Are You Ready to Pick Next Year's Leadership Team?  Prepare yourself.  It's a very important decision. Our leaders are the key to our Toastmaster success.  Being recognized as a Distinguished District (or better) depends on the commitment of our elected district officers. As Toastmasters, we must ensure that we vote for those who will help fulfill the Toastmaster and District missions.

Serving is Not an Entitlement.  Serving as a District leader is an honor and privilege that should not be considered an entitlement. Successful leadership requires dedication to Toastmaster over oneself, vision for each member, outstanding work ethic to get the job done right, and great communication and listening skills. Successful leaders will have the best interest of the Toastmaster brand and the Toastmasters mission at the front of all that they do.

Distinguished District Goal
To be a Distinguished District: we must achieve a three percent increase of membership payments base, three percent increase of club base, and distinguished clubs must equal at least 40 percent of the district's club base.

Saturday, May 3, 2014
This is the date that the District's Executive Council will be voting for Division Governors and the Lt. Governor Marketing, Lt. Gov. Education and Training, and District Governor.  See descriptions of these positions below.

Who Votes?  The Executive Council elects district leaders.  The Executive Council includes all club presidents and vice presidents of education and current members of the Executive Committee which includes the current district governor, lieutenant governor education and training, lieutenant governor marketing, public relations officer, district secretary, district treasurer, area governors, division governors, and immediate past district governor.  If club presidents or vice presidents of education cannot attend, they are encouraged to give a proxy to another qualified club member.

Toastmasters International Description of District Purpose. The purpose of this district is to enhance the quality and performance and extend the network of the member clubs of Toastmasters International within the boundaries of this district, thereby offering greater numbers of people the opportunity to benefit from the Toastmasters educational program by:

• Focusing on the critical success factors as specified by the district educational and membership goals.
• Ensuring that each club effectively fulfills its responsibilities to its individual members.
• Providing effective training and leadership-development

Election Dos

• Privilege. Do vote for the member you believe has earned the privilege to serve.
• Works Diligently. Do vote for the member you believe will work diligently to establish goals for the coming year and will work to meet those goals.
• Team Member. Do vote for the member you believe will work as a member of the District and International team.
• Skills. Do vote for the member you believe has the skills (not just an interest) to excel in the leadership position.
• Record of Success.  Do vote for the member with proven record of success - especially success of Distinguished District goals.

Election Don'ts

• Fellow Club Member. Do not vote for a club member because of that relationship.
• Multiple Clubs.  Do not vote for someone because they can afford the time and money to belong to more than one club. Look for quality not quantity.
• Educational Achievement. Do not vote for a candidate simply because of their personal educational achievement (inside or outside of the Toastmasters program).  Many successful leaders have Advanced Communicator Bronze achievement ranking!
• Personal versus Toastmasters. Do not vote for a candidate who has self interest higher than the best interests of Toastmasters.
• Previous Service.  Do not vote for a member simply because they have served in other leadership positions. The road to the top is not guaranteed.  It's earned.

Temper Your Personal Opinions

• When others step up to seek their leadership opportunity, you should NEVER SAY, Why are you doing this to (fill in the blank).  There are only 3 positions a year open for the top level leadership. A healthy Toastmaster district should have many qualified candidates who want to learn and serve in top 3 leadership positions.
• Nobody should consider top 3 positions as automatic promotions. There should be NO EXPECTATION that a march to district governor is guaranteed simply because a member served as a division governor or a lieutenant governor.
• Toastmaster members have no obligation to vote for anyone other than the best qualified.

Key Elevator Messages for All Toastmaster Members

Toastmasters International Mission. We empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders.

District Mission. We build new clubs and support all clubs in achieving excellence.

Club Mission. We provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth.

Toastmasters International Values

• Integrity
• Respect
• Service
• Excellence

Toastmasters International Envisioned Future. To be the first-choice provider of dynamic, high-value, experiential communication and leadership skills development.

Description of Elected Position Responsibilities

• Division governors work to achieve the mission of the district in membership building and retention, club extension, and educational accomplishments within the division. Provides support and resources to clubs and members through the area governors.  Aids in administration, assists with training area and club leaders, and helps clubs and areas achieve distinguished goals. Qualifications.  The division governors shall have served at least six consecutive months as members of a district council.

• The lieutenant governors marketing (LGM) of districts that meet distinguished goals in club and membership growth receive the Excellence in Marketing Award.  The LGM is responsible for marketing and building new clubs. The LGM supports challenged clubs and helps them become distinguished. The LGM recruits, trains, and supervises club-building teams; works closely with the district's public relations officer (PRO) and the regional advisor to meet the district's membership and club-building goals. The LGM monitors division, area, and club administration so forms, reports, lists, and other information are submitted to World Headquarters on time. This includes club dues renewal reports, club officer lists, and area reports of club visits.  The annual marketing goal in our district is to end the year +2 clubs up from the beginning of the year and + 3% in membership growth. Qualifications.  The lieutenant governor shall have served at least six consecutive months as club president and at least 12 consecutive months as a lieutenant governor, a division governor or an area governor or a combination thereof.

• The lieutenant governors education and training (LGET) of districts that meet distinguished goals in training and number of distinguished clubs receive the Excellence in Education and Training Award.  The LGET is responsible for all aspects of education and training within the district. This includes supporting quality club programming efforts, promoting the Distinguished Club Program, and planning and executing the district conference. The LGET supervises the selection of the district conference site and is responsible for the educational content presented at the conference. Additionally, the LGET coordinates and supervises the speech contests at the district level and is responsible for all district speech contests at the club, area, division, and district levels. Qualifications. The lieutenant governor shall have served at least six consecutive months as club president and at least 12 consecutive months as a lieutenant governor, a division governor or an area governor or a combination thereof.

• The district governor supervises and guides all elected and appointed district leaders and is responsible for their success. The governor motivates team members to achieve goals. The governor has fiduciary responsibility and is accountable for the district's management of funds that supports the district mission. Along with the district executive committee, the district governor prepares the district budget to be approved by the district council. The governor authorizes all purchases on behalf of the district. Qualifications.  At the time of taking office, the district governor shall have served at least six consecutive months as a club president and at least 12 consecutive months as a lieutenant governor or division governor or a combination thereof. 

Appointed Positions.  Some of leadership positions in the district are appointed by the incoming District Governor. These include the area governor, district treasurer, district secretary, and district public relations officer positions.