RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif., Jan. 18, 2010 – It’s the new year and you’ve made your annual list of resolutions. Perhaps you’re trying to eat healthier. Or spend less time in front of the TV. Or maybe you’d like to boost your career. Toastmasters International, a thriving organization with 250,000 members in 106 countries, can help you develop the communication and leadership skills needed to reach this goal.

To get promoted, you may need to become a better presenter and more confident team leader. You may need the ability to talk and answer questions off the cuff. If you want to land a good position, you’ll need job interviewing skills. All these skills can be learned in the supportive setting of a local Toastmasters meeting.

When Oregon resident Gary Schmidt joined Toastmasters, he was an unemployed college graduate who, in his own words, performed poorly in job interviews. He had difficulty expressing himself effectively. Toastmasters training helped him so much that after only six weeks, he was offered a job on the staff of then-United States Senator Mark Hatfield of Oregon. He worked for Senator Hatfield and then for U.S. Senator Gordon Smith, also of Oregon – all while advancing his communication and leadership skills as a Toastmaster. Today, Schmidt is the organization’s International President.

“I credit Toastmasters for my continued personal growth and development, which has led to job promotions and increased responsibilities at work,” Schmidt says.

Many more people have enjoyed career boosts with the help of Toastmasters:

• When Ann Maxfield applied for the job of e-Learning Coordinator at Hormel Foods Corporation in Minnesota, one of the requirements was being able to speak in front of large groups. Her experience as a Toastmaster was pivotal to her getting the job. “I hit a home run in the job world, and Toastmasters played a huge role in that success,” says Maxfield.

• When Jim Bresler changed jobs at Microsoft, from being software engineer to program manager, he had to interact more with customers and assume a managerial role with colleagues. “I think talking confidently to co-workers is very important, and Toastmasters helped me a lot with that,” says Bresler.

• The impromptu-speaking skills that Kealah Parkinson learned in Toastmasters helped her ace an on-the-spot job interview, earning her an opportunity to teach a class for job hunters at a regional adult education center.

If your goal in 2010 is to grow professionally, Peninsula Toastmasters club, which meets at The Tafelberg Tavern on the last Thursday of the month at 5.45 pm can help you achieve it.  Membership is an investment that can pay off in career advancement.

About Toastmasters

Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. The organization currently has 250,000 members in 12,000 clubs in 106 countries. Since its founding 85 years ago in October 1924, the organization has helped more than four million men and women give presentations with poise and confidence. For information about local Toastmasters clubs, please visit www.toastmasters.org.

The nonprofit best known for public speaking has benefited more than 4 million people through improved communication and leadership skills that bolster personal and professional growth

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, CALIF., Oct. 22, 2009 – Eighty-five years ago today, Dr. Ralph C. Smedley held the first official Toastmasters meeting in the basement of a YMCA in Santa Ana, Calif. Not even Dr. Smedley could have envisioned the history he was making on that day. The organization that started as a small group of people dedicated to teaching after-dinner speeches to young men has evolved into a worldwide leader in communication and leadership development. Since that first meeting in 1924, more than 4 million people have benefited from the Toastmasters experience.

“Toastmasters’ long-term success and growth is a tribute to Dr. Smedley’s vision,” says Toastmasters International President Gary A. Schmidt. “He understood that communication isn’t optional and leadership isn’t always innate, but both can be learned through doing.” Today, Toastmasters’ 250,000-plus active members participate in over 12,500 clubs spanning 106 countries. From Dubai to New Zealand, Saskatchewan to Connecticut, each day thousands of Toastmasters participate in meetings to learn and practice valuable communication and leadership skills in a supportive environment.

Michael Avedissian of Reading, Pennsylvania, is one of the organization’s longest-term members. He moved from Germany to the United States in 1954 and joined Toastmasters the following year. He credits the Reading Toastmasters Club with saving his engineering career and his new life in America by helping him learn and practice English. “Toastmasters gave me the ability to deliver the reports and presentations that were required for my career.”

Many organizations stall or even crumble during difficult economic times. Toastmasters has withstood the test of time and has even grown 5% annually since 2005 because it offers practical skills that are critical for success in today’s competitive environment.

Ann Maxfield of Austin, Minn., recently was able to begin a new career as an e-learning coordinator at Hormel Foods. With her Toastmasters training, she aced the interviews. “People in management know about Toastmasters and look to it as valuable training for the skills and experiences they require in employees,” she says.

The Toastmasters program also helps political and business leaders prepare for the demands of their positions. Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle is one of many with political aspirations who found help in Toastmasters. “It is the best and least expensive personal improvement class you can go to,” says Lingle.

Clubs around the world will celebrate the anniversary with special meetings. Locally, Peninsula Toastmasters Club, which meets at The Tafelberg Tavern, on the last Thursday of the month at 5.30pm will offer special presentations. The general public is invited to visit a meeting and learn more about what Toastmasters has to offer. Contact Vanessa Clark at 082 335 1117 for more information.

