I just had a fantastic weekend away. I attending the District 35 Toastmasters Conference in Neenah, WI. Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development. As any endeavor we set out to do, Toastmasters is what you put into it. I have been blessed to find a club full of determined members. In the past year, I have watched my club members grow in their speaking and leadership skills exponentially.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Don Ritter called to the stage to present the target speech for the Evaluation Contest. His speech was an outstanding message about sacrificial love. He carried us through a gamut of emotion - from laughter to crying. Don went through to the semi-finals in a quest to win the World Champion of Public Speaking. Over 25,000 people compete for this title annually. Don was in the top 86. This would have been his speech for the final round of competition. It was a gem.
Katie Thiel was one of the contestants in the Evaluation Contest. The state level contest was Friday night. She came in 2nd! Without excellent speech evaluations, we wouldn't improve like we do. What a great example Katie is for us!
Two of my club members were session presenters: Jim Hanson shared how storytelling can be applied to make any message stick. Forget all the data heavy presentations that bore us all to death! Angela Brandenburg told us about her journey to a dream. She inspired us to move forward in our achieving our dreams. Both of these sessions were standing room only. In fact, some people had to either skip the session or find another to attend because the sessions were too full!
Behind the scenes, there were several people who worked diligently so that everything flowed practically flawless. I don't dare list all the names, lest I forget one. Katie Thiel and Julie Ritzman were recognized at the banquet for all of their hard work. These ladies are first year members of the group, jumping in with both feet, chairing registration and finances. They were simply amazing. Not only that, we had record attendance this year!
These are only a few of the people from my club that participated. There are several others who sacrificed in various ways to help with the conference. We work as a team, continually encouraging one another. The end result is exactly what Don Ritter talked about in a club sense - sacrificial love. We have all learned the benefit of Toastmasters. Not all of us want to be speakers or leaders in the typical sense of the word. We have members at all levels, which is a beautiful thing. Some of our members simply want to be comfortable around other people! Some of our members aspire to lead. And others long to speak as a profession.
Toastmasters, as I know it, is full of love and joy. It has been and continues to build my self-confidence. I am a new person because of my time with the clubs. I have a dream and a passion. I know I can follow it. If I fall on my face in the midst of it all, I know that I can dust myself off and try again. In the meantime, I will continue to grow as I chase my dreams.
We would love to meet you if you are interested in some fun self-improvement. All you have to do is ask and I will share all of the info you need. I hope you consider coming with me to a meeting.
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