On November 5 we hosted a special guest speaker, David Carr, who spoke about WordPress for Toastmasters, an addon he developed for the WordPress blogging platform that allows users to sign up for meeting roles each week. In addition to being a self-taught software developer, David is also a writer, speaker, and a student of business. Sally served as Toastmaster.

David explained that the WordPress for Toastmasters plugin is available for self-hosted WordPress users to download and customize. That means that anyone who can set up a WordPress website can install the software for free. Alternately, for a small fee, club leaders can create a site with the required software preinstalled through toastmost.org, a service managed by David’s company, Carr Communications, Inc.

WordPress for Toastmasters has calendar functionality, enabling RSVPs and signups, with tracking features of the club’s activity by members. There are a variety of Toastmasters branded themes that users can choose. David complimented Loni on the customizations she has made to the program and called for volunteers to help with documentation, design/themes, and software development. We were glad to have had David join us!

Follow David on Twitter @davidfcarr, connect on LinkedIn, or like the Carr Communications Facebook page.

* Loni Huff and Allison Powers contributed to this article.