The Sydney 2010 World Convention has been cancelled

Toastmaster World Conventions have been held in North America - USA or Canada - since they began over 70 years ago. So it was big news when the decision was made last year to hold the 2010 Convention in Sydney. This was to be an epoch marking event - acknowledging that the strongest growth in our organisation is occurring outside the USA, and also recognising the very special relationship between the USA and Australia.

Victim of the Crash

The financial crash has put paid to that plan. Now the Convention will be held at Desert Springs, in Palm Desert California, site of two previous World Conventions. You can read about the decision in the November 13 Newsflash. Basically, Toastmasters International has determined that conducting an International Convention in Sydney, Australia, would not be financially responsible at this time because of the negative impact the financial crash will have on the meetings, convention and travel industries.

So that’s it for the Sydney Convention for now.

Speculation

Is it just a likely downturn in the travel industry? Or is it possible that Toastmasters International has had a bad experience in its investments? Our movement has enormous financial reserves - running into tens of millions of dollars. These would have been invested to get a good return. Perhaps that “good return” came from “financial derivatives”, based on the “subprime” mortgage market in the US. There is speculation that our organisation has suffered a major hit from the collapse in the US and world financial system. Perhaps we can expect a withdrawal from recent TI expansion plans as they consolidate into their base.

Where does that leave District WA?

We have been seeing the Sydney Convention as a major plus in our plans to establish our own District in WA. It seemed as if there was a strong possibility that the announcement of another Australian District could have been a promotional plus for the Council Meeting at Sydney. Now that has gone by the board.

We are still working strongly to establish new clubs in WA and thus to enhance our credentials for our own independent District. We will have to see what the future holds.

David Nicholas DTM
WA New Clubs Coordinator

PERTH DIVISION FINALS

ALSO OFF TO HAHNDORF, MAY 2009

Perth Division held the Humorous and Table Topics Contest Finals on Saturday November 8, 2008 hosted by WA Governors at the Subiaco Community Centre Subiaco.

The winners will represent the Division at the District 73 Finals during 22-24 May 2009.

THE HUMOROUS CONTEST

Lynda t’Hart (WA Governors) was Contest Chair and Alan Smith (WA Governors) was Chief Judge.

The warm up speech was delivered by Pascale Amberville-Colby (WA Governors).

Trina Williams

Trina Williams (Area 10, Stirling) won with her speech titled “It’s a pretty wonderful feeling”  which took us on a journey pre birth though various situations including today.

Peter Erskine (Area 20, Maunsells) was runner up with his speech titled “Longevity” which took us on the journey in the complete opposite with a little help from Woody Allen.

TABLE TOPICS CONTEST

P10 Area Governor Cybele Katavatis was Contest Chair and Inner City Division Governor Ian Pickens was Chief Judge.  The topic was “Who do you think is an Australian National living Icon?”

Judith Allen

Judith Allen (Area 30, Swan) won with her choice of Dame Edna, Barry Humphries and Sir Les Patterson, three for the price of one. 

The runner-up was David Barton (Area 10, Stirling) who took a different view!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Maree Pickens

Congratulations to the host club WA Governors and Maree Pickens (who will also be competing in the Humorous Contest in Hahndorf) for organising and then running the day as Sergeant of Arms!!

Congratulations to all the contestants and special congratulations to our two winners who will represent our division with aplomb in May 2009.

Thank you  to the host club, WA Governors and Maree Pickens, contestants, Contest Chairs, Judges, Tally Counters, Usher and Timekeepers and Sergeant at Arms and fellow Toastmasters who attended to support Perth Division Toastmasters.

And thanks to Perth Division Governor Bill Hewitt for the story and photos.

On to Hahndorf, May 2009

Western Division held its Contest Finals for the Humorous and Table Topics on Saturday, November 1, 2008. The winners will represent the Division at the District Finals in May 2009. The Contest were held at the Fremantle Bowling Club.

The Humorous Contest

Vicki Post

Diana Veitch

W21 Area Governor Pascale Amberville-Colby was Contest Chair and Innercity Division Governor Ian Pickens was Chief Judge.

The warm up speech was delivered by Diana Veitch from Canning Vale. She arrived kitted out for her passion - motorbikes - a Honda 400.

