in the next few months with potentially more to follow.

Paul Ovington Area 7 Governor

Area 15

Clubs: A1 Speakers, ebOrators, Leeds City Toastmasters, Strictly Speaking Harrogate

Education & Training Officer training was run successfully in February with full attendance from all clubs

Club Standards Every club in area 15 operates to the highest standards of Toastmasters, visit to meetings confirmed that each committee is dedicated to operating their club successfully.

PR/Marketing All clubs obtain their visitors by encouraging existing members to bring along friends and colleagues. Each clubs website generates regular visitors and numbers are increasing. Additional PR has been conducted in local media.

Club Growth All clubs are growing whilst retaining a strong membership base. Leeds in particular has a high number of members and has potential for starting another club in Leeds. A! Speakers was successfully chartered



and Doncaster Speakers are meeting regularly and Kingston Communicators in Hull are continuing to move towards charter strength.

Conclusion One Leeds member has achieved DTM during the year. Each club will see a full range of achievements at CC, CL, AC and AL and a strong performance in the DCP is expected from all. The area succesfully organised and hosted the District 71 "White Rose" conference in November

Anthony Day Area 15 Governor

Area 22

Clubs: Armada, Cheltenham Speakers, Northavon Speakers, South West Speakers, Thamesdown, Voice of Wales

Education & Training Club Office training was held and most clubs reached DCP minimum, with soem additional report training required. Most clubs continue to hold educationals and it is hoped this will be extended to all clubs.

Club Standards Discussions with club presidents confirmed that each club is operating corrcetly as Toastmasters Clubs. All speeches are manual speeches.Club officers continue to fulfill their roles well. All except South West Speakers and North Avon should achieve DCP status this year.

PR/Marketing Marketing generally is being stepped up to try and compensate for fluctuating membership particularly in South West Speakers. Marketing via website and other methods will be developed to generate more visitors

Club Growth Voice of Wales has reversed a membership decline and each of the other clubs ion the area are experiencing reduction in numbers which is being actively addressed.Cheltenham Speakers are working to improve member attendance. There are no new clubs to charter in the current year but some opportunities have been identified for the future

Conclusion The area still faces a number of challenges and is working hard on comsolidation of exising clubs, fortunately each club contains a core of decicated , capable toastmasters who will work hard to ensure success. The area hosted the International Speakers competition in April and were pleased to receive many compliments on its organisation.

Linda Imm Area 22 Governor

Area 30

Clubs:Capital Communicators,Glasgow Toastmasters,Linithgaw Speakers,Southside Speakers,Waverley Communicators

Education & Training Area training was held in conjunction with area 43 and was well attended by officers from all clubs. Training continues to be included in club agendas and individual support is given by mentors.

Club Standards All clubs operate to a very high standard and have good leadership.

PR/Marketing We depend mainly on the web for visitors which combined with word of mouth marketing is keeping all clubs healthy.

Club Growth Each club is going from strength to strength, Linithgaw Speakers had a special recruitment drive which increased membership. Demo meeting has been held for a new corporate club in Edinburgh and an advanced club is in development for Scotland.

Conclusion The area is growing well with all clubs having increased membership. It is anticipated that all clubs will achieve DCP status

David Grant Area 30 Governor

Area 39

Clubs: Bull Ring Speakers, East Midland Speakers, Heart of England Speakers, Spa Speakers

Education & Training Officer training was held but did not have 100% attendance and so special extra training was provided to ensure compliance with DCP targets.All clubs continue to do a full range of educationals in meetings



Club Standards Whilst there is some variation in the agenda items and content between clubs, all clubs comply with Toastmasters standards. There is a high level of motivation and commitment which will be evident in the achievement of DCP for each club

PR/Marketing Special vistor meetings and active encouragement to bring visitors combined with well maintained websites generate visitors. Where visitors have fallen additional activity is planned

Club Growth Whilst the older core clubs continue to thrive Shropshire Speakers the pre charter club continues to need support. Conclusion

Area 39 is a strong thriving area that can now look to establishing additional clubs where demand is strongest. Brian Crockett Area 39 Governor

Area 43

Clubs: Aberdeen Toastmasters, Dundee Toastmasters, Forres Toastmasters,

Education & Training A successful joint training session with area 30 was held which was well attended. Ongoing educational support is provided within each club.

Club Standards All clubs are conducting their meetings to a very high standard. Memebers are being actively encouraged to progress through the manuals

PR/Marketing Since the web continues to generate the most visitors other web based pr has been implemented including twitter and facebook pages.

Club Growth Each club is growing its membership well, with plans for a additional clubs in Inverness, St Andrews and Perth. It is hoped to develop an advanced club covering both Scottish areas.

Conclusion The area has a number of strong leaders and enthusiastic members who are working hard to grow existing and new Scottish clubs despite the adverse economic climate.

