Meeting Recap: March 25, 2015 (Club Mentoring Workshop)

Dear APS Members and Guests,

All Toastmasters clubs need mentors - either from within the club or without. With this call to action, APS undertook a “Club Mentoring Workshop” to assist in the District 46 sponsored “Advanced Club Educators” initiative. The idea is for advanced clubs to educate on the topics of club sponsoring, mentoring and coaching. Lt. Gov. Marketing Tom Marino served as Toastmaster of the Day and as discussion leader. Other welcome guests were Bob Bowes, Gary Wapnitsky, Kelvin S. Davis and Julio Guerrero. “Mentor” – as both a noun and a verb - was the frequently used Word of the Day presented by Kumar Kanumilli. 

Todd McKinney opened the meeting with a brief recounting of the origin and sponsoring of APS in 2011. Details and club history can be found on our website: http://www.advancedpublicspeakers.com/home/meet-our-members

Bob Bowes used the story of Pace Toastmasters as an example of “Sponsoring a Club.” In spite of some initial difficulties collecting dues payments from Pace University, Bob – with the help of some eager students - was able to file paperwork with Toastmasters International and get the club chartered on schedule.

Using a slide show and the metaphor of skydiving, Marcia Berry explained that when “Mentoring a Club” like Teach For America, you may need to persuade novice Toastmasters to make their first jump. After they finally do it however, they realize the experience can be awesome.

After encountering various difficulties mentoring three different clubs over three years, Todd McKinney finally found success while “Coaching a Club.” Jade Toastmasters only had six members early last year when APS members like Derek, Gouri, Georgia, Brian, Pam, Jacqueline and Todd got involved and established the “club coaching a club” model. Jade now has 30 mostly new members.

Tom Marino then led a discussion/Q & A segment on mentoring. Most APS members have already served – or are currently serving - as club sponsors, mentors and coaches. The depth of Toastmasters experience of the APS members and guests that were present was notable – adding up to over 100 years. Brian Robinson, Harry Aneziris, Eloise Johnny, Derek Chen, Marcia Berry, Jacqueline McIntyre, Jaya Rudrabhatla, Steve Brady, Zak Niazi, Kumar Kamumilli and Todd McKinney all contributed to the discussion. Guests like Gary Wapnitsky, Julio Guerrero and Kelvin S. Davis also joined in with of course Tom Marino and Bob Bowes being the most experienced on these topics.

Tom then presented APS with a special District 46 recognition certificate from he and Neerja Purang. 

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Todd McKinney

VP Education, Advanced Public Speakers

Toastmasters International