Vicki Post from Powertalk won with her “Aging Gracefully” speech. Mike Palmer was second with “Fun Run”

Table Topics

Chris Telenta

W28 Area Governor Sue Voloczi was Contest Chair and Perth Division Governor Bill Hewitt was Chief Judge. The topic was “After the wheel what is humankind’s greatest invention? And why?”

Chris Telenta from Margaret River won - he claimed that women were the greatest invention of all. Gillian Street from Gateway was second.

District WA

District 73 Parliamentarian David Nicholas outlined progress in our bid to form our own District in Western Australia. We have a great opportunity with the World Convention being held in Sydney in August, 2010. What we need is many more new clubs.

Public Relations

Robyn Richards

District 73 Public Relations Officer Mark Richards outlined his plans for the best public relations year in the history of the District. He was supported by Robyn Richards who is now the WA Public Relations Officer.

Auction

Mark Richards

An anonymous donor provided an authentic Holden Rally Driver jacket for auction. Mark Richards was auctioneer. After spirited bidding the jacket went to Pascale Amberville-Colby and $200 went towards costs of the afternoon.

Western Division leads the way

Ross Wilkinson

Western Division Governor Ross Wilkinson closed the Contests with a spirited account of the successes of Western Division in the District. We lead the way in new members and distinguished clubs.

This report was prepared by David Nicholas. If you wish to add an observation or correct an error, add a comment below.

Can WA become a District in its own right?

The pace is hotting up.  Now Toastmaster International leaders are taking an interest in our campaign to set up a District in Western Australia.  A Manager at World Headquarters is in regular touch with our District Governor, Bernard Marmion, monitoring our progress.

Bernard Marmion

Executive Meeting on Saturday, October 4, 2008

Bernard flew over to Perth for an Executive Meeting held at Durack House, in Adelaide Terrace on Saturday afternoon. He met with our 3 Division Governors, most of our Area Governors, Immediate Past District Governor Mike Helm, District Parliamentarian, David Nicholas and last years District Secretary Jeanette Farrar. District Public Relations Officer Mark Richards chaired the meeting. (WA Governors was well represented - besides Bernard, only one other person present was not a member of the Club. We hope she will join this month.)

Mark Richards

What do we have to do?

Section VI of Policies and Procedures in the Bylaws deals with the formation of new Districts. There are two situations. The first handles the formation of a new District in a new locality - like the most recent District - District 85 in China. The second deals with a new District, splitting off from an existing District - which is our situation. The normal requirement is that after the split both resulting Districts must have at least 100 Clubs. However the TI Board can accept a lower number if it believes it to be in the interests of Toastmasters International, because of evidence of growth and the likelihood that the new District will reach the target of 100 in a reasonable time.

Progress to date

David Nicholas

WA New Clubs Coordinator David Nicholas gave an update on our progress. Last year there were 12 new clubs in WA, we lost 1, so there was a net gain of 11. That took us from 35 to 46 Clubs. This year we have a hopeful target of a net gain of 11 again. This may be a bit ambitious, but at the meeting quite a few prospects for new clubs were brought forward. If we could maintain a minimum of a net gain of 7 clubs each year, then by July 2009 we would have 53 and by July 2010 we would have 60. 60 is a key number, and 2010 is an important year because in August, 2010 the World Council will be held in Sydney, the first time outside North America. It would be a major event for our new Australian District to be unveiled at Sydney.

What about South Australia?

Former District Governor Geoff Morrissey first raised with the Board of Directors two years ago the prospect of a new District splitting off from District 73. In his original proposal he joined WA and South Australia in his proposed new District. Since then there has been quite a deal of discussion on this matter. The consensus view in WA seems to be that though it might be faster to get there, it doesn’t make geographical sense for WA, with most of its members in Perth, to be joined with South Australia, with most of its members in Adelaide, much, much closer to Melbourne than we are. This is an important issue which we will have to decide on.

Mike Helm is working on a submission

Mike Helm

Mike was District 73 Governor last year so he is very experienced and has a good understanding of the way to handle this. Bernard Marmion has asked us to submit a proposed submission so he can forward it to World Headquarters by Monday, October 13th. At the meeting we set up a working committee of Mike, Mark Richards and myself to prepare this submission. Mike is currently working on it and intends to send the completed draft to Bernard on Sunday evening, October 12.

