The Mission of every Toastmasters club is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every individual member has the opportunity to develop oral communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth.

The Vision of the BLT Advanced Club: to help provide top-quality educational training and leadership for members of Division B – Southern Saskatchewan

1 Did you know that in 2014-15, Toastmasters International had over 332,000 members in 135 countries in over 15,400 clubs? Check out the Toastmasters Statistics and Data Hub for more!

Toastmasters Club #6584 BLT Advanced Toastmasters

Chartered Nov 1, 1997 Area 4, Division B, District 42

Regina, SK, Canada

December 2015 Layout: Keith Lee, DTM

Editing: Maryann Samida, DTM

Photos: Victor Lam, ACS, ALB Don Rosom, ACS, ALB

Goals of Newsletter: 1. recognition of member and club

accomplishments 2. snapshot of club culture, strength,

fellowship (for guests and members) 3. information and inspiration for members

Visit BLT Toastmasters!

Our Club usually meets once a month on Saturdays from

10:00 am to 12:00 pm at Glencairn Neighbourhood Centre,

2626 Dewdney Avenue E, Regina Saskatchewan.

Please contact us before attending our meeting as we sometime move our

meeting to be at the same location as Division B events. We can provide you

with a cell number for one of our members if you arrive late.

us on

http://blt.toastmastersclubs.org

Club Executive for 2015-16 (as of Nov 15) President: Brad Korbo, DTM

VP Education: Lorna Arnold, ACB, CL

VP Membership: Patricia Hooper, DTM

VP Public Relations: Keith Lee, DTM

Secretary: Nancy Feniuk, CC, CL

Treasurer: Laurel Korbo, ACB, ALB

Sergeant at Arms Paul Murray, ACB

Thank you to the club executive for their service for the first half of the 2015-16 year!

Success for all Seasons!

BLT Advanced Toastmasters and friends celebrate at Tony Roma’s in Regina, SK,

in December 2015 at our annual Christmas meeting. Happy Holidays to everyone!

BLT Advanced Toastmasters achieved President’s Distinguished Status for 2014-15 by achieving 9 out of 10 goals in the Toastmasters International Distinguished Club Program. Our club has earned President’s level of Distinction in 3 of the past 4 years. (Source of graphic: http://mikeraffety.com/DCPhistory.cgi?club=6584)

Congratulations to all of the members who contributed to the success of the club last year through their educational achievements, leadership excellence and participation in our club! Looking forward to continued fun in 2015-16!

BLT ACROSS SOUTHERN SASKATCHEWAN

Congratulations to Victor Lam, ACS, ALB, for his strong performance at the Area B18 Humorous

Speech Contest in Moose Jaw. Thank you to Area B18 Director Don Rosom, ACS, ALB for his dedicated

service to the clubs of our Area. (Oct’15)

Outgoing Club President Brad Korbo, DTM, won the club Tall Tales contest with his account of an Norwegian troll hunting expedition. Thanks to Lorna Arnold, ACB, CL, for organizing an excellent contest in Wakamow Valley Park

in beautiful Moose Jaw. (Aug’15)

BLT ADVANCED TOASTMASTERS CLUB 6584

What’s New BLT? “Division B’s Leading Team”

What Toastmasters goal have you set for 2016? Be a Member Who Makes a Difference!

Did you know that you can get 2 free Advanced Communication manuals from Toastmasters International if you finish your Competent Communicator? Which two will you choose?

Did you know you can download 3 free training manuals from Toastmasters International “Welcome New Members” page? These include Your Speaking Voice, Effective Evaluation, and Gestures: Your Body Speaks, as well as a Member Achievement Record to track

your progress through the education program!

2

Patricia Hooper, DTM

BLT members Catherine Secundiak, DTM, and Patricia Hooper, DTM, were both feted by District 42 Toastmasters at the recent Fall Conference in

Saskatoon on November 21, 2015, during the Hall of Fame luncheon. They were presented with their official DTM plaques by District Director Marg Faryna, DTM (left) and International Director Joan Watson, DTM (right).

Both members continue to pursue new challenges both within and beyond Toastmasters – Bravo!

Catherine Secundiak, DTM

Have you ever considered… Z? - A Conversation about Leadership District 42 Of the Year Award recipients Catherine Secundiak and David Bartolf, DTM, reflect on lessons learned

At the Saskatoon Fall Conference, BLT members David Bartolf, DTM, and Catherine Secundiak, DTM, were recognized as the 2014-15 District 42 President of the Year and Division Governor of the Year, respectively. We invited them to share advice about leadership and lessons learned. David was President of both Club 13 (#6161) and Taxmasters (#748806) in 2014-15.

What advice would you give members taking on new leadership

roles?

Read the Manual. Take a look at the calendar first and other sections as you need them. Know what is expected of you.

Enroll a Club Coach if you can! Club Coaches ask the simple question – have you ever though about X? Have you thought about Y? Have you ever considered Z? They really do bring new ways of thinking to clubs that may need to think in different ways.

Ask Guests a Simple Question: Do You Want to be a Member? Don Kapoor, DTM, Club Coach of Taxmasters (#748806), enabled much of the growth of that club because he was fearless in asking this question.

As a leader, challenge the members to do work that will get results. Give members and leaders meaningful assignments to help them grow and better leverage the communication and leadership opportunities within the Toastmasters program.

Get Trained! The training of all 7 club officers of Club 13 in both training rounds was instrumental to their success as a club.

How did you change over this last year through your leadership experience?

Don’t try to do everything by yourself. Leadership is about inspiring others to do great. You don’t need to do it all yourself – you just need to see that it gets done. Though it is tempting to try to do it yourself, one person can only accomplish so much.

Set encouragement as default operating position. Foster the attitude of not only “We can Do This”, but more importantly: “You Can Do it”. Have fun motivating each other to accomplish worthy goals.

Ralph Smedley said “We learn best in moments of enjoyment.” What moments gave you

joy this year?

Unseen forces. For any meeting, there will be unseen forces that will push and pull you in ways you weren’t expecting. Those can be a lot of fun. Sometimes the best moments occur when you go off the script… but having a script helps move things forward.

Working together. There were so many people working together towards making our clubs Distinguished clubs, particularly our new members and district leaders.

Our success wasn’t last minute. It was fun to have achievements coming in regularly throughout the year – an award here, a new member there. This consistency of achievement is well appreciated, particularly when new members brought in new members.

Create excitement and pride in club through celebration of milestones and inspiration. The 30th anniversary of Club 13 in April, inspired many members – especially new members – to feel pride in their club and spurred them to talk about their involvement after seeing all the great leaders who were in the room. That excitement feeds on itself.

Enjoy working with your team. We really got going executing our plans when 2014-15 District Governor Doris Henn visited Regina; that was the moment when we all started gelling. In executing the plan, it seemed a little crazy, but all the wheels were turning in sync! When everything is on, when everybody is going – that’s sweet.

Special thanks: Mathew Ratch, ACS, ALB, Club Coaches Don Kapoor, DTM, Victor Lam, ACS, ALB and Catherine Secundiak, DTM.