About District 101
Club Affiliations – Where They Meet
Specialty & Advanced Clubs
District 101 has many advanced and specialty clubs that offer members a variety of unique experiences, including bilingual/language clubs and clubs that focus on advanced speaking and leadership skills.
Click here for a list of our specialty and advanced clubs.
How a Club Meeting Works
A Toastmasters club is a learning lab where members learn by doing. Meetings typically last 60-90 minutes and consist of three main sections:
- Prepared Speeches
- 2-3 members prepare a speech to deliver in front of club members for feedback
- Table Topics
- Members have an opportunity to practice impromptu speaking skills
- Evaluations
- Members provide constructive feedback to those who participated in the meeting
Meeting Roles
Toastmaster
Leads the meeting. Responsible for the agenda and confirming all meeting roles.
Speaker
Prepares a speech using project guidelines in Pathways, and delivers the speech to meet the speech objectives.
Table Topics Master
Prepares topics for attendees to address in an exercise of impromptu speaking.
General Evaluator
Leads the team of Evaluators, Grammarian, Ah-Counter, and Timer. Provides overall evaluation of the meeting.
Evaluator
Evaluate a prepared speech according to the criteria for that speech.
Grammarian
Listens to all speakers and makes note of exemplary use of grammar, or areas where usage can be improved. Reports on usage of the ”word of the day”.
Ah Counter
Listens to all speakers and makes note of filler words used such as “uh”, “um”, “you know”.
Timer
Gives green/yellow/red timing signals to Speakers, Table Topics participants, and Evaluators.
Club Officer Roles
The success of a club and its members depend on how well club officers execute their responsibilities. By providing leadership and support, club officers can foster a positive and supportive environment for members to develop their communication and leadership skills.
- President
- Vice President Education
- Vice President Membership
- Vice President Public Relations
- Secretary
- Treasurer
- Sergeant at Arms
President
- Set the tone and vision for the club
- Provide helpful, supportive leadership for all of the club’s activities
- Motivate, make peace, and facilitate as required
Vice President Education
- Become familiar with all aspects of the Toastmasters education program – eg. meeting roles and format, Pathways
- Serve as a resource for questions about education awards, speech contests, and the mentor program
- Schedule members’ speeches and projects
Vice President Membership
- Promote the club and manage the process of bringing in guests and transforming them into members
- Initiate contact and follow-up with guests, making them feel welcome and providing them with the information they need to join
- Monitor membership levels and strategize with the executive committee about how to overcome membership challenges when they occur
Vice President Public Relations
- Promote the club so the community is aware of the club’s existence and benefits it provides
- Update web content and safeguard the Toastmasters brand identity
- Create and distribute promotional material to maintain the club’s presence at various key places on the Web and in the community
Secretary
- Maintain all club records, manage club files, handle club correspondence
- Take the minutes at each club and executive committee meeting
- Update and distribute a roster of the current paid membership and keep the club officer list current at World Headquarters
Treasurer
- Manage the club’s bank account, issue payments as approved by the executive committee, and deposit dues and other club revenues
- Keep timely, accurate, up-to-date financial records for the club
- Submit membership-renewal dues to World Headquarters (accompanied by the names of renewing members)
- File necessary tax documents
Sergeant at Arms
- Maintain the club’s physical property, such as the banner, lectern, timing device, and other meeting materials
- Secure and prepare the meeting space for members
- Open the meetings
Learn more about each of the seven Club Officer Roles by viewing the Toastmasters International video tutorials.
District 101 provides Club Officer Resources to support officers in fulfilling their responsibilities.
Contests
Contests offer members the opportunity to challenge themselves and grow as a speaker or leader, whether they participate as a speech contestant or help to organize the event.
District 101 conducts two Toastmasters International-sanctioned speech contests every year, where members can advance from the Club level, through the Area and Division levels, to compete at the District level at the District Annual Conference in May.
District 101 conducts two additional speech contests as part of the Fall Fusion event so that over the course of the year, members can participate in a variety of contests including Evaluation, Table Topics, Tall Tales, Humorous Speech, or International Speech Contests.
Growth Opportunities Outside the Club
District 101 offers many opportunities for members to grow outside of their club.
Leadership Opportunities
Expand on your experience as a club officer and elevate your communication and leadership skills by serving as a:
Educational Events
Attend a myriad of educational events conducted throughout the year to learn from experts in their fields including past World Champions of Public Speaking:
Educational sessions are also offered during the Fall Fusion and Annual Conference events.