Donny Crandell Wins Semi-Final Speech Contest
Representing District 39 at the Toastmasters International Speech Contest at Washington D.C – Donnie Crandell won the Semi-Final Round. Donny’s best speech ever engaged the audience with heart to heart passion, fun, and connection. Donny moves on to the final round on Saturday. GREAT JOB DONNY!!!
Toastmasters Teach Local Teens Speech-making
By Kimberly K. Fu, kfu@thereporter.com, @ReporterKimFu on Twitter Posted: 07/25/16, 5:58 PM PDT | Updated: 6 hrs ago On a day like any other last week, a group of Vacaville teens in a local leadership program quietly took a virtual mic and let their emotions flow, addressing very personal issues including bullying, racial tension and violence, leadership and community. By letting others in, they offered insight into their worlds while fulfilling a speech-making goal at the same time. “These kids are wonderful!” enthused Dianne Langston with the Vacaville City Speakers branch of the Toastmasters Club. “They’re intelligent, thoughtful, respectful.” Teddy Ngoy with Toastmasters agreed. “They’re confident, well spoken,” he said. “There’s a lot of leaders in this group.” The Vacaville Neighborhood Boys & Girls Club partnered with Toastmasters to help teens in the Club’s intern program hone their speech-making skills. On this day, the kids learned all about parliamentary procedure, how to make and vote on motions and were evaluated on their speaking skills. Just a handful of youth gave speeches, but the issues came from their hearts and their confidence blossomed within minutes of speaking. Gracie Nance, 16, spoke about differences and how today’s kids are more judgmental than those of previous generations. “It really scares me,” she said. She recalled an incident where a girl was verbally bashed because her condition made it difficult for her to make friends. It was a tough experience, she said, and she’s determined to effect change. “We need to do everything we can to stop this,” she emphasized. Junior Arteaga, 14, spoke about leadership and how becoming a leader impacted him. “I just like seeing younger kids become better than me, seeing their happy faces when I’ve helped them,” he shared. “That makes me feel like I did a great job.” Golden Pryor Jr., 16, tackled violence as a whole. “We need to worry about races killing (their own) races,” he said. Many talk about uprisings against them but they can’t or won’t stop killing their own, he pointed out. “The first step is, we need unity,” he said. Music, by way of gangsta rap or thug rap has a hand in the violence, he explained, as people are lured in by an exciting culture that’s different from their own lives. “We want to live the life but that’s not our life,” he continued. “We live in Vacaville.” People need to be more responsible regarding what they listen to, he added. “We need more rappers with the right message,” he said. “Not the trash music of kill, kill, violence, rape, sex.” The media helps promote stereotypes, gangsta rap and the racial divide, he said, and that needs to stop. He closed his talk with a challenge. “Look into positive messages and positive rappers,” Golden encouraged. Langston and Ngoy said the youths were courageous in their speeches, giving of themselves to shine a light.
2016 Fall Conference – Register Now
2016 Fall Conference Registration 2016 Fall Conference Keynote Speaker: About Lance Miller, DTM Lance Miller is an award-winning public speaker and trainer. When he is on stage or behind a podium, he brings his distinctive talent and views on life that has shaped his philosophy and understanding of the world. Lance graduated from Michigan State University with a Degree in Food Systems, Economics and Management. He began working as a teenager in his family’s milk and ice cream company, where he learned real life lessons. Working in the processing plant, running delivery routes, and managing retail stores instilled in him the values of hard work and importance of interpersonal communication when handling employees and customers. His unique perspective is that of someone who has lived life. He has an extensive background in business. He has sat atop 14,000 ft. peaks. He has rafted some of the roughest whitewater in the U.S, sailed across the Atlantic from the Virgin Islands to Norway, and piloted his own aircraft for hundreds of hours. Lance has scuba dived under frozen lakes in the middle of winter and hitchhiked through Europe. He is a philanthropist who has worked in numerous humanitarian causes around the world.
