Words From the President - July 2011
Dear Guest:
Thank you for attending our meeting today. Our club goal is to inspire people to become better communicators and leaders in
our world. All it takes is the first step—become a member.
Our history:
- Provide an atmosphere where we are all friends and colleagues committed to the pursuit of excellence.
- Chartered in 1946. Most recently earned the highest
award designation, President’s Distinguished Club, for
five consecutive years.
Meeting goals and format:
- Wordsmiths Toastmasters' seeks to make YOU a member
so as to help make our club as strong as it can be.
- Speakers receive individual feedback, positive and constructive, from an assigned evaluator plus feedback
from the entire audience.
- We have a table topics (impromptu speaking) portion in our meetings during which guests are welcome to participate.
- We invite you to any of our social gatherings held
throughout the year.
Our members find their experience in Wordsmiths Toastmasters expands their interpersonal communication skill growth and leadership skill opportunities. They also gain an added dimension
of professionalism that can directly translate into their careers.
If this sounds like a match for you, I invite you to join Wordsmiths this month so you can start seizing these opportunities. You will become part of one of the premier clubs in Minnesota!
We invite you to give us your impression of the meeting today.
You can comment when called upon during our business meeting
or simply speak with the presiding officer after the business meeting. Thank you for taking the time to visit and participate.
We look forward to seeing you again.
Best Regards,
Leo Smith | 2011 - 2012 Wordsmiths Toastmasters President
Attend a Wordsmiths Toastmasters meeting as a guest ->
Club Awards and Distinctions
For the 6 of the past 8 years, Wordsmiths Toastmasters is proud to have achieved the status of President's Distinguished Club, a unique award given sparingly by Toastmasters International. President's Distinguished Club status is awarded to clubs that have achieved 9 of the 10 goals in the DCP:
The Goals that are in the Distinguished Club Program:
1. 2 CCs
2. 2 more CCs
3. 1 AC (ACB, ACS, ACG)
4. 1 more AC (ACB, ACS, ACG)
5. 1 CL, AL, or DTM
6. 1 more CL, AL, or DTM
7. 4 new members
8. 4 more new members
9. Officers Trained in the Fall and Spring (at least 4 of the 7 officers each time)
10. Renewal report submitted on time in both October and April, and the new Officer List for the next Toastmaster year starting July 1st.
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Membership Profile and Demographics
Is this you?
For a long time, you’ve been wishing that you were more comfortable (or just not plain terrified!) when you were called on to introduce yourself at a meeting, or give a short presentation, or lead a discussion group. You’ve heard of Toastmasters, but don’t know anyone who belongs to a Toastmasters club. And you have this vague impression that Toastmasters are a bunch of stuffy business people who socialize around a public speaking theme.
What’s wrong with this scenario?
The part about your public speaking fears is probably true. But the part about Toastmasters is definitely not true!
If you could attend several Toastmasters meetings, you’d see Toastmasters cannot be so easily characterized. On the contrary, Toastmasters are a very diverse group. In addition, every Toastmasters club has a unique culture. Wordsmiths Toastmasters is no exception.
To begin with, Wordsmiths Toastmasters is open to all interested parties, contrasted with some clubs that have specific eligibility requirements. In terms of demographics, Wordsmiths members tend to be young-to-middle age professionals who have belonged to Toastmasters for less than two years.
Finally, Wordsmiths meetings--though structured around an agenda--tend to be more relaxed than you might expect from a Toastmasters meeting. In fact, we enjoy ourselves.
The only way you can really understand the Wordsmiths culture is to attend one of our meetings as a guest. Won’t you please consider attending one of our meetings to see for yourself the Wordsmiths culture in action? GO->
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Membership Dues
When you join Toastmasters, you pay a one-time new member fee of $20. After paying the new member fee, you pay monthly member dues. Member dues are paid twice a year, on April 1st and October 1st. Part of your monthly dues go to Toastmasters International and the other part to Wordsmiths.
The breakdown in dues is as follows:
|
Toastmasters International dues:
Wordsmiths club dues:
Total monthly cost: |
$6.00/month
$2/month
$8.00/month |
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Club Officers 2011-2012
President | Leo Smith
(612) 437-2461
Vice President of Education | Gwen Steel
Vice President Public Relations | Tom Polachek
fist13f10@aol.com
Vice President Membership | Amy Welty
Secretary | Roger Bromander
Treasurer | Garrett Schmidt
Sergeant at Arms | Nick Niewinski
