Never Underestimate the Importance of Coffee with Friends!

Last night was indeed a pleasurable one! I had coffee with two of my favourite people, Past District Governor Gene, his beautiful wife Lil and Taffy, their adorable Yorkie. Gene and Lil lived for many years here in Saskatoon but now live in Lethbridge and were back visiting for a few days. We caught up on news and events and, of course, discussed Toastmasters.

One of the topics we discussed was the importance of Successful Club Meetings (please visit the link to TI's web site for information on Successful Meetings). This conversation rolled around in my head after I got home and thought it would be a good conversation piece for this blog.

I truly believe that one of the best ways to gain new members and retain current members is to have consistently successful club meetings. Does your club always have manual speeches with members meeting the objectives of the project? Do you consistently have quality evaluations? Do you have effective table topics sessions? Do you try to fit in a business meeting in order to learn the importance of parliamentary procedure and how to effectively run and participate in meetings, whether at Toastmasters, work or in your community? Do you take advantage of the educational modules that TI has available for our use? Does your club follow the Distinguished Club Program (which is simply a measuring tool to determine whether your club is meeting the communication and leadership goals of your members)? If you aren't following the DCP, perhaps you could arrange with your Area Governor to attend and present the Distinguished Club module from TI. Have it as a club event! When you work together as a team you can accomplish amazing things.

I also feel it's important to make your meetings fun! We all know that we learn best in a positive, helpful, fun environment. Does your club have fun meetings? If not, perhaps you may want to sit down as a club and determine why not. The TI module entitled Moments of Truth may assist in this.

By having successful club meetings, I know that each of you will Impact Our World in the coming year.

And remember, have coffee with friends - whether or not they are Toastmasters! There's nothing more satisfying that sitting outside your favourite coffee house on a lovely summer evening. I know how much I enjoyed getting out and having coffee with Gene and Lil ...

Gotta run ... the coffee's brewed!

Joan

Greetings from your well-rested DG!

I hope this finds all of you well and enjoying July! I took the past week off to spend some time reading and relaxing. I did manage to get some Toastmasters items handled though.

One of my favourite moments of the week was spent visiting with our new Prairie Horizons Editor (aka our District newsletter) Karen. She is a joy to visit with as she has so many great ideas for our District newsletter this year. I'm always pumped after time spent with Karen.

As you are aware, in the past number of years we have moved to an electronic version of our newsletter. This year we're planning to take it a step further and have it a true "electronic" newsletter. And, as long as your email address is correct (please see one of my previous blogs to ensure yours is correct) you will receive your Prairie Horizons directly to your inbox (assuming all goes as planned!). We truly want to focus on the heroes of our District so if you know of someone who is doing something special in your Toastmasters community, or taking their skills to our greater community, please contact Karen at prairiehorizons AT d42tm DOT org.

Congratulations to Leduc C&C for chartering! Welcome to our D42 Toastmasters family. And Sylvan's Slicks only have one piece of paper outstanding to be officially chartered. Sylvan's Slicks may be holding their charter celebration the night before our Fall Conference (details to be confirmed). If so, I look forward to celebrating with them at that time as I'll be heading to Red Deer on the Thursday to get revved up for our Fall Conference.

Fall Conference Chair Barb and her team are working diligently at putting on a great show in Red Deer on November 7th to 9th as we celebrate The Magic of Achievement! What a great theme for a conference. If you haven't registered yet, please do so by visiting the d42.org web site or visit this link and register! I look forward to welcoming you in Red Deer!

A special welcome to those of you that have been reading my blog from outside of District 42 (and thanks to my Leadership Coach Ken for teaching me how to find out who's been to visit!). So far we've had visits from Manitoba, Georgia (the state, not the country), Missouri, the Bahamas, China, British Columbia and Minnesota.

