Meet District 39’s First Accredited Speaker Donny Crandell
Meet District 39’s First Accredited Speaker Donny Crandell By Kristi Beres On August 26, 2017, at the Toastmasters International Conference in Vancouver, Canada, Donny Crandell became the first speaker from District 39 and one of only 75 Toastmasters to achieve the Accredited Speaker award. Crandell, a 2016 World Championship of Public Speaking finalist shares his thoughts about his journey on becoming an Accredited Speaker. When did you join Toastmasters? I joined five years ago. My first Club was Placer’s Gold in Auburn, California. What is the Accredited Speakers Award? Toastmasters recognizes professional speakers with a rare, prestigious designation called, “Accredited Speaker.” Through a rigorous application process and video submission, the candidate must pass level 1. After that, it’s off to level two, speaking at the International Conference Accredited Speaker forum. What is the screening process like? It’s an arduous journey but well worth it. The level one video is judged by five judges and you must receive a 70 % scoring on average. You also have to complete 25 speaking engagements within a three year period. Fifteen of those 25 speeches must include audiences of 20 or more who paid to hear you speak. You also must have five endorsement letters from those fifteen paid engagements. A record of the location and the amount of pay received was submitted with the application. How did you find out about the Accredited Speakers program? I first heard about it through Emma Santa from our district, and later from [AS] Sheryl Roush when she presented a seminar on the subject at a district conference in Stockton. Who helped you refine your Accredited Speakers presentation? I received the best feedback from Jeffrey Purtee and other Toastmasters in the Reno area. How was preparing for the Accredited Speakers finals similar or different than preparing for the semifinals of the World Champion of Public Speaking? The biggest difference for me was that I didn’t have to memorize this presentation, but I did memorize my International speech. There is far less pressure with the Accredited Speaker’s accreditation because I was not competing against anyone but myself and the judges. And most importantly, you’re not disqualified for going over time. When did you find out you were a finalist? I found out that I passed level 1 on May 19, 2017. The night before I competed in the District 39 International contest in Anderson, California. Who are the judges who judge you and the other Accredited Speakers finalists? There are five anonymous judges at both levels; the video presentation and for the live presentation at the International Conference. What were the highlights of the Toastmasters International convention? Speaking at the Accredited Speaker program and earning the designation. I also enjoyed a bike ride around Stanley Park and having a late night visit with friends from Sacramento and Reno at the Marriot Pinnacle restaurant. Now that you are an Accredited Speaker- what do you hope to do next? I want to continue working as a professional speaker, but not yet ready to quit my day jobs. I also plan on competing to be the World Champion of Public Speaking. I will continue speaking as much as possible, in as many venues as possible, to be the best speaker I can possibly be. I still have plenty to learn to be a professional speaker. Authored by: Kristi Beres, DTM Public Relation Manager District 39, Toastmasters International kristi.beres@district39.org
Myra Golson has passed away!
This morning our beloved friend and District 39’s “Georgia Peach”, Distinguished Toastmaster, Myra Golson, passed into heaven. Among the most notable of all things Myra were her amazing smile, her incredible love of travel and her wiliness to share knowledge and experience with everyone. So many of us were welcomed into her home for her annual District 39 Christmas parties, leadership breakfast a…nd district conference committee meetings with a bowl of soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, ice tea and her great, big, wonderful smile. Myra has been a Toastmasters member since 1996. While she has been a member of many clubs throughout the years, her true love and current membership was with Traveling Trainers Toastmasters. Myra served as club officer many times over, on countless District 39 committees, and the following District 39 officer positions: 2003-2004 Division G, Area 72 Governor 2004-2005 Division H, Area 81 Governor 2009-2010 Division H, Area 83 Governor 2012-2013 Division H Governor 2013-2015 District 39Treasurer Myra, thank you for your many kindnesses, and for your love of the members of District 39 Toastmasters. Your smile will forever remain in our hearts. Memorial information will be provided as soon as possible. S Sondra Nunez, DTM District 39 Director Toastmasters International Sondra.nunez@district39.org
Message from District Director Elect Zack Souza DTM
Dear Division Councils, Keep up the great work, and thank you for your service! We are continuing to make progress as we close out the 2016-17 Toastmasters. We just few days left, how can we as Division Teams support Areas close to being distinguished? Because of club loss, not all divisions and areas are eligible. However, many of our areas still can make distinguished. Consider how a team’s effort can encourage clubs to get that last member or get that last DCP point. Review the list below, and how we can all help this area director in my division be successful? It’s now time to consider how can we all celebrate the success of others? Thanks, Zack Souza, DTM District Director Elect 2017 – 2018 District 39 Toastmasters Zack.Souza@district39.org
California Future Leaders of America – Speech Contest
Judge Recruitment Letter
The #3 Reason that Toastmaster clubs fail is:
The #3 Reason that Toastmaster clubs fail is: They don’t promote! Here is a 60 sec. Toastmasters video your club can use to promote Toastmasters to guests, to help build membership in your club! Click here!