Namada Guruswamy Area 43 Governor

Area 48

Clubs: Manchester Orators, Didsbury Speakers, Dominion Speakers, Chesterfield Speakers.

Education & Training Two excellent sessions of training were organised and were very well attended by club officers and also other interested members, meeting or exceeding DCP targets. All clubs continued to conduct regular educational sessions within meetings to support the needs of the clubs.

Club Standards During club visits it was established that all clubs maintained very high standards of compliance with the TM manuals and methods.The area most in need of improvement being the active allocation of mentors for new members, which is being addressed. The area will meet or exceed it's DCP targets.

PR/Marketing The prime method of marketing remains the web as the source of visitors. All clubs have their own well maintained websites with guides, dates of meetings and maps.Clubs have also been entered into relevant web directories and most rank high in search engines.Other methods tried include street handouts of leaflets and other leafleting.A special Open Meeting was held in Manchester financed by a charitable organisation.

Club Growth Visitor numbers are high and membership is growing with the probability of at least one spin-off group in the near future.There have been major challenges in the Chesterfield Speakers club which may have to suspend operation.The situation in Chesterfield is being ameliorated by the development of a larger new club based in nearby Sheffield.Several new clubs are in development and will charter soon, including Sheffield & Chester.

Conclusion This new area has maintained overall growth and standards and is well placed to grow with new clubs including a plan for an advanced club.

Max Gatty Area 48 Governor



Division F – Fabulous F Division F is a great Division and this not only in geographical terms. The five Area governors have done a great job in achieving results and meeting their targets. Their enthusiasm and commitment have made my task a very enjoyable and easy one. Thank you, folks! Division F is very pleased to welcome a new addition; Tuam Toastmasters is our new club in the West .Well done and congratulations to all the people involved for all their hard work, dedication and commitment. Best of luck to Sligo and Innisfree Toastmasters with organizing the District 71 Spring conference .Last but not least, a big thank you to all the Toastmasters in Division F for their kindness and friendship shown to me during my term as Division governor.

Werner van den Hemel Division F Governor

Area 9

Compromising of five clubs, Area 9 is an enthusiastic place to be a member of Toastmasters. Many of its members deliver high quality speeches and evaluations. All clubs have met their training and administrative duties to date. All area visits completed and forms submitted to WHQ. Athlone 6573: This year Athlone club has focused on a very positive membership building program. They have a

hard working and dedicated committee. Longford 610578: Membership is holding steady –though not increasing. They have a President and VPE who

are enthusiastic, willing and hard working. Mullingar 8824: A large, friendly and thriving club. They have a very active recruitment program in place. The

members are quiet competitive and enjoy participating in the yearly contests. SpeakEasyRoscommon 1289933: The youngest club in Area 9 is progressing well. They have taken part in all

the Area contests. On track to achieve their first DCP award. Tullamore 3727: Is a mix of long term and new members learning the art of public speaking in a friendly

atmosphere. This year the club has built on its strengths and increased its membership. Jude Portbury Area 9 Governor

Area 12

All clubs in Area 12 are happy & healthy, and are enjoying another successful Toastmasters year. Ballina 831897: will have two CCS‘s, 1 ACB and an AL which is great news from a relatively young club. They have at least 8 new members this year, so the future is very bright. Corrib 637668: are able to register 2 CC‘s this year and have lots of members working towards Advanced Awards. The CL program is well under way and new members are adding vibrancy to the club. Galway 9215: are striding forward with 2 CC‘s, 2 ACB‘s, 2 CL‘s and lots of new members. Meetings are informative and well organised and the club is very strong. Westport 5684: will attain 4 CC‘s and 2 ACB‘s in 2010 and will certainly have some CL‘s next year. Always very strong contenders in Area and Division contests, new members are inspired by the talent of experienced Toastmasters. The Big, Big news in Area 12 is the arrival of our new baby, Tuam Toastmasters. They have chartered in 2010

and we are all very proud. Huge thanks to all involved and best wishes to Tuam for continued success in the Toastmasters family.

Dolores Ryan Area 12 Governor

Area 13

Shannon Shannon Toastmasters have made huge efforts to overcome their mainly new members and lacks the depth and confidence of more mature members‘ involvement of previous years. I held the area final there again on 10

th April and the Shannon members were crucial to the smooth running of the event. I think they will now do

very well with continued support and involvement. Ennis. Like Shannon, Ennis is also being run by a new committee. It was probably too much of a change for the long-serving members but they are coping well. The club is missing a bit of club spirit as only competitors and two judges attended the area final despite having a large membership. I have covered the need for morale during my visits but the club is still perhaps a bit disjointed within. Kilrush. Kilrush is having a challenge with numbers but is fighting it with promotion and a local radio-aired meeting which was very successful.



