Congratulations to Storymasters for having the most votes for the June of the “Speak About Public Speaking Challenge”. Check out the video with club member Debbie Kenneybrew at https://youtu.be/UDufeKRp6m4
StoryMasters has a reputation and it is a great reputation. If one listens to the Toastmaster International World Champions of Public Speaking they have a story or two interwoven into their speech. StoryMasters has been a go-to club that the District 1 contest winners of the Area, Division and District practice their speeches. Debbie Kenneybrew came to StoryMasters to practice her International speech and then joined. She is a shining example of our club. Evaluations at StoryMasters help speakers improve and excel at the art of storytelling. Like Debbie, when she shines, all our members shine.
Congratulations to Fox Talkz Toastmasters club for having the most votes for the April – May period of the “Speak About Public Speaking Challenge”. Check out the video with club member Shirah Jacobs at https://youtu.be/C4eZUgHOiLk
Fox Talkz was founded in 2000 and has been a President’s Distinguished Club for 9 years in a row. Fox Talkz Toastmasters has many amazing members including
Tony Jacobsen, the author of “Disable Your Disability”, life coach and motivational speaker http://www.tonyjacobsen.com/
Burt Epstein one of the longest continuous member currently in Toastmasters who joined in 1954 (64 years) and has been a member ever since https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLMde31dDCc
The club is located on the Twentieth Century Fox Studios Lot in Century City. The members invite you to join them every Friday morning at 8:00 AM to find out for yourself why, “Fox Talkz Rockz!” For more on Fox Talks go to https://foxtalkztoastmasters.com/.
The District 1 Spring 2018 Conference “Soaring to New Heights” on April 28th was a great success with over 275 in attendance and 56 first timers. The conference team lead by Co-Chairs Keith Jackson, DTM and Larry Lee, DTM performed admirably. Here are the highlights:
The phenomenal set of presenters provided attendees with a great set of educational tips.
Leslie Pogue, DTM shared the importance of LEAD (Listen, Empower, Action, Discover)
Michael Osur, MBA, DTM, IDG helped us to Discover our Why
Dana LaMon, DTM, WCPS, AS reminded us about making Meaningful Experiences
The Evaluation Speech Contestwas led by Contest Toastmasters Cary Kellems, DTM and showcased model speaker Zach Latimor. Congratulations to all of our participants but especially to our winners: 1st Place John Pope, ACB, ALB, 2nd Place Uche Akotaobe, ACB, CL and 3rd Place RC Sawyer, ACS, ALB.
The International Speech Contest was of equal success led by our Contest Toastmasters Carol Otters, DTM. Congratulations to 1st Place Wendell Jones, CC, 2nd Place Sherwood Jones, ATM and 3rd place Michael Cormier, ACS.
The day was made extra special by the number of recognitions, honors, and awards presented throughout the day:
The Lydia Boyd Award: Sonya Vasquez, DTM, District 1 Public Relations Manager
Communication and Leadership Award: Erin Gruwell, teacher, author, founder of the Freedom Writers Foundation, and the 2017 Toastmasters International Golden Gavel award recipient
During the Business Meeting, the 2017-2018 District Leaders shared all of this past year’s successes and the 2018-2019 District Leaders were introduced:
District Director Evelyn Wooldridge, DTM
Program Quality Director Ken Starks, ACS, ALB
Club Growth Director Brad Stauffer, DTM
Division A Director Steve Evans, ACG/ALB
Division B Director Alexander Denk, ACG/ALB
Division C Director Melody Mundy, ACB, ALB
Division D Director Anna Ziss Patton, DTM
Division E Director Michelle King, CC
Division F Director Janet Kemp, DTM
Thank You to Our Sponsors and Supporters
Business Class ~ Chevron $1250
Coach Class ~ Sky Zone Federal Credit Union $500
Additional VIP Sponsors
Angela Sayers CPA $350
Girls Club of Los Angeles $250
Rob Mosquera $250
Thank you to the over 50 advertisers in the Conference Program Book!
