OCTOBER 2015

Message From the District Director

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Messages from District
Director, Program Quality and
Club Growth Directorspp1-3

Fuel for Success: Teamwork

Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision.
It is the ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational
objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon
results." --Andrew Carnegie

Message from the

Administration Manager...p4
Message from the Youth
Leadership Program
Coordinator...p5
Best Practices: HP Herndon
Toastmasters and the DCP
Focus..p7
2016 International Convention
Volunteers Wanted.p9

Core District Officers

Lovely Lall, DTM
District Director
Lynn Wylde, DTM
Program Quality Director
Amy Brener, DTM
Club Growth Director
Angela Davis, ACS, CL
Public Relations Manager
Juliette Brown, DTM
Finance Manager
Rhondra Willis, CC, ALB
Administration Manager
Victor Jimenez, TM
Logistics Manager
Joe Jarzombek, DTM, PID
Parliamentarian
Mahesh Patil, DTM
Immediate Past District
Governor

District Director
Lovely Lall, DTM
Happy Autumn! It is a mesmerizing season of colors, time for chips and dip along with the sounds of
cheers Touchdown - at either end of the stadium or in many homes across our nation. Each football
team plays tirelessly and at its very best all the way to the very last second. That makes football worth
watching. The teamwork and dedication is commendable.
We have just completed one of the qualifying requisites set by Toastmasters International for District
success --- our District 29 Success Plan. Our Plan was submitted to Headquarters before the September 30th due date. This 'common vision' document had valuable input from our D29 leaders and from
our clubs, Areas and Divisions via the Success Plans that they submitted to us. Our D29 Success Plan
will help all in the District attain exceptional results this year. Thank you for providing input to our District
Success Plan. By working TOGETHER we are planning for SUCCESS!
Each individual member of a sports team, whether the kicker or passer, or tackler, works together to
help take the team to the next level. Each quarter and continuously throughout the game, the coaching
staff analyzes the plays and the players. The coaches provide guidance about what is needed to
achieve a win. October 1st is the start of our Toastmasters second quarter. Every role that you have in
the District and every accomplishment that you achieve is important. Each time you deliver a manual
speech for credit, that not only helps you achieve personal goals, it also helps your club to achieve success - and that helps the Area, the Division, and the District to be successful. I encourage YOU to continue your great efforts as integral players in our Districts success.
Tis' the season with lots of action! I have never laughed so hard. What great speeches this year at the
club and Area levels! Soon Division contests will begin. I hope to see you at a contest. The Fall Conference is right around the corner. Our wonderful Program Quality Director (PQD), Lynn Wylde, has produced an exciting video promoting the conference. Have you seen it? More about all of this from PQD
Lynn. I encourage each of you to become a part of and to enjoy all of the action around you. Get involved! Support your fellow Toastmasters! Venture forth beyond your club!
Our fantastic Club Growth Director (CGD), Amy Brener, has been busy building clubs. CGD Amy has
lots of opportunities for individuals in our District to step up and serve, to gain skills, to fly together with
her team.
Ours is the only organization I know dedicated to the individual. We work together
to bring out the best in each of us and then we apply these skills to help others. Ralph Smedley.
Thanks to all the members of the District 29 family who have paid their dues.
Let's fly together by coming out of our comfort zones
by helping ourselves we can help others!

District Highlights,
Continued

Message From the Program Quality Director

Are you ready to soar to new heights? That is exactly what is going to happen on Saturday,
November 7th at our District 29 Fall conference. Our sponsor is Capital One and the conference will take place at their beautiful, state-of the art headquarters located in McLean, right
off the McLean metro stop. Sign-up now to take advantage of the $79 early bird pricing.
This special price is available until October 11th. Use the Conference links on our District 29
website to sign-up today. http://tmd29.org/

Whats in it for you?

Program Quality Director

Lynn Wylde, DTM
Toastmasters
Leadership Institute (TLI)
Final Statistics

Toastmasters International
CEO Dan Rex will deliver
the keynote address. He
is going to show us how to
soar to new heights with
Toastmasters.