CAPE TOWN, 7 October 2009:

A Knowledge Café is an effective way of opening up conversations and discussions that lead to information sharing.  It can be used within teams or communities to question assumptions, to help facilitate learning from others and gain a deeper collective understanding of a subject – through conversation.

David is the founder of the Gurteen Knowledge Community – a global learning network of over 16,000 people in 154 countries. He has over 30 years’ experience working in high technology industries and today, he works as an independent knowledge management consultant, facilitator and speaker, helping people to innovate and to work more effectively together.

The Knowledge Café will be followed by a Toastmaster’s Speakathon. A Speakathon is a special Toastmaster’s meeting that only involves speeches and evaluations. It is a great way to get a taste of the public speaking skills and experience you can gain from Toastmasters, and also to enjoy a series of presentations from speakers ranging from beginner to professional.

Details of the Knowledge Café & Speakathon:

Date: Tuesday, 13th October 2009
Place: Tafelberg Tavern, Roodehek Terrace, Gardens
Time: 6 for 6.30 pm
Cost: R40 (snacks provided, cash bar available)

Tickets are limited. Please contact Ana Garcia, Peninsula Club President to reserve your place: anataggy@yahoo.co.uk or telephone: 076 393 3552.

ABOUT TOASTMASTERS & PENINSULA TOASTMASTERS CLUB

Toastmasters International is a non-profit educational organisation that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. The organisation currently has 250,000 members in 12,000 clubs in 106 countries. Since its founding 85 years ago in October 1924, the organisation has helped more than four million men and women give presentations with poise and confidence.

For information about local Toastmasters clubs, please visit www.toastmasters.org.

For more information about Peninsula Toastmasters Club, please visit: www.peninsulatoastmasters.info

ABOUT DAVID GURTEEN

For more information visit: www.gurteen.com

Issued by:         Twokats Communications
On behalf of:   Peninsula Toastmasters Club
Contact:           Vanessa Clark, 082 335 1117

Jurgens Pieterse awards the Toastmaster of the Year trophy to Ana Garcia

Congratulations to Ana Garcia, Peninsula Club’s president, on being awarded the Division D (Western Cape and Namibia) Toastmaster of the Year award for 2008/2009. The Toastmaster of the Year is awarded to the member who inspires other Toastmasters, in their personal capacity, with their commitment, diligence and growth in Toastmasters.  The five nominees  for the Toastmaster of the year award were: Michael Fawcett, Ana Garcia, Brian Gowans, Dawid Katerere and Jurgens Pieterse.

“Ana Garcia has achieved Advanced Communicator Bronze (ACB), Silver (ACS), Competent Leader (CL) and finished her high performance leadership in one year. She has been a tremendous force within the entire Toastmaster’s community. The way she assisted and participated in especially the areas D2 and D3 has been extraordinary. She managed to develop a mentoring program that successfully assisted the members of the Peninsula Club.

“Her drive and passion for Toastmasters is beyond compare. She also managed to be the coach of Pinelands club and is currently their president. She is also a member of Talking Heads Toastmasters club. Her ability to lead has made her so successful that she won the election of the 2009/2010 Area governor D3. I believe that this lady is a true icon within the toastmaster’s community and she is plainly said just great,” said the judges.

“I found Toastmasters quite by chance and it soon became my soul family in a foreign country where I hardly knew anyone. The personal development that I underwent by working through the program and with the help of my Toastmaster colleagues was so dramatic that my soul purpose became clear and it involved to inspire, motivate and ignite others to shine forth with their own light.

“Toastmasters became the vehicle for my message. For two years I worked insanely hard at meeting all my goals and a week ago, out of the blue and as a great surprise to me, I received notice that I was nominated for the Toastmaster of the Year award, which I won! So it is obvious that someone is paying attention! But seriously, I will always cherish it and I hope it is but the first stage of great things to come!” said Ana.

Ana joined Peninsula Club in May 2006. This year, as well as being Peninsula’s president, she is also president and club coach for Pinelands Toastmasters, as well as area governor for area D3 (Cape Town).

It’s certainly going to be a busy 12 months for this Toastmaster of the Year. Her goals are to: work towards her Advanced Communicator Gold (ACG), attain club coach requirement at Pinelands Club and Area Governor’s points towards her Advanced Leader Silver (ALS).

Ana has a PhD in Metaphysical Sciences specialising in Transpersonal Counselling and a Masters degree in Education and Languages. She is a soul coach, metaphysical author and inspirational speaker. Her main speaking subjects are:  emotional energy, control dramas, metaphysics and coaching on personal development.

You can read Ana’s inspirational speeches and more Toastmaster’s news here.

Congratulations again on this well-deserved achievement.

We are very lucky at Peninsula to have so many senior members of Toastmasters in Southern African as members of the club. This year, the club’s immediate past president, Craig Strachan, has taken on the challenge of being district governor for district 74: Southern Africa. Not only that, he succeeded Lois Strachan, also a Peninsula member, in the role.

Find out more in this recent newspaper report on Craig’s appointment.

Our next meeting is coming up on Thursday 30 July. Get in touch if you would like to attend as a guest.