Latest District 27 News – Distinguished District 2012-13

Congratulations to the many clubs that delivered measurable member value!

• Jun 19 – 12 Days and Counting . . . has your club crossed the finish line?

The following 44 clubs have distinguished themselves by delivering measurable member value to their Toastmasters this year (July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013) by achieving 5 or more goals in the Distinguished Club Program. Is your club on this list?

President’s Distinguished (9 or 10 goals achieved) – 13 Clubs

5-Star (10), Andrews (10), F.A.M.E. (10), HUD (10), New Southwest (10), School Street (10), Speak Up (10), Front-Line Ballston (9), G.U.T.S. (9), Helmsmen (9), Old Town TM Dinner Club (9), SBA (9), and SPICE (9)

Select Distinguished (7 or 8 goals achieved) – 9 Clubs

Burgay (8), Spirited Speakers (8), FAA Speechmasters (7), First Edition (7), Helen Burkett (7), HHS (7), Pathfinders (7), Presidential Speakers (7), and Smithsonian (7)

Distinguished (5 or 6 goals achieved) – 22 Clubs

Analytic Speakers (6), BLM (6), CACI Ballston (6), Leadership Speaks (6), Library of Congress (6), Lone Star (6), NRECA Power Speakers (6), Park Center (6), Plane Talkers (6), Seven Corners (6), Spring Speakers (6), USDA (6), Annandale (5), BAE Systems 80 M Street (5), Calvert (5), Energy TM (5), FCC (5), OCC Speakeasies (5), PENTAF (5), Suitland Federal (5), T-S-A (5) and USPTO (5)

Congratulations to our district officers on their achievements!

President’s Distinguished Division

Tim Flegler, Division C Governor

Select Distinguished Division

Joy Relton, Division F Governor

Distinguished Division

Eugene Gonzales, Division E Governor

President’s Distinguished Area

Mary Williams, Area 31 Governor

Jim Call, Area 32 Governor

Melissa Evans, Area 33 Governor

Paul White, Area 62 Governor

Select Distinguished Area

Charlie DeWitt, Area 11 Governor

Nyonu Wi Akamefula, Area 43 Governor

Art Cresce, Area 53 Governor

Distinguished Area

Cate Kinney, Area 12 Governor

Tom Trantan, Area 21 Governor

Melissa Graeff, Area 24 Governor

Thanks to everyone for making District 27 a Distinguished District in 2012-13!

• May 4 – Today’s Spring Conference was marvelous. Chie Tamaki won the International Speech Contest with Silver Dagger, Golden Heart. The second place winner was Tamara Hamilton with The Improbable Dream, and Jacoby Etheridge took third with Baby Boy. In the Evaluation Contest, Carlos Arzeno was the first place winner, followed by David Kirsten in second place and Nelcenia Haralson in third place. Leland Suchadoll was the model speaker with his speech titled The History of Martial Arts, his second speech as a Toastmaster. Congratulations to all! Chie, we will be in Cincinnati to support you!
  