If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please post them below. They will be taken very seriously, as we grapple with this very important issue.

The Humorous and Table Topics Contests

Claire Lacy

Claire Lacy from Victoria Quay won the Humorous Contest with her speech Move on Claire. Move on.

I’m never going to have children, she proclaimed, twitching violently. Do you want to know why? Because I was a matron at an all boys school - that’s why. But as her psychiatrist upbraids her, it was only for a month when she was 18. Now you’re 27. Move on, Claire. Move on.
The psychiatrist figured several times as Claire lurched her way through the terrible experiences she had at the boys’ school. It culminated in the terrible night when she was supervising showers, and she accidentally (?) turned the tap to very hot, scalding the boys. Well done, Claire, pronounced the psychiatrist. That’s your subconscious speaking. You have avenged yourself. Now you can move on. The audience knew she wouldn’t as the twitch came back with a vengeance. Claire thought she could, now that she had got it out into the open and confronted it publicly. Now she was ready to resume normal life, get a boyfriend, have children, hold down a job. Until she saw a little boy in the audience and ran screaming from the stage.

David Colson from Gateway was placed second.

Table Topics

Chief Judge Charles Fisher & Gillian Street

Gillian Street from Gateway won the Table Topics, answering the question “Does the end always justify the means?” Gillian recaptured a scene in a St Vinnie’s Op Shop where she bought a $750 pair of fashion shoes for just $3. To get them she had to behave in a disgraceful fashion. But she got the shoes - that end certainly justified the means for her that day.

Steve Barry from Gateway was placed second.

The Contest Organisation

Pascale

Sharon Wayland

The contest was organised by Area Governor Pascale Amberville-Colby and hosted by Gateway. Gateway President Sharon Wayland chaired the Humorous Contest. Three clubs from W21 were represented - Fremantle Gateway, Fremantle Gourmet and Victoria Quay. Amity in Albany will be sending its representatives directly to the Western Division Final

WA - New Horizons

David Nicholas

District 73 Parliamentarian David Nicholas DTM gave a presentation on forward plans for Toastmasters in WA. David claimed there was no new horizon. It is the same horizon, but now it looks new because it is much closer.

Toastmaster leaders in WA have a vision of a new District for WA alone. In the last few years we have gone from 30 clubs, through 36, and now to 46. At the same time just the one Western Division has grown into Western, Perth and Innercity.

Public Relations in District 73

Mark Richards

District Public Relations Officer Mark Richards DTM outlined his plans for publicising Toastmasters through the community. Mark is recruiting State based PROs to assist him. There are 2 in Victoria and now he has one in WA - Robyn Richards, cofounder of the new Canning Vale Club.

Western Division

Ross Wilkinson & Claire Lacy

Western Division Governor Ross Wilkinson was on hand to make presentations to the winners. Ross presented statistics which showed that Western Division is leading the District at this point in the Distinguished Club Program. In Western Division and the District as a whole, Area W21 has built up an amazing early performance. Only 3 Clubs in the District are Distinguished - Fremantle Gateway with 5 Goals, Fremantle Gourmet with 6 Goals, while Victoria Quay is Select Distinguished with 7 Goals.

Ross paid special tribute to our 5 new Distinguished Toastmasters in WA. There are Bill Hewitt and Judith Allen from Perth Division. In Western Division there are Alan Smith (Victoria Quay), Ross himself (Fremantle Gourmet) and Jeanette Farrar (Fremantle Gateway).

The Western Division Contest Finals

The Division Finals will be held Saturday afternoon, November 1st, 2008 in the same venue, the Fremantle Bowling Club. Claire and Gillian will represent W21 there.