Besides working at my day job, I spent a lot of time reading and recharging this week. In the past week I reread Harry Potter & The Death Hallows, The Fellowship of the Ring, part of The Two Towers ... and 2 books new to me ... Janet Evanovitch's Fearless Fourteen and Patricia Cornwell's At Risk. Yes, I read quickly (I read Evanovitch and Cornwell on Saturday afternoon/evening) ... a friend of mine laughs and says he gets much more bang for his buck because he spends more time reading the books. I just get so caught up that I can't wait to finish! And when I need to unwind I like to reread certain books. Watch for our D42 Book Blog that will be coming soon so you can find out what your District leaders have been reading!

One of the highlights of my week was brunch with my friends Deb & Terry and then a leisurely drive out in the country. Right now, Saskatoon is at its most beautiful. Everything is green and lush; it's moments like that that remind me of why I live here.

I'm back at full throttle with handling District "stuff". And loving every minute of it now that I've had a bit of a break.

I'm looking forward to seeing many of you in Calgary at the International Convention.

Until then, keep reading!
Joan

Greetings and salutations!

It's been a busy week. I've sent off some supply orders to TI and got lots of other "administrative" stuff done.

Two exciting initiatives have taken shape this past week ...

First, our LGET Tim really wanted to see the Advanced Toastmasters Bootcamp take off around the District this year, after the success Edmonton had in hosting it last year. Elaine, who did her HPL on this project, has very kindly agreed to act as the District Coordinator for this initiative. We hope to host 6 Advanced Toastmaster Bootcamps in November after the Fall Conference. The idea is that members, from brand new all the way to those working on Advanced Communicator and Leadership goals will have an opportunity to create a "roadmap" to their own success in this interactive workshop. Watch for details coming from your Division and Area Governors!

Second, thanks to our LGM Greg who has come up with the great idea of "borrowing" from D19 (Iowa) Toastmasters - it's an idea called SmartCraft. The premise is that a team of people in each Division will be available to go out to low member clubs, conduct a workshop that will assist in each club taking ownership of their own membership goals. We are truly blessed that Judy from Airdrie, Past District 21 Governor and Past International Director, has agreed to be our District SmartCraft Coordinator. She has some fabulous ideas. We're hoping that this will help fill the void by our having too few club coaches for low member clubs.

Your PRO Keith has been busy looking into some advertising opportunities in some of your communities. Who knows where you might see Toastmasters advertised in the coming months!!

You have a great team of people working on your behalf!!

One of my greatest joys is hearing from members, whether by phone or my email. Today I was overjoyed to have a great chat with Sam from Jacobs Global Village in Calgary. Every time I hear from Sam, whether by phone or email, it puts a smile on my face. And if you want a great laugh, you really need to correpond with James from Pason Presenters - he had me splitting a gut! And just last week I was corresponding with Martin, our District and Region IV International Speech Contest winner, who will be representing us at the Calgary International Convention - Martin always manages to inspire me. I love the emails, the phone calls ... just to be in touch with you, whether you're an Area Governor with a question or a member who wants an article for your newsletter; I truly do appreciate each and every bit of contact I have with you.

It truly is a blessing to serve as your District Governor. It's you, the members, that will make this year a special one for me. Thank you so much!

I'm going to be off-blog for a few days as I take a bit of time to read and relax. I hope each of you has a wonderful week. I'll be back blogging next week.

Until then, cheers my friends!
Joan

Does Toastmasters Know Where You Are?

One of the key methods we are planning to use to communicate with you as a member this year is a service called Constant Contact. It is an email-based service that will allow us to distribute relevant information to members, club officers and/or District officers, based on the information we need to send. We don't want anyone to be able to say "I didn't know about that!". It won't be perfect, but we hope it will help in communicating with you.

But we need your help to make this work.

Please visit the article "Does Toastmasters Know Where You Are?" at http://www.d42tm.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=253&Itemid=1 written by our very own LGM Greg to learn how to update your personal information at Toastmasters International.

Thank you and cheers,
Joan

TalkShoe- LGM Greg Tries Something New!