2016 Spring Conference Slideshow
Pictures, picture, pictures. A huge thank you to Bob Cullifer and each member of the photography team for capturing those special moments at the 2016 District 39 Spring Conference. Click here to see the slide show!
2016 – 2017 District Officers
District Officers, 2016-2017, elected May 21, 2016 Club Growth Director Elect Jane Taff, District Director Elect Sondra Nunez, DTM, Program Quality Director Elect Zack Souza, DTM Division A Director Elect Nancy Potts, ACG, ALS Division B Director Elect Vanessa Lindeberg, ACB, ALB Division C Director Elect Vonetta Roseman, ACB, CL Division D Director Elect Dianne Langston Division E Director Elect Min Wu, DTM Division F Director Elect Donna Lewis, CC, ALB Division G Director Elect Grace Frasche, ACG, ALB Division H Director Elect Jill Fay, DTM Division I Director Elect Wes Johnson, DTM Division J Director Elect veena Vijayaraj-Kadidal, ACS, ALB;
And The Winners Are
Table Topic Contest Winners: Third Place: Anne King Second Place: Donny Crandell First Place: John Davis DTM International Speech Contest Winners: Second Place: Reid Walley First Place: Donny Crandell Third Place: Patrick Lee
District 39 Spring Conference was a Success
For those of you who missed the Spring conference, here’s a brief summary presented by District 39 Social Media Manager David Goad at the end of the conference: On Friday night Sheryl got us all in a great mood Taught us to tackle life with a SparkleTude Toastmasters is where speakers and leaders are made And we got this party started with a masquerade We laughed more than 15 minutes with friends I drank so much I should have worn my Depends After a passionate pledge of allegiance as our morning mantra We got to know the trio of Zack, Jane and Sondra Then we drove on Sheryl’s roadmap and she was not alone New member Dana got way out of her comfort zone Sheryl says let’s help each other and not be jerks When you work the program, the program works Her words made us all much stronger not weaker She has the great big heart of a professional speaker Michael Notaro was awesome and a really nice guy With courage enough to wear an electric pink tie Overcoming barriers to greatness he said Requires cultivation of the thoughts in your head Developing what we have inside Succeeding together and enjoying the ride “Stop boring your audience!” Rick Sydor proclaims And then he started naming contestant names Donny uses out of state cash to buy food Paul is a lawyer with a Sparkletude Amina says excite your kids and don’t panic With Jacqeline anything’s possible with quantum mechanics Joyce’s daughter found her people, it’s true Jim said PHDs are smarter than you Dyslexic Rebecca said move forward if you dare John Davis is old and just doesn’t care But I guess that works for him he was the winner Then came the international contest after dinner Ruth Schwartz loved her son whether he liked it or not It’s about how we handle challenges and we caught the thought Joseph Voska and his wife learned what true love was for What you say does matter, but what you do matters more Charles unlocked the prison inside his head He wanted to live a full life and not end up dead Adam’s world depends on a quiet song that he sings About the significance of a seemingly insignificant thing Jim Kroshus taught his grandson Preston to drive It’s a wonder they both are still alive Donny encouraged us to reach out in faith And measure richness in the friendships we cultivate Hearing Patrick’s golden voice… ah, I’ll never get tired You know I love you man. No response required. Chuck externalized his internal voice Our importance is the result of a personal choice Reid you worked out in the gym? I think you’re lying But your past does not determine your future, keep trying What an honor to hear the best from our best I enjoyed every speech and I was impressed. So… my friends we have connected once again Thank you all for being my facebook friend As you return to your homes from this mountain top Share the love with your clubs and never stop
D39 Toastmasters Toastimonial: Vanessa Lindeberg, Club Coach