Chris Ford DTM

Chris Ford DTM was Toastmasters World President for the 2007/08 year. He handed over to Jana Barnhill DTM at Calgary last month. In Perth we are lucky that he is here for a Mediation Conference as a lead speaker. Chris brings a wealth of experience from his time as a Brigadier General in the Canadian Army, from his consulting with major businesses since then, and of course from his year as World President of Toastmasters International

The reception at QV1

3 Toastmasters
Robyn Glenis & Diana

25 Toastmasters and business leaders came to QV1 to meet and hear Chris talk on his areas of expertise - Toastmasters obviously, his experience as a Brigadier General in the Canadian Army and mediation and conflict resolution - without weapons. We met on Floor 2 for a reception before settling in the conference centre. The catering was handled by Rising Stars, which meets regularly at QV1.

Lisa & Chris

And then Chris discovered a fellow Canadian amongst our Toastmasters - Lisa Hughes from Young Guns, the A Team and Marketers.

Mike Helm

Last year’s District Secretary, Jeanette Farrar, acted as Sergeant at Arms and opened the meeting. She introduced Mike Helm, our very successful District Governor from 2007/08, who spoke about the value of Toastmasters in a corporate setting.

He introduced Michael Malone, I40 Area Governor and the founder and CEO of iinet.

Michael Malone’s address

Michael Malone

Michael gave an enthusiastic and gripping account of his accidental discovery of Toastmasters in the building he worked in, joining Durack and then encouraging his employees to improve their own communication skills through Toastmasters. Recently iinet has expanded to South Africa, and Michael sketched in the difficulties his middle managers have in developing their communication skills without the education and business structures we take for granted.

Chris Ford’s presentation. - an abbreviated account

Chris Ford

Chris announced that he is a double failure. When he retired from the Canadian Army in 2001, he had two firm plans - never to work for anyone else, and never to to go back to the military as a civilian. 

That makes him a double failure, he said, because he is now doing exactly what he said he would not: he’s working for someone else, and he’s back in the military as a civilian!

Trust me

Trust me!

Corporations are in business to make a buck, and government organisations are in business to provide a service to the public. Come on, trust me, he said. I have a strategy for you to improve your bottom line and that strategy is to foster Toastmasters in your organisation. You have to invest a dollar to make it grow to a dollar ten, so you have to provide leadership and invest effort to get the benefits for your business or government organisation that Toastmasters offers. We have two vital products.

Our two vital products
Toastmasters Communication and Leaderships skills.

Pat & Chris

Working at a multi-national defence systems company, Chris had a revelatory experience when he dropped into an office across the corridor and had a 15 minute conversation with another manager. They discussed what they were trying to do, problems between them, and how they could resolve those problems. It seemed a great success until at the end as he was about to leave, the other manager said, “Can you send me an email, confirming what you said.” Emails! businesses are drowning in non personal communication through emails, instead of just picking up the phone to talk to the person, or sending a hand written note or best of all, walking down the passage and speaking directly to the person.

When communication breaks down, understanding is broken.

What Toastmasters offers can improve the bottom line, whether it is profits for the company or better service for the public. It’s not magic. It’s not rocket science. We learn by doing in a Toastmasters club or group - thinking, speaking, listening.

He recounted an experience as World President when he visited the Motorola Company in Penang, Malaysia. The President of Motorola told him that the first Toastmaster Club there had been such a success in developing communication skills in its members that he was initiating a program to start 10 Toastmaster Clubs in the organisation. Toastmasters works! What we offer you works!

Michael Malone

Questions and Answers.

Michael Malone joined Chris to take questions from the audience. One dealt with possible awkwardness in a corporate situation where employees might find it difficult to speak in front of fellow employees. Chris agreed there was sometimes such a problem, but in other cases it was a big plus that employees could socialise and work mutually on their communication skills. Another question dealt with the age range for Toastmasters - Chris agreed there was a need for opportunities for those under 18 but expressed support for that age barrier. A third question dealt with leadership development and both Michael and Chris contributed their endorsement of the leadership training opportunities available through Toastmasters with the administrative support structures involved in Area, Division and District operations

Some more socialising

PRO Mark & Chris

After the formal stuff we gathered again in the lobby for further discussion and general socialising. Mark Richards DTM, our District 73 Public Relations Officer, had an animated discussion with Chris concerning our drive for a WA District. Whatever his other Toastmaster memories from Perth, Chris will definitely take away an understanding of our powerful drive to become a District in our own right. Of course, he said, as an ex-World President, I have no influence. It’s hard to take that at face value after experiencing the powerful impression Chris made of his persuasive capacities.

