Lessons Learned

I served as an Area Governor for the 2nd time in 2006-2007 Toastmasters year, five years since I took that role for the first time.  Unlike the first time, I knew far more people in District 30, knew more about how Toastmasters works and knew more about what was needed for events and people to [...]

I posted the following on my Facebook page the day of the District 30 Nominating Committee meeting which was March 27th: The District 30 Toastmasters Nominating Committee meeting is held today at the Bensenville Library. Be interested in finding out who is running and if there will be any contested races for the Top 3 [...]

The April 2nd edition of the Chicago Tribune had an article about the misfortunes of Ed Hearn, District 30′s very own World Champion of Public Speaking.  Among the comments posted in the online version of the article is one from someone who is/was a District 30 officer, which I would say the exact thing: That [...]

After paying attention to the issues surrounding Proposal A the last five months and commenting them on LinkedIn and my Facebook page, I’m sure you want my opinion of this.  I’ve been reading both the pros and cons of the issue, hearing from those who have criticize the proposal as well as those from Toastmasters [...]

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 [...]

Last week at the last Arlington Heights club meeting, I was elected to serve as the club’s Vice President of Public Relations for the 2009-2010 year.  I never served in that position before, in fact the only other club officer position I never served is Treasurer, which will likely continue as many newer members who [...]

Most of us joined Toastmasters to work on our weaknesses, whether it is to simply speak in front of people, giving a speech without fainting, responding to an impromptu question or giving an constructive evaluation.  For many who never served in a leadership position for any company or organization or find it intimidating, Toastmasters is [...]

The recent arrest of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich uncovered plenty of his leadership flaws, some of which reminded me of the problems I have seen in District 30.  Not respecting other people’s views unless it matched their view of the world.  Picking pet projects while ignoring higher priority issues.  Showboating instead of addressing problems and [...]

One thing that did not surprise me today when I attended the District 30 Winter Toastmasters Leadership Institute is that the team put together by the TLI Dean includes a couple who are current Division Governors, each holding two major positions.  One Division Governor was the Assistant Dean and Publicity Chair, the other was the [...]

Even though I’ve been using this blog to express my own views about Toastmasters, some of which may be controversial, I’ve been reluctant to go in detail various incidents that could get my blood boiling, as the blog is public material that could be used as a weapon against the entire Toastmasters organization, which has [...]