The debate regarding Proposal A and other recent issues from Toastmasters International rages on, in particular on the LinkedIn Toastmasters International Members group, which even had two International Directors actively participating.  For the most part, the debate was very civil and those who have issues with the proposed changes came away with a lot more respect for the two IDs who took the time to answer their issues and problems.

Susan Ellsworth, one of the loudest critics of the proposed changes, recently put in her website a letter from Jenny Pagano, a Past International Director, expressing her concerns and stated her opposition to many of the changes:  http://www.pequodsystems.com/toastmasters/pagano.pdf.

I already notified a few District 30 officers I’ve contacted on a regular basis and ask them to forward this link to others.  Unfortunately this is going to fall on deaf ears on the Top 3 and the Immediate Past District Governor as the letter mentioned her take on the nomination process for 3rd Vice President and may give an unfavorable view of Dietmar Wagenknecht as someone who benefited from what was considered a poorly handled process.  The Top 3 and the IPDG have had a tendency to avoid controversial and challenging issues and would rather not hear such concerns or anything that they consider unfavorable.  Too bad for them they cannot prevent District 30 members from accessing such information online.  I’d go as far as to say that Dietmar will be far more receptive to Jenny’s concerns than the current District 30 leadership as he’s been willing to listen and address many controversial and challenging issues over the years.

I have my own concerns regarding the proposed changes, which I may present later on before the International Convention.  I may not agree with everything that Jenny wrote but I think everyone in the leadership part of Toastmasters needs to know what is going on with Toastmasters International and hear all views and from all sides.