Humorous Contest Winners
2016 Division Director Conference Call Meeting Minutes
District 39 Memorandum Member and Club Dues Payments Update Effective July 1, 2016 District 39 Toastmasters, The following information was provided by Past District Governor, Russ Steele, DTM. At the August 10th and 11th, 2015 Toastmasters International Board of Directors meeting, the Board voted to make several changes to club and membership eligibility policy effective July 1, 2016. It is critical that the clubs and members understand the effects these changes will have on them. Effects on the Distinguished Club Program The actual due dates for on-time payment of dues in the Distinguished Club Program are now October 1st in the fall and April 1st in the spring. This is a change from previous years when the on-time due date has actually been the 10th. These changes are detailed in the Distinguished Club Program Manual. Changes to the Definition of a Club in Good Standing To be a club in good standing under the new policy, a club must have dues for 8 members or more paid by October 1st in the fall and by April 1st in the spring. If they do not have at least 8 paid members, they IMMEDIATELY become a club that is not in good standing on the 1st and are not in good standing until dues for 8 members have been received at World Headquarters. This is a change from prior years where the due dates were on the 10th AND where the club had a grace period that allowed them to remain a club in good standing until November 30th in the fall and May 30th in the spring. There is no longer a grace period. Changes to the Definition of Member in Good Standing To be a member in good standing under the new policy, you must have your dues paid for the current period. This means that your dues must be paid on or before October 1st in the fall and April 1st in the spring. If your dues are not paid by the 1st, you IMMEDIATELY become a member not in good standing, and remain not in good standing until your dues are received by World Headquarters. This is a change from prior years where member dues were due on the 10th AND where the member had a grace period that allowed them to remain a member in good standing until November 30th in the fall and May 30th in the spring. There is no longer a grace period. Changes to the District Business Meeting To be eligible to be represented and counted in the quorum for the District Business Meeting, a club must be in good standing. If, by the date of the business meeting, dues for 8 members of a club have not been paid to World Headquarters, as discussed above, the club is not in good standing. Their officers may not vote at the business meeting and their club is not counted in the calculation of a quorum. This is a change from prior policy, when every club that had paid dues in the previous dues period was considered to be in good standing because the grace period kept them in good standing until November 30th and May 30th. There is no longer a grace period. Changes to Toastmasters Speech Contests In order to be eligible to compete in a speech contest, a speaker needs to be a member in good standing and the club they are representing needs to be a club in good standing. As detailed above, this means the club must have dues paid for 8 members, the member must have paid dues for the current period and World Headquarters must have both the club and member dues on file. In addition, the member must continue to be eligible at every level and if it is discovered they were ever ineligible when they competed, they are disqualified. In District 39, this means at every Area, Division and District contest held on or after October 1st in the fall and April 1st in the spring, the contest chair needs to look at the club and membership lists from World Headquarters and determine if both the contestant and the club he/she represents are in good standing and, if they are not, or if they were ineligible at any previous level, they will need to disqualify them. This is a change from prior policy where every club and member which had paid dues in the previous dues period were considered to be in good standing because the grace period kept them in good standing until November 30th and May 30th. There is no longer a grace period. Please direct questions to Sondra.Nunez@District39.org or call 916-599-5975 Sondra Nunez, DTM District 39 Director
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
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