Many of you already know Greg from his ToastCaster fame - I love his podcasts!

Tonight, he and Judd from Florida (of toastcast.org fame) got together and did a conference call about the Toastmasters International web site using TalkShoe. Watch for the upcoming podcast of the call on www.toastcaster.com. A number of us signed in using TalkShoe - it's great! You can call in from your phone or your computer. I do recommend before participating in a call to set up your profile and download the free ShoePhone. This will allow you to send comments by text on-line or you can just join in on the conversation.

You will be seeing more of this technology in the coming year as we try out this technology for our Division Governor and Area Governor Conference Calls. Who knows, maybe we could even try a District-wide conference call as you can have up to 1000 participants (can't you just see Greg cringing as he reads this) ... no promises, but an idea we'll look at.

Well done Greg and Judd! Thanks for making this opportunity available to us.

Why a District Governor blog?

After I signed off from my initial blog, I started thinking about why I would want to write a blog - why I'd want to share with you some of the mundane, bizarre, exhilarating and moving moments that I will experience in my DG year.

Then it occurred to me that the why had been answered during our Region District Officer training in Rapid City. The first session of the Friday was a segment on Building Effective Teams. Part of the session included a breakout time for the District teams. Tim, Greg and I (and the other District teams) were each given the challenge of coming up with our Guiding Principles for our year ahead.

This is what we, as a team, determined are the guiding principles we will live by during this Toastmaster year (which filters out into our lives). They were, in no particular order:

• One voice
• Respect
• Act with integrity
• Transparent
• Innovative
• In touch

It's really the last 3 that have led to this blog. Transparent, or transparency ... we want you, the members of our District, to be aware of what we are doing, when we are doing it and how we are doing it. Innovative ... part of our goal in reaching out to our members, working our best to meet your needs, is to ensure you know what's going on - that's why we've championed Greg's podcasts, are moving to an "automated" method of contacting members by email using Constant Contact, the on-line club officer training; all of this is a part of our goal to be innovative.

But it's really the last guiding principle ... in touch ... that is at the core. This was the guiding principle that took the longest to formulate, not because we didn't know what we wanted, but because we didn't know how to phrase it. Special thanks to TI's Senior Vice-President Jana who came up with the final phrase of in touch.

It is important to Tim, Greg and I - and Keith who is an incredibly important part of our team - that we be available to you. It's not always possible to be there in person (so feel free to phone or email me), but when we are there, whether it's at Division Contests, TLIs, club meetings or District conferences, we want to make sure that we're available to you.

Our organization is founded on the principle that the member is the most important member of our organization. If we don't hear your stories, celebrate in your successes, and essentially just be in touch with you, then we won't get to know you and you won't get to know us. And our District would suffer if that were the case. It is your spirit of innovation, your dedication, your ideas, your willingness to challenge that is what we need to succeed this year and in future years. Because each of you brings something new and unique to our organization, whether you're a brand new member or someone who's been around since dirt was invented.

When you see us out at an event, don't ever hesitate to come up and talk to us. We love to see old friends and make new ones. Our goal though is to be the one going out to meet you. We'll be spending as much time as is possible, given that this is a volunteer organization (and we have that pesky thing called "work") in meeting as many of you as possible this coming year.

I know, that with the incredible spirit that we have in District 42, you will truly Impact Our World this year. I hope that we will also impact your world.

Until next time, Joan

Div/AG Training, Region IV Conference and since ...

Well, times have certainly been busy and incredibly exciting for your District Executive team.