Accredited Speaker
Barbara Khozam is
going to help us soar
to new heights with
attitude.

69% of Officers Trained!

This Falls Golden
Toasters!
A Life Like Yours
All In The Family Club
Ashburn
Toastmasters Club
B-2 Toasters Club
Bennie Bough
Toastmasters Club
Brinker Toastmasters Club
Build a Bridge Club
Burke Toastmasters
Cascades Communicators
Toastmasters Club
Chopawamsic Club
Colshire Cavern Club
Dedicated To Mentoring
Advanced
Eastern Federal Lands
Galloping Governors
Toastmasters Club
Geographically Speaking Club
Hunter Mill Club
Lake Ridge Toastmasters
LMI Toastmasters
Loudoun Club
MacToast Club
NoVa Dawnbreakers
Northern Piedmont
Toastmasters Club
Oracle Orators
Pragmatics
PMIWDC #01
Toastmasters Club
Prince William County
Toastmasters
Sparkling Speakers
Speak Out at
SAIC (SOS) Club
Spring Hill Speakers
Traveling Tastemasters
29 Storytellers
Storysmiths
Tysons Beltway Advanced
Toastmasters
Vencore Toastmasters
Winners Circle
Woodbridge
Toastmasters Club

Harvard and Georgetown

University professor
Allison Shapira will guide
us as we soar to new
heights by finding our
voice.

We will soar to new

heights with leadership,
guided by leadership &
management consultant
Justin Omps.

With Marian Goldberg of

the Alexander Technique,
we will soar to new
heights stress free.

Watch your fellow members soar to new

heights in the finals of the District 29 Table
Topics and Humorous Speech contests.
Lodging Special (snore to new heights)
For those interested in an overnight stay, the nearby
McLean Hilton is providing us a group rate of $89/night
(rate available until October 9th). To reserve a room call
1-800-HILTONS and mention the group code TSTMST.

Are you ready to soar?

We look forward to seeing you at the conference!
For sponsorship opportunities please contact pqd@tmd.org.
For volunteer opportunities please contact Kiran Sharma at Kiran.s@verizon.net.

District Highlights,
Continued

Message From the Club Growth Director

Welcome to October, the month of Division Contests and the first opportunity clubs have to earn Distinguished Club Program Point #10, which requires club officer lists to be submitted by June 30 and dues
for a minimum of 8 members to be paid by September 30. Please submit club dues by October 10th to
be eligible for half of the DCP goal #10.
As an added incentive, clubs who have renewed at least as many members as they started out with on
July 1 will be recognized at the November 5th conference, and the three clubs that increase their paid
membership numbers the most between July 1st and November 1st will receive a prize!

Club Growth Director

Amy Brener, DTM
cgd@tmd29.org

Please submit club

dues by October 10th to
be eligible for half of
the DCP goal #10!

Do you like to share your

expertise and experiences?
To learn how, click on this
link: Sponsor new clubs,
serve as a new club mentor
or a club Coach
Lots of opportunities to Fly
and help others fly:
Serve as a new club mentor
for 6 months and receive a
credit towards Advanced
Leadership Silver (ALS).
Find a lead for a new club
and receive a club sponsor
credit towards Advanced
Leadership Silver ( ALS)
after the club charters.
Serve as a coach to a club
with less than 12 members
and receive a credit towards
Advanced leadership Silver
(ALS) when the club reaches
Distinguished status.
To know more please contact,
Amy
Brener
at
CGD@tmd29.org

Did you know that serving as a club coach, sponsor, or mentor is a requirement for earning your Distinguished Toastmasters (DTM) educational award? If you are interested in serving in one of these roles,
either for the first time or as a repeat customer, please contact me at cgd@tmd29.org with your schedule availability and which role you wish to fill. Club sponsors work with new clubs until they charter; club
mentors work with newly chartered clubs for a minimum of 6 months, and club coaches work with low
member (8-12) clubs until those clubs become Distinguished. If your club wants to partner with another
club, either to provide help or to receive it, we can match you up as well! Again, just email
cgd@tmd29.org.
Finally, remember that the District will reimburse clubs up to $40 for holding an open house. Reimbursement instructions as well as tips and tricks for holding a successful open house are available at
http://tmd29.org/open_house.html. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I may be of assistance to you
or your club.

