Fellow Toastmasters,
At the beginning of the Toastmasters year, I wrote a longish article where I talked about the state of the District. At that time, I said that I wanted to provide roughly quarterly updates so I could keep you abreast of where our District is.
Well, I missed the December/January article by just a tiny bit. In case you haven’t seen a calendar recently, it’s now the end of March.
That said, there are a lot of good things going on in the District and still some things we need to keep our eye on. Club health and member education fit into both categories of “good” and “keep your eye on.” Not surprisingly, both club health and member education are tied into our District mission of growing new clubs and helping all clubs achieve excellence.
Club Health
We started this year with 91 clubs. And, if I am honest with myself, it has been a hard year for the clubs we’ve lost. We lost our club in Atlantic (We Excel) as well as our Palmer College club. We will lose a few clubs that charted fairly recently: Quad City Bank & Trust and VACIHCS. We will probably lose DeWitt and the High Voltage club in Des Moines. That is six clubs. There are others that are at eight members or so and that could use a club coach. If you are interested in helping a struggling club as a club coach, please let Keith Nielsen or me know so we can prevent losing any more.
That said, we also have had some growth in clubs. We have seen three clubs charter in January: Stagecoach Speakers HMHQ, Changing Winds, and E-Series Toastmasters. Thanks to Vilma Bergstrom, Joan and Jacque Johansen, and Keith and Kelly Nielsen, respectively; for your help in bringing these clubs to fruition. Although these people were the most visible in starting these clubs, I also need to thank many of you who worked in the shadows with the corporations and prison administrators to start these clubs. You are what makes our District great.
Since then, we have had other clubs which have either started or are on the verge of starting. The one that chartered is TrueSolutions in Cedar Rapids, which is the TM child of Division B Governor, Jeanne Heil, and a gaggle of her Area Governors. We have a few more clubs which we think will start in the next few months – GuideOne in Des Moines, Athene in Des Moines, John Deere in Waterloo, and PowerTalkers in Cedar Rapids.
Where do we forecast ending up at the end of the Toastmasters year? Right now, my best guess is that we will have a net gain of three clubs, for a grand total of 94 clubs. But, this will not happen without your continued efforts to keep the processes moving. New clubs need love too, so if you want to be a club sponsor or mentor, contact Keith or me and we will get you connected with the right people to help new folks get the most out of the program.
Member Education
Member education is a place where we need place more attention in the last few months of the Toastmasters year. We have 30 clubs which would be eligible today by membership numbers to participate in the Distinguished Club Program (DCP) if the Toastmasters year ended today. We also have 25 clubs which have 5 or more goals achieved. For those of you who are Venn diagram inclined, the overlap is that we would 14 clubs which would be Distinguished if the year ended today.
What does member education mean? In order to get our full $6 out of the dues you pay each month, we all need to work the program. As I look at the data for our District, I see that we have 24 clubs where we haven’t achieved a single educational goal this year (after removing three new clubs from the list). I cannot emphasize this enough – in order for our members to get value out of the program, they have to work the program. This is completely a self-paced program, but speeches and leadership achievements are a big part of growth. In order to grow as a leader, sometimes you also have to set the pace and get a few educational achievements yourself.
Fortunately, we have a great incentive program which rewards you if you do get your next educational or leadership award. Our Lieutenant Governor of Education and Training (LGET), Paul Wood, has offered gift certificates for those who achieve educational awards. For those who receive three or more educational goals this year, you are known as the rare “Triple Crown” winner, which also will get you special recognition. Please join me in striving to be a triple crown winner. I’m at two and on track for three…how about you?
Conclusion
So, there you have it – the state of the District. We are working toward a club growth of three new clubs, but we will need your help to retain our current clubs and grow more. We have seen several clubs help their members in getting their $6 out of the program through member education, but more work is needed.
Whether you are in a strong club, a new club, or a struggling club; how we finish this year is up to you. I can only provide a forecast based on what we currently know. You have the power to change this future. It’s only March – it’s not too late. Of course, June 30th will come all too soon.
Where we end this year is up to all of us. Please help me in shaping this future.
That is the state of the District.
-Mark
P.S. I know those who know me are probably wondering why haven’t mentioned District financials yet. This is also important. Here is your brief synopsis.
We are ahead in revenue, mostly because the Fall District conference finished well in the black (thank you Jim Brown and your team). We are struggling to manage our travel expenses as a proportion of our total budget, mostly because we haven’t spent as much as we wanted in marketing.
Therefore, if you have ideas on how to better grow new clubs and to get the word out, please reach out to Keith Nielsen (LGM) and our Public Relations Officer (PRO), Brenda Peshak. We could easily spend additional money on educational programs, such as Speechcraft. Please reach out to our LGET, Paul Wood, with your ideas on how to improve the District’s education program this year.
I will publish my most recent copy of the District budget and actuals on the website. As always, if you have questions, please reach out to me and I will do my best. J
Go get ‘em, Tiger.
-M