The last weekend of May saw Tim (your Lt. Governor Education & Training "LGET"), Greg (your Lt. Governor Marketing "LGM") and Keith (your Public Relations Officer "PRO") and me in Red Deer for the Division Governor retreat. What a great time! You have an incredibly dedicated, enthusiastic and hard-working group of Division Governors for 2008-2009. Friday night was all about anything but Toastmasters! Saturday morning was information overload for the Div Govs. Then it was off for an afternoon of experiental leadership training. The sun shone and the enthusiasm was off the charts. Saturday night saw us at Sam's for a lovely supper out (once we got the little green worms out of our hair). Sunday morning they delved into the exciting world of Budget - wow! However, they survived it in order that they could spend 2 incredible hours with Past International Director, our beloved Linda Hawk, who joined us to present 2 sessions. The first, on leadership, Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way was followed by a session on conflict management Playing in the Same Sandbox! Linda, there's a reason you're loved and respected around the world - you were completely amazing! Following lunch we all headed off to our homes and alas, work ...

The next weekend saw Tim, Greg, Keith and I (aka the Brass ... a phrase coined by Rhys Davies, Past Div F Gov for your DG, LGET, LGM and PRO - much preferable to the Bottom 4 - yup we're at the bottom of the rung - members at the top!) in Davidson SK for Saskatchewan AG Training. Fantastic group! A long day filled with lots of "here's where you go to find ...". Weather was a little iffy, but we persevered and really enjoyed our time with our SK AGs.

The next weekend once again saw your Brass presenting Area Governor Training. This time we were in Edmonton for the Alberta AG Training. Another fantastic group! Sunny day and a very full house! Lots more of the "here's where you go to find ...". Special thanks to Dan and Fern for hosting Tim and I. I love staying with you guys!!

The previous 3 weekends have been a highlight for me for the past couple of years. It is getting to know the Division Governors and Area Governors that makes all the travel, prep time and worry worth it. What an amazing group of people. I just can't wait to be able to meet all of our members from across the District this coming year!

Finally ... the following weekend ... a weekend off! Well, sort of. Lots of prep work for the year ahead. I did, however, take a bit of down time and watched movies, packed for the upcoming trip to Rapid City SD for the Region IV Conference.

Yeah! It's Wednesday and I get to go to Rapid City SD! I have been so pumped about going to the Region IV Conference and seeing so many friends from across the Region. Did the Saskatoon - Edmonton - Denver - Rapid City method of getting there. All was fine until I was in Edmonton and realized that the District Banner made it to Edmonton, but my luggage didn't (I finally got it Saturday at 5 pm). Anyway, I think that banner is jinxed. Last year Tim was tasked with taking it to Region; neither the banner or his luggage showed up (well, they did a couple days later). Next year when Region is in Winnipeg, the banner is going in someone's car - it apparently doesn't like planes!

Only arrived somewhat late in Rapid City, but that was okay, as Keith and I were greeted by D19 (Iowa) DG Doug and we were close enough timewise to wait for Monique, the District Governor from D64 (Manitoba). It was fantastic to see them again.

Arrived at the Holiday Inn in South Dakota to hear the raucous sounds of friends from around the Region whooping it up in the lounge. The desk clerk looked slightly alarmed when Mic, LGM and Brian, LGET from D78 came thundering across the lobby to see who could be first to give me a welcome hug (Brian won - too bad Mic). I must give special thanks to Dave the Bartender who found out I lost my luggage (well, more accurately, Air Canada just didn't put it on the plane) and found me lots of amenities to help me out. Thanks also to Mic for the hair spray and Sue & Spence for the clothes for Friday night!

Thursday saw Monique, Doug, Tim, Greg, Keith and me off to Mount Rushmore. How amazing! Tim, Greg, Keith and I had fun emulating the 4 Presidents (please see the pics on the http://www.d42.org/ web site). A stop in the town near Rushmore for some much (not!) needed shopping - great hat Monique and t-shirt Tim - gave me the time to phone Air Canada baggage (don't get me started! Thank goodness for the great folks at United Air Baggage). Then we stopped at the Crystal Caves (the rest of the gang went down but I didn't think my knees could handle the climb so I had a nap) ... which was fine except for the child in the next car skwooshing his empty water bottle.

