The final vote to approve the District budget and officer appointments was originally scheduled for Saturday, September 22. It was to take place online among all DEC members, including club Presidents and VPEs. Unfortunately, due to a variety of scheduling conflicts and technical bugs, we were not successful in achieving a quorum (defined in this specific case as having one-third of the club Presidents and VPEs present). Therefore, we entered the backup plan, which was to vote through an online form distributed by email.
Upon receiving the form on Tuesday, September 25, I voted right away, which took less than two minutes. I also contacted all of the club Presidents and VPEs in my Area and urged them to vote. There was a tight window of opportunity, since the deadline to submit votes was 9 p.m. on Wednesday, September 26. Although it wasn't an easy process, our District was able to successfully approve the budget and officer appointments before the September 30 deadline.
In case you're wondering what this is all about, the District Leadership Handbook describes the requirements regarding District Council Meetings. Two such meetings are required each year. The first is between March 15 and June 1. This must be held in person, whereas others may occur electronically. The first meeting typically involves the election of District leadership and happens during the annual spring conference. Subsequently, the second meeting must occur no later than September 30. It is in this second meeting where the District budget and officer appointments must be approved. Supposing a quorum is not met, as was true in our case, the actions taken during the meeting may subsequently be approved through a majority vote (which can be electronic). That's why we followed up with an online vote a few days after the September 22 meeting.
The Second DEC Meeting
We got to sleep in a bit later this time around, as the Saturday, September 8 District Executive Committee (DEC) meeting began at 10:00 a.m. It's hard to believe we've all been on the job for almost two months since our previous gathering. While our first meeting was mostly about training, this event was mostly about business.
After brief introductory remarks, we received update reports from our District Director, Program Quality Director, and Club Growth Director. Each Division Director also briefly gave a status update. Further, there were a number of public relations and incentive initiatives announced, which I was quite excited about. These are specific to our District and year-by-year planning, so I will refrain from mentioning specific details. What is nice to see, however, is how District goals can be closely tied to rewards and recognition for clubs and individual members. This places the emphasis on using District resources to add value to the member experience. It is also a good reminder for clubs to do the same for members.
Most of the day was spent reviewing the proposed District budget for the year. Our District Director led the discussion alongside the Finance Manager. We were given descriptions of every category of the budget and justifications for the amounts. There was also opportunity to discuss specific items and any additional items that may need to be included. Subsequently, we voted to approve the budget among the DEC attendees. The next phase is an online vote among the DEC members and club leaders (every President and Vice President Education). This vote is scheduled to take place online on September 22. If approved, the District budget would be finalized for the year.
As of today's meeting, 51 of 168 Area Director's Club Visit Reports had been submitted online throughout the entire District. The official deadline for these reports is November 30, but our District leaders requested that they be finalized by September 30. This intends to give them time to analyze the reports and proactively provide support to struggling clubs swiftly.
In most cases, it seems that the Area Directors have visited their clubs at least once by now. However, they may not have finalized all of their reports. For instance, many are waiting for additional details from club leaders. Often, those entail the education awards and DCP points the clubs are planning to earn for the year.
Personally, I had all of my first-round visits complete and reports submitted online by August 30. I didn't realize it at the time, but this put me in exclusive company worldwide. To me, I was simply following through on the goal that our Division team had set. That was to get our initial round of formal visits and reports completed by the end of August.
To be honest, it is necessary to have these items completed as early as possible, even if certain details are not yet available. That's because the stream of duties never ceases in the Toastmasters world! That's a universal truth not limited to any particular level, be it in club leadership, up to the District Director, or beyond.
Consider the scope of a Toastmasters year for an Area Director. By the time initial club visits are complete, we have several other things to attend to. Clubs need help getting their speech contests completed by the end of September. Meanwhile, we must lead the planning for our Area contests in October and assist with Division contests in November. Once the new calendar year begins, it's already time for another Toastmasters Leadership Institute (TLI) season, followed by a second round of formal club visits and reports, then a second round of contests. As you can see, the cycle repeats without any breaks throughout the entire year. Getting tasks done efficiently helps things keep moving.
At the moment, my biggest focus is on finding volunteers for the Area contest on October 13. In addition to the formalities, I like to schedule informal visits with my clubs. During the first half of the Toastmasters year, I should have visited each club at least two times.
