Monday, November 9, 2015

Fall Conference 2015

This past weekend was the Founder's District Fall Conference and Leadership Event. At the District Conference, held in the Fall and the Spring, the District holds a business meeting to vote on multiple initiatives. This meeting voted on the proposed split of Founders District into two districts. By an overwhelming majority, the District leaders voted in favor of forming District 100 - the Century District. Clubs located on and North of Ball Road will be in District 100. Clubs located South of Ball Road will remain in Founder's District. The delegates also approved the realignment to create TEN divisions from the existing EIGHT divisions.

Monday, October 26, 2015

Award Winning Speeches

Friends and followers, the Area C2 and Division C contests have concluded. Again, a special thank you to Stella Mahakian for serving as the Area C2 Contest Chair and who served as the Division C Food Chair at the Division C Contest, this past Saturday (October 24). Stella brings value by her attentiveness to details.


When every club participates in an Area Contest, the quality of the contest improves exponentially. We had representatives from each of the five clubs in the Tall Tale contest. Unfortunately, one contestant in the Evaluation contest was unable to attend. Our guest speaker was Pastor Mike Boswith, who shared his personal story of adversity and how God provided him the strength to continue in spite of immeasurable losses.

Friday, October 16, 2015

Eye Candy!

It's been a while since I last posted an article. Area Contest, getting ready for club visits, speaking, SpeechCraft, and a Debate ... a full plate. Recently I started working on a responsive web page template and was looking for eye catching artwork. You know what I am talking about? The kind of graphics that says, modern, colorful, professional, cutting edge - then I found the perfect source.


Thursday, October 8, 2015

Just a Quick Note

My mother was a successful elementary school teacher. She worked her entire life teaching the 3rd grade for the St. Louis City School District. She loved her job. My mother was also consistent in creating hand written notes, whenever she wanted to make a point, show her concern, or express her emotions. At the recent Area C2 Contest, I wanted to express my gratitude to those whose efforts made the event successful. I clumsily wrote notes to everyone who played a key role.


Tuesday, October 6, 2015

[ EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY ]

Did you read your copy of the LEADER LETTER? This news is HUGE for small, specialty clubs who are looking to grow and become President's Distinguished. Here is the message as it appeared in the email update ...
The Board of Directors met on August 10-11. As a part of the discussions, they approved a two-phased approach for integrating virtual clubs into the Toastmasters experience. Phase 1, which is effective immediately, allows for virtual attendance. In Phase 2, which is expected to begin by mid-2016, clubs may charter as virtual (online only) clubs.
SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! Effective immediately, it is possible to sign-up members who will attend meetings virtually. This is great news for clubs who are struggling to get members in the door. There are some qualifying rules to consider before you go out and celebrate. Let the smiling and cheesecake eating begin ...


Saturday, October 3, 2015

Area C2 - Tall Tale and Evaluation Contest

Tall Tale and Evaluation Contest
by Stella Mahakian

Content:
Date, Time & Venue
Marketing our Division Contest and Club Contest
Club Contest Guideline & Timeline
Opportunity Drawings needed
Volunteers needed

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Hey, Pigpen!

Remember Pigpen from the Peanuts comics? The little kid that walked in a cloud of dirt, everywhere he went. Well science now reveals that not only do we ALL have a cloud that follows us around, everywhere we go, but that it is as unique as a finger print. It tells who we are, what we have done and where we have been. The name?



Tuesday, September 22, 2015

A Club Portal from Scratch

I am proud to announce that FREEToastHost2 has created a blank portal for me to be able to create a series of screencasts, showing how to build a Club Portal from Scratch. The aim is to create a helpful and easy to follow series of ONE MINUTE How Tos. Imagine being able to embed podcasts, videos, demonstrations, a photo album into your club portal! What? You didn't think that was possible? You will be surprised at everything you can do to make YOUR CLUB PORTAL a one stop shop for folks wanting to learn more about Toastmasters.


Monday, September 21, 2015

10 Reasons Why - Conferencing Calls

If you have lived in Southern California for any time at all, you know that driving is not as pleasant as driving in other places. The exception, taking an unrushed drive on Pacific Coast Highway. So, scheduling face-to-face meetings always has to take into consideration "rush hour." On any given day, driving 10 miles can take 60 minutes. GRRRRRRR!


Friday, September 18, 2015

Art of Flyer Design

Recently, I conducted a webinar for Founders District - Division C. Teaching non-technical folks how to use a sophisticated software program is not productive or feasible. Why? In most cases, people who have graphic design projects do not have the resources or ability to install programs like Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. However, most people have access to Microsoft PowerPoint. This webinar is using Office 2016 for MAC.


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