What could you see if you closed your eyes to the distractions around you? Since age four years, Dana LaMon has been discovering the answer to this question. He lost his sight after a fall on his head. Looking at his life and his achievements, it is clear that he sees purpose, precision, perfection, and puzzles.
Dana is the seventh of twelve children. His nurturing mother would not allow him to play the blind card. He performed the same household chores as his siblings. That is why today he is a great cook of lasagna and sweet potato pies. Using his sense of touch, he cleans house well. He inherited from his father the drive for precision and perfection. Though not completing the eighth grade, Dana’s dad built the house in which his mother still lives in Compton—from digging the trenches for the foundation to covering the roof. For 33 years Dana has been storing his Braille books on shelves designed and built by his dad.
Like his father, Dana is fascinated with numbers. He tutors math, works on unsolved number theory problems, and works sudoku and kenken puzzles almost daily. He is just as excited about words. He plays Scrabble, works crossword puzzles, and holds intense debates on the meaning of words. If you are going to talk to him, be precise about the words you use.
Whatever you choose to talk to him about, you will find that Dana is a man of integrity. He stands on principles. He listens to all sides when called on to make a judgment. He is rarely intimidated and will not be controlled by anyone. Dana views life’s challenges as puzzles, and as puzzles, he will not quit until he has solved them. I wonder: If Dana had not lost his sight, what would we see in him.
Area F2 Director, Erica Bailey, CC
I have had the privilege of working with World Champion of Public Speaking (WCPS) and Accredited Speaker (AS), Dana Lamon, this past year and I am absolutely convinced that he is the gift that keeps giving. In between inspiring audiences across the country and around the world, he finds time to share his knowledge and experience with members of our Toastmaster community and beyond.
Before this year, I knew Dana as the 1992 WCPS yet I never had the opportunity to discuss matters of public speaking or other topics with him outside a formal setting. When Erica Bailey became the Area F2 Director, she brought her mentor (Dana Lamon) with her. I selfishly seized every opportunity I could to seek advice from Dana on public speaking and leadership. Dana responded with a steady stream of patience and selflessness; I now keep a copy of his book, “The Excellence Book, 104 Principles for Living and Working” in my car that I take with me wherever I go. It reminds me to pursue excellence in every aspect of my life. Dana Lamon has been an incredible resource for Division F. I can’t thank him enough for his service and the support he’s given me, the leaders, and members of Division F this year.
What’s the best way to inspire new people to join your Toastmasters Club?
By showing them how the Toastmasters organization is hugely benefiting current members with their speaking and leadership skills.
In an effort to help individual clubs recruit new members, District 1 is launching a district-wide club video contest challenging existing members to share inspirational speech videos about their own public speaking journeys—and how Toastmasters has helped them.
Not only will each video act as a mini Toastmasters “commercial” that can help promote individual clubs to potential new members in social media, but each contest period between April and June the club that receives the most votes will win special recognition on the Toastmasters website/social media and at the Toastmasters awards banquet on August 11th, AND get to participate in a special district Facebook Live event. (At the Banquet, the Best of the Best video of the three monthly winners will be unveiled based on a vote by the 2017-2018 district leadership.)
What the club will do:
Step 1: For each contest period, have at least one club member give an inspirational speech, any length/any format, highlighting their own public speaking journey—and how Toastmasters has helped them. This can be done in a regular club meeting, but doesn’t have to be (i.e., members can video record a speech on their own time as well, and submit on behalf of their club).
Step 2: Video record the speech.
Step 3: Upload the video to the club’s Facebook Page or YouTube Channel.
Step 4: Link the video link to the District 1 Website
Step 5: Clubs immediately share their contest link in their club’s/members social media pages to request votes (Note: Clubs must share their contest link on the District 1 website, NOT the video on their Facebook/YouTube Page).
Additional Details
Participating members may only submit one video per contest period, but clubs are allowed to have multiple members submit a video.
District leadership is prohibited from submitting a video.
All videos from the previous period can be re-uploaded each for the next period or a new video can be submitted.
Clubs are allowed and encouraged to promote the contest link for their video on their website and social media (and are encouraged to have their members share this as well).
Votes are not limited to District 1 Members or Toastmasters.
