Dear District 1 Toastmasters,
Happy New Year! I am excited to announce that Toastmasters International has launch the 2019 Initiatives. These initiatives are designed to help you succeed and reach your goals. Healthy clubs means more members and a better toastmaster experience for you. See the changes below.
- Club Quality: The Wow!Factor Project: This new 2019 program is a chance for all Toastmasters to show off their wow! Immediately following a kickoff email from International President Lark Doley, club officers will start 2019 by doing a deep analysis of their club. Using tools to fully assess performance, they will find the gaps and areas of weakness. February will be the month when clubs start putting their analyses and vital findings into action, with the intent being ‘the best club possible.’ The goal is to get members to think and say “wow!” when they attend a meeting. Members will be invited to send in a one-minute video of their club’s unique wow experience using #wowfactor. By March, the wow factor of clubs should be in full motion and kept in motion. Download the Club Quality Checklist here.
- Club Coach Program Changes: As you know, the club coach program provides critical support to clubs that are struggling and need long-term outside help to raise their membership and level of excellence. Successful club coaches traditionally receive credit toward the ALS or DTM award for their service as a coach. In addition, the ALS award also requires one year of service as a district officer. But starting now, successful club coaches will also be credited with service as a district officer. This means successful club coaches will complete two of the ALS/DTM requirements rather than one. Club coaches will still have two years to help clubs become distinguished—all of this year and through the 2019-2020 program year. You may have members in your district who doubted their ability to achieve the traditional DTM award by June 30, 2020—this revised club coach program facilitates this.
- District Recognition Program Changes: The Board of Directors understands the recent challenges with meeting District Recognition status and the desire to facilitate success; therefore, it decided to modify the Distinguished District Program for the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 years to encourage district teams to focus on the mission and, at a minimum, reach Distinguished District status. For example, Distinguished District now requires 1.5% net membership payment growth, 1.5% net club growth, and 40% of the club base to be distinguished. Select Distinguished District now requires 3% net membership payment growth, 3% net club growth, and 45% of the club base to be distinguished. President’s Distinguished District now requires 5% net membership payment growth, 5% net club growth, and 50% of the club base to be distinguished. Smedley Distinguished District, a new level, requires 8% net membership payment growth, 8% net club growth, and 55% of the club base to be distinguished.
We hope you’re excited about these initiatives as we embark on a successful new year!
Sincerely,
Evelyn Woolrigde, DTM
District 1 Director
Click to see Wow!Factor Project email