After brief introductory remarks, we received update reports from our District Director, Program Quality Director, and Club Growth Director. Each Division Director also briefly gave a status update. Further, there were a number of public relations and incentive initiatives announced, which I was quite excited about. These are specific to our District and year-by-year planning, so I will refrain from mentioning specific details. What is nice to see, however, is how District goals can be closely tied to rewards and recognition for clubs and individual members. This places the emphasis on using District resources to add value to the member experience. It is also a good reminder for clubs to do the same for members.
Most of the day was spent reviewing the proposed District budget for the year. Our District Director led the discussion alongside the Finance Manager. We were given descriptions of every category of the budget and justifications for the amounts. There was also opportunity to discuss specific items and any additional items that may need to be included. Subsequently, we voted to approve the budget among the DEC attendees. The next phase is an online vote among the DEC members and club leaders (every President and Vice President Education). This vote is scheduled to take place online on September 22. If approved, the District budget would be finalized for the year.
As of today's meeting, 51 of 168 Area Director's Club Visit Reports had been submitted online throughout the entire District. The official deadline for these reports is November 30, but our District leaders requested that they be finalized by September 30. This intends to give them time to analyze the reports and proactively provide support to struggling clubs swiftly.
In most cases, it seems that the Area Directors have visited their clubs at least once by now. However, they may not have finalized all of their reports. For instance, many are waiting for additional details from club leaders. Often, those entail the education awards and DCP points the clubs are planning to earn for the year.
Personally, I had all of my first-round visits complete and reports submitted online by August 30. I didn't realize it at the time, but this put me in exclusive company worldwide. To me, I was simply following through on the goal that our Division team had set. That was to get our initial round of formal visits and reports completed by the end of August.
To be honest, it is necessary to have these items completed as early as possible, even if certain details are not yet available. That's because the stream of duties never ceases in the Toastmasters world! That's a universal truth not limited to any particular level, be it in club leadership, up to the District Director, or beyond.
Consider the scope of a Toastmasters year for an Area Director. By the time initial club visits are complete, we have several other things to attend to. Clubs need help getting their speech contests completed by the end of September. Meanwhile, we must lead the planning for our Area contests in October and assist with Division contests in November. Once the new calendar year begins, it's already time for another Toastmasters Leadership Institute (TLI) season, followed by a second round of formal club visits and reports, then a second round of contests. As you can see, the cycle repeats without any breaks throughout the entire year. Getting tasks done efficiently helps things keep moving.
At the moment, my biggest focus is on finding volunteers for the Area contest on October 13. In addition to the formalities, I like to schedule informal visits with my clubs. During the first half of the Toastmasters year, I should have visited each club at least two times.
The September Area Newsletter
Another month has passed, but the amount of information that club leaders and leaders throughout the District need to keep track of hasn't reduced one bit. In fact, it appears to have grown!
Thus, the time has come for another monthly newsletter. Here's what I included in my September edition, which was sent out to all club Presidents and VPEs in the Area.
Thus, the time has come for another monthly newsletter. Here's what I included in my September edition, which was sent out to all club Presidents and VPEs in the Area.
- Semi-Annual Dues Renewal: To be eligible for DCP and remain in good standing with Toastmasters International, all clubs must get their dues submitted by October 1.
- Club Contests: I shared the dates of each club's contests and encouraged them to contact each other if they need help with supporting roles, such as test speakers.
- Area Contest: I provided the date for the Area contest and a list of the various roles that need to be filled. I requested help finding volunteers and noted how these roles can be used to support educational awards, such as the High-Performance Leadership (HPL) project, manual speeches, and Competent Leadership (CL) projects.
- Division Contest: I provided the date of the Division contest and noted, as with the Area contest, that we would be seeking volunteers to help make the event a success.
- Smedley Award: This annual membership drive occurs from August 1 to September 30. Clubs get special recognition for adding five members during the period.
- DCP: I reminded clubs of the DCP opportunities, recognized the planning that they were already conducting, and invited them to discuss strategies with me. I also gave an example strategy for Pathways, which makes it very easy for any club to achieve the five points required for Distinguished status.
- World Championship of Public Speaking: One of our own District members competed on the world stage at the International Convention this year and took third place. I linked to a highlight video of this members' speech.
- Presenting the Community: My own HPL project, which featured a series of video testimonials from members all over South Florida and The Bahamas, was featured on the District website. I linked to the website, so they could find and enjoy the videos.
Lastly, I thanked everyone for inviting me for formal visits during the month of August and encouraged them to let me know how I can best support their clubs moving forward.