Let's keep up the good work and continue MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER!
Mar 01, 2010
 
Oh, my, what's goin' on in good ol' District 16, as February gives way to March and Spring looks us right in the face??? Well, plenty, as a matter of fact!!!

First, even as we bask in the glow of the FANTASTIC District Sixteen Fall Conference held at the Sheraton Hotel in Downtown OKC in November, plans are being finalized for an EQUALLY DAZZLING 2010 District Sixteen Spring Conference in May, at the Doubletree Warren Place, in Tulsa!

The Fall Conference was, as I say, FANTASTIC. Assistant Lt.Gov.Ed.& Training Melissa Pearson and her Fall Conference Team - Kristen Cox, Dianne Wigley, Patrick Allmond, Michael Rush, Jeff Helber, Linda Israel, Meghan Padgett, Alexis Thompson, Keith Trollinger, Oliver Delaney, Becca Lasich, Jason Kersey and Mary Lou Masopust - put together an absolutely top notch conference, with educational presentations and key note speeches by two of the finest speakers in the world, Denver's Byron Embry and Erick Rainey of Portland Oregon, and our dynamite new Region III International Director, Pam McCown.

The Spring Conference will, as all reports indicate, be JUST AS TERRIFIC, so make your plans NOW!!! Assistant Lt.Gov.Ed.&Training Cassandra Oliver and her Spring Conference Team, including Janice Engelke, Bob and Evelyn Howe and many others, have finalized the contract with a wonderful facility, the Doubletree Hotel Warren Place, on South Yale in Tulsa, for the Spring Conference dates, Friday and Saturday, May 14 and 15, 2010. The conference flyer with all the details will be posted on the website and coming your way very soon. Educational presentations and keynote addresses will be provided by none other than Speech Coach and Motivational Speaker Craig Valentine, the 1999 World Champion of Public Speaking, and our dynamic and highly talented Senior Region III International Director Tim Swearingen. BTW: Craig Valentine is the author of The Nuts and Bolts of Public Speaking and co-author of World Class Speaking. Check out his website at http://www.craigvalentine.com. And my goodness, did we have two wonderful Toastmaster Leadership Institutes, in OKC and Tulsa in January and the first of February!!! In January, Ass't LGET and TLI Chair Kristen Cox and her Team put on a great TLI, which featured a hilarious and, at the same time, very informative key note by District Sixteen treasure Carol Dean Shreiner, at the beautiful Francis Tuttle facility on Portland Avenue in OKC. By taking us to the meeting of a very special Toastmasters Club whose officers included Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elsie the Cow and others, Carol Dean not only entertained us, but also focused us on the fundamentals of good leadership. The morning was rounded out with an excellent team of club officer training presenters, and another excellent Contest Judge's Training by Division K Governor Linda Israel (well done, Linda, and well done Kristen and Team!).

Mother Nature stepped in and forced the rescheduling of the Tulsa TLI, but Ass't LGET Rosemary Gee and her Team didn't miss a beat!!! The rescheduled TLI in Tulsa on February 6 kicked off with another entertaining and informative presentation by another District 16 superstar, Past District Governor and WWII vet Frank Slane. Frank revealed that he shot down three planes BEFORE being transferred to Europe to fight the Axis!!! Frank might have exaggerated a little bit, but he was right on in terms of the essence of good leadership!!! Officer Training was presented by another excellent team of presenters, and then twenty seven Toastmasters who stayed over past the noon hour experienced a truly inspirational Club Coaches' Training presentation by Walt Hansmann. Walt's presentation was so effective and motivating that seven Toastmasters responded to Walt's appeal and submitted Club Coach applications to District Governor Mike Leviant immediately upon the conclusion of the program (well done, Walt, and well done Rosemary and Team!).

BTW: Eight D16 Clubs had all seven club officers trained at either the OKC or the Tulsa TLIs. Thanks and well done to STEP, HALmasters, Conoma, Speak Up!, McEvoy's McSpeakers, Let's Talk, Okmulgee Orators and Will Rogers!!!!!
So, eight months into the 2009/2010 Toastmasters Year, where do we stand in terms of achieving the mission of Toastmasters through the eighty or so clubs in Oklahoma's District Sixteen??? Well, according to an excellent analysis by Immediate Past District Governor Hobart Richardson and Past District Governor Lacinda Green presented at the District Executive Committee meeting at the Stroud Conference Center on Saturday, February 27, virtually all of our Clubs have the opportunity - with continued hard work now - to achieve Distinguished Club status before June 30. To help in that process, District Governor Mike Leviant and Lt.Gov.Marketing Matt Branstetter are throwing into the mix the following: Each District Sixteen Club which wins Toastmasters International's "Talk Up Toastmasters" challenge, in other words, sign up five new members between February 1 and March 31, 2010 (must be reported to TI on or before March 31) will not only be recognized by TI with Ribbon and 10% Club order discount at TI, but will also receive a $50 shopping spree at the D16 Store AND a place in a drawing at the Spring Conference in May for one of those dandy VIDEO CAMERAS to record club member speeches and take pix for the club website or FACEBOOK page!!! Each new member ABOVE FIVE will get the club AN ADDITIONAL CHANCE IN THE DRAWING!!! In other words, if a club gets six new members, they get TWO chances in the drawing; seven new members gets the club THREE chances in the drawing, and so on. IN ADDITION, EACH DISTRICT 16 CLUB WHICH ACHIEVES DISTINGUISHED CLUB BY APRIL 30 GETS ONE FREE REGISTRATION FOR THE DISTRICT 16 SPRING CONFERENCE AT THE DOUBLETREE IN TULSA IN MAY!!!

