PATHWAYS
The Toastmasters International educational program
SPEECHCRAFT
Workshop to gain members and improve current members
RESOURCES
Page to find club and district resources as well as DCP reports
TAG
The intent of the Traveling Award Gavel (TAG) is to encourage members to visit other clubs
District Happenings
What People Are Saying
I joined Toastmasters to work on my listening skills. I stay in Toastmasters for the friends that I have gained. Of course my communication and leadership skills have improved too.
Dr. Lisa Burnside
Lino Lakes
Check out the #MyWhy Toastmasters on our YouTube channel to see and hear why others have joined Toastmasters. Just click on my name, I will bring you there.
My manager asked me to join a TM meeting and it was one of the easiest goals I achieved that year. I made every meeting and my managers and colleagues immediately saw the results.
Crystal Anderson
Previous Administration Manager D106
This organization has been helpful in aiding me to overcome many of my personality quirks. I have gained so many life skills which I use in my social, work, and with friends. I never knew how to stand up for myself in a positive, non offensive way until I went through this program. I am now a lifer.
Daniel Grundtner
I've enjoyed my over thirty one years in Toastmasters for many reasons, the first of which is that I continue to learn. Secondly, the many old and new friends I've made over that time. Thirdly, I'm impressed and delighted to watch how members improve their communication and leadership skills by participating in this wonderful organization. I will continue to be a member for many years to come as a result of those earlier comments.
David Goldsworthy
Toastmaster’s offered me an opportunity to develop my public speaking skills and much more. It taught me various levels of leadership. The surprising thing about Toastmasters, is the friendships cultivated in my 12 plus years. You cannot put a price tag on the items I’ve listed; but each one had added tremendous value, to me. In my career and in my personal life!
Jon Perry
I have been in Toastmasters for 29 years in June What has kept me going? The plethora of learning opportunities at the club and District levels, the networking opportunities, but most importantly, the friendships I have been blessed with. Because of Toastmasters, I am now a lector at my church, I have my own part-time speaking business, and I have delivered eulogies at my father, father-in-law, mother-in-law and aunt's funerals. Never would I have done any of this without Toastmasters..
Anne Groetsch
I joined Toastmasters because I was from the era where children were to be seen but not heard. Toastmasters gave me the confidence to realize that other people were interested in what I had to say. I can now stand up in front of groups of any size and speak confidently
Karolyn Hoard
Toastmasters facilitated my personal growth through the years no matter where I am in life and in career. I continue to stay in Toastmasters to maintain the skills I have learned. Like the old saying, "If you don't use it, you lose it!" I don't want to lose the skills that have made a difference for me!
Pam Jergenson
Thank you for your recognition of my years as a member of ToastMasters. A special mention of my first Toastmasters club and mentor are worth commenting on. My first club SUPERVALU "Super Speakers", a corporate club that i joined and my assigned mentor was Miller Lavengood. Miller had an unbelievable communication style with great motivation and support for myself and fellow members. Other noteworthy clubs are "Super Values Speakers", Buttermasters, "Northside Toastmasters" and all the clubs that i visited but not joined from New Mexico, Oregon, Colorado, Kansas and North Dakota. My career had me moving several times over the years, I had always been impressed with all the ToastMastres supportand had the opportunity to serve on and as a club executive board member. An additional bonus of Toastmasters membership the numeroous levels of competencies i was able to complete and acheive. From Legacy Toastmasters to Pathways. It has given me better confidence with communications and embracing opportunities. Thank you fellow Toastmasters
Denis Wesenberg
In 1990 the Unisys plant in Santa Clara California was closed, and I was transferred to San Diego, where I knew no one. I was invited several times to a new Toastmasters Club there, which I joined in 1992 for social and intellectual fulfillment. I soon found that I loved an audience! The managers in the Engineering Department all dreaded presenting metrics at the monthly operations review, and because of my reputation from Toastmasters, asked me to collect, compile and present the department's metrics. It was a significant step in my career.
George Kane
When I was first introduced to Toastmasters via Speechcraft in 1977, the motto was "Better Listening. Better Thinking. Better Speaking." I have learned to hear what people were saying as well as what they were not saying. I have learned to think about what I was hearing. I have learned to choose my words carefully when I spoke.
One of the best parts of the last 45 years is that Toastmasters has created in me an awareness of the talents and potential of others and, most importantly, an awareness of myself. The people I’ve met and the many unexpected experiences have been invaluable. Thank you, my fellow Toastmasters, for the gift.
Darlene Bearl aka Anderson
Toastmasters was a game-changer for me! Toastmasters has given me the confidence to excel in public speaking, as well as making me a dynamic and confident leader. I can confidently chair meetings and can have strong everyday conversations. Toastmasters provided me with opportunities to network and meet people that I wouldn’t have been able to meet anywhere else and without Toastmasters I wouldn’t have been able to secure my dream job as a professor here at Confederation College in Thunder Bay. Toastmasters also gave me the skills to run for municipal office with confidence and to speak to residents in a professional manner, almost like mini-table topics. It has helped me and prepared me in so many ways. Toastmasters is a game changer.
Matthew Villella
D1016 Lead Trainer
Here’s the thing about Toastmasters: Every Zoom meeting, training or remote speech contest is a chance to grow and network with others. This year, I paid closer attention to people across the screen. When I felt like we had something in common, I connected with them over chat and then LinkedIn. I hesitantly, then fearlessly, started letting fellow Toastmasters know I was looking for a new job. And it worked; I started getting new connections, new opportunities, new hope.
Denise Sundquist
Division Director