The Great Scavenger Hunt

Lots and lots of information is posted on the District 86 website: http://www.toastmasters86.org/.  Do you know where to go to find that for which you are seeking?  Can you help others find it too? 

The Great Scavenger Hunt is about to begin.  There are 10 questions for you to answer. They are all listed on the website and it will be the website answers that will count as being accurate.  The FIRST email I receive at district86governor@gmail.com with the correct answers will receive a $50.00 gift certificate for the Spring Conference 2011.  All others who send in their answers to this email address will be put into a draw for a $25 gift certificate.  Use The Great Scavenger Hunt as the subject line.

All members except those in current district officer roles are eligible to play. 

 Ready? Set? Go...

What is the district newsletter called and where do you find the link on the website?

What is the date of the last update of the Club Officer Training?

How many points on the Above & Beyond contest does the club get per DTM?

What two links are listed under the Wondering What to Do Next heading?

How many main headings are there in the Tips for Contests?

In the Contest DOs and DON'Ts, how many DOs are there?

For how many elected positions are there descriptions under Postions for Nominations Process?

Under Clubs, how many new members have joined since the District 86 began July 1, 2008?

What is the key phrase in the slide show for the Spring Conference 2011?

How many district awards are there and what are they?

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Now's the time to search the site and find those answers.  Send in  your answers before February 15th.

Are you game to win a gift certificate?  Good luck!!!

Merri

Training Is For Everyone!

Yesterday was an awesome day!  Your district officers gathered in Milton for a full day of exciting interaction, education and shared learning.  At least that's what it looked like!

During the sessions, the division and area governors learned about how to blend new district membership contests with international ones.  Our Lieutenant Governor Marketing, DTM John MacDonald promoted the extended Talk Up Toastmasters contest which TI runs.  If your club has the highest number of new members registered with TI during this contest, it will receive a $100 gift certificate for the Spring Conference bookstore.  All clubs who have any new members during the contest period will be put into a draw for a $50 gift certificate: two clubs will be drawn.

Our Lieutenant Governor Education and Training, DTM Avis Brodie presented the new rule book for running great contests. The International Speech Contest and the Evaluation Contest is getting underway in our clubs with the area and division contests only a short time away.  Be sure to encourage those who are preparing to participate and cheer them on. Come see the ultimate challenge at the District Conference at the Delta Meadowvale in Mississauga April 8-10th. 

Our governors got some really great tips for getting media coverage for promoting your club and building your membership from our District PRO, ACB, ALB Katie Chida.  Ask your Area Governor when they come for their club visits to share what they have learned.  Get your VP PR to use it; then watch your club grow!!!

Calling all District Leaders!  We need you!  Run for one of the District Officer positions for 2011-2012. Our Immediate Past District Governor, DTM Doreen Hillier presented the nominations procedures for the upcoming elections. Be sure to check out this information on the district website.

And much more; ask your Area Governors to visit your club and share some great information with you. Get ready for you and your club to be Soaring to Excellence on June 30th.

And training isn't just for the governors.  Your District Trio is heading off to Chicago for two full days of training so we can serve you better for the remainder of the year.  Each of us will be trained according to our roles and what is new on the horizon for Toastmasters International. I can't wait to see what's up. Stay tuned as I will be sure to share it all with you upon our return.

So, you see training is for everyone!  Between now and the end of February, Phase II training is going on in a venue near you.  Go, ask questions, learn stuff and share what you already know. What has your experience been like for the past six months? What do you want to accomplish the next six months?    Attending club officer training is a proven strategy for club success.  Find out when and where on the district website: http://www.toastmasters86.org/.

So training IS for everyone...how about you?

New Year's Goals

Happy New Year everyone!  I trust you all had an outstanding end to 2010 and began 2011 with all the excitement you could muster.  Have you reflected on all the things that made last year what it was?  Have you considered how you are going to move on to bigger and better things for this coming year?  Now is the time!

Time is our most precious asset but it is totally non-renewable. We all have exactly the same amount of time each week.  We have 168 hours or 10,088 minutes.  Sounds like a lot doesn't it?  But once it is gone, it is gone.  What will you have to show for your time at the end of your week?

Are you one of those people who say that you don't have time to do this or that?  Are you sure that is the case?  Let me challenge you.  Why not keep a time log for one week?  Make yourself a simple grid, either on a piece of paper, or you can make up a spreadsheet.  Down the side put 15 minute time slots from about 6 am, or earlier if you are regularly up earlier, and stop at your normal bedtime.  Across the top put 7 days beginning with whatever day you start.  For each time slot, write in what you did.  Colour coding is a great visual aid as you start to see a pattern for your regular habits.  Perhaps eating times could be green, for eating healthy.  Work could be blue, travel times yellow, etc.  Those slots with nothing in them are your spare moments of every day. 

Most of us might consider that the few 15 minute time slots aren't worth worrying about. Consider this.  Harriet Beecher Stowe, the wife of a minister and mother to 7 children, used her few minutes of every day to write the famous novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin.  This she often did by candlelight after her children had gone to bed.  Makes our excuses seem a little lame, doesn't it?

