District – Spirited Speech Masters

District 56 Awards Ceremony

Posted in District, Uncategorized on August 17, 2021 by Sally Boyd

Saturday, August 14^th was the annual award ceremony for the district. This event usually occurs in August and is presented by the Immediate Past District Director. It represents awards for the Toastmasters year just past. In this case for 2020-2021. The event includes:

A DTM ceremony for all those who earned a Distinguished Toastmaster Award
Appreciation Awards for all District officers for the previous year
Club/Program Officers of the Year
Area Director of the Year
Division Director of the Year
Toastmaster of the Year

Multiple Spirited Speech Masters members received awards

Sally Boyd was recognized for her second DTM. (Second row, second from right.)

Congratulations to our TWO Officers of the Year:

Recipients are chosen from submissions of members from all clubs throughout all of District 56.

And the WINNERS are:

Best Sargent at Arms - Lucas Ramsey

Best President - Loni Huff

Thank you, Loni and Lucas, for your hard work in a difficult year, and to your continued dedication to Spirited Speech Masters.

Spirited Speech Masters recognized by Toastmasters International

Posted in Administrative, District on April 23, 2021 by Sally Boyd

I am excited to announce that our program has earned two special awards from Toastmasters: the Online Ovation/Education Award and the Consistency Award and the Membership Consistency/Resilience Award. In addition, we are well on our way to more awards for both the program and the members!

Online Ovation/Education Award

Toastmasters International offered this award to programs meeting two criteria by June 30, 2020.

Allowed online attendance between January 1 and June 30, 2020.
Gold award: achieved 6 educational awards based on the Distinguished Club Program (DCP)

Spirited Speech Masters went online in March 2020 and ended the year with 11 educational awards awarded for the year. Nine were in Pathways and two in the traditional program.

Membership Consistency/Resiliency Award

Based on a club’s membership base as calculated on July 1, 2019, the Consistency award was presented to any club that experienced no net member loss; the Resiliency award was presented to any club that experienced a net member gain by June 30, 2020.

In June 2020, our base membership increased from 20 to 21.

Outstanding Club Officer Nomination Form

It is time to nominate outstanding club officers for the 2020-2021 Toastmasters year. If there is an officer who has done an outstanding job, please consider submitting a nomination for that person. It takes multiple nominations for an officer to win this award. For that reason, SSM has only recognized one of our many outstanding officers at the district level, Jo Idoux, President for 2016-2017. Let’s do it again for this year!! The nomination form may be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ceMDR6ygVOjitY1o-nBqN7Lv66VPpq64/view.

Virtual Leadership Institute Saturday

Posted in District, Special Events on June 11, 2020 by Loni Huff

Officer and non-officer members are invited to attend the first Leadership Institute of the season via Zoom this Saturday. For those who have not attended a TLI in the past, they are training sessions for those who find themselves in a leadership role ... or for those who might be thinking about volunteering or getting more involved in future. Certain portions of the meeting are conducted with all persons in one place, while each leadership role (VPPR, VPM, Treasurer, etc.) will have a breakout session facilitated by a Toastmaster member with considerable experience in that role.

Here is a video from Lola Pratt -- 2015 Division Director for District 57, Division D -- helping to explain the value of TLI:

One of the requirements for Presidents Distinguished is a minimum level of attendance by a program's leadership within a six-month period. This is a fantastic opportunity to attend a TLI that doesn't require you to drive across town (although the free coffee and donuts will certainly be missed).

You can register here for this event.

Be Your Best Leader: Executive Leadership Summit

Posted in District, Special Events on October 29, 2019 by Loni Huff

District 56 is hosting an Executive Leadership Summit on November 2nd. This set of workshops will substitute for officer-required Toastmasters Leadership Institute, but all members are encouraged to attend.

Date: Saturday, November 2, 2019
Time: 9a - 2p (Registration at 8:30a)
Where: Fountain Life Center
14083 South Main Street
Houston, TX 77035

Please join to learn more from your fellow Toastmasters and let us all grow as leaders!

District 56 2019-2020 Incentives

Posted in District on August 30, 2019 by Loni Huff

District 56 is offering a great incentive for members who:

Renew membership dues by 9/15/2019 and 3/15/2020.
To make things easier, you can instead opt to pay double dues by 9/15/2019. Click here for more information about dues payment.
Submit three educational awards before 3/15/2020.
An educational award includes the completion of a level within Pathways. As a bonus, completing just this incentive grants you a Triple Crown Pin as well as recognition at the May 2020 Spring Conference or within The Applause District newsletter.
Sponsor or recruit 3 or more members during the period 10/1/2019 to 3/30/2020.

Members who achieve all three goals will be awarded an Outstanding Member pin and $50 Toastmasters International voucher! Read more about member- and chapter-specific incentives for the 2019-2020 fiscal year here.

Outstanding Member Pin
Triple Crown Pin