Raheen. I think morale there is quite low despite large membership. Only competitors and judges attended the area final. My second club visit was not put on the agenda and only 11 were at that meeting. I have covered morale but like Ennis it is not responding.

Matt Heslin Area 13 Governor

Area 24

Limerick 5342: A very strong and vibrant club with huge growth potential. There are good attendances at all of the meetings and are all of a very high standard. Parliamentary procedures are followed to the letter of the law. Thomond 7729: A well established club with a friendly atmosphere. Meetings are well run and some new members have already signed up. Thomond is the home club of the District Governor, Lt. Governor Marketing and Area Governors for both last year and this year. Killaloe/Ballina 771940: A well run club, however membership dropped below 12 by the end of December and a

Club Coach was appointed, which also happened to be the Area Governor. With the hard work of the excellent committee, the membership has now risen to 21 in less than 3 months and dedicated new members have breathed new life into this club. Nenagh 7197: A very good and strong club with enjoyable meetings. The club has in its membership dual

members with Roscrea. There is a vibrant, active committee and they have done the club proud at all levels if competitions in recent years. Roscrea 91758: A very vibrant club with a very strong membership base. The meetings are well supported and there are a number of very experienced dual members with Nenagh who have helped developing the club since its foundation. I am very happy with all of the clubs in Area 24 and I would like to thank all the excellent Presidents and Club officers for their efforts and contributions throughout the year.

Joseph Coleman Area 24 Governor

Area 38

Letterkenny 1229819 A really great club with wonderful energy. Each of the members has a great pride and

interest in their club. The President and VPE, with the help of members, have just completed a Speechcraft course. It was very successful and new members have signed up as a result. Innisfree 857721 A vibrant club with a growing membership. There is a lovely atmosphere at meetings. Their president gives great energy to the club and the results are obvious. Sligo 4201 A lovely club with an energy all of its own. There is great humour and many excellent members. This club is considering starting a Speechcraft course in the near future. Carrick-on-Shannon 758321 An enthusiastic club with members dedicated to Toastmasters. Again the atmosphere is delightful and the members set a high standard. Enniskillen 1024092: A club that is going well and has many enthusiastic members. At the moment they are advertising a new Speechcraft course. The hope is that, apart from helping many people, it will achieve some new members for the club. It is a good club and everyone seems to enjoy the meetings very much. I am very pleased with all the clubs and it has been my privilege to have been associated with them this year. I wish to thank them for their kindness and courteousness to me while visiting them. Congratulations to you all.

Mary T. Burke Area 38 Governor



Division G Report Overall the division is in a very healthy position. All clubs are committed to the DCP programme and are working towards their educational goals. All Administrative goals have been met by every club in the division. Recruitment remains healthy throughout and all clubs report a steady stream of visitors, and new members. The real highlight for division G is the number of new clubs. Cambridge City chartered this year as did The company club at Aviva which has now been renamed to TATA speakers The new clubs in Lincoln, Ware, Northampton and Woodford Green, are all doing extremely well A new club is being planned for Dagenham as soon as Woodford green Charters, which may well have occurred by the time this report is presented.

Area 1

All four clubs in Area 1 are working towards their DCP goals. One club is already distinguished and another has achieved Select Distinguished status. All clubs should reach Distinguished status by the end of June and all have at least twenty members. All Club Officer Training Contests were well attended. A Tall Tales Contest on 1

st

December was enjoyed by members of all four clubs. This has been and continues to be a busy and enjoyable year.

Sue Coppens-Brown Area 1 Governor

Area 4

Aylesbury, the oldest established club having a few problems with meeting attendance but good team of officers who hopefully can expect a good DCP this year. Berkhamsted is going from strength to strength full and enthusiastic meetings provide a good level of progress in the DCP which should reach 10 points again this year. Vale a nice crew with a good number of novice speakers and some advanced speakers working hard to help them all to find their voice. Thame is another club with lots of well trained officers and 3 DTM's this year

Rex Tyler Area 4 Governor

Area 20

Area 20 has 5 established clubs a pre-charter club - Ware Speakers. The area took a while to embrace the new Leadership programme and, this has had an impact on the number of DCP points that the clubs have achieved. However, the tide has now turned and a steady flow of competent leaders is now beginning to flow through. Watford Speakers is now thriving and one of its 'home bred' speakers won the Area Humorous Speech Contest. Ware Speakers will hopefully charter in a not too distant future and join the other clubs in the area in producing the speakers and leaders of today and tomorrow.

