District Council has given the nod

At Hahndorf on Saturday, May 23rd, the District Council passed a resolution endorsing the two recommendations in the report

Split District 73 into two districts -  Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania – Western Australia
Authorise the District Reformation Committee to complete the implementation plan with World Headquarters

What does this mean for us in WA?

The process works like this

Submit the report to World Headquarters – Mike Helm has done that
The 17 International Directors will consider the submission in August

What happens if we get the green light?

The following table sets out a schedule of elections at the May Council Meetings for the next 2 years.
Abbreviations used are LGET for Lt Governor Education & Training, LGM for Lt Governor Marketing, PRO for Public Relations Officer

We are confident that World Headquarters are very supportive of the push for District 73. However, we have to meet certain guidelines. That is the problem. Will they consider we have enough clubs and perhaps more importantly a high enough average membership per club? That may be the sticking point.

We have a green light for our own District in WA

Below you can read the text of a mail from Stephanie Demiris at World Headquarters. Here is a quick summary of her mail:

Approval The Toastmasters International Board of Directors has approved the District 73 request to split into two Districts.

Preparation There are a series of preparatory steps to be undertaken, culminating in a progress report to the Directors by June 5, 2009.

The Process If the Directors approve the split at their August 2009 meeting, the 2010 Toastmaster year will be a transition, with one District Governor and two Lt Governors Education & Training and two Lt Governors Marketing. From July 1, 2011, there will be two separate Districts, each with a District Governor, a Lt Governor Education & Training and a Lt Governor Marketing.

Wow!! It’s going to happen!

There is a lot to be done in the next 6 months. As you will read below, there are stringent requirements for us to meet, showing that

• there is a need for the split,
• the new Districts will both be viable administrative units
• there is an adequate pool of leaders to do the work

The process to date

• May 2006, then District Governor, Geoff Morrissey, raised the possibility at the District Council held in Perth
• 2007/2008, then District Governor Mike Helm and WA New Clubs Coordinator David Nicholas coordinated the amazing surge of 12 New Clubs in WA
• 2008/2009 Stephanie Demeris from World Headquarters encouraged District Governor Bernard Marmion to submit a preliminary proposal for the split
• November 2008 Approval in Principle

So, what do you think? Can we meet the requirements? Do we have the necessary pool of current and future leaders in WA. Read Stephanies’ email below and make your comments.

David Nicholas
WA New Clubs Coordinator

From Stephanie Demiris

Greetings District 73 Leaders,

On behalf of the Toastmasters International Board of Directors, I am pleased to report to you that the Board has approved District 73s request to split into two districts.

The next steps are as follows:
The district will need to propose recommendations to the Board of Directors through the development of a proposal and plan for reformation. This should include the proposed boundaries of the reformed districts and a recommendation for the division of all existing funds.

The district governor will appoint a committee to conduct a needs analysis. The needs analysis should support and illustrate the need for reformation. The appointed committee conducting the needs analysis will need to address the following areas, in addition to other questions the district deems important to further investigate:
What factors are contributing to the districts need to reform?
In what ways would a reformation better serve clubs in the district?
Does the district have a pool of leaders that could sustain the district through a reformation?

Once the district can support a reformation, the district will also need to define a plan for reforming. The plan will need to address the following key areas:
Overview and rationale for reforming with an emphasis on current district demographics (e.g., club, area, division and member data) and key district challenges based on the current size of the district.
Benefits of reforming – the district should outline key benefits and expected outcomes of reforming.
Growth plans and market segments – the district should illustrate projected growth plans for the newly formed district, discussing key market segments.
District leadership – the district will need to illustrate long-term plans for ensuring there are a qualified pool of district leaders that will sustain the district.
Recommendations and conclusion for reforming with an emphasis on boundary alignment and final implementation strategy.
Long-term impact – the district will need to identify what strategies it will implement in order to address the following key area:
–District service model (i.e., how will the district serve members and clubs? How will the district train leaders?)
–Finance
–Educational achievements
–Other areas the district deems important to discuss

This plan is due to WHQ no later than Friday, June 5, 2009. The plan will go to the Board of Directors for review and approval in August of 2009. If approved the district split would be effective July 1, 2011 with the 2010 year serving as the transition year in which an additional LGET and LGM will be elected in order to serve the district. For more details, please review the policies attached below. I have also included some sample reformation plans that should help give some context around what should be included in the District 73 reformation plan.

I will serve as your main point of contact through this process. If you need assistance or have questions, do not hesitate to contact me. Congratulations!

Policies & Procedures, V1 B1http://www.toastmasters.org/SectionVIB1.aspx

Policies & Procedures V1 B1.1http://www.toastmasters.org/SectionVIB1point1.aspx

Toastmasters: The Courage to Conquer!

Best,
Stephanie Demiris
Manager, Volunteer Support Services
Toastmasters International
P (949) 858-8255, ext. 280
F (949) 858-1207
sdemiris@toastmasters.org
www.toastmasters.org

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.

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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.