• May 4 – Ryan Avery, 2012 World Champion of Public Speaking, was today’s keynote speaker with Redefining Failure. We enjoyed learning the story of the commitment of Ryan and his wife, Chelsea Avery, as a couple to achieve WCOPS and their 9-month focused effort to do so. Noa Baum spoke on the topic of Harnessing the Power of Story for Team Building. She was also this year’s recipient of the C&L Award, which is given to someone in the community who exemplifies excellence in communication and leadership. Heath Suddleson, DTM, PID, spoke after lunch on the topic of The Attitude Check: Lessons in Leadership based on his new book previewed first in District 27; it will be commercially available in July. Neville Thompson, DTM, PDG, spoke on Using Toastmasters to Navigate to Your Dreams. Dave Weinberg addressed The Power of 8’s, and Mary Kitson spoke on Create a Mentoring Program with Impact. Many thanks to all of our fine speakers!
• May 4 – Many, many thanks to the team of teams who made today’s Spring Conference a huge success. The event was produced under the leadership of: Ralph Jones, DTM, LGET; Vangie Williams, ACB, CL, Conference Chair. The team chairs were: Mary Williams, CC, ALB; Allyson Carter, TM; Michael Jadoo, TM; Jimi Ayodele, TM; Rhonda Bello, TM; Nzinga Jones, TM; Jenny Genser, DTM, Hal Jones, DTM, and Anne Sobota, DTM. In total, 49 Toastmasters contributed their time and talents to the Spring Conference.
• May 4 – A special thanks goes to Vann-Di Galloway, DTM, Chief District Judge and Anton Vanterpool II, ATMS, CL, for their very special leadership. They officiated for all 6 Divisions and the District, a total of 14 Spring contests. We also extend a hearty thanks to the team of judges, who will remain nameless, yet are dear to heart. You know who you are.
• May 4 – At today’s Spring Council meeting, we elected District Officers for 2013-14 who will take office on July 1. They are: District Governor – Ralph Jones, DTM; LGET – Ernesto Etienne, DTM; LGM – Hal Jones, DTM; Division A Governor – Scott Harper, DTM; Division B Governor – Melissa Graeff, CC; Division C Governor – Melissa Evans, CC, ALB; Division D Governor – Dan Velazquez, ACB, ALB; Division E Governor – Jim Cooney, DTM; and Division F Governor – Angela Morgan, ACB, CL. Congratulations to all! The new district officers will be installed at the Hail & Farewell on Saturday evening, June 29, at the American Indian Museum.
• May 4 – During today’s Hall of Fame, we recognized Ernesto Etienne who completed his second DTM, and Crystal Massey, who achieved her DTM. They enjoyed the embraces of DTMs from across the district as they worked their way along a traditional District 27 hug line to the tune of We Are Family. Congratulations to them and the many District 27 Toastmasters who achieved communication and leadership awards, including several Triple Crown winners.
• May 4 – Paul White, DTM, PDG, received an Achievement Award to recognize his outstanding contribution this year to District 27 Toastmasters. He serves as Extension Chair and has helped charter several new clubs. In Division F, he is the Area 62 Governor and helps support Area 63. Paul also mentors many district leaders and communicators. To help support the first Toastmasters club in Laos, which Paul is helping to charter, in his honor we collected personal donations totaling almost $1,000 to fund scholarships for its members. Our heartiest thanks to Paul for all he does for District 27. He truly is a servant leader.
• May 4 – MembershipMadness was a contest that will award prizes to all clubs that added 5 or more new members during the period January 1 – April 30, 2013. Clubs that added 10 or more members during this period will choose between a customized club banner or portable lectern. The winning clubs are: School Street (15), Energy (14), Lone Star (14), G.U.T.S. (13), Annandale (12), HHS (11) and SEVP ICE Breakers (10). These 7 clubs added 89 members during the 4-month contest period. Clubs that added 5-9 members during this period will choose between a walnut gavel or a $25 Toastmasters store credit. Club winners at this level are: Smithsonian (9), OCC Speakeasies (9), 1500 Speakers (8), Crystal City Evening (8), NRECA Power Speakers (8), Federal (8), SKILCRAFT (8), SBA (7), CACI Ballston (7), Plane Talkers (7), FEMA (7), Andrews (7), Helen Burkett (7), ASCO Speak EZ (7), 5-Star (6), B.L.T. (6), Accenture-Postal (6), Speak-Up (6), USPTO (6), Voice of SHRM (6), PENTAF (5), Free & Wild (5), Challenger (5), J-Talkers (5), HUD (5), Calvert (5), Presidential Speakers (5), F.A.M.E. (5), Seven Corners (5), and Old Town TM Dinner Club (5). These 30 clubs added 193 new members during the 4-month contest period. Congratulations to all!
• May 4 – As of today, 6 clubs have achieved President’s Distinguished: School Street, HUD, New Southwest, Andrews, F.A.M.E., and Old Town TM Dinner Club; 3 clubs have achieved Select Distinguished: Helsmen, 5-Star and Pathfinders; 12 clubs are Distinguished: First Edition, NRECA Power Speakers, USDA, FCC, Smithsonian, Plane Talkers, HHS, Speak Up, FAA Speechmasters, OCC Speakeasies, Energy TM, and G.U.T.S. We have 56 days remaining in this Toastmasters year to grow member value in the clubs.
• May 4 – Today at the Hall of Fame, District 27 recognized four organizations that received Toastmasters International’s Corporate Award this year. They are: Bloomberg BNA (Crystal City, VA, Division A), NRECA (Ballston, VA, Division B), BAE Systems (Washington, DC, Division D), and United States Census (Suitland, MD, Division E). We appreciate so much the support you give our Toastmasters, their clubs and District 27. Thank you!
• May 4 – Happy 50th Birthday to Suitland Federal Club, which chartered February 1, 1963, and NRL Forum Club, which chartered on May 1, 1963. We celebrated today with birthday cake right after the Hall of Fame concluded. We wish them continued long life and prosperity.
• May 4 – At today’s District Council meeting, we voted to accept the Realignment 2013-14 proposal. In summary, the boundary between Division A and Division F changes slightly, impacting two clubs. Club extension, retention, and relocation were all reflected in the proposal while maintaining geographic contiguity of clubs within areas. Due to club extension, the proposal added three new areas, one each in Divisions C, D and F; and merged two areas in Division B.
• May 4 – At today’s District Council meeting, Mary Williams, CC, ALB, presented the results of the mid-year audit (July 1 – December 31, 2012) on behalf of the Audit Chair, Bob McMurtry. District Treasurer, Ralph Sierra, ACB, CL, presented the Treasurer’s Report for the period ending March  31, 2013. We are financially sound and squeaky clean. Many thanks Ralph, Mary, Bob and the Audit Team for all your hard work and servant leadership.
• May 4 – Thanks to all the Past District Governors (PDGs) for their substantial contributions to the success of this year’s Spring Council Meeting: Shu Bartholomew, DTM, IPDG, Nominating Committee Chair; Aref Dajani, DTM, PDG, Realignment 2013-13 Chair; Jim Dooley, DTM, PDG, Credentials Chair; and Jim Heeren, DTM, PDG, Parliamentarian.
• May 4 – Congratulations and welcome to the 10 new Toastmasters clubs chartered since July 1: IDA Toastmasters (Apr 1), NCR National Park Service (Apr 1), City of Alexandria (Mar 29), Defense Health HQ (Feb 11), UPO Toastmasters (Jan 22), Kearney & Co. (Dec 3), Accenture – Postal Account (Oct 24), Accenture High Performers (Oct 1), SKILCRAFT Speaks (Aug 23), and Leadership Speaks (Jul 25). Many thanks to all the volunteers who support the Marketing team and these new clubs!