On A Point – Toastmasters Southern Africa – District Newsletter
Editor’s Note
Dear Members of District 74,
One of the things that gives me an overflow of joy is travel! It enables me to meet amazing people who are doing amazing things in life, especially members of Toastmasters.
According to Leonardo Da Vinci, ‘the noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding!”
In this Joy edition, join me in understanding the Joy of aToastmasters membership through the eyes of some of our members from just some of our Countries and Areas: Namibia, Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Malawi, Western Cape and Mozambique.
Kind regards,
Gerson Veundja Kamatuka, DTM – On A Point Editor
Sheryl – the JOY!
I have been searching for a New Club Co-ordinator for a couple of months, and it now gives me great joy to welcome Sheryl Mulligan, DTM as our new New Club Leads Co-ordinator. Please share this joy with me!
Sheryl has been a Toastmaster since the beginning of 2012, and is a Proud member of Rosebank Breakfast Club, in fact she successfully coached the club to being Distinguished, which gave all of us great JOY. She was previously a member of Egoli Golden City Club. During her time as a Toastmaster, Sheryl was the Conference Convenor for the very successful Starcon held at The Aviator Hotel and she served as an Area Director in 2016-17.
Sheryl will be supporting me in the administrative tasks of starting new clubs, particularly, keeping track of where we are with each of our Prospective clubs and a number of other activities. She is pleased to be serving and supporting the members of D74 joyously !
Sheryl works as a Administrator /Trainer at Education, Training & Counselling. She is married to Peter, CC, CL who has also been a Toastmaster and they have four grown up children, including a set of twins.
Nikki Quinn, DTM – Club Growth Director
The JOY of Toastmasters!
For many people a picture of kittens and puppies will bring out an emotion of Joy. âAaaah sweetâ may be the phrase that escapes your lips when you see a picture like that.
When you look at your Toastmasters Journey to date does it give you a sense of joy and accomplishment? What sense does your future Toastmasters Journey give you?
If it is not one of Joy then here are some tips to change that:-
Find a task or a role in Toastmasters that does fill you with Joy and volunteer to do that to not only boost your confidence but to build the association of Joy with your Toastmasters Journey.
Alternate your Joyful Toastmasters experiences with your Stretch Toastmasters experiences.
Find a mentor to help you overcome your fears, challenges and obstacles. Choose someone that you admire and have rapport with.
Offer to mentor someone who you would like to help grow and reach their potential. You learn so much from mentoring someone and when they succeed it is truly a Joyful experience.
Introduce Toastmasters to people in your sphere of influence and experience the Joy of helping people to change their lives through Toastmasters.
Scattering âKitten and Puppyâ moments throughout your Toastmasters Journey will bring Joy to your journey and by default to others that are on the same road.
Merryl Jubber, DTM – PR Manager
The JOY of Icon!
The Annual Toastmasters Conference will be held at the Lagoon Beach Hotel from the 3rd to the 6th of May 2018.
Why should this conference be on your bucket list? Not only is it an Iconic venue but there is an Iconic line up of speakers that will help you experience Life Changing Mind Shifts in various areas of your life. More about the speakers in upcoming OAP editions!
Experience the joy of being inspired and motivate by the speakers, support the contestants from your Division as they battle for the title of Best International Prepared Speaker, Best Impromptu Speaker and Best Evaluator of District 74 and network with old Toastmaster friends and make new ones.
If you have not already registered then do so today and you can benefit from the Iconic payment plan.
Merryl Jubber, Verity Price, Marion Thomas, Inet Kemp, Stembile Tshkosi and Francois Roux – Your Icon Team
My JOY!
It has always been my joy to be a Toastmaster since I joined Blantyre Toastmasters Club, Area H1, Malawi in 2009.
My greatest joy in Toastmasters is mentoring new and old members and struggling clubs. My joy comes from seeing someone from being a nervous speaker to a courageous one, standing up with confidence to speak to small or large audiences to express their viewpoint.
I once coached a struggling club. The joy of seeing that struggling club turned into a thriving club was more satisfying than almost anything I have done before. The joy of bringing back an irregular or lapsed member to one that is attending meetings regularly is heart fulfilling.
Where do you find your joy in Toastmasters? Discover your joyful moments, activities and events in Toastmaster and enjoy them more and more.
Soustain Chigalu, ACS, ALB – Seargent At Arms: Blantyre Toastmasters Club
Sharing the JOY of toastmasters with our community!
It has been a busy time for many of our Toastmasters, as our Divison has proudly run yet another successful set of Youth Leadership Courses at schools in and around Port Elizabeth, South Africa. We had a record sixteen schools participating this year and it is a testament to the dedication of our members.
Our members have gained so much from Toastmasters, and so many of them feel that by assisting in the running of this course, they could do their own part for the community in spreading the influence of our organisation that has brought them so much joy, pride and self-confidence.
The Youth Leadership Course consists of an eight-week program, whereby Grade 11 children are taught communication and presentation skills, as well as how to run a meeting and conduct themselves in the business world.
At the end of each course at the various schools, a competition is held and the best speaker is entered into an Inter Schools Competition.
The Inter Schools Competition was held on September 21, and consisted of each child delivering a 3 to 5 minute speech on a subject of their choice. The five top speakers then competed in an Impromptu Contest , where the overall winner was decided. Distinguished Toastmaster Ricky Woods presided as Chief Contest Judge and Toastmaster Colleen Love served as the Contest Chair. Toastmasters from Act , Algoa and Uspeak Clubs are involved and acted as judges on the evening.
The evening was a wonderful success, and we were overwhelmed by the support. Many individuals shared that it was a source of great pride and joy for the parents, families and friends to see their children participating in a competition of this nature.
The winners were:
First Place – Rebecca Brewerton of Victoria Park High School
Second Place – Darren Tarentaal of Sanctor High School
Third Place – Keano Cotton of Lawson Brown High School
The winners each received a trophy, and each participant received a certificate confirming their attendance. We anticipate growing our influence in the community as we attract new members through these initiatives.
Colleen Love, CC, CL – Contest Chairperson: Algoa Toastmasters Club
Feedback brings JOY!
When was the last time you received feedback that had a real impact in your life? Perhaps someone spotted a blind spot you werenât aware of? Feedback is the greatest gift you can give and brings great joy. The Club Emissary Program allows you to empower clubs by giving them objective, constructive feedback.
What is a Club Emissary? The title District 74 Club Emissary is given to a Toastmaster, who attends a minimum of three Club meetings (to different clubs), other than where he/she is a member and submits feedback.
Visiting other Clubs helps you grow by moving you out of your comfort zone.
You get to see how other Clubs function.
You offer a useful insight to the Club you visited, which brings them joy
You will be able to bring new ideas back to your own Club, helping your home Club flourish.
You gain experience that will help you when you become a Club Coach, Mentor, Sponsor or District Leader.
What will the visited Club gain?
Pure joy of getting constructive, objective feedback
Cross pollination of ideas.
If yours is a small Club, visits by members of other Clubs will help you to have more role players in every meeting.
You learn/teach the skill of holding quality Club meetings.
Visits by Club Emissaries will add more variety to your meetings and bring joy. As a result, you will attract new Members and retain your current members.
Perhaps the Club Emissary will want to become a dual member in your Club.
All new club emissaries will get a badge. I remember the great joy I felt when I received my badge, 3 years ago. The badges will be distributed once a quarter. Keep an eye out for the next episode as we reveal the 2017/18 Club Emissaries.
For more information about the Club Emissary Program contact Njabulo Thela, District 74 Club Emissary Program Co-ordinator 2017/2018 at emissaries@toastmasters74.org
Njabulo Thela, DTM – Club Emissary Program Coordinator
The JOY of being a Toastmaster!
Seven years ago I happened to be one of the founding members of the SWAKOPMUND TOASTMASTERS club. Little did I know, how rewarding the journey as a TOASTMASTER would be â¦.
Learning how MY BODY SPEAKS, how to STRUCTURE MY SPEECH FOR SUCCESS, what it meant to compete in a SPEECH CONTEST, how to COMMUNICATE WITH CONFIDENCE and to develop my skills in TIME MANAGEMENT, PLANNING and IMPLEMENTATION, FASCILITATION, MOTIVATING PEOPLE and TEAM BUIDING lay the foundation on which I built my ACVANCED COMMUNICATION and LEADERSHIP tracks.
Heading towards the completion of the ADVANCED COMMUNICATOR GOLD and ADVANCED LEADERSHIP SILVER, I look back on these years of SELF-DEVELOPMENT and above all, meeting and becoming friends with the most wonderful people of ALL WALKS OF LIFE.
This to me, is the JOY of being a TOASTMASTER!
Monika von Wietersheim, ACS, ALB – Immediate Past President: Swakopmund Toastmasters Club
The JOY of being a Toastmasters club President!
My experience as a toastmaster is a mixed joy between being a recent club member and at the same time the first president of the newly born Kula Club. As a member, I benefit from a friendly environment that empowers me to convert challenges into learning and growth opportunities, both personally and professionally through development of my influential and leading skills. On the other hand, as the Kula Clubs first President it is with great joy that I deliver a vision that influences others to unleash their full potential and fulfill their dreams.
By being a Toastmaster, Iâm experiencing the joy of acquiring the sagacity to build a better self as well as the tenacity to do more as a professional. As we usually say at Kula, TM grinds you to evolve from caterpillars to butterflies.
Laercio Mondlane – President: Kula Toastmasters Club
The JOY of heritage!
On Friday 08 September, The Social Network Toastmasters (TSN) gathered for their Heritage Meeting. Everyone arrived dressed in their cultural attire, creating an eclectic mix of colours which set the tone for what was to be a joyful and energetic meeting.
The meeting took place at Acropolis School of Philosophy in Braamfontein. Toastmaster of the evening was Papi âWordzâ Lidovho who skilfully mixed philosophy and