Bernice Paulin-Booth Area 20 Governor

Area 25

Area 25 has five chartered clubs and one pre-charter club. The COT was held on 6th February. The event was

well attended and it was very encouraging to see five members from newly chartered Tata Speakers Norwich and three members from pre-charter club Impishly Speaking Lincoln in attendance. Tata Speakers Norwich chartered in December 2009 with 23 members. Impishly Speaking Lincoln with 8 signed-up members, have recently changed their meeting venue to a more central to encourage additional members. At the beginning of April all clubs are on track to meet their DCP targets. All Area visit forms have been completed and submitted with the exception of Norwich Speakers Club, which is on 15

th April.

Ann Nunn Area 25 Governor

Area 41

At the turn of the Toastmasters Year Area 41 was split into two and the new Area 41 was made from the three Cambridgeshire clubs from the original six clubs in the Area. In September the Area grew again when Cambridge City Communicators Chartered in September following all the hard work and time put in by Michelle Fleming and Mike Snoswell. All contests were well. The Area representatives did exceptionally well at the Division contest and first time entrant David Gwyer from Anglia Communicators achieved a superb second place in the Humorous Speech contest.

Mike Snoswell Area 41 Governor

Area 44

The three chartered Clubs (North Bucks Speakers, Eldergate toastmasters and Bedford Speakers) are great Clubs headed by very good Presidents who are using the DCP to steer their clubs I have no doubt that they will all achieve their individual Club goals. All the Clubs have participated enthusiastically in the two Club Officers

Training (summer and winter) sessions and the two Area Contests (Autumn and Spring) The pre-chartered club (Meadow Speakers) is fragile and needs nurturing before it will grow to Chartered status. It has been a pleasure to work with all the Presidents of these excellent Clubs.

Khai-Eng Tyler Area 44 Governor



Division H Report

Division H spreads along the southern coast of England from Kent to Dorest, then north stretching past the M4 corridor through much of South London and all of Kent. The distance between the furthest two clubs is just over 200 miles and would take around 4 hours on the fastest roads. Numbers prior to the April dues were increasing dramatically, above 40 in some clubs. Other clubs seemed to have difficulty attracting or retaining members. Prior to the April dues date, 7 clubs had less than 20 members and 2 clubs had less than 10 members. One of the clubs with less than 10 members, Talkability at Sun, has now closed. The other club, Premier Communicators in Canterbury is being supported by an experienced Club Coach and has already started to increase its membership. There are significant differences between clubs in their attitude and support for acquiring DCP points. One club has already achieved the full 10 points. Several other clubs are not far behind. On the other hand there are still 12 clubs with 3 or less DCP points. New Clubs working towards charter include company club Fluor and community clubs in Worthing and Casterbridge. Fluor has had a set back with significant numbers of redundancies. Worthing Speakers is being re-launched and Casterbridge is still meeting and building slowly. Hanwic (Southamption) achieved charter status on 9

th October 2009. Discussions are well underway for a new club to be launched in Farnham by June 2010.

Christopher Howell Division H Governor

Area 14

I started my year with 7 clubs and one pre-charter and have regularly attended all but not yet completed all second official visits. Unfortunately, due to large-scale redundancies, Talkability@Sun has folded. The situation with Fluor is similar but Fluor intends to revive the club and charter eventually. Guildford SC (GSC) is supporting the start up of a new club in Farnham which will have two sponsors, Nicky Kriel, VPE at GSC, and me. A meeting is being held

with interested parties on Monday 19th April, when I will be in a better position to provide feedback.

The club officer training was very well attended with all clubs sending four plus members and I am pleased to report that the president of London Borough of Merton (LBM) attended as well. DCP goals: Camberley SC (CSC) logged 7 target 9, GSC logged 10, Epsom SC (ESC) logged 5 target 8/9, Mole Valley S (MVS) logged 4 target 5, Woking SC (WSC) logged 9 target 10. LBM logged none but understand the importance of following the programme and will be in a stronger position next year. ESC, GSC and WSC have strong membership and provide excellent support to other clubs in the area. The relationship between these clubs is very strong. LBM has not engaged with any other clubs and has a number of internal issues to be resolved. If the area is to split, I would recommend LBM moving into Area 35. Potentially at some time in the future, Farnham could be moved into Area 46 but in its first few years it will be closely supported by GSC and should be a part of Area 14. Succession planning is in place at ESC, GSC and WSC with AGMs planned and interested members coming forward. I am working with CSC and MVS on finding a president as neither club has had anyone interested or suitable from their existing membership. So far Martin Berry, existing president at WSC plans to stand at CSC, and Gerry Rowe, ex GSC president, has expressed an interest in standing for president at MVS. Both will become members of the respective clubs and I would support them. Nicola Coutts Area 14 Governor

Area 21

3 out of 4 of the clubs are all doing very well, One is struggling a bit and the potential new club is yet to get off the starting blocks. There is always a good turnout at officer training and the area clubs get involved with each other. This is helped by the fact that all clubs have several joint members and communication between and via Area Governor is very good. All succession plans at club and Area Governor level are well underway.

