Above the Noise Makes a Big Bang
On Saturday afternoon, over 60 people gathered at the Albuquerque Balloon Museum for a special District 23 event. Focused on professional women's need to be heard "above the noise", the event drew over 20 potential members and Toastmasters from 14 local clubs. We began with an overview, followed by three work stations: Suzanne Frazier, Kirsten Theisen and Barbara Dawson moderated sessions on winning interviews, cultivating investors and two-minute quick pitches. Next, John Freisinger gave us a preview of coming attractions: the video resume soon to be mandatory for your job application. Several guests braved the lights and did remarkably well under pressure. The final piece was a sample Toastmasters meeting that Charnia Parrish handled admirably, in spite of lingering cold symptoms.
Best of all, our survey rating was an outstanding 4.54 out of 5 possible points! Now all we have to do is convert those guests into members.
Proposed District 23 Realignment
Please review this realignment proposal (Microsoft Excel format)
and contact LGET Don DuBois with any comments
regarding the realignment. Please respond by March 31, 2010, so the information can be put
together for the DEC and District Council meeting in April.
District 23 - 2010 Spring Conference
Albuquerque, NM - April 23-24, 2010
 Jim Key 2003 WCPS
 Pamela McCown International Director |
The Spring Conference in Albuquerque features not one, but two special guests, three
educational tracks and, of course, the long anticipated spring contests.
The Texans will be invading Albuquerque this April! And we don't just mean the
Toastmasters from the Texas Panhandle and El Paso. Jim Key, the 2003 World Champion
of Public Speaking, travels from Plano, TX, to attend the conference and inspire,
motivate and entertain the attendees. Recently elected International Director Pamela McCown,
a Houston resident, will also attend to bring confidence, leadership and service to the
Toastmasters of District 23.
Along with our guests, attendees can look forward to three riveting educational tracks
created by the members of Albuquerque Challenge Club.
And the forecast for the competitors in our district, or those who enjoy watching a good
competition, looks great with the upcoming Table Topics and International Speech contests.
If your clubs have not already begun preparing for the contests, contact your club
President or VPE to make sure your clubs meet the deadline. For more information, contact
your area or division governor.
Conference chair Larry Buelow is looking for volunteers to aid in creating a
great conference. Dare to grow! Please
contact Larry to volunteer to chair a
conference committee or conference event. He will appreciate it and you will grow.
Registration:
Hotel Information:
- Sheraton Uptown Hotel
- 505-881-0000
- 2600 Louisiana Boulevard (map)
Club Officer Proxy:
New “Outside the Club” Speaking Contest
District 23 announced a speaking contest at the 2009 Fall Dec and Council Meetings that is open to all District 23 Toastmasters. The top prize is a $100 Toastmaster International Gift Certificate.
Rules of the Contest:
- Contestants MUST earn four points minimum.
- Points are counted by the number of speeches given outside the club or Toastmaster environment. If you do a speech and you don’t bring an evaluator with you, then you receive one point. If you bring an evaluator, then you get two points.
- With an evaluator you can only get credit for two speeches outside the club for every award. For instance, if you are working on a Competent Communicator, only two evaluated speeches outside the club will count toward that award. If you are working on an Advanced Communicator Award, then only one speech per book will count toward the Advance Communicator, maximum two speeches per award.
- The contest will run from November 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010. If you are a professional speaker or you do speaking as part of your job, those speeches will NOT count. You must speak somewhere else, i.e. non-profits, to get credit.
- When you give your speech, make sure in your introduction you say you’re from Toastmasters. You must have the person in charge of the meeting sign a piece of paper with their name and phone number so it can be checked. If an evaluator comes along with you, then he/she must sign it too and include their phone number. Please fax, 505-286-6100, or scan and email information to dbdubois7@msn.com.
- Everyone who gets at least 4 points will be recognized at the 2010 Spring Conference. The one with the most points wins the Gift Certificate. The District Governor, Lt. Governor of Education and Training and the Lt. Governor of Marketing are not eligible to participate in the contest.
Congratulations to Our Fall Conference Winners!
We had two fantastic contests and twelve outstanding contestants. But in the end there could only be one winner per contest:
Evaluation Contest: Erin Connelly
Humorous Speech Contest: Lezlie Davis
For more results, see the
Personal, Club, Area, Division and District Honors.
Photos From Recent District 23 Conferences
Fall 2009 - Amarillo, TX
Spring 2009 - Las Cruces, NM
Fall 2008 - Moriarty, NM
Please review the number of club officers trained in the Summer TLI period. If you believe the information is incorrect, please contact LGET Don DuBois with comments and a listing of all officers trained by name and office.
Please note that as of August 26, 2009, not all of the officers trained have been submitted to TI. Some Divisions are still reporting their numbers and they will be posted soon.
Links to product web sites for Craig Valentine, MBA, our keynote speaker at the District 23 Fall Conference (this is for the convenience of attendees and does not constitute an endorsement):