Sue Kane

Chris and Lisa swapped more information about their mutual links in Ottawa and Winnipeg. Sue Kane and the Rising Stars contingent handled the catering with unobtrusively deft skill. Long experience with Club Officer Training sessions has taught us how important the catering and the background organisation is. The Rising Stars contribution to the evening was a major one.

Eventually it finished, but no, it wasn’t over yet. 12 people crossed the road to the Indian Restaurant 9Marys and enjoyed a formal meal together.

David Nicholas DTM
WA New Clubs Coordinator

Mike Helm plans to make this style of reception and promotion of Toastmasters a regular and vital feature of our New Clubs push on the way to our WA District. This was a brilliant start to the process. But it is only part of the total plan. We need also a string of new clubs in local communities in Perth suburbs. Mark and Robyn Richards showed how to do it with the founding of Canning Vale earlier this year. If you have ideas for a club in your community, let me know, and we will give you all the support you need to set it up. You can make a post on this page, or email me directly at davidnic@iinet.net.au

Restaurant

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A New Year - a new WA Structure

WA has a new Division this year - Innercity. So, we have 3 new Areas. And recently we had some more new clubs. So we have a new Structure in WA Toastmasters this year.

Your club may now be in a different Area, and perhaps in a different Division.

Check the new structure and if you have a comment or a query, post it on this page.

To see the details of the new structure go to WA Toastmasters 2008/09

David Nicholas DTM
Email davidnic@iinet.net.au
08 9457 6468

A stunning improvement this year

Yes, our District went from No.46 last year to No.13 of 85 Districts in the world in this year.

Congratulations to District Governor, Mike Helm DTM

Mike produced a stunning vindication of his very narrow victory in the Council vote at Fremantle in May 2007. Could the District be governed from Perth? Or would the administrative burden prove too much for the WA leaders - Governor Mike Helm, Treasurer Alan Smith, Secretary Jeanette Farrar and Parliamentarian David Nicholas? The results speak for themselves.

And we could have gone higher had there been more effort to get our Clubs Distinguished. Look for the analysis below.

WA led the way

The figures tell the story. Not only did we have Mike Helm, the first West Australian District Governor, leading the way, but our stunning score of New Clubs propelled us up into the top group of Districts. And where did they come from? WA of course. Here is a breakdown of club numbers, State by State.

Club Numbers Analysis by State 2007/08

The big points area for Distinguished District is in the net increase in Club numbers. That’s where WA led the way for District 73.

Points for Distinguished Clubs

This is where our District did very badly. There are 10 points available, but we got only 2. Here is a breakdown of where the Distinguished Clubs were located, Division by Division. Note that the Tasmanian Clubs are located within Metro Division, which is predominantly a Victorian Division. You won’t be surprised at the WA results.

Distinguished Clubs Analysis by Division 2007/08

What were the sources of the WA success?

Effective Leadership at the top

• District Governor Mike Helm worked tirelessly to encourage our local leaders.
• WA New Clubs Coordinator David Nicholas recruited an excellent team of motivated and innovative workers
• WA Governors, a new concept in advanced clubs, developed by Mike and David, brought together each month key WA leaders.

Resourceful and distinguished work at every leadership level

• Our Division Governors, Gil Alexander and Mark Richards were both President’s Distinguished and distinguished themselves by the amount of work they put in to lead their teams.
• Our Area Governors We had 8 AGs. Michael Malone and Steve Barry achieved President’s Distinguished. Judith Allen was District Area Governor of the year.
• Our New Club Founders 12 New Clubs were in one year! Lots of members worked to bring this about, and particularly the Club Founders

Persistent, effective work

At every leadership level there were willing and able workers. I will be publishing a brief history of the new clubs push early next week. Many members were involved.

What do we do now?

Our own District in WA

This was the first, highly successful year of our campaign to form our own District in WA. We need to reach a target of at least 60 clubs, with a powerful growth trajectory.

We grew last year

We put on 12 new clubs, grew from 35 to 46 clubs, and formed a third Division - Innercity has joined Western and Perth.

