Toast Talk

Officer Make-Up Training

February 15th – Hosted by Willamette Division
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Concordia University
Library Room
2811 NE Holman St, Portland, OR 97211 (Map It!)
For more information

February 22nd – Hosted by Northern Division and Leader’s Edge Toastmasters
7:00 – 8:30- p.m.
Courtyard Village
4555 NE 66th Avenue, Vancouver, WA (Map It!)
For more information

February 25th – Hosted by District 7 STAFF and Milwaukie Talkies Toastmasters
8:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Oregonian Credit Union
6915 SE Lake Road, Milwaukie‎, OR (Map It!)
First 50 clubs with a representative will receive a Prize! (Hint: it’s an Impactful Meeting kit!)
Signup here

Remember Officer training deadline is February 29, 2012 and a minimum of 4 officers must receive training for DCP credit (Distinguished Club Program).
Contact your Area Governor to find out what training opportunities are available to you and attend anyone one of the scheduled training events listed above.

Judges Training
Get ready for the upcoming contest season! District 7 Chief Judge Le Snelling will provide training on how to be a (Certified) better Judge. The training will cover, Best Practices, Eliminating Bias, Judging by the Numbers and other challenges. The Judges Training session features 2 experienced Toastmasters that will give short targeted speeches for you to judge including ample time for an extensive Q&A.

February 25th – Hosted by District 7 STAFF and Milwaukie Talkies Toastmasters
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p/m/
Oregonian Credit Union
6915 SE Lake Road, Milwaukie‎, OR (Map It!)
Signup here

February 27th – Hosted by District 7 Chief Judge, Le Snelling, DTM
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Beaverton Library
Rooms A/B
12375 SW 5th Street, Beaverton, OR (Map It!)

May 15, 2012 is the deadline for filing the 990-N e-Postcard with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the 2011 tax year (January 1 to December 31). As nonprofit entities in the United States, clubs (including corporate clubs) are required to file the e-Postcard electronically with the Urban Institute. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

• For detailed filing instructions, visit www.toastmasters.org/irs_990n.
• You will need your club’s Federal employer identification number (EIN) and total gross receipts for 2011.

To file, visit www.epostcard.form990.org. Once filed, forward the email confirmation from the Urban Institute to World Headquarters at 990N@toastmasters.org and save it for your club’s records. Toastmasters International is not affiliated with the Urban Institute or the IRS, so the forwarded email confirmation is the only way for World Headquarters to know you filed. For help or, questions on filing, please contact D7 Treasurer, Leslie Keating at Leslie.Keating@Banfield.net.

“Imagine a club full of trainers, specializing in adult learning theory, who would roam the District visiting clubs and giving presentations!  Envision how great it would be if our clubs were given consistent training by a group dedicated to that purpose!” (Deveny Bywaters, August 27, 2011)

Last summer, Deveny, Rose, and Sharon turned their dream for the District into reality, and Servetus Toastmasters became affectionately known as the “D7 Traveling Trainers Club.”  The club is at work creating training programs dedicated to the on-going education of the members, initially focusing on the Successful Club Series.  The first presentation, which will soon be rolled out, features the Distinguished Club Program.  (According to one source, the training couldn’t be better timed, as District performance for next year is based on the DCP.)  Other projects under consideration include: Club Officers training, Contest Judges training, and Presenter to Trainer workshops.  If you are in need of speakers, Servetus Toastmasters is there for you.  Contact the club through their website to book a speaker for your next meeting.

Servetus Toastmasters invites you to be a part of this exciting new program.  Whether you are already an accomplished trainer or want to further your career by adding adult learning skills to your toolkit, come join us for a meeting or two and experience for yourself why Servetus should be your next port of call.

Meetings are every Wednesday from 6:00-7:30 p.m. at ITT Tech, 9500 NE Cascades Parkway, Portland, Oregon.

Do you want to be a professional speaker? Do you want the opportunity to give the best speech yet? Do you want to learn the key elements to giving a winning speech? Sign up today for your club’s speech contest. Find helpful templates and contest planning information for your club, area and division contests HERE:

• Helpful Contest Planning Information for your club
• 2012 International Speech Contest Kit 
• 2012 Evaluation Contest Kit 
• 2012 Speech Contest Rulebook 

Remember that Club contests need to be completed by March 18th and will be followed by Area contests beginning on March 19th. If you would like help planning your club speech contest, please contact your Area Governor.

New Horizons rises to the challenge!One hot, dusty Saturday last August, the members of New Horizons Toastmasters were given a challenge by their VP of Public Relations, Phyllis Harmon. She told them that the club could not continue to prosper with few members and fewer yet attending meetings. At the time, the club was meeting once a month and was chartered as an advanced club. There was little or no structure to the meetings, and they often ended up consisting of breakfast and chat.

The members accepted the challenge and by the end of the day, had voted to change their starting time to 8:00 am, change to meeting weekly, become a community club, and get serious about making Toastmasters attractive to visitors. New Horizons scheduled an open house on September 10, and Marv Serhan, DTM, was the guest speaker. The open house attracted several people of which three became members within two weeks. Since that time, the club has continued to grow. At last count, eight new members have joined, and the year of rebirth isn’t over yet!

What does the club attribute to their ongoing success? The answer is simple: a positive attitude, a formal meeting structure, and working together as a team. Each week members are scheduled to perform at least one role, sometimes more than one. The members remain engaged, finding ample opportunity to practice their speech craft and leadership skills. Recently the club added a new role, Master Listener. The Master Listener pays attention during the entire meeting and then quizzes the members on what they heard during the meeting. It is a fun way to end a meeting and everyone participates.

The club is looking forward to their next leap in membership by scheduling an open house for mid-March. Lani Chu will be coordinating the open house using her leadership skills as she involves the entire team in planning a gala event.

New Horizons Toastmasters meets every Saturday, 8:00-9:00 a.m., at the Bridge City Café in the Bridgeport Village near I-5 in Tualatin. Learn more about New Horizons through their website. Please come see us now!

Other energized clubs that have taken steps to strengthen and grow their club membership with Club Open Houses are:

• Encouraging Words #4777 – Open House held. Gained 5 members!
• Marylhurst Toastmasters #5588 – Open House held.
• Toasting Excellence #5915 – Open House, February 8th
• SE Sunrise #6869 – Open House February 14th 7:05 p.m. at St. Multicultural Ctr, 4610 SE Belmont St.

Club Coaches do make a different. They observe all the activities and provide encouragement and helpful suggestions to increase membership, obtain DCP goals, and strengthen overall quality of the club.

• Chanticleers #622 - Mike Goss.  They have gained 8 new members this year!
• Lunch Bunch #4134 – Stew Mones. They have gained 3 new members this year!
• Sherwood Town Criers #589207 – Eric Winger. They have gained 3 new members this year!
• Statehouse #5653 – Eric Silberg. They have gained 3 new members this year!