Hit the Road with D25's Newest Specialty Club

Vroom Vroom – Calling all two and three wheelers!

The MotorMouths are coming to town! Harleys, Hondas, Ducatis, Victories, Spyders, we are all in the MotorMouth family. Our club is looking for anyone who wants to ride and speak. No, not at the same time!!! We can cruise to our meeting location, have our meeting, then hit the open road to enjoy Mother Nature.

What are the particulars? Our meetings will be the fourth Saturday of the month beginning August 23, 2014. We will meet from 11 a.m. – 12 noon at the Benbrook Library, 1065 Mercedes, Fort Worth, TX 76126.

Come Ride! Come Speak! Come entertain and be entertained! One Saturday each month. Be a member of the  MotorMouths Toastmasters Club.

Please contact Karen Hagar if you are interested at 817-907-2610 or karenhagar@d25toastmasters.org.

Contest Masters Wants You!

Please join us on stage at Contest Masters, a new specialty club in District 25 about having fun and preparing for that next contest.

Whether you like (or think you would like) to compete, judge, or just attend contests, this club will have something for you. There are no requirements for membership. It will be the perfect environment for practicing, learning and observing what you need to know to become The Best!

Our first meeting will be at 7:00 pm, this Wednesday, June 18 at the Ol' South Pancake House at 1509 S University Dr, Fort Worth, TX 76107. Map: https://goo.gl/maps/CZYTi

Be one of the first! Download this charter member application which you may fill out and return to Cindy now or bring with you to the meeting. Charter member dues are $36, payable by credit card or cash only.

For more information please contact Lt Governor Marketing Cindy Hinckley at cindyhinckley@d25toastmasters.org or 972-743-8402.

Master Your Contest Skills in an Exciting New Club

CONTESTS!!! They're our favorite Toastmasters pastime!

That's why you won't want to miss the kickoff meeting for Contest Masters — the fun new specialty club forming in District 25. Here's the when and where:

Wednesday, June 18th, 7:00 pm

Ol' South Pancake House

1509 S University Dr

Fort Worth, TX 76107

Whether your interest is Humorous Speech, Evaluation, Tall Tales, Table Topics or International Speech, the goal of our club is to improve your skills in competition at all levels.

The cost to join is only $36. Fill out your charter application now and be one of the first to take the next step in contest mastery. Email the application to Cindy Hinckley at cindyhinckley@d25toastmasters.org or bring it with you to the meeting.

The clock is ticking, as it always is when you are competing. Don’t be DQ'ed!

Be a D25 Club Coach

Club rebuilding is just as important as club building. District 25 is taking this opportunity to spotlight a key tool instrumental in club rebuilding! It is the club coach program.  Low-member clubs can be given a shot in the arm by having a coach (or two) who is passionate about bringing Toastmasters to more people. It is hard to turn guests into members when the attendance is low.

Help your district give every club what it needs to succeed. Make sure even our smallest clubs present Toastmasters in the best possible light to guests, build their membership and become Distinguished. We want every District 25 member to have a wonderful Toastmasters experience.

Join our existing club coaches and you will be part of a team recognized for its efforts at the district and International level!

Current Club Coaches - District 25
Club #	Club_Name	Name
643446	AAFCU Flying Toasters Club	Jacqueline Teixeira, ACS, ALB
643446	AAFCU Flying Toasters Club	Kathy Brewer, DTM
2219278	WBC Toastmasters	L Eve Engelbrite
2219278	WBC Toastmasters	Thomas Jacob, ACB
4538	Power Communicators	Roberta Whinery Ley, DTM
4538	Power Communicators	Manhal M. Shukayr, DTM
2476	Mid-Cities Noontime Club	Jim M. Danielson, ATM, CL
2662832	The Voice	Charles Roy Mencke, DTM
8474	First Command Club	Jamie Leigh Pickering, DTM
1540842	Circle of Excellence	Marylee D. Mims, DTM
2507494	Destiny Seekers	Cindy Hinckley, DTM
629	Six Twenty Nine Club	Jodie Sanders, DTM
1465837	Las Colinas Towers Toastmasters	John G. Bergs, DTM
2287526	Texas Toast	Rucha D. Jani, ACS, ALB
2112134	Soapbox Heroes	Mary L. Feltman, DTM
2112134	Soapbox Heroes	Rachael M. Williams, ACB, ALB
676842	Heart of Texas Bridge Gappers Club	Louisa M. Whitehead, ACB, CL
594840	Toast the Blues Toastmasters Club	Jonna Chambers, CC
676842	Heart of Texas Bridge Gappers Club	Jeanette C. Vance, ACS, ALB
6497	Phi Rappa Yappa	Cindy Marie Warmbrodt, DTM
1879279	Leaders-Speakers of Tomorrow	Felicia L. Christian, DTM
591399	Excellence in the Speaking Arts TM	Michael Amos, ACS, ALB

Club Coach: Guiding a Club to Success Brings Rewards

Ask people to reflect on who were their most influential mentors, and many will say that a coach in junior high, high school, or college had a strong influence on their  lives. Coaches motivate people to achieve their highest performance, to be dissatisfied with anything less than their very best. A great coach’s influence touches the future.