District Highlights,
Continued

Message From the Administration Manager

Its only been three months and as Club Secretary, you may still feel new to the job. Congratulations on
accepting your role as Club Secretary! Many would say that the secretary is the most important person
in an organization and I would agree wholeheartedly!
To further illustrate my point, the Club Secretary has the advantage of working side by side with every
officer and member in his/her capacity. He/she is often the gate keeper for important records and dates
that ensure the Club functions effectively throughout the year.
Here are some examples of how you can serve the Club and work toward your personal goals during
your term:

Administration Manager
Rhondra Willis, CC, ALB
am@tmd29.org

Talk of the District

This Toastmasters year
every flutter with Purpose
will be the Talk of the District! Celebrate the accomplishments of your club and
fellow members on this new
initiative featured on our
website.

Meet with the outgoing Club Secretary and Immediate Past President to learn more about
the culture of the club
Ensure that you have a continuous chain of custody and oversight of Club records from
the outgoing Club Secretary to you
Craft your speeches about your role as Club Secretary
Help plan a media campaign or Open House with the VPPR
Write a Newsletter to exhibit the club members and special events
Help plan a New Member Orientation
Identify a successor early to ensure a continuity of operations at the end of your term
Develop a multi-tiered plan for storing records to avoid a single point of failure
Write a Standard of Operating Procedures Manual to prepare your successor
Update the Club calendar in tandem with VPPR
Prepare a list of actions/announcements/education awards for the President before the
meeting

As the Club Secretary, you are responsible for handling the clubs correspondence. Be mindful of
these tips:

Avoid OVER communicating by overwhelming members with too many emails.

Consider these applications to reduce the noise from too many emails to streamline your
team communications:
Mavenlink: https://www.mavenlink.com/ & Doodle: https://doodle.com

Websites and Automation:

Free Toast Host

easy-Speak - Toastmaster Automation

Thank you again for accepting this critical role in your club. I am sure that this will be a time of
learning and growth for you in your new role.

Incentives and
Awards!

Kudos to all the clubs

and Areas for conducting
the Humorous speech
and Table Topics
contests.
Congratulations to all
contestants for stepping
out of their comfort zone.
Check out the speech
contest winners at the
Contest Winners page
on the website.

Loudoun West Toastmasters Club

Join us for a new Toastmasters club in Western Loudoun County!

Second and Fourth Tuesday
First Meeting at Purcellville Library
220 E Main St, Purcellville, Virginia 20132
Tuesday October 13th at 7:00 PM
For more Information Contact:
Division E Director
DivisionEdirector@tmd.org

District Highlights,
Continued

Message from the Youth Leadership Program Coordinator

Every young person has the potential to become a good communicator and leader. Sponsored and
conducted by Toastmasters International and its local clubs, Youth Leadership helps young people build
their communication and leadership skills and to enhance confidence so they may become tomorrow's
leaders in business, industry and the community. The program's unique eight-session, workshop-style
design enables participants to develop this potential through practical experience. It is my pleasure to
serve as the District 29 Youth Leadership Program (YLP) Coordinator for 2015-2016. Great things are
planned for this year and great things are already happening. So whats happening you ask?
We currently have Division Coordinators for Divisions D, E, and F. We are looking for YLP Coordinators
in Divisions A, B, and C. Are you interested in helping our youth gain confidence through the YLP?
Would you like to be a coordinator for your Division? Please contact me at YLPC@tmd29.org.

Youth Leadership
Coordinator
Deb Tyler, DTM
ylpc@tmd29.org

District Council Meeting on

November 7th Fall
Conference: Proxy Form
Each club is allotted two
votes at district council meetings. One vote is reserved for
the club president. The other
vote is for the vice president
education. Proxy votes may
be used if a club officer is
unable to attend a council
meeting. A proxy delivers the
vote for an officer unable to
attend a council meeting.
The officer unable to attend
must designate in writing any
active individual member of
the club to act as his or her
proxy. More information to
follow.