Key Dates
April – May Period
All videos can be submitted between April 1 – May 21 (final submission by 11:59 pm)
Voting starts as soon as the video is uploaded and ends on May 27th
Announcements will be made on May 28th
June Period
All videos must be submitted by June 1-15 (final submission by 11:59 pm)
Voting starts as soon as the video is uploaded and ends on June 22
It is with great sadness that we share that Wayne H. Miller, ATM-G/CL, passed away on Saturday afternoon, March 17, 2018, due to complications from a bacterial infection and pneumonia. He is survived by his wife Channel, daughter Shirah, sons Michael and Myles, brothers and sisters plus, a very large extended family.
Wayne was a dedicated father, family man, and member of Toyota Toastmasters Club for over 20 years. His wit, wisdom, warmth, and guidance will be sorely missed.
District 1 Toastmasters held its 2nd “Ultimate Open House Planning 101” on March 7th. Led by Open House Chair Yuko Oshimo, DTM participants learned the purpose of and best tips on putting on an Open House.
Donna Robinson, DTM – Reminded everyone that dues are due and gave an overview of the various Toastmasters International and District membership campaign
David Kitchen, DTM, PDG – Shared best practices on how to set up your open house so that your guests are engaged and converted to new members.
Sonya Vasquez, DTM – Offered tips on what and how to promote
Merle Singer, DTM QS – Provided an overview of the Speakers Bureau including how to request a speaker and how to become a qualified speaker.
To learn more listen to the recording of the webinar, which can be found here.
Century City Toastmasters announces their 60th anniversary with a private event to be held at the Culver Hotel, March 4, 2018. Century City Toastmasters is one of over 2,000 clubs in the United States, and one of 16,400+ clubs worldwide in Toastmasters International. Founded in 1924, by Ralph C. Smedley, Toastmasters now has more than 352,000 members in 141 countries. Century City Toastmasters was charted January 1, 1958, as the 2,681st club, and currently has about 50 members.
Emerson was “spot on” when he famously stated that in order to become a great speaker you have to be a bad speaker first. Becoming a good speaker takes an understanding of the skills that change a weak presenter into a self-confident communicator and leader.
Since 1958, Century City Toastmasters (CCTM) has helped hundreds of members over the years, overcome their fear of public speaking, become powerful presenters and effective leaders. The club’s high energy, early-morning meetings have proven to be ideal for entrepreneurs, early birds and those who work nearby. CCTM is one of the top clubs in Toastmasters’ Southern California’s “District 1” containing about 175 clubs, spanning from Long Beach to Hollywood, and Santa Monica to Inglewood. Century City Toastmasters has achieved the top President’s Distinguished Award for at least the past 16 years.
The club is open to new members, who want to become better speakers or leaders. Weekly meetings, led by members in various functional roles, provide opportunities for prepared speeches, as well as impromptu speaking. Each prepared speech is followed with a personal oral evaluation, and written feedback from every attendee. New members can expect a warm and supportive environment, with positive and productive people who are on a path of self-improvement.
“Our members share a common goal…self-improvement and building confidence by engaging in a positive public speaking experience. Century City Toastmasters is the incubator for nurturing public speaking growth.” says Anthony Phills, VP of PR and Marketing.
For more information about Century City Toastmasters, visit centurycitytoastmasters.org, or email centurycitytoastmasters@gmail.com. For more information about Toastmasters International, visit toastmasters.org
Photo by Aurora Meneghello – Design by Anthony Phills
Toastmasters International is now accepting renewal payments for the April 1, 2018 – September 31, 2018 dues period. To keep your club in good standing, please submit payment by April 1st. Check with your Club Treasurer on what the process is for your club (some clubs only accept checks/cash and others can process credit card payments). Dues are $45 every six months plus your club dues (which vary by club).
Club Officers– Membership Renewal Instructions
To pay online through Club Central on the Toastmasters International Website follow these steps
Log in and select the Submit Payment option
Select the members you wish to pay for by adding them to your cart
Please remember when submitting your payment that the minimum renewal requirement is eight members—three of who must be renewing members from the previous period. This counts for DCP Goal #10.
