Throughout the month of August, I conducted formal visits with all of my Area clubs. To be exact, I met with my six clubs on August 2, 16, 23, 27, 28, and 29. By August 30, I had submitted all of my Area Director's Club Visit Reports through District Central on the Toastmasters International website.
All Toastmasters clubs follow the same basic structure, but still manage to have unique identities. It is a pleasure to see how the clubs develop their own culture and strategies for success. Some clubs have difficulty keeping membership numbers up, while others feel the ebb and flow of commitment levels (especially in the summer months). Some host a variety of fun culture-building events inside and outside of the club, whereas others are high achievers who start submitting Distinguished Club Program (DCP) awards early and often. My clubs were most welcoming and I responded by trying to make special contributions to their meetings. This ranged from helping to judge a contest to giving a 3-minute toast honoring the club to filling in for a speaker who was unable to attend at the last minute. An Area Director has to be prepared for anything - remember? My goal as an Area Director is to support each of these clubs in whatever way they see most fit. I do believe all of them can achieve their goals, whether that may be to achieve Distinguished status, rebuild membership, strengthen their online presence, or enhance their fellowship.
Although the club visit reports have a deadline of November 30, getting them done earlier allows me to focus efforts on additional important matters. For instance, all clubs need to hold their humor and evaluation speech contests by the end of September. They often need help with finding test speakers or guest judges. Fortunately, I have already been invited back for informal visits during the month of September. I anticipate attending several contests and filling roles as needed. Furthermore, the Area speech contests are scheduled for October 13 and the Division contest is on November 3. Hence, we have a ton of work to do. The members of our Division team must conduct all of the planning for these events and find numerous volunteers to fill supporting roles.