Kudos to the following clubs and Toastmasters:

Division D - Area 43 Director, Tamara Hamilton successfully completed a program with Brothers' Fun
Camp at Heritage Fellowship Church, Reston on August 14.
Division E Area 53 Director, Tanya White-Deyo of Nova Dawn Breakers started a program for 4-H
youth ages 13-17 on September 19. Tom Reed of Leesburg Speakeasies is scheduled to begin a program for teenage girls at the Bahai Church in Sterling. Taryn Wilkinson and Andrew Austin of Ashburn
Toastmasters plan on conducting a spring program.
Division F - Misstie Pollard of Centreville Club is currently conducting a program which is scheduled to
end October 8th.
Parents in communities around District 29 are learning of the Toastmasters YLP and contacting us to
get their children involved. I am working with those parents to connect with our clubs and various programs. Do you know of a youth group, school, 4-H program, church, scouts, community group who will
benefit from our Toastmasters Youth Leadership Program? Are you thinking of asking your club to
sponsor one of these programs? Contact me at YLPC@tmd29.org or visit our Toastmasters International Website.
Deb Tyler, DTM

Metamorphosis:
How You Can Effect Change in Your Club/Area/Division

Please note: Club proxies

cannot be assigned to Area
Directors.

Catherine Calvin, ACB, ALB

Area 64 Director

Grow Our Own"

My mission for my area 64 this year is to "grow our own" and help club members discover all of the
benefits of Toastmasters beyond the level of their home club. At our combined Area 61/Area 64 contest:
(Area Directors, Valerie Gilkerson and Catherine Calvin) we had numerous first time Area contestants
as well as a first time Contest Coordinator in Ashleigh Logan, a first time Chief Judge in Diane Barish
and a first time Contest Master in Matthew Mertz.
...It was a fantastic event, producing a first time Humorous Speech contestant and now Division F has 3
more "pros" at contests that they can pull from for future contests. This was a bit scary with the likes
of very experienced Toastmasters in the room but I believe it was well worth the investment of time to
develop these members as my own Toastmasters career was developed by you all and many others.
Additionally, I have successfully presented the speech "Beyond the Club" from the Better Speaker Series to one club and will continue to offer that to my clubs in the event that they need a back pocket
speaker.
Kudos to the leaders and the first timers for taking chances and coming out of
their comfort zone-- This is how leaders are made. THANK YOU!
District 29 Director, Lovely Lall

District Highlights,
Continued

Kudos to the Area Directors Who Have Completed

100% Club Visits!

Kudos to the following

Clubs who have paid for 20
or more members during
this Dues Renewal cycle:
Lake Ridge Toastmasters
Prince William County
Toastmasters
All In The Family Club
B2 Toasters Club

Mel Hanson, CC, CL

Area 11, Division A

Mykal Kvenberg, ACG, ALB

Area 16, Division A

Bettie St. Clair, ACB, CL

Area 23, Division B

BAH Toastmasters Club

MacToast Club
Wizards of Ahs
Toastmasters Club
Free Spirits
Toastmasters Club
Towerview Toastmasters
Neustar Tech
Toastmasters
AOL Toastmasters Club

Ying Wang, ACS, ALB

Area 41, Division D

Odysseas Pentakalos, ACS, ALB

Area 44, Division D

Will Speakman, ACB, ALB

Area 55, Division E

Kudos to Division C team for submitting all of

their Area and Division Success plans!

Manassas Community Club

Division C Director
Dwight Yamada, ACS, ALB

Micron
Symantec
Winners Circle

Congratulations
to those who have
completed August
educational awards!
Kudos to Clubs
with
5
Distinguished Club Program goals!