Back to Rapid City and time to meet and greet friends from across the Region. A special treat was that Dan, Deputy Executive Director of Toastmasters International and Senior Vice-President Jana and her husband Robert Past International President were there! Thursday night was biker night! Who'd have thunk it being so close to Sturgis!! Lots of fun and chat, especially in the hospitality suite - no one does a hospitality suite like Ray LGET from D64 Winnipeg.

Friday morning - up at at 'em early as Tim, Greg and I were in District Officer Training. Great sessions, led by Dan, Jana, 1st Year International Director (ID) Judy and 2nd year ID Martha.

Friday night is always a fun night at Region. This year the Region Conference team (led by the fantastic JoAnn and Dwight) held a lip sync contest. It's been about a decade since that was done. Let's be perfectly clear on something ... I do NOT do lip syncs ... never have ... never will. Well, that was until Greg talked me into doing one. Well, 1 turned into 2! I also did one with my fellow DGs (D6 Joan, D19 Doug, D24 Pat, D64 Monique and D78 Arlene) - we decided to do Leader of the Pack. Arlene, Monique and the gang were awesome - I was a little frazzled, having had to do a shopping run to buy a dress for Saturday night! Jade, Sue and Spence from D42 did a fantastic job - they placed 3rd! Finally, the last act of the night ... your D42 Brass ... I won't tell you the song (you never know, you may just see it someday) ... but here's the thing ... we got a standing ovation!! Who knew lip sync could be so much fun! And guess what ... we won the lip sync contest!!

Saturday it was back into the Training Room for Tim, Greg and I. Keith took care of the Treasurer training on Friday as Deb was unable to attend and took part in PRO training on Saturday. Lots of learning happening!

Saturday night was a highlight - and not just because my luggage arrived - the banquet was a fun time, followed by the International Speech Contest. Great contest! And to top off the weekend, Martin from our District won the Region IV International Speech Contest. Martin, you were awesome! Now Martin will represent our Region at the Toastmasters International Speech Contest at the International Convention in Calgary in August. Good luck Martin! Then we had the dancing ... then the hospitality suite ... need I say more ...

Sunday it was time for goodbyes to our friends. It's hard to part, but knowing I'll see them in August makes it a lot easier. Was able to fly from Rapid City to Denver to Winnipeg seated by D64 DG Monique, so that was a hoot. Especially when we had our buffet of junk food lined up on our trays. After a drink and visit in Winnipeg with Monique and her husband Don (awesome guy) it was home to Saskatoon and back to my very lonely kitties Sophie and Lizzie.

Ahhhhh ... 2 days off ... not too much rest as I had lots of work to get done for D42! Back to work Wednesday and then Friday night it was off to my sister Kathy's cabin at Christopher Lake with my buddy Stephen who was up visiting from Minnesota. Good thing the weather was crappy as I spent most of the time hunkered down over my laptop. There are 4 critical deadlines on July 15th - the district officer list, the district calendar, the alignment changes and district signature form - so the pressure was on.

Back to work Tuesday and after several nights and today finishing things up, I'm happy to report that this afternoon at 1:11 pm I sent the last of the required items off to TI World Headquarters (WHQ). Then it was an afternoon out in the sun with one of my favourite people in the world - Ken, our District Team Leadership Coach. We discussed everything under the sun (literally, we sat for about 2 hours on a bench overlooking the beautiful South Saskatchewan River). Ken is always there to calm me, provide advice and guide me gently. Ken, thank you for you!

Well, that's it for now. Sorry this one has been so long but now that I have a blog (for some reason I keep typing blob) up and running I'll be doing regular postings to keep you up to speed on what I and the rest of your District team are up to.

It is without doubt one of the highlights of my life to be able to serve you, our District 42 members for the coming year. We will be trying new ideas this year and further developing other ideas we tried this past year. I hope that you will enjoy these blogs and gain a greater understanding of what your District team is up to, on your behalf.

Hugs until the next blog, Joan, Sophie my tabby, and Lizzie (currently sleeping at my feet).