So, in your few minutes of each day, what could you do?  Could you prepare table topics for one of your club meetings?  How about selecting a word to be the grammarian?  And of course, you could outline a speech and then add the details.  Maybe you'd like to work on an HPL project.

Often we think in terms of spending time doing one thing or another.  I challenge you to rethink this.  Stop spending your time and start investing it. Invest it in your future; your goals; your dreams.  You could invest it in learning a new skill.  Did you know that 15 minutes a day would add up at the end of a year to the equivalent of time invested in a university credit course?  Invest it some activity to increase your fitness level.  Invest it in some time for leisure to keep your mental state from stressing out. Whatever you do, invest it in achieving something of value.  Time is going to pass regardless of what you do.  Invest it so that when time is running out, you can say that you have lived in such a way as to minimize any regrets.

Let 2011 be the year that you rethink your future.  Do you know that most people spend more time planning a two week vacation than they do planning their lives? Don't let that be you. Plan today so that you will accomplish what  you set out to accomplish with your one life to live.  Set your sight now on June 30th. What will you be celebrating?  Write and tell me so I can celebrate with you.

Happy 2011. Plan on it.

Merri

Winter Newsletter Now Available

Finally, with some overcoming of technical issues, the newsletter is ready for you; it is posted on our district website.  You can find it two ways: click on the Pulse of 86 on the right side menu or you can click on Bulletins on the left hand side menu bar. Either way, go read what's new in the district.

It is our intent to email each of you a PDF of it as soon as possible. Keep an eye out for it.  If you don't get one, be sure to let us know.  First, though, you need to have the right information to Toastmasters International as that is where we get our contact information.  Have you recently made a change to your information?  Did you update your file with TI?  If not, why not do that right away and then contact us to send out your newsletter? That way you won't be missng anything else.

Because we are going electronic with the remainder of the year, we're putting out a call for some of your success stories.  We'll add a couple of pages where you can share specific things that are happening in your clubs.  Got a great story?  Write it out and send it in to our newsletter editor, Rosalind Mountford, at mountford_3@hotmail.com so they can be put in the spring and summer issues.  How about it?  Doesn't your club want to do some boasting about the good things you are doing and the difference you are making in people's lives?

In this winter issue, check out the challenges that have been issued. Be part of the growth and the exciting achievements.  Read how to pre-order from the spring conference bookstore chair   Find out when significant things are happening like the next District Phase II TLI or the Presidents' Appreciation Brunch.  Find out how you can go about being elected for one of the district leadership positions and know the deadlines to put that into effect.  There's lots of information there to share with guests and new members. Be sure to pass along the link to them so they too can be informed.

Our district newsletter is a great marketing tool.  Nearly all that we have is specifically about Interntational.  And yes, new members and new clubs are joining the global organization. But they are primarily joining us.  They want to know what we are doing around the district.  Take them to the website.  Why not do a show and tell of the site at one of your meetings?  Make it a 5 minute educational on your agenda.  Need something to fill in a spot when a speaker cancels at the last minute?  Consider a website tour; get ready for the great scavenger hunt here in this blog next month!  How about doing a show and tell of the newsletter?  See how many members actually read it...print some out and do a team building scavenger hunt at your club.

We are on the edge of finishing our first six months of this Toastmaster year.  Are you on track to complete the goal(s) you set for yourself back in July?  Yes or no, either way this is the time to assess and progress.  May you find the next six months bringing you the time and success for which you seek.  Don't forget that you are part of a large team; you can get help to finish what you want to finish and you can also give help so others will finish what they wish to finish.  In other words, get a mentor, be a mentor and everyone succeeds.

Thank you to all of you who are so diligently making a difference in the lives of those around you.  Let's make these next six months a time for fabulous memory-making activity.

Merri

From Betty-Lou Souter

Twice a year, at our conferences, we present a Communications and Leadership Award.  What is it?  It is the highest Toastmasters award available for the District to present to a non-Toastmaster.  The award is presented to a person who has made an outstanding contribution in the community through communication and leadership, such as a media person, a provincial or local politician, a business person or a community volunteer. 

This past fall, the winner of this award was Betty-Lou Souter, CEO Community Care for St. Catharines and Thorold.  Read all about her at:

http://www.toastmasters86.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=239&Itemid=292 



Dear District Governor Merri:

Well, I am still overwhelmed with the very positive and warm response I received at the District Conference 2 weeks ago - to say nothing of the tremendous recognition given me with the Communication and Leadership Award for 2010.  It was very powerful.

Many of my friends and family have inquired if I was intimidated in speaking to such a large group of "professional" speech makers and I have reassured them that everyone should have the opportunity to speak before such a welcoming group.  Any fears or concerns one might have about public speaking was definitely taken away.

I hope my remarks were meaningful to the group.  My preparation certainly gave me time to reflect on my mother's teachings that "if you master the art of public speaking - there really isn't anything you can't do."  Certainly you had a room full of very confident people who have learned similar lessons.