Rhea Simpson, CC, CL

Area 31 Director

Bill Tanner, CC, CL

Area 32 Director

Martha Padgette, CC, CL

Area 33 Director

Monica Nguyen, ACB, ALB

Area 35 Director

Paula Green, ACS, ALB

Area 34 Director

Valerie Lamont, ACB, CL

Area 36 Director

Best Practices:
HP Herndon Toastmasters and the DCP Focus

HP Herndon Toastmasters is a relatively

new club, chartered in June 2013. During
our charter year, we had a lot of member
movement in and out of the club. This was
due, in part, to our being a closed, company
club. Movement in the company and heavy
contract, support, and proposal workloads
frequently made it hard for members to attend our lunchtime meeting. This can be a
tough problem for company based clubs
until you get enthusiastic backing from management.
In our first year, our focus was on helping
the members learn about meeting roles and
just get up and talk. Our VPE had to bow
out due to health issues and we didnt really
understand the importance of that role so we
didnt move quickly to fill that vacancy. As a
result, so members did not get a lot of guidance on how to be recognized for their efforts in the club. However, we enjoyed each
others company, got to be good friends, and
began to learn more about the Toastmasters
Education Program.
We began the 2014-2015 program year with
an aggressive plan and focused on the Distinguished Club Program (DCP) as our outline for club success. We had a strong leadership team who had enjoyed the first club
year and wanted to use the Toastmasters
Education Plan to help fellow employees
improve the communication and leadership
skills that would help them and the company to be more successful. Here are some
of the areas where we encouraged our
members:
Teamwork Cannot emphasize
enough how important it is for club officers to get to TLI so they understand the
basics of their role and have the opportunity to meet and learn from others in
the same position!

Focus on DCP The DCP serves

as one way to measure how well youre
doing as a club. In addition, the Moments of Truth workshop was a great
way to get more detail from members
on how we were doing, what we still
needed to how, and what ideas they
had on how to improve the club.
Push the Education Awards
Although we were good about making
sure speakers received evaluations
during our meetings, in the clubs first
year we didnt particularly focus on
completing leadership projects and didnt push people to bring the CL manual.
Now, were paying close attention to
each of the meeting roles to ensure
people are evaluated and receive credit
for all they do.
Lead by Example Our officers
have been working hard to complete the
communication
and
leadership
awards. The mantra here is, If *I* can
do it, I know *you* can!
Communicate, Communicate,
Communicate! Twice during the
year, our President presented a State
of the Club speech that addressed how
we were doing both as individuals and
as a club. He showed a version of the
Competent Communicator achievement
chart and the most recent version of the
DCP report so everyone could understand, ask questions, and get motivated
to improve. He also provided individual
printouts of the progress chart for each
member to post in his or her cubicle to
serve as a motivator and to spur
questions from potential members. To
help members keep aware of their own
progress, we use the FreeToastHost
website to post agendas, capture infor-

mation on their speeches and participation in meetings, and provide helpful

information and worksheets to assist
members when they fill meeting roles or
have questions about the program.
Party, Party, Party! We held two
open houses, one in our regular meeting place and another in a meeting
space that opened into the company
cafeteria to increase our visibility. We
got good feedback and grew by several
members as a result of the open houses and a membership drive we held in
April and May (with prizes for the member who brought the most guests AND
the member who sponsored the most
new members). And then there was our
end of the program year meeting, where
we recognized our Toastmaster of the
Year great attention there for the recipient AND an opportunity to invite
members supervisors to hear about
what we were up to every 2nd and 4th
Wednesday.
And so we have moved into another
program year, stronger and more focused, ready and willing to spread the
word about Toastmasters. Were inviting company leaders to join us at meetings. Theyre seeing the value of an inhouse training center for communication
and leadership and they are encouraging their staff to come take a look. Our
members are encouraged to bring a
friend, recruit a friend, and bring another friend and this approach is working.
We may be in a closed system here at
HP Herndon Toastmasters, but were
growing and soaring to new heights!
Erin Benbennick, ACB, ALB
Vice President Education
http://hpherndon.toastmastersclubs.org/

www.toastmasters.org

District #29
www.tmd29.org