I woke up at 6:30 a.m. in the morning on Saturday, July 14 for the first major event of the new Toastmasters year. All of our newly elected and appointed leaders at the District, Division, and Area levels met for a day-long training session. Collectively, this group is known as the District Executive Committee (DEC).
I arrived to the hotel conference room at 8:00 a.m. My fellow Area Directors and our Division Director were all together for the very first time. Our initial stop was a group photo shoot by a professional photographer. Each Division team took a group photo together.
Subsequently, the formal agenda started with an introduction from our District Director. Most of the day was filled with hour-long training sessions on critical topics for our roles. These included developing successful teams, enhancing club quality, establishing and supporting new clubs, and succeeding in the District Recognition Program*. Time was built in for group activities, questions, and breaks along the way. Coffee, water, snacks, and a catered lunch were provided.
In addition to discussing our upcoming schedule and the additional resources available to us, a major challenge was addressed by the District Director in the closing segment. Area Directors still did not know exactly what clubs they were assigned to. This was due to the District Alignment process, which had a submission deadline to World Headquarters of July 15 and would subsequently need to be reviewed and approved. Although we could not leave knowing our assignments that day, we were hopeful that the review would be completed within the next few days.
Needless to say, we were all eager to start building rapport with our clubs, so we can support them in achieving excellence. Furthermore, we were entering our first cycle of Toastmasters Leadership Institute (TLI) events. The TLIs, which occur two to three times per year, offer vital training to club officers and members. Not only are these the very people we serve in our roles, but having officers trained is one measure of success that Toastmasters International tracks annually for each club. The dates for the first round of TLIs were established as July 21, July 28, August 4, and August 11.
In fact, our local TLI was confirmed for July 28. We only had two weeks left to prepare. To make the event possible, I was recruited to lead one of the training sessions, as were many others in the room. Of course, we started announcing the event and encouraging people to attend the instant we were aware of it.
The day ended as it began - with photography. To finish things off, the entire group in attendance went outside for a photo.
I think it is normal to feel overwhelmed by details at this point. There is much to learn. Getting an overview of it all was both helpful and revealing of the amount of work that needs to be done for the year. Key take-away resources were provided to us, such as the District Leader Handbook, District Recognition Program guide, and speech contest rules (after TLIs, speech contests become one of our major focus areas). One of my personal goals was to dive into these materials, so I could start turning those details into an action plan.