district 83 – Page 3 – Toastmasters District 83

D83 Introduces One Level Up Webinars

Starting next week, District 83 is going to embark on a new endeavor, which is to answer those impending questions. Sometimes you can’t find the answers to those questions easily, but, because of years of Toastmasters experience, some of our District leaders have the answers to or can at least to point in a way to solve certain types of challenges.

D83 One Level Up webinars are not going to take you from zero to sixty in six seconds flat. Our goal is to help you reach 100 percent of your goals, even if it takes a little more time than driving at maximum speed on the NJ Turnpike. Remember is not how fast you come to a solution, but how robust and permanent your solution is to your club.

The webinars will cover different topics and will be tailored to your needs. They will be a roadmap to what is happening in District 83 at any given time as well as the tasks that your club should be working on, if you have elected to follow the Toastmasters International calendar and are working on meeting the necessary points to become Distinguished, Select Distinguished, or President’s Distinguished.

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Hail and Fairwell: Saying Goodbye and Hello

The District 83 Hail and Farewell takes place on Saturday, July 22, 2017 from 11am-2pm at Thatcher McGhee’s Irish Pub and Eatery in Fairfield, NJ, and is organized by Margarita Estrada. The event is sold out. Thank you to all who are making this event a success.

Attendees will have an opportunity to “roast” Immediate Past District Director Paula Markert, DTM, enjoy a delicious brunch, listen to great speeches, welcome our new District officers and say thank you to last year’s officers. Division directors will receive the awards and recognition items earned by individuals, clubs, areas and divisions last year so they can pass them along to the recipients.

I attended one of these events when I first served as a District Officer. I found that it was good opportunity to meet other people from around the District. Some of the attendees decided to “roast” the Past District Governor, reminiscing about hilarious events that not everyone may have known about. I learned that some of the participants decided to deliver a speech from their Advanced Communication manual Special Occasion Speeches. Others delivered heartfelt words toward a speech in the Competent Communication manual.

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Meet the District Officers: Allison Lips

Name: Allison Lips

Position: Public Relations Manager

Club(s): Freehold Phrasers and Talk of Monmouth

Other positions: President of Freehold Phrasers and former Vice President of Public Relations for Freehold Phrasers

How long have you been in Toastmasters? 1½ years

What are your plans for the district/area/division?

I plan to continue the excellent job Su Brooks did managing the District 83 Facebook and Twitter pages. I also would like to expand District 83’s online presence. Currently, we have the blog and are looking for Toastmasters who would like to help with a podcast and a vlog.

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From Club Member to District Officer (Part 1)

Let me start by borrowing Steve Jobs 2005 Stanford University Commencement line where he says, “you cannot connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward”. With that said, if you had asked me three and a half ago, at the beginning of my Toastmasters journey, if I thought I was going to be serving as a District Officer, my answer surely would have been NO.

When I first join the Toastmasters, I had no idea of the organization’s scope and dimension. As a matter of fact, I was more focus on getting a promotion at my job than I was interested in becoming a good communicator and a leader. I couldn’t imagine what the road ahead had in store for me.

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Meet the District Officers: Janice Buffalow

Name: Janice L. Buffalow, DTM

Position: District 83 Director

Club(s): Somerville Toastmasters and Tower & Bridge Toastmasters

Other positions: I have held all Club Officer roles. I have been an Area Governor twice; Awards & Recognition Chair twice, District 83 Chief Judge, Club Growth Director, and Program Quality Director. I was named Toastmasters of the Year, 2013-2014.

How long have you been in Toastmasters? April, 2006; 11 years now.

What are your plans for the district/area/division?

The theme I have chosen for this year is “New Beginnings.” My plans for the district is to see our members stretch and continue to grow their leadership and communication skills by achieving at least one educational award this year. I plan to help our clubs maintain their membership with minimal loss, which at times is unavoidable, and bring in new members who will stay and grow to become better leaders and speakers.

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Join Us For a Claw-some Time!

As we start the new Toastmasters year, what better way to start then a day of fun at a baseball game?

We are planning just that.

Join us on Sunday July 30th for “Take me out to the Ball Game” at Blue Claws in Lakewood NJ

Toastmasters, families, and friends are invited to start the new Toastmasters year getting to know other Toastmasters.

We have a reserved area just behind first base. We’ll also have an All-you-can-eat BBQ.

Southern Style BBQ Picnics are available in the first base picnic area and include: Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Sauerkraut, Beans, Pulled Pork, BBQ Chicken, Macaroni & Cheese, Condiment Platter, Coleslaw, Pasta Salad, Water, Soda, Watermelon, Cookies, and Fountain Soda.

Price: $26.95 per adult, $18.95 per child (5-12 yrs old) Kids under 5 yrs old are free.

Space is limited. Only a few tickets are left. Contact Bill Atkins to reserve a ticket.

An Interview with Stacey Greene: Winner of District 83’s International Speech and Evaluation Contests

After the Spring 2017 convention, Su Brooks sat down with the Winner of District 83’s International Speech and Evaluation contests, Stacey Greene, to ask her a few questions.

Where do you work and what is your occupation?

I work at Prudential Financial as a Project Manager in the Global Business Technology Systems Organization.

What made you decide to become a Toastmaster?

I loved the opportunity to work on projecting my naturally soft-spoken voice as well as the instantaneous feedback that Toastmasters provides. The feedback has allowed me to develop a fondness for healthy and constructive feedback and to know the difference between that and destructive feedback.

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Welcome to the District 83 Blog

Dear D83 Toastmasters,

This is your blog. The goal is to create a place to share our Toastmasters ideas and experiences. We will be happy to publish your submissions as long as they meet the guidelines explained below.

D83 Blog Guidelines

All posts must be Toastmasters related.
- Articles should be on club events, public speaking, leadership, your Toastmasters experience, or ideas on how to grow your club.
- Other articles may be considered.
Submissions must be professional. No cursing or inappropriate subjects. If you wouldn’t say it in a meeting, don’t write a Toastmasters’ blog post about it.
Editors will approve all submissions before publishing. They have the right to refuse to publish an article and will provide feedback.
Keep articles to a maximum of 500 words. Longer articles will only be considered if they are compelling and well-organized.
If the editors feel a submission is a better fit for the newsletter, they will pass it on to the newsletter editors, Janette Alexander and Jen Fredericks. If the newsletter editors decide not to publish the article, then the blog will post it.
Don’t be afraid to try something new. You don’t have to be a journalist to submit. We will be happy to work with you through the writing process.