Would your club benefit from a coach? Or do you have the desire to step up and coach another club in need? In this interview with Vanessa Lindeberg, we learn what club coaching means and how to make it a successful experience. Q: Vanessa, how long you’ve been a Toastmaster and which club? I belong to two clubs, Sagebrush Sayers and Reno Storytellers, for over 5 years. Q: How did you get involved in club coaching? In 2015, I coached the “We the People” political topics club. Their membership had dropped to just 8 members and they were in danger of disbanding. I was Area Governor at the time and stepped up to help out. I also enjoyed the club because of my interest in politics. My mother used to bring me to political events when I was a child, and at 18 years old I was the youngest delegate at the 1992 Republican National Convention. Q: Tell us about your first club coaching experience. To get the relationship started, I first sat in on a meeting with all the officers. We discovered issues and gaps in their membership support and marketing materials. Then I attended one of their meetings. They meet at dinner time, but we agreed that members should get there early to order dinner to minimize interruptions during the meeting. I also encouraged them to stick to their schedule and not derail the meeting format with too many tangent conversations. Afterwards, I spent time training officers on their roles and the importance of follow-up. And eventually, I helped them do a successful open house and market it in social media. Q: What are the typical challenges you experienced when coaching? Success does not happen overnight. The members’ enthusiasm started to come back within 4 to 6 weeks. And we noticed membership really building up within 3 months after the open house. It’s not required in every situation, but I stayed with the club for a full year and visited most of their meetings. One of the challenges they experienced was moving the meeting location too often, which can create confusion for new members. It’s better to be consistent with your location. Funny story… one night we showed up and the building was dark. Carrows had gone out of business without warning and all of our meeting supplies were inside! We went to my office a few blocks away and had a meeting anyway, but that was a first. I’d say the toughest challenge in club coaching is trying to preserve the club’s culture while trying to get them to stay on an agenda. This is especially important for new members who see the experience for the first time. Q: What qualities make a great coach? Being able to recognize what is great about the club and see their strengths first. Reinforce those strengths and then talk about improvement in an encouraging way. It’s about how to accomplish more in each meeting. Improve, not replace. The officers welcomed my assistance and did very well in following through once they saw the value in the advice. We even trained them as judges so they could participate in contest events outside the club. Q: What was your proudest moment? When we did their officer installation at the end of my mentoring period and they were self-sufficient. They knew what they needed to do and were excited about their roles. That was very satisfying to me. Q: Best advice for others being asked to coach? Learn how to adjust to what each specific club needs. First embrace how they are unique. Q: How did coaching benefit you personally? I was happy to get credit for my Advanced Leader Gold, and coaching was a fun growing experience outside my comfort zone. It was a great way to prepare me for a Division leadership role, and gave me a new perspective on my home club as well. I highly recommend it! If you’d like to be a club coach, contact lance.mcmahan@icloud.com
lance miller
2016 Spring Conference Keynote Speaker – Sheryl Roush. Do not miss this event. Add sparkle to your life. Spring Conference Registration and Flier BRINGING OUT YOUR BRILLIANCE! Sheryl Roush works with organizations on business success to: increase intrinsic motivation; boost morale; inspire employee engagement; foster team spirit; elevate customer service; and generate more business. Clients bring her on-site to address staff in their workplace, speak at association meetings, conference keynotes and breakout session, seminars, kick-off events and to facilitate retreats. Programs are high-content and highly-tailored, delivered with a motivational style and tone, creating immediate results. Clients range from associations, biotech, direct sales, education, finance, government, healthcare, hospitality and tourism, insurance and lawyers and law enforcement, manufacturing, military, real estate, retail, technology, transportation, and women in business. Her 35 years of diverse experience and expertise blends skills for communicating: in person (interpersonal, teams, leadership, interviewing) in public (speaking, training, sales presentations, media interviews, social media), and in print (sales and marketing, graphic design and advertising). Both the National Speakers Association Greater Los Angeles Area Chapter and the San Diego Chapter have presented Sheryl their Member of the Year awards. She also received the Golden Microphone Award from