Windsor: Very active members, Good turn out to meetings. They are targeting 10 out of 10 for DCP points. Good mix of experienced and new members. Active committee and they also get involved with other area clubs for events.

Maidenhead: Active club is still growing with new members joining on a regular basis - 4 joined at the last

meeting! Will probably reach 9 out of 10 DCP points. Very experienced club 27 years old, looking at the banner this is probably the most highly be-ribboned club in the UK. There is a proposed debate competition between Maidenhead and Windsor to be held in June.

Chiltern: Club is expanding very well, so much so that their current venue is becoming a little cramped at

meetings. I have advised that they should look for new accommodation. Also on track for 9 out of 10 points.



Marlow: Very forward thinking and the speaking standard is very high. The member numbers are dropping although this will bounce back as there is a membership drive in place. At least 3 people should rejoin, There are 3 area governors that are former members that will return when their AG years are completed. Club is planning specialist evenings, eg One Manual meetings - 5 speeches from 1 advanced manual. Inviting members from any club to see what a whole advanced manual is about. Also the very successful Regional,Tall Tales event with keynote speaker will be held again in June.This club continues to drive AL and CL awards through to other clubs in several areas and is key in helping them achieve DCP points.

New club; The main sponsors of this club had to pull out due to work commitments so it is struggling to get off

the ground. Another town has been discussed. Slough. We still have a bit of a challenge ahead. Keith Clarke Area 21 Governor

Area 32

The Area has 5 Chartered clubs including County Communicators (Chichester) which chartered in October 2009 and 1 Pre-Charter club Worthing. Eastbourne Speakers (94I371) – Led by Dec Cluskey. Clear evidence of new members and their active

involvement, including new committee members for next year. Brighton & Hove Speakers (5439) – Led by Maggie Hall started the year with a few challenges, but the club

continues to attract new members fairly easily. Active plans for next year‘s committee. Arun Speakers (7298) – Led by Bill Leach. A model club with a number of long standing members who keep this

club on a very stable basis, in their new home. Battle Speakers (1240705) - Led by Giles Robinson. The club is now addressing recruitment and retention, and

established members are keen to expand. County Communicators (not known) - A corporate club, in its first year, led by Sue Couchman, enthusiastically

supported by the sponsoring employer WS County Council. Worthing Speakers (PC) - Led by Meg Heyworth. The club has found it difficult to attract new members, but

numbers are now above 10, which is encouraging. Several long standing TMs assist locally. Gordon Piggott Area 32 Governor

Area 35

Bromley: Strong club, high standard of experienced speakers. Continuing organisational challenge in so far as the committee has a couple of members who do the majority of the planning and organising. This does not effect the running of the meetings itself as the experienced speakers are more than capable of filling in vacant roles but committee members would all benefit from spreading the workload more efficiently. Less experienced guests still need to be followed up as high standard of speaking can be off putting. Speakers of Croydon: Going from strength to strength in light of strong competition from 2 other speaking clubs

in Croydon. Club seems to have benefited from newer members bringing in new ideas and holding celebratory themed evenings, party nights etc. Lewisham Speakers: Well organised club doing very well, attracting high turn out and good variety of experienced and less experienced speakers. Committee works well and is well run and after 18 months of launching is not showing any signs of faltering that can occur to clubs in similar position. Meridian Speakers: Attractive location, high numbers, committee as with Bromley dependent on 2 or 3 hard

working individuals, treasurer position still a problem ie finding a committed individual to fill the role. Club administration still weak due to lack of experience of some committee members but high influx of guests aids club growth. Croydon Communicators: As with Bromley and Meridians, weakness on the committee ie 2/3 very hard

working individuals run the club single handed. Again treasurer role is neglected which is a common theme in the area and perhaps the importance of the role is not given sufficient attention at the moment. Club still has 6 monthly memberships which discourages membership retention. Club however held an extremely successful area speech competition recently for which I am extremely grateful. Thank you Henrietta! David Langworthy Area 35 Governor

Area 37

Tunbridge Wells (739066) Tunbridge Wells Speakers is a vibrant, friendly and well attended club, led by a very experienced team of Toastmasters. This year the club has built on its strengths and expects to achieve distinguished status. Kent Speakers (9934) Kent Speakers if a very friendly and welcoming club that enjoys a lot of fun during its

meetings. The club members have worked hard this year and expect to achieve select distinguished status.