Again, thank you for recognizing me in such a tangible way.  Please express my sincere thanks to David Wiebe as well for nominating me.

Most sincerely,

Betty-Lou Souter

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I would like to thank Betty-Lou for allowing me to share this with you. 

Merri

Kudos Everyone! Outstanding Conference!

From 2 More Sleeps to Kudos Everyone!  How fast time flies when we are having fun. It is hard to believe that the conference has come and gone.  I sure hope you had as much fun as I did.

It was an amazing conference.  Friday Fun Night was outstanding.  The costumes were great.... by comparison, mine was so lame but I had fun anyway.  Those who were in costume looked fantastic. It sure showed lots of spirit as well as lots of time and effort to create just the right look.  Thank you for doing that.  It gives such a spark to the event for all of us to enjoy not to mention enjoying them all over again as we watch the slide show during our meals.

I have heard wonderful things about the workshops. What did you hear?  Please offer comments so we can all learn from the experience.  Sadly to say, it is impossible to go to all of them so let's learn from each other.  The ones I attended were great.  Thank you presenters for being willing to step up and provide added educational value to our members. 

By the way, if you would like to be one of the presenters for the spring conference, it isn't too early to start the process. Head on over to the website and check it out.  Don't procrastinate as time will fly and suddenly the spring conference will be here.  And while you are at the website, why not register? There is a special price running from now to the end of November: $175. 

The contests were outstanding.  Both our contest chairs, Bill Brodie and Mike Proudlock did us proud.  The winner of the Humorous Speech contest was Gregory CN Smith of Toastmasters of Hanover. The winner of the Table Topics contest was Max Kalles of GROW Toastmasters.  Congratulations to you both.  Look for pictures on our website soon.  If I had any now I would post them. In fact, if someone sent me pictures I can edit this blog and insert them.....  Anyone out there got pics handy?

And of course, who can ever forget Jamey and Molly French. What a story!  What a message!  What a testimony to the value of Toastmasters!  If you missed it, then check out the Toastmaster magazine. I think it was in either January or February of this year. 

I am continually amazed at the people who work on conference committees.  It takes many people all working as a team to bring out the best we have to offer.  If you have a program, check out those who were instrumental in making the conference a huge success.  I won't list them all here for fear of missing someone. They did an outstanding job and it just couldn't be done without them.  (I kept sharing my program and now I'm without one...for the moment!)  Learn who they are and when you see them be sure to extend a big handshake to congratulate them on a job well done!

If you were to ask any of the committee members, they would tell you that there is something truly magical about working with such a team.  There is a common goal which creates a genuine bonding amongst them. If you have never experienced something like this, then you are truly missing out.  Why not step up and out and let people know you are ready to get involved?  Let it be known that you are interested.

So, here we are two days past the fall conference and in just a week and a half, we are beginning our meetings for the spring conference.  Can't wait to see what the team will have in store for you next!

Merri

PS - If you are reading this blog and getting anything out of it, please let me know.  I welcome your comments too. 

Only 2 More Sleeps

Can you believe it?  The Fall Conference is almost here. Are you ready to go?   I got my list and I'm checkin' it twice...oh, wait...that's another list.

Yes, I'm ready to go.  Got registered; got a hotel room; got times and places to meet up with friends; got my notepad for the workshops; got my dancing shoes packed.  Like I said, I'm good to go.

If you are one of those folks who have never been to a conference before, then you are in for a real treat. You will be expected at the First Timers' Reception at 7:00 pm so you can mix and mingle with the other First Timers and get to meet the district officers.  Come and join in the fun.  There's also food just for you.

Can't wait for Friday Fun Night...it will be a blast with all the Vaudeville entertainers coming.  You won't believe who you'll see. I think I heard that Charlie Chaplin was coming as well as Mae West.  And many more too.  Who will you dress up like?  Did you know that there are prizes for costumes?  I'm coming as a...no, I think I'll keep that as a surprise.

District 86 never fails to amaze me with the quality of workshops put on by our very own.  There are 12 to choose from and that's going to be tough.  In fact, why don't you conspire with a friend as to which ones you will attend so you can share the learning.  Get more out of your conference experience!

The contests are always such fun. And what can be more fun than a Humorous Speech?  Why the business meeting of course, following right after. Then dress up in your finest and come on out to the Governor's Banquet & Ball.  Great food, great company, recognition presentations and then dance the night away to the sounds of DJ David Terryberry.  Got your dancing shoes packed?

Sunday morning begins with a workshop by Lori Lococo, DTM, PDG and you don't want to miss that.  Following her is the Table Topics Contest.  You'll be amazed at what comes out of people's mouths with only seconds to prepare and minutes to present.  A valuable skill by all accounts. 

Sunday Brunch features our keynote speaker Jamey French and you won't believe the story he has to tell.  You'll be moved by what he has to share.  It will touch your heart and forever leave its mark. 

So...only 2 sleeps to go....are you ready?   Got your dancing shoes packed?  Then come on down....and I'll see you on the dance floor.

Merri