First "Dream Big" accomplishments

On Nov 18, two Dream Big commitments became reality: Brenda Daniels achieved her Advanced Communicator Silver award, and Jodie Sanders became a Competent Leader. They're not done, however, as both of them made multiple commitments, Brenda to a second Distinguished Toastmaster and Jodie to a Competent Communicator, so no laurel-resting yet for them.

Several members are only one or two projects away from their goal. There will be more good news soon!

'Burners Are Dreaming Big

Do you dream? Of course you do. We are Afterburners, and we do in fact DREAM BIG.

Well, here is your chance to turn your Big Dreams into rewards with the new District 25 DREAM BIG promotion. Commit to completing an education level, sponsoring 5 or more new members or even sponsoring a new club charter. Just commit to doing something and we can all push each other to make our goals.

Thanks to Pat Quick who brought a Commitment List to the Sept 21st meeting, the Afterburners have already kicked in on this one. I have entered commitments for everyone who signed our Commitment List, or with whom I have spoken by phone.

We have 16 commitments so far. Ten to achieve CC, a CL and several other advanced rewards including 3 DTMs. WOW! . . .  That bears repeating. WOW! The club has also committed to make President's Distinguished for an eighth great year in a row.

If you have not had the chance to commit, don't feel left out. This is just the start. To enter or see your commitment please go to www.d25toastmasters.org/dreambig.

Remember, making the commitment is just the first step in the journey. You need to complete your chosen commitment as well.

I challenge the Afterburners Club to burn this thing up. DREAM BIG, COMMIT and COMPLETE!!!

Steven Timmons
Club Secretary

Two more club goals reached in August

We added two new Competent Communicators in the month of August — achieving goal #1 on our Club Success Plan! Congratulations to Joyce King and Nick Colón, who finished their CCs on the 17th and 31st, respectively. It won't be long until we have two more, as several other members are close to finishing their manuals.

Also in August, Pat Quick applied for her Distinguished Toastmaster award, accomplishing Goal #6 (an additional Leadership award). Congratulations to our immediate past president, who has actually been distinguished for quite some time, as far as we're concerned.

How close are you to your CC, CL or advanced award? Look at your manuals! Bring them to the meetings! Talk to your mentor. Let Benson, the VP Education, know what you want to accomplish by filling out the Member Survey on the Members Area home page of the website. Remember that you can update your goals here at any time.

By the end of the year, we want to be neck-deep in alphabet soup!

"Two new CCs . . . "

Congratulations to Linda Coleman and Gary Chiu for achieving their Competent Communicator awards! Linda finished with a bang on June 15th with a speech about her District Conference experiences, appropriately called "Experience It." Her energy and confidence wowed those who remember her first speech, back on December 9, 2008, which was titled "My Journey." That night she started on a new journey, and has inspired her fellow Afterburners every step of the way.
Gary accepted a tremendous challenge: to finish his CC by the end of June when he had 6 speeches to go. It would have been one speech at every meeting, but then a technical glitch bumped him from the agenda on one night. Undaunted, he did TWO speeches on the last night to achieve his goal, demonstrating a gritty determination that we might not have expected from that laid-back guy who gave his first speech on August 25, 2009 called "Coming of Age: What I Learned at 16." On that two-speech night, June 22, we saw a true coming-of-age for Gary.

These two outstanding Toastmasters deserve a little break from making speeches, but not a long one. After all, with all those free manuals, Linda and Gary have a lot of new goals to get started on!

Jodie Sanders

Sign up NOW for Speak-a-thon!

Next Tuesday, June 1, Afterburners will hold a Speak-a-thon!! Members who are vigorously pursuing the completion of their Competent Communicator manual may reserve a slot on the agenda. Many of our members are intent on this so they can take advantage of District 25's offer of SIX FREE MANUALS as a reward!!

It doesn't have to be your CC... You can be close to finishing any Toastmasters manual. If you're almost there, and you want credit for that educational achievement before June 30, let me know so I can get you on the agenda.

I'll be serving as Toastmaster for this event, so if you would like to speak on June 1st, please email me your speech title & what project it fulfills. We will have as many as 8 speakers, so come prepared to listen, enjoy, and give a written evaluation if someone should hand you their CC manual!

Folks, I'll need your speech information by Sunday, May 30, please. Let's help each other reach our goals and keep on LEADING THE WAY!

Thanks, 

Tammy Bailey, DTM

VP Education

What is a mentor?

Two weeks ago, our new VPE Tammy Bailey gave an excellent speech about mentoring. Here are the core concepts she spoke about.

 

To a new member, the intricacies of the Toastmasters educational system can be confusing and even intimidating. A mentor can help simplify things. The Toastmasters Successful Club Series features a module specifically focused on mentoring, which is very thorough. The following are suggestions for being a good mentor that are based on some of the ideas presented there. 

Make yourself part of your mentee's life. Don't wait to be called for help; call first. Be pro-active. Leaders, by definition, must take the lead.

Experience - share yours generously. Expose the mistakes you made as a rookie so your mentee feels kinship with you.

Nudge - don't push. Each person's progress is his or her own business, but mentors have a responsibility not to let mentees get stagnant.

Trustworthy - follow through on commitments you make. Keep not only appointments, but also confidences shared. Be a true ally.

Orient, don't overwhelm. There's too much to explain the entire program at once. Pace yourself and explain on a level that is comfortable for the new member.

Relationship - this commitment is long-term and in some cases, lifelong. It's also a two-way street, where you can learn from each other.

It's not necessary to have years of Toastmasters experience before becoming a mentor. Often, a veteran Toastmaster will benefit from the fresh perspective of a relative newcomer. All it takes is an open mind and a willingness to learn.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote something that lends itself beautifully to the mentoring relationship:

Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.

Tammy Bailey

A message from our new VP Education

At last night's special business meeting, Tammy Bailey was voted in as Vice President Education to fill the remainder of John W's term. (John gave up his office so he could devote his time to his son's recovery and his job. He is not leaving the club.)

A little bit about Tammy:
"I joined Toastmasters in 2006 as a charter member of Star-Telegram Toastmasters. I served as Area 34 Governor 2007-2008 and Division C Governor, 2008-2009. I was the Fall 2008 Conference Chair, and accepted my DTM award at that same conference. After leaving the Star-Telegram, I joined Afterburners because I wanted to be part of a club that would hold me to a high level of accountability and service to the other members. I'm looking forward to helping each of you achieve your goals in the Toastmasters program."

We are looking forward to it, too!

Educational Achievements

Congratulations to the following members who have completed another step toward their Toastmaster education designations -

Bob Titiryn - Competent Communicator (CC)

Tammy Bailey - Competent Communicator (CC)

Brenda Daniels - Competent Communicator (CC)

Theresa Eller - Advanced Communicator Bronze (ACB)

Pat Quick - Advanced Communicator Silver (ACS)

George Arndt - Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM)

As of the last District 25 report, Afterburners was #1 in the district for educational completions from July 1st - present.... 

Congratulations to all the individual accomplishments and to Afterburners who continue to Lead the Way!!!!!!

Pat Quick