the GLAC Chapter. Sheryl has been a Professional Member of the National Speaker Association since 1996. For enhancing global communication and leadership, Toastmasters International honored Sheryl with their 2009 Presidential Citation, selected from over 260,000 members. In 1993 Sheryl was the sixth woman (and the youngest) in the world to be honored by Toastmasters with their elite Accredited Speaker designation for “outstanding platform professional speaking” (scored in six categories). Only 67 have earned the award in 132 countries. With over 3,500 presentations of experience, Sheryl has presented throughout Canada and the U.S., as well as Australia, the Bahamas, England, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Mexico City, Puerto Rico, Singapore, and has addressed seven Middle Eastern nations in Doha, Qatar. Sheryl understands the importance of showing respect to diverse and multi-cultural audiences. She has opened conferences for Marie Osmond and Marvin Hamlisch, closed for Geena Davis, followed Olivia Newton-John, and has appeared alongside Art Linkletter, Good Morning America’s Joan Lunden, Jane Seymour, Marcus Buckingham and Suze Orman. As Director of Speaker Training for the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, she started the Speakers Bureau, coaching Olympians in their speaking skills. She also created the AIDS Foundation San Diego speakers bureau and trained their speakers. Since 2000, Sheryl has coached the NFL San Diego Charger Girls cheer and dance team in their public speaking and media interviewing skills, as they serve as official Ambassadors for the organization. She trained lecturers at The Chopra Center, who speak on platform with Deepak Chopra, as well as management at the “World Famous” San Diego Zoo. Twice crowned as “Ms. Heart of San Diego” for contributions to battered and homeless women and children in her community (having been abused herself), Sheryl authored the Heart Book Series of inspirational books, with original short stories, poems and quotations. She was also crowned “Queen of Hope” by The Crowns for Cure (breast cancer research). Her award-winning books include: Solid Gold Newsletter Design; Sparkle-Tudes!®; Heart of a Woman; and Heart of a Woman in Business, Heart of a Mother, Heart of a Military Woman (2009 Best Inspirational, San Diego Book Awards), Heart of the Holidays, Heart of Thanksgiving, Heart of Christmas, and Heart of a Toastmaster (2014 Best Anthology, International Book Awards). From her experiences working in print shops, surrounded by abundant negativity, the constant stress of meeting tight deadlines, doing more with less, low morale and high demands of customers and bosses, Sheryl realized early on that there must be a better way of doing business. Perhaps one where there was more “heart” … a place where people would willingly bring their talents to work, and be respected and valued as a whole-person. If staff was happier and could express themselves assertively, they felt better about themselves – which then radiated to their co-workers – they would naturally be more engaged in their work, carry less stress, be more productive, work closer as a team, make less mistakes, have a sense of harmony and fun, cherish their customers… and truly thrive. After seeing this potential “ideal” workplace throughout her years in marketing, software development and self-development companies, she tested her theories – starting with her own attitude – and they worked. In spite of experiencing an assortment of character-building challenges (including bankruptcy and an abusive marriage), they still worked! Sheryl is an 8-time business owner and a 17-time published author.
2016 – 2017 District 39 Candidates
On behalf of the Nominating Committee, I am honored to present the results of our interviews and reviews of candidates who submitted their nominations by the deadline of Feb. 22, 2016. The Nominating Committee submits the following nominations for the 2016-2017 year: District Director – Sondra Nunez, DTM Program Quality Director – Zackary Souza, DTM Club Growth Director – Jane Taff, ACB, ALB Division A Director – Nancy Potts, ACG, ALS Division B Director – Vanessa Lindeberg, ACB, ALB Division C Director – Vonetta Roseman, ACB, CL Division D Director – Dianne Langston, ACS, CL Division E Director – Min Wu, DTM Division E Director – Eliza Yam, DTM Division F Director – Veena Vijayaraj-Kadidal, ACS, ALB Division F Director – Donna Lewis, CC, ALB Division G Director – Grace Frasche, ACG, ALB Division H Director – Jill Fay, DTM Division I Director – Wes Johnson, DTM (Educational Levels as of 3/5/16) Respectfully submitted, Brian Hatano, DTM, IPDG