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I distinctly remember the day I made the commitment,
and decided to achieve my DTM.
I had been in Toastmasters for about five years,
and remained in the organisation for that period
of time, only because I enjoyed attending the
club meetings. My employer had just moved me from
Auckland, New Zealand, to Melbourne, and I was
busy transferring my life to ‘the west island’.
I thought my club in Auckland, Maungakiekie
(7686/72, it is Maori for “One Tree Hill,
and pronounced Mung-a-kick-kie) was fantastic,
and I had made many friends from that Club and
Division. As any past Area Governor I expect will
agree with me; I was amazed how two different
Clubs in can operate so differently, yet still
work towards achieving the same objectives! The
club I joined in Melbourne was nothing like the
club I left in Auckland!
I had only achieved a Competent Toastmaster
Award, with the educationals remaining, to complete
my Competent Leader, it would have been an ideal
time to move on to other things….
I did not just stay because I needed some new
friends; I stayed because I recognised what the
organisation had done for me thus far in my membership,
despite not even really trying to achieve anything.
I had just presented speeches when I was rostered
on, and assisted on the Club Executive when asked.
I joined Maungakiekie in October 1994, as I had
always been very good at evading presenting speeches
at school, university, and in my life. My 21st
birthday speech was abysmal!. I was surprised
I survived the absolute and complete terror of
my icebreaker in November 1994. My evaluator,
Rosemary Ellis, was very gentle with me, and I
came back for more. It is a shame all the rest
of my evaluations were not like that, because
I have had some beauties, just as I have delivered
some beauties! I thought that my fellow club members
were having a lend of me when, when after my number
three speech; they told me how much I had improved.
I certainly had not felt any improvement, and
as for presenting an evaluation on someone else’s
speech, Well! I was still as nervous as ever.
It was not until I started seeing other members,
that joined after me, present their initial speeches,
that I could see them improving in leaps and bounds,
that I became a believer. Even then, it still
took me five years to present a table topic with
confidence!
Like any novice Toastmaster, no longer had I joined
the organisation, I was persuaded to join the
Club Executive, as Bulletin Editor, which involved
ensuring the (rostered) Meeting Minute Secretary
supplied the minutes, and the Vice President of
Education supplied the forward programme; meld
them together, stick them in an envelope, and
become friends with my local postmaster (this
was before the days of email!).
Working on the Club Executive, in my second term
of Club Bulletin Editor, our Vice President of
Education gave up the role; I could see myself
in this role, so I offered my services, if my
club trusted me, which of course they did (at
the time, I never did understand why they were
so eager!). After completing that term, I them
completed my own term as Vice President of Education,
and learnt an immense amount about club operation,
from a very experienced Club President. I was
completely oblivious he was training me to be
his successor. Can you imagine how mortified I
was when I had to compete for the role of President,
when someone stood against me during our club
elections in 1998!! Maungakiekie was a Select
Distinguished club when I was president, which
I found very rewarding (yes I won the election,
phew!).
It was my intention to be Area Governor of Area
A4 in Auckland 1999-2000, but my move to Melbourne
stymied that.
The move gave me chance to complete my Competent
Leader here in District 73. The club I was involved
with sorely need needed some inspiration, so I
performed yet another year of Vice President of
Education. The Vice Presidents worked very hard,
and resuscitated life back into that club over
the cause of the year, so I took on the role of
Area Governor S7 in 2001. That certainly was hard
work, getting the Area over the line and achieving
Distinguished Status, but between us all, we achieved
that objective.
During this same time, l was also a Club Sponsor,
and Charter President for Silver Service Advanced
Toastmasters Club (1644/73), which a new and very
capable, friend of mine, and (now) fellow DTM,
Charmaine Reece, were building. After eight months
of extremely hard work, combining our experience
and ideas from Adelaide and Auckland, we were
finally able to host the charter dinner. This
Club was recognised as being Presidents Select
Distinguished status in its first full year of
operation.
Having worked on a couple of campaign teams in
District 72, I rejoined many New Zealand Toastmaster
friends in 2001, when we attended the 70th International
convention in Los Angeles. Unfortunately we were
unsuccessful in getting our candidate elected
to the board of Directors, but I know I certainly
had a wonderful time at the convention. I was
made very welcome when I visited World Headquarters,
and the standard of the convention, and the standard
of speaking in the contests and from the keynote
speakers, just blew me away. It was like nothing
I had ever seen before. I do recall giving up
trying to judge the World Championship of Public
Speaking at about speaker number three.
This event, though, was eclipsed, at the Lorne
District Convention in 2004 when I was awarded
the District Toastmaster of the year award. Some
of you may remember, I was the District Secretary
during the preceding year, which I found very
challenging, and a very intense year, full of
hard work. This award was the icing on the cake,
topping off probably the most work I had ever
put into the organisation. It was great working
so closely with the senior District Executive,
and boy, did I learn a lot about how to run a
District, that year!
This October marks my twelfth anniversary with
the organisation, ten of which I have been on
some sort of committee or another, some years,
I have been on multiple committees. Why do we
do it? Well in that time, as well as achieving
my objective in Toastmasters, becoming able to
present a speech; I have achieved many other objectives
I did not know I even had. Then there are the
friends I have made along the way, too. I find
that you tend to make a better class of friend
in our organisation, those that desire to better
themselves.
I consider Toastmasters a bit like a drug. What’s
your poison? Adrenalin, alcohol, or something
a bit more powerful?
The more of your drug that you take, the more
you need to get the same hit. Toastmasters is
the same. The more you put in to the organisation,
the more you get out. And it has so much to offer
its members. I am only a baby. I know many members
both in this part of the world and in other parts
of the world, that have been involved with our
organisation for twenty or thirty years, and they
are still learning and enjoying. Taking on a Club
role is only just the beginning, District beckons
you as far as District Governor. Then, guess what,
you are only just qualified to stand for a position
on the Board of Directors, and then once you have
presided as a board member for two years, you
are then allowed to stand for Third Vice President.
I suspect that everyone in the audience at the
recent Launceston convention, wanted to be International
President, after listening to and viewing the
presentation of Past International President,
Gavin Blakey DTM. I know I certainly received
a dose of enthusiasm!
It all boils down to the message that was presented
to the audience at the Golden Gavel luncheon,
back at the 2001 International Convention I attended.
The message was, if you want to be the best in
what you are doing, how do you achieve that? The
answer is simple. You identify the attributes
belonging to the person that is the best, and
make those attributes part of your repertoire.
This person may be real or may be fictional. I
also encourage members not to be too impatient
to take on a role that you are not ready for.
There is a wealth of experience in our Clubs and
District on show for you. Embrace what you see
done well, by the members that are more experienced
than you, in the role one step up from you; and
learn also, from what you see presented poorly.
No one can do this for you, you must identify
these attributes yourself, and then implement
them. It does not matter whether you are cleaning
a car, presenting a speech, preparing to present
an evaluation, or preparing for the role of Toastmaster
of the meeting, or even doing something really
big. If you want to take up mountain climbing,
you don’t start with Mt Everest, do you!
Yet I continue to see this often, in our District.
Certainly if you desire to achieve in our organisation,
and are prepared to put the work in; you will
be rewarded for it. Perhaps not as overtly as
receiving a piece of wood from World Headquarters
to hang on your wall, but certainly intrinsically.
I know I have received tremendous rewards from
toastmasters the last decade, and I know you will
too. But you have to be prepared to put in the
work. Give that commitment to Toastmasters, and
require the commitment you need from those that
are working under you. Remember, if Adrenelin
is your drug, and you are not breaking a sweat
when you run, then the exercise is not doing you
any good!
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