A1/A2 Table Topics & Int'l Speech Contest

At long last, the details surrounding the Area A1/A2 Table Topics & International Speech Contest are revealed! The contests will be held Saturday, 22 March at the Salinas Agricultural Conference Center starting at 0930. See the attached flyer for full details.

View the map in the posting below for further directions.

Club Officer Training Feb 2

Division A is holding Club Officer Training to Follow-Up the Outstanding Training hosted by DTM Arnie Buss January 12th. This training will be held at the familiar Agricultural Conference Center at 1432 Abbott Street, Salinas, CA 93901.

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Registration starts at 9:30am and training concludes at 11:30am. Potluck breakfast will be provided and cost for attendees is only $5.00. ACB/CL Rachelle Onishi will be a guest speaker and you don't want to miss her! One full hour of training will be held for each office, so mark your calendars and make sure you attend!

RSVP no later than January 31st to Division A Governor Tim Childers at tim_childers @ yahoo.com or 831-419-7679.

Area A1 Rocked the District Contest!!!

In case you didn't hear, Area A1 ROCKS!!! At the District 4 Conference that took place November 17th, two contests were held and representatives from Area A1 won both!

(left) Division A Governor Tim Childers congratulates Naval Postrgraduate School's Chance Litton for his Championship Humorous speech, "The Life and Times of Mr. Spock."

(right) Division A Governor Tim Childers congratulates Bayview Toastmasters' Christian Crump for taking 1st Place in the Evaluation Contest.

But that's not all!!! Heavens, no! Naval Postgraduate School claimed one more honor through Area A1's Toastmaster-at-Large, Arnie Buss and his receipt of the coveted Golden Quill Award for the Best Club Newsletter in all of District 4! Congratulations, Arnie!

And a special thanks to Bayview Toastmasters Club President Alicia Empleo for the photos!

Been Away a While

Hey folks,

Nothing drops faster than a good habit, right? Well, I fell out of practice when I went out of town and I haven't gotten back into it, I'm sad to say. Before the new year begins, however, I want to get things moving again here in Area A1. I'll be in touch with you all shortly to see how things are going and how we can keep them going well if they are already and how we can get them on track if they are not.

Club Visits

Hey everyone,

I will be gone most of the month of September, so I will make my first round of official Club Visits during August. I know this is Club Contest time, so I will try to be sensitive to this special occasion.

My schedule for Club Visits is as follows:

• Wed, 8 Aug, 12:00pm - Speakeasy
• Wed, 15 Aug, 6:00pm - Bayview
• Thu, 16 Aug, 6:45am - Monterey Peninsula
• Fri, 17 Aug, 12:00pm - NPS
• Fri, 24 Aug, 12:00pm - TGIF
• Wed, 29 Aug, 6:00pm - Peninsula Pros

I will need to meet with the Club Officers (at least President, VP-E, and VP-M) for about a half hour after the meeting to discuss the status of the club and progress in the Distinguished Club Program. It's not set in stone, but unless I hear otherwise, this is the schedule I intend to keep.

See you then!

District 4 Conference Needs Volunteers

Hey Leaders of Leaders!

Silvana Wasitova, the District 4 Lt. Gov for Education and Training needs some volunteers to help make the District 4 Conference happen. It will take place November 17th and has a groovy pirate/buried treasure theme!

She needs Toastmasters willing to step up to the worthy challenges of:

1. Conference Treasurer
2. Educationals Chair
3. Contest Chair
4. Facilities Chair
5. Sergeant-at-Arms Chair

Please spread the word of these vacancies in your clubs each week until we get word that they are filled. Anyone seeking more information on any of these or other roles or who wishes to volunteer should e-mail Silvana at SilvanaDTM@yahoo.com .

Club Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contests

With Officer Installations done, it's time to make the Club Contests the top priority! Each contest needs to take place in August so the club champion has time to prepare for the Area Contest in September (date to be determined). Of course, the clubs don't need to have a contest...they can simply select someone to represent them at the Area level, but traditionally the club-level contest is the best way to do this.

Here's the Club Contest Schedule I have so far:

• NPS: Fri, 10 Aug, 12:10pm
• Bayview: Wed, 15 Aug, 6:00pm
• Speakeasy: Wed, 22 Aug, 12:05pm
• Monterey Peninsula: Thu, 23 Aug, 6:45am
• TGIF: TBA

Peninsula Pros will not hold a contest, but rather will hold their traditional Toastmasters Night Out, in which the club champions of each club are invited to practice their speeches and evaluations on Wednesday, 29 August, at 6:00pm at the Monterey Beach Resort Hotel in Monterey. There the club champions will receive round-robin style evaluations on how to improve their speeches for the Area Contest in September.