How would you like to touch the future? You can—by volunteering to be a Toastmasters Club Coach! If you are interested in honing your own leadership skills while helping a Toastmasters club to achieve success, we need you! Club Coaches are in short supply in District 25. At present, 36 clubs are eligible for coaches in D25. Many of these clubs meet Wednesday at noon, so finding enough members to serve as coaches for these clubs has not been easy.

Here are the answers to a few Frequently Asked Questions about the Club Coach program:
Q Does my club qualify for a Club Coach?
A A club must have 12 or fewer members at the time the coach is appointed. An existing club member cannot be appointed as coach for his/her own club.

Q If my club qualifies for a coach, how can my club sign up for the Club Coach program?
A Your club can request a coach by emailing Lt. Governor Marketing Cindy Hinckley. Information is available on this District website page.

Q What qualifications must I have in order to be a Club Coach?
A Club Coaches are experienced Toastmasters with at least a Competent Communicator award; a Competent Leader award is also desirable.

Q What credit will I earn as Club Coach?
A Being a successful club coach meets a requirement for the Advanced Leader Silver. The club must achieve Distinguished status for the coach to earn credit.

Q How can I sign up to be a Club Coach?
A The District Governor or Lt. Governor Marketing must appoint the coach. Either one or two coaches can be appointed to a low-member club.

Q What will I do as a Club Coach?
A The coach helps the club create a plan for membership growth and achievement of Distinguished Club goals. He or she also guides the club toward having strong meetings to attract new members.

Q What kind of time commitment must I make?
A The coach attends meetings whenever possible and remains with the club until the club achieves Distinguished Club status.

Working with a club while guiding it to success is among the most rewarding assignments in Toastmasters. Consider volunteering to become a Club Coach. Touch the future: Be a Club Coach!

Bonne Stroman
Immediate Past District Governor

Do You Take a Tablet to Toastmasters?

No, not a pad of paper, but the electronic kind of tablet. 

From palm-size to wall-size, video screens have become our ubiquitous servants. From our doctor’s offices to our car dealer’s service bays they are providing instant services never thought of a mere five years ago.

In 2014, is the pace of “instant” video communication about to impact Toastmasters?

The novelty of using tablet computers for meeting functions is probably already wearing off. With surprising frequency these all-too-common tech gadgets are occupying necessary positions in our tracking, monitoring, speaking and, most recently, our Toastmasters training. What’s next? How about one-on-one recruiting? If CD’s are used as résumés, why not use tablets as marketing tools for recruiting new clubs? If a two-minute “elevator speech” can sell personal qualifications, why not a five-minute video selling Toastmasters International qualifications?

The power of the ten-inch screen in front of corporate decision makers continues to fascinate and gain prominence. If Toastmasters is truly international, can an international meeting – on Skype – be far behind? Once the logistics of language, time zones and protocol are worked out, as they say, “We’re live.”

But, back to District 25. If your club has implemented the use of a tablet for a cutting-edge purpose, forward your story to Cindy Hinckley. We can compile our responses and, who knows, maybe create an article for Toastmaster magazine. The recent response to the “Lunch and Learn” at the last TLI indicates that our District is ready to market the benefits of using this next generation of “techy” tools.

I for one, am anxious to see your ideas.

Jesse Torres

Area 34 Governor

Club Renewal Policy Change — Now It Takes Eight

A successful club attracts members and keeps them engaged. All of us want our clubs to be successful.

How many members should a club have to be successful? After conducting a survey of members' satisfaction and an analysis of the Distinguished Club Program, Toastmasters International has changed the minimum club membership level from 6 to 8, effective April 1, 2014. Therefore, for a club to continue in good standing after the April dues renewal, it must have at least 8 members.

You can visit Toastmasters International at the following link to see the official policy. It is located on page 139: http://www.toastmasters.org/policyprotocol

District 25 wants to educate and assist clubs in the transition to the 8-member minimum by presenting a special TLI workshop "Club Renewal Policy Change" on December 14 at Texas Wesleyan University. See how your club can prepare and what district resources are available to to help. http://www.d25toastmasters.org/tli/schedule.htm