We aim to do better in 2008/09

• We have 3 talented, hard working new Division Governors - Bill Hewitt in Perth, Ian Pickens in Innercity and Ross Wilkinson in Western.
• We have 11 Area Governors determined to at least match the 2007/08 records.
• We have a team of talented and proven successful new club founders and mentors

Look forward to another stunningly successful year.

David Nicholas DTM
WA Webmaster
WA New Clubs Coordinator

Does your club have less than 20 members?

20 members minimum is the target Toastmasters International sets as the operational level for successful Toastmaster clubs. If you have less than 20, then your members are not getting the full benefit of their membership.

How can you recruit several new members in one campaign?

There are long term methods which really work - an active website is the best. But that takes time to kick in. You want something that will generate 5 or 6 new members in a 3 month campaign. This is the way it works.

Run a community based publicity campaign

This campaign style is based on the method developed by Mark Richards DTM in the chartering of Canning Vale Toastmasters. For his method for new clubs go to Publicity for New Clubs 

There are several important stages. Check them out.

Get your funding in place

You are going to need money - it took about $800 to set up Canning Vale. $800 - can your club afford it? Yes it can, with help, which is readily available. You will have to work for it, but you can generate that kind of money for such a purpose. For ideas, and help, go to Finding marketing funds in WA Toastmasters

Set a date for the Demonstration meeting

You are going to run a Demonstration meeting at your club, at its usual venue, on the usual day and time.

• Not too soon, because you need time for the publicity.
• Not too far away, because your helpers will grow tired of waiting.

Recruit your team of helpers.

You will need club members to fill the usual Toastmaster meeting roles, like Sergeant at Arms, Toastmaster, Table Topics Master, Table Topics Evaluator, Speakers, Evaluators, Timer, and, very importantly, Workshop Presenters.

• Have 2 speakers - it is best if one is a fairly inexperienced rookie and one is experienced
• Have 2 five minute Workshops from 1 or 2 different presenters. The Workshops should be about basic skills, and involve audience participation.

Market your meeting

• Mark and Robyn used professionally printed flyers which they letterboxed.
• Ask for a phone response so you have an idea of how many will turn up.
• Contact a reporter from the local newspaper - provide some preliminary information to get them intereste

Have a look at the Canning Vale Flyer

Make the demo meeting the best and liveliest meeting you can.

• Involve your audience by showing them some basic speaking skills in an interactive workshop - get them to stand up, show them good stance, where to put their arms and hands, and eye contact.
• Get them involved in table topics.
• Have a demonstration Icebreaker
• Have a question and answer session at the end.

Have a look at the Demonstration Meeting Agenda

Sign them up!

Yes, invite them to join the club.  Get them to fill in the New Member Application Form.  If they don’t have the money, which is likely, still get them to fill in the form, and arrange to collect the money at the next meeting.

Keep a record of everyone who attended

Get their phone #s and email addresses so you can follow them up, and invite them to attend further meetings.

It works for others. So give it a go.

Register for the course on Saturday, Aug 16

Speechcraft is a short course training program developed by Toastmasters International. It is a high quality program which can be of great value to your club and to you personally.

Why would you run a Speechcraft Course?

Your club needs more new members and more funds for educational purposes You want to acquire the skill and the experience to run public speaking training courses. You will need a Success Leadership Module for your Advanced Communicator Gold.

Register for the Speechcraft Train the Trainer Course

Venue: The George Burnett Leisure Centre, Manning Road, Karawara / Como
Date & Time: Saturday morning, August 16th, 2008 from 9-12 midday.
Cost: $20 (to cover the venue charge and the sumptuous morning tea)

Why would you attend the Course?

This course is being run by Western Founders Toastmasters. Right now there are many opportunities to take part in or coordinate Speechcraft courses. This training module will explain how Speechcraft operates overall, the structure of the course, and the skills required. You will get to practise many of the skills in the training session.

How to Register

Download the Registration Form trainthetraineraug08regofrom

and get it to David Nicholas. You can post it to him with the $20 cheque made out to Western Founders, or scan the form to pdf, pay the $20 by Direct Bank Transfer (066163 10398582 Reference your name) and email it. If you have some queries or want more information phone David Nicholas on 9457 6468 or email him.