So, there you have it: The Distinguished Club Plan is Toastmasters International's "game plan" and "play book" for making good on its promise to the world: "Toastmasters International empowers people to achieve their full potential and realize their dreams. Through our member Clubs, people throughout the world can improve their communication and leadership skills, and find the courage to change." The GAME PLAN. The PLAY BOOK. Thanks to all the team out there in District 16, to all the "PLAYERS," to the D16 Toastmasters throughout Oklahoma.

In accordance with the vision and challenge of D16 DG Mike Leviant this year, let's keep up the good work and continue "MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER!!!"
Thanks to you all. Bob.


District 16 Awards, Recognitions and Future Successes
Oct 02, 2009
PhotoHey, District Sixteen! We're off to a great start in the new 2009/2010 Toastmaster Year that started July 1. What do I mean? Well, I'm glad you asked!!!

First, we had two excellent Toastmaster Leadership Institute Club Officer Training programs in July. The terrific Tulsa TLI put on by Ass't LGET and Tulsa TLI Chair Rosemary Gee, and the outstanding Oklahoma City TLI put on by Ass't LGET and OKC TLI Chair Kristen Cox, were well organized and well attended, and included marvelous keynote addresses by Greg Neely (Tulsa) and Harold Patterson (OKC). Moreover, SEVEN Division T Clubs had ALL SEVEN CLUB OFFICERS present (way to go, Tower, Hilltop, Will Rogers, Tulsa and Broken Arrow, AND ESPECIALLY Green Country, whose officers were unable to make the Tulsa TLI but who piled into cars and shot down the Turner Turnpike to get in their training at the OKC TLI!), as did one Division K Club (way to go, Distinguished!) and six Division O Clubs (way to go, Devon, Conoma, McEvoy's, Speakeasy, STEP and Early Risers!).

Second, our excellent corps of 2009/2010 Division Governors (Linda Israel, Div. K; Alice Corley, Div. O; and Ed Engelke, Div. T) and Area Governors (Shane Cole, K-1; Jimmy Bollman, K-2; David Walkup, K-3; Jeff Helber, K-4; Claudine Holman, O-1; Roger Webb, O-2; LuAnn Stuart, O-3; Jean Henry, O-4; Nate Parker, O-5; Gwen Goff, T-1; Paulette Lorsbach, T-2; Jessica Hargis, T-3; Hilary Welch, T-4; Ron Olsen, T-5; and Lynn Jones, T-6), gave up two Saturdays in July and August to attend their District Officer Training sessions at District Executive Council meetings at the Stroud Conference Center. Excellent training presentations by LGM Matt Branstetter, PDG Tom Bach, Ass't LGET and Tulsa District Conference Chair Cassandra Oliver and Dist. Gov. Mike Leviant got the District Team off and running with the marvelous possibilities for achievement in District Sixteen this year!

Third, District 16 strutted its stuff at the Toastmasters International Conference at the MGM Grand in Connecticut in August! PDGs Maurice Myles and Delores Myles, of Satanta #2761 in Lawton, were honored on stage, in front of 1,800 Toastmasters from all over the world, as recipients of highly coveted Presidential Citations for their outstanding achievements and service to the organization. They were reportedly one of only three husband/wife couples in all of Toastmasters so honored this year.

In addition, District 16's 2008/2009 Lt. Gov. Education and Training James Tucker was similarly honored on stage, receiving one of the Excellence in Education and Training Awards handed out this year, in recognition of D16's attaining all its Distinguished District Training, CC and AC goals during the Toastmasters year completed June 30.

Finally, D16's own Charlotte Howard, PDG, was everywhere evident in what was her final International Conference as Region III International Director. Charlotte has had a highly successful two year run as one of two Region III ID's, and the affection and appreciation of the Toastmasters in that eight state area and on the Board of Toastmasters International was very evident. Well done, Charlotte.

So, where does all that leave us??? Well, I did start by saying that "we're off to a great start in the new 2009/2010 Toastmaster Year," and we sure are!!! TI shows that the Clubs of District 16 have already achieved 36 Competent Communication Awards – fully 1/3 of the District's assigned goal of 108 for this entire YEAR – and 13 Advanced Communication Awards, amounting to almost one half of the assigned D16 goal of 31. Wow!!! And the 15 CLs, ALs and DTMs already in the hands of D16 Toasties are right at one-fourth of the District’s goal of 60 this year. Wow AGAIN!!!

And extra special recognition to two of those Toastmasters, Gary Ray Howell of Conoma and Arlene Shores, PDG, of Enid Speakers of the Plains Gary Ray and Arlene have achieved the highest level possible in Toastmasters, that of Distinguished Toastmaster, "DTM." Well done, Gary Ray and Arlene. We're proud of you.

Also, we're right in the middle of the Humorous Speech Contest Season. Great club contests in August and early September led to outstanding Division T, O and K Area Day of Contests the last three weeks, laying the groundwork for the Division Contests in October. Those contests, in turn, will lead up to a DYNAMITE District Fall Conference being planned for November 6 and 7 in OKC, at the Downtown Sheraton, by Ass't LGET and Fall Conference Chair Melissa Pearson and her excellent team (Kristen Cox, Education Chair; Dianne Wigley, Finance Chair; Patrick Allmond, PR Chair; and Michael Rush, Facilities Chair).

Two of the finest speakers in the world, Toastmasters Byron Embry of Denver and Erick Rainey of Portland, Oregon, will be with us, as will our dandy new International Director, Pam McCown, of Houston.

We're all going to come away from the Fall Conference better Toastmaster Speakers and Leaders, and have a WHOLE LOT OF FUN to boot!!! Get your Conference registration in right now, and book your room at the Sheraton ASAP. We all need to book our rooms at the Sheraton by October 14, SO LET'S HOP TO IT!!

Keep up the good work, Toastmasters of District 16! We are, indeed, "MOVING FORWARD, TOGETHER!"