Toasted Sandwich (782690) Toasted Sandwich is a successful corporate club that enjoys significant support from its sponsoring firm. The club‘s leadership has encouraged its members to participate in area activities and has achieved distinguished status. Canterbury Premier Communicators (710647) Canterbury Premier Communicators is a warm, friendly and

supportive club with a strong core of loyal members, attendance has been low recently, but the club‘s dynamic leadership has worked hard to build the club‘s membership, and looks forward to continued growth in the New Year. Ambassadors Club of Margate (1183675) The Ambassadors Club of Margate is a very friendly, young club with

enthusiastic, loyal and close-nit membership and leadership. The club enjoys a great sense of fun at its meetings and treats guests extremely well. Frankie Gahan Area 32 Governor

Area 42

Chaseside Speakers- a company club based at JPMorgan, the club has struggled to retain membership over the past year or so. Has lost some motivation as witnessed by its absence at Club Officer Training and Contests, but has an enthusiastic committee who wish to rebuild. Cottonwood Speakers - a long established and well-organised club, which does well at gaining members, but

has issues over retention. Meetings are well organised and attended and committee are keen to get involved in Area events. Hamwic Speakers - Our newest club - founded in March 2009 and chartered in October. Already has over 30 members. A young club but very keen and ambitious. Promises great things in coming years. Solent Speakers - Well organised and active club. Members have won all four Area contests this year reflecting depth of skills in the club. Lost some members to Hamwic but retains healthy membership, recently changed venue reflecting confidence in future. Casterbridge Speakers - On the edge of chartering, just needs one more push to get to the 20 members.

Friendly and enthusiastic club. Disappointed they did not get involved in area events, which might have inspired them to have chartered already. Keith Oliver Area 42 Governor

Area 46

Reading Speakers During the 2009/10 year, the club has experienced a surge in interest from the local community and is on track to have attracted 11 new members by June 2010. This has mainly been achieved through word of mouth PR. The club has seen a number of more experienced members leave and must invest more time in succession planning so that new blood in injected into the committee. Club standards are good overall. More focus should be placed on selling the benefits of the CL awards as this is an area where the club struggles to get member engagement. Newbury Speakers This is a model club in several areas. Over the last 3 years it has used the Speech Craft Program to establish corporate at Vodafone in Newbury & Sovereign Housing in Bristol. At the end of March 2010, the club with the support of Newbury Town Council delivered a hugely successful ―Speak Out‖ day held in Newbury Town Centre which has generated significant PR & new member opportunities for the club. The club has an experienced and dedicated group of club officers underpinned by proactive succession planning. By the end of the 09/10 year the club aims to have grown its member base to 27 and achieved Select Distinguished Club status. Vodafone Speakers The club had a challenging start to the year with interest and membership reducing due to

restructures within the Organisation. However, with the support of Newbury Speakers & the delivery of the Speech Craft program within Vodafone plus a lot of hard work by the club officers in promoting the club to employees at the campus, there has been a significant increase in membership. Wessex Speakers The club is on a solid footing with a strong member base of 46 and a proactive attitude to

member development. The club mainly relies on word of mouth and its website to attract new members & consequently could use Newbury Speakers as a model for building stronger links in the local community. Given it‘s member base, attendance at club meetings can occasionally be low indicating that more communication with long term non attending members may be necessary. Microsoft Speakers The club formally launched in September 2009 after using the Speech Craft Program to build interest in the organisation & achieve charter status. By June 2010 the club will have attracted over 20 new members which is a fantastic achievement by any standards. Club meetings are energetic and well run. With the continued drive of the club officers, the club can expect to deliver its first batch of Competent Communicators and Competent Leaders in 12 months time. Alex Reid Area 32 Governor



District Public Relations Officer Report – Freddie Daniells

How have your PR efforts been going this year? At the beginning of the year, hopefully you had some goals of things that you wanted to achieve? Hopefully, you have managed to achieve a number of those and are happy with your efforts. As you know, Toastmasters works on a system of doing a job just for a single year before moving on. There are lots of good things about this in terms of it pushes us as leaders more than would otherwise be the case. However, particularly from a PR perspective, sometimes it can be frustrating. A lot of ongoing PR activities don‘t lend themselves so well to a single year. So what can you do about this? One of the most important things you can do in any Toastmasters role (or indeed any role) is make sure of giving an effective handover. For VP PR‘s I think this is particularly important. I remember taking over as President of my club and thinking ―where do I start?‖ Luckily, my Past President, Deborah Ilott, called me and asked ―Freddie, when are we meeting to do a proper handover?‖. A week later, we met and spent nearly two hours discussing all aspects of the role. Months later, I realised just how much more effective that had made me as President. As PR Officer, you will have tried some activities and seen what worked (and what didn‘t). You may have built some contacts with local printers, radio or newspapers. Maybe you ran a survey of your members with results that should share with your successor. The more information you are able to handover, the more introductions you can make to your successor, the better the chance of them doing as great a job as you have done. Too often, I see that our clubs lose vital PR knowledge as new people take over the role. Take the time to help handover properly to your successor as they take the ropes in the next month or so. ---------- Earlier this week Catherine Desson, Immediate past President of Citi Criers, asked me, as part of a survey, what motivated me to keep going with Toastmasters. It was a great question to think about as we come to the end of the year. My response was that my motivation was to continue to learn, to be able to give value to the organisation and to make sure I was having fun. This year has seen me do all three. Past District Governor David Thompson had told me that working with a District the size of ours would be very different than being Division Governor of teeny weeny Division B. He was very right! It has been a big and exciting learning curve. I have achieved some of the things for the District that I wanted. However, there was plenty that I have not achieved as well. The issues at District are very different than at Division and it has taken time to familiarise myself with those - again something David T warned me about! I hope to be able to do more in coming years. Finally, though, it has been great fun. Joe has led the team brilliantly with great help from Teresa and Jim. We have had many laughs along the way. Most fun, though, has been the chance to meet you, our leaders and members. Again, David T told me that too! I hope that you have had a great year and are enthused to help Toastmasters this coming year. Freddie Daniells, District PR Officer PS Note to self: Past District Governors are wise old so and so‘s! ;)



