Starting Strong!

 Our group met today.  We have three area directors assigned.  We might possibly have a fourth, it's a 50/50 proposition.  Also, we were fortunate to have the previous division director present, who can help us along, and get us started with club contacts.

We met at a covered picnic table in a park.  It wasn't the best location, as there were no rest rooms nearby.  We'll find a better park for our next get together.  It was a nice day though!

First on the agenda was ice breaker speeches.  All of us gave ice breakers, and most/all (?) of us reflected on Toastmasters experiences during our presentations.  We are strong group.  Our speeches fell within the time requirements.  We brought polish.  Leadership is about building relations and relying on each other.  The most important part of the meeting is the saying "hello".

Our district director defined three keys to success.  1) We need to recognize that everyone has family and jobs and other other things to do.  Family first.  2) We need to work together.  3) We need to ask for help.  If we think about it, leadership can be defined as the skill of asking for help.

For contests, we will need the support of each other.  For contests, we need as much help as we can get.  Saturday mornings work okay with some notice so that we can plan around other aspects of our life.  

Tuesday/Thursday/Friday evenings can be mixed in sometimes.  (Thursdays might be best based on the calendar of the outgoing division director who is willing to judge.)  

Our group lives all over the Twin Cities.  I-394/H-100 is central for us.  

Conceivably, the Division D contest will be held at Allianz.  They have outdoor areas we might be able to use for contests, with indoor areas we could use in case of rain.

We looked at Raffety printouts for all of the clubs and talked about what we know of the clubs.  We will be visiting clubs early, because we will need the help of club members for contests.

Some time sensitive items: club officer lists must be submitted by June 30.  Area contests for Tall Tales and Table Topics will be in September.  Area contest dates need to be defined and rooms reserved.  (Library rooms become available three months ahead.)

I shared blank club visit reports (which are based on Moments of Truth), area council meeting guidelines, distinguished area criteria, area success plan forms and the like in a notebook, with the full documents available here:  Google folder (or also the Toastmasters International store).   Area directors are visiting clubs to build relationships toward a successful year. 

Our next meeting will be July 9 10:30 am at Brookview Park, Golden Valley.