by Celeste Castro DTM Division F Director I want to express my gratitude to all the dedicated Area and Division Directors of the current term. It has been an incredible journey, and I am grateful for the opportunity to join each of you. Throughout this experience, I have gained invaluable knowledge and insights. One highlight…
by Jason Jett Division C Director That’s a line from a song in Les Misérables that Eponine sings as she is dying. It’s a beautiful, haunting moment in the show. It has stuck with me for years, and it’s a great pearl onion, with so many layers. Life is like that. There’s rain. It is…
by Melissa Syphrett, SAA, Mr. Cooper Speaks I served as Contest Toastmaster at a virtual Area 24 competition. Looking back, I expected something very different when I volunteered. If I hadn’t prepared, my can-do attitude could’ve quickly become, “What have I done?” That said, here are five tips for first-time Contest Toastmasters. Go to contests…
by Tessie Kau Area 21 Director What is a DEC? The District Executive Committee (DEC) serves as the voice of District 25. DEC meets quarterly, and the most recent and final meeting of the year took place on April 1, 2023–and no, it wasn’t an April Fool’s joke. The primary purposes of DEC meetings are…
by Marian R. Hicks Annual Conference Chair Registration for the annual Conference is now open. The conference vision is to provide attendees with an engaging, thought-provoking learning experience that will encourage, empower, and challenge attendees to pursue opportunities relentlessly and Make Their Mark! How will we accomplish this? We have selected educational speakers that will…
by Kim Story DTM Annual Conference DTM Chair The DTM Award is the highest education level that an individual Toastmaster can achieve, and the DTM Ceremony is where that accomplishment is recognized. In my experience, I have not encountered any Toastmasters members who, when asked why they joined, enthusiastically answered “to get my DTM.” Instead,…
by Jerod Blackman D25 Contest Coordinator February is upon us and with it begins Speech Contest Season! A time for us to gather and grow while supporting each of us who is competing in our first, fourth, or even fifteenth speech contest. Has Cupid’s arrow struck you and you feel compelled to compete this year?…
by Wayne D. Lewis One potential question an evaluator can ask before providing feedback to a speaker is “May I evaluate your speech (name of speaker)?” This question can set a positive tone for the feedback exchange. It is this one question that has, as its merit, the ability to set the stage for a…
by Phylliss Christian-Daniels VC2 Division A Director The last 3-1/2 years have been ones where I’ve grown by leaps and bounds, because I was brave enough to say yes to being a Toastmaster. One of the first things I heard as a new member that intrigued me was the Mission Statement. A few meetings later,…