Lt Governor Marketing Report – Jim Hegarty This is a great time of the year. The weather is usually very good and there is a smell of newly mown grass in the lawns and parks. There is an array of nature's colours to be seen all around us. It is a time, when we look forward with expectation. In the Toastmasters World, at this time of year, we like to look back too, at what we have achieved.

How has District 71 been doing in relation the specific targets, which have been set by WHQ? Club Numbers Status Membership Payments Status

Club Number Base 211 Membership Payments Base 12200

Active Clubs to Date 221 Membership Payments to Date 12114

Paid Clubs to Date 216

Goals for June 30 217 Goal for June 30th 12444

District Club No.s Behind 1 club District Membership Payments Behind 330 members

▬► There will be no problem in getting the 1 club that D71 requires, as several clubs are about to charter ▬►There will be much work to be done to get 330 Members Dues paid. Each club must play its part. The Relative Strength of Areas There are many criteria that one could use to compare the relative strength of Areas. If you measure the strength of an Area, based the on the criterion that all of it's clubs have paid dues for 20 members or more, by the 31st of March 2010, then there are only 8 Areas that are strong. This is, indeed, a surprising result. So, there are weak clubs in 83% of our Areas, based on this one criterion. This is not a new situation and supports have been designed to help Clubs and Divisions to address these problems. The supports in question are set out in the Table below:

A List of Financial Supports for Clubs and Divisions which are available from the District Marketing Fund

1. Every PC club that is meeting ……………………………..£150 / €220 2. Every club that Charters: Banner and Bag Allowance …. …$100 3. Any club that has 12 or fewer members …………………...£150 / €220 4. A club that has 12 or fewer members can have up to two Club Coaches appointed to it. 5. Division Marketing Fund [all Divs] ……………………….£300 / €380 For the above, and for the appointment of Club Coaches, contact me at [email protected]

In relation to the appointment Club Club Coaches, the uptake of this particular support has been lower than expected. All 8 divisions have at least 1 'weak club'. Currently, 5 clubs, out of 21 eligible clubs have had Club Coaches appointed to them. In one case, the number of members has grown from 8 to 23. Generally, it is not easy to bring up the number of members in a weak club to full charter strength. One club has had two Club Coaches appointed to it. It can be difficult to find a Club Coach, who resides near enough to a 'weak club'. One possible reasons why 'weak clubs' do not seek to have a Club Coach appointed, is that the Club Coach cannot be from the club he/she is coaching. The number of New Clubs that have Chartered in this toastamsters year, 2009 - 2010:

In total, since the start of this Toastmasters Year, on the 1st of July 2009, 13 new clubs have Chartered. The deadline, for chartering new clubs for this year, is the 30th June 2010. However, if the paperword is not done, well before that, the new club could end up being registered for 2010 -2011. The number of Pre-Charter Clubs, that are holding meetings, is as follows: A Pre-Charter Club is a newly organised club that has paid the 'charter registration fee' and is holding meetings, but has not yet reached the magic number of 20 members. There are 24 clubs, in that catergory, that are in various stages of development. Some of these clubs have just started to meet. Others are about to reach charter strength. The number of Pre-Charter Clubs that are likely to Charter before the end of the year: Having kept in touch with developments, in all eight divisions, I am quietly confident that another 7 New Clubs will charter before the end of the year. Faulty or incomplete paperwork can delay the Chartering Process, so contact me if you are having problems in this regard.

