The CC season is here !

It is January and you know what that means....

Time to set goals for the year and plan for all the great Toastmasters events that are coming up in the next few months !

What types of goals?

How about finishing your CC? Now is the time to get signed up on your club's meeting schedule and let your VP-Education know that you want to finish your CC by the end of April (which could help your club win TM materials if they are distinguished by April 30th) or perhaps by the Spring Conference on May 22nd where we are hoping to celebrate meeting our District goal. If you miss either of these targets, there is still the goal of the end of the Toastmasters year, June 30th, 2010. If you get your CC done by then it could help your club become distinguished and earn a ribbon for your club's banner.

What if I've already finished my CC?

How about doing a second CC? You will be amazed by how much a second (or third) CC helps you improve your basic speaking skills. When was the last time you really focused on Vocal Variety? Or speaking to Inspire? Skills get rusty if they are not used regularly. Polish up your speaking skills and you will be glad you did. Send an email to your VPE right now to get on the speaking schedule ! Don't wait !

Did you know...
... that you can order just the evaluation guides from the CC
manual for only $1.95 ! Click here to order them from TI !

What about Contest and Conference (the "other CCs")?

Your work on your CC (manual) will also help you in your club contest (cc) which could even lead you to the finals at the District 53 Spring Conference in Bloomfield, CT on May 22nd, 2010 !

• Club Contests should be held by March 19
• Area Contests by April 9th and,
• Division Contests by April 30th.

Did you know...
... that you can get credit towards a manual speech for any speech you do as part of the Tall Tales or International speech contests? It just needs to be evaluated in the manual by another Toastmaster !

Contests are a great way to "jumpstart" your progress toward your next award ... plus you get the added benefit of refining your speech as you progress to each level of the competiton.

Remember...

The competition is really with yourself. If you do the best that you can (and learn from the experience)... YOU ARE A WINNER !

Move forward and Enjoy the CC season !

Dave Wheeler

D53 LGET, 2009-10

How can we encourage more CCs?

On a recent conference call the question was asked,
"How do we encourage members to complete their CC's (Competent Communicator award)?".

Karin von Kaenel, our District Governor, responded with a reference to an article one of our past International Presidents, Dilip A., wrote entitled "Twelve Ways To Encourage Members To Present Manual Speeches".

Please visit his website at http://www.drdilip.com/toastmaster_tips.html and you will see the article there.

Of course, the other option is to run a speech-a-thon which I'm suggesting all AGs try now in January, again in April and in June.

Please let me know if you have any questions, suggestions and, of course, great results!!

Thank you for your help in making sure members are experiencing growth opportunities.

Marsha Kiley

D53 LGET, 2008-9

How can we also boost membership with Speech-a-thons?

• Promote them as special events (which they are) and invite the general public.
• Invite a local politician or celebrity as the keynote speaker (and publicize the event).
• If you can't get someone famous, you could invite one of the senior team to speak. (We are all working on CC's too!)
• Use it as a "Toastmasters rally" for multiple clubs in an area. (The added enthusiasm will pump up all club meetings that follow.)
• Include a manual speech about membership building, mentoring or some other Toastmasters topic so attendees take home some club building information.
• Think of 3 more ways to boost membership through a Speech-a-thon. (I know you can do it!)

Any upcoming special scheduling opportunities?
There are a bunch of clubs that meet on Wednesday nights (either the 1st & 3rd or 2nd & 4th Wed.) and there are months that have FIVE Wednesdays (e.g. April). This means there is an extra meeting opportunity ... or the perfect time for a Speech-a-thon !

How many speechathons can we have on April 29th? It will be the week after the Spring conference and it could be a great time maintain the momentum and excitement from the conference!

Happy Toastmastering in 2009 !

Dave Wheeler
D53 LGM, 2008-9

Be The Change You Want To See!
http://www.district53toastmasters.org/

From the d53toastmasters Yahoo group... Did you know?

From: karin vonkaenel,
D53 Lt.Gov. Education
Date: Sep 16, 2007 7:23 PM
Subject: [d53toastmasters] Did you know?
To: d53toastmasters@yahoogroups

Greetings Fellow Toastmasters!
Recently, somebody asked the following question:

An old-time member already has her old-CL. Can she:
(1) Qualify for another CL by going through the new CL manual
(2) Achieve the ALB, which is the same as the old-CL
(3) can any of these count for DCP points for the club? The answer I got from TI was:

Members only have to earn the CC/CTM award once during their Toastmasters career. We do not require a new CC/CTM award earned for each ACB or old CL award.

The new-CL award does not have a requirement that a member must first earn the CC/CTM award
ie: Members may have 20 old-CL awards and only 1 CC/CTM
ie: Members may have earned the new CL and not have earned any CC/CTM.Any CL (old or new), ALB, ALS does count towards the DCP.

This is very good news for all clubs as this makes it easier to achieve those Educational goals in the DCP.

Have a great week!

Best regards,
Karin

Div. A.... CC and AC Goals + Performance

Division A is doing well compared to the 2006-7 CC and AC goals set by the district and international but the real news is that we are helping members achieve their goals.... to become better speakers and leaders... and we are also creating a better Toastmasters experience within each and every club in Division A!

The numbers below, forwarded to us by Roger Brown, District 53 webmaster, show where we are as of June 9, 2007. There are still 3 weeks to go so I expect we will have even more awards by the end of the Toastmaster year... June 30th !

Remember, you can submit awards online at Toastmasters.org !

Keep up the good work !

Dave Wheeler
Division A Governor, 2006-8

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Roger Brown
Date: Jun 12, 2007 11:31 PM
Subject: Current CC and AC Awards Goals + Performance
Data as of June 9, 2007 - Three weeks to go.

Div A Goals for 2006-07 - Competent and Advanced Communicator Awards
Competent Communicator (CC)					Advanced Communicator (AC)
	CC Goal	CC to Date	% of Goal			AC Goal	AC to Date	% of Goal
AREA A1	5	8	160%		AREA A1	1	7	400%
AREA A2	7	5	71.4%		AREA A2	2	4	200%
AREA A3	5	1	20.0%		AREA A3	1	0	0.0%
AREA A4	7	6	85.7%		AREA A4	2	3	150%
AREA A5	7	6	85.7%		AREA A5	2	5	250%
DIV A	31	26	83.9%		DIV A	8	19	238%