It's Not Too Late

It’s time to shine … and it’s about the people. District Governor Diana Patton offers her call to action and conference first-timer Diana Maldonado reminds us why it matters: the people of D25. As your LGM, I’ve enjoyed helping introduce people such as Diana to Toastmasters. Now I want to help our clubs and district finish this year strong. Here are five initiatives your club can take that will help:

1.  Invite guests to meetings.  The best step is simply to bring guests to meetings, then follow up. Invite them back; ask them to join.  

2.  Start a Meetup site.  A prior post highlighted Meetup, a social media platform working well for many clubs. Please consider this for your club. If the $12 monthly fee is a barrier, contact me. You may be able to cut your initial cost and it’s possible that D25 could sponsor a trial. 

3.  Conduct a Speechcraft.  This powerful program remains, unfortunately, a best-kept secret of Toastmasters. Please unlock this mystery. You’ll gain new members who join with several manual assignments done. A small investment in materials and some time for planning can get this going.

4.  Have an open house.  If your club is one of the many to have held an open house, great. Consider another! If your goals aren’t quite met, this may get you there. If your goals are met, start the new year in stellar shape with an open house. Make sure you follow up and turn guests into members.  
5.  Conduct a membership-building contest.   Friendly competition is fun and effective, so find a way to set up an individual or team competition and reward those who add the most new members.

We have six weeks left to achieve our goals for the year; it’s not too late. Our promotions offer valuable incentives to clubs that act now. If your club takes even one of the five steps listed here, it’s likely to net a couple of members. If each D25 club does that, then nearly half our current member payments shortage would disappear.  

If all clubs take multiple steps that result in the addition of three or more members, that would obviously cover even more of the gap. We will add many payments from new clubs, too, but your focus is (and should be) on your own club. There, it’s time to shine … and it’s about the people.  

Dean Lampman

Lt. Governor Marketing