Jim Hegarty, Lieutenant Governor Marketing, April 26th 2010



Lt Governor Education & Training Report – Teresa Dukes

Spring has finally sprung! The daffodils and tulips are poking their heads up and showing off their colours! And I can say the same for our members. Your colours are showing through the many brilliant accomplishments we have achieved. Don‘t stop blooming yet because we still have one more month to go! Recognise your members‘ accomplishments immediately – help them celebrate by registering their award with WHQ as soon as they complete their projects. We have only 10 weeks left (and it will be 7 by the time this is printed) to achieve our targets. As of 20

th April we

were outstanding the following against our goals: 249 CCs, 41 ACs, and 70 Leadership awards (CL, ALB, ALS, DTM). Make sure your member gets recognized for their hard work – register their awards as soon as they are completed.

EDUCATION:

Educational Awards: Congratulations to all our members who have achieved a personal goal within the educational programme. I am

pleased to see so many people being recognised immediately for their accomplishments. 177 Competent Communicators

46 Advanced Communicators Bronze

18 Advanced Communicators Silver

16 Advanced Communicators Gold

63 Competent Leaders 27 Advanced Leaders Bronze

20 Advanced Leaders Silver

17 High Performance Leadership

20 Distinguished Toastmasters : Mary Brassel, Constance Turner, Jacqui Hogan, Robert Nisbet, Helen Quinn, Meg Heyworth, Denis Heffernan, Gillian Cutts, Himanshu Vora, Keith Gautier, Jane Campbell, Hilary Briggs, Anne-Marie Cooke, Michael Clarke, Oscar Merkx, Jim Robinson, Angus Galbraith, John Morris, Linda Hooper, Andy Hammond.

TRAINING:

District Officer Training: Our second District Officer Training was held in January at which we had ~98% attendance by our Area and Division Governors. This training is used to give our new leaders a chance to recap on the year so far and to start monitoring and analyzing where the clubs are at this point in the year so they can take steps to reach their goals.

Club Officer Training: With the help of our Division and Area Governors our Club Officers have again achieved an extremely high rate of training and one we should all be very proud of!

Second Round of Club Officer Training with 4 or more officers trained:

Division A – 81% Division B – 90% (*Riverside, SpeakEasy @ Credit Suisse)

Division C – 97% Division E – 100%

Division D – 95% Division G – 84% (*Berkhamsted, Bedford Speakers, North Bucks)

Division F – 100% Division H – 71%

* Trained all 7 Officers – CONGRATULATIONS TO THESE LEADERS The Second Round of training is always our challenge and I am pleased to see that our District total for the second training did not drop drastically as we only fell from 92% to 89% Thanks to all officers for helping make this training session successful. NOTE: Remember that you can claim back for your room hire for this training session (£50/€63). Please email me with your request stating amount, who to make cheque payable to, address to send it.

Teresa Dukes DTM, Lt Gov Education & Training, May 2010



District Governors Report – Joe Gibbs

As we approach the end of the Toastmasters year it is time to think of handing on the baton to someone else. It‘s a time to reflect on our achievements to date and to look at what we can still do before the year end in June. Can we encourage those new members to do their icebreaker, that lady to complete her CL and get the recognition she so deserves, or that club to make the final effort to reach the magic 20 for charter status. There is still time to make a difference, to leave behind your mark, to help someone ―find their voice‖. Many of us joined Toastmasters to develop our communication skills and overcome a fear of speaking in public. Few I suspect will have joined specifically to develop leadership skills. Yet the ability to lead people, manage resources, and get things done through motivating others is a valuable skill in our professional and personal lives. We can learn so much from having the courage to take on leadership positions in Toastmasters. I suspect that we continue to undervalue and under-estimate what we learn from carrying out our roles. For me much of the joy and satisfaction I continue to get from Toastmasters is seeing others realise the potential within them and become better leaders and communicators through the Toastmasters program. Our new clubs continue to grow in number, our membership continues to increase and more people work towards achieving those all important educational awards and the recognition they deserve for their efforts. We recognize not just the 20 DTM‘s that have achieved the highest award in Toastmasters but the Competent Communicators and Competent Leaders who have accepted the challenge to ―Find their Voice‖. Though the last 4 years on the Executive have provided their own challenges I have learned much about leadership, people in general and above all myself thorough having the honour of serving you. I hope that in some small way I have made a difference in D71 and I would like to take this opportunity to thank not just the members of the District Council but all the members throughout the District for your continued support, help and good wishes. Without you there would be no District 71 and no opportunity for others to develop and grow though the benefits of this great organisation. Finally a word or thanks to the 2009-10 District Executive for your hard work and support throughout the year, particularly the hard working Treasurer and Secretary without whom the District could not function. I have been proud to serve as your District Governor in this our 85

th year and I wish the incoming Executive all the

best in the knowledge that the District is in secure hands. ―The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and will to carry on.‖ - (Walter J. Lippmann) Joe Gibbs D71 District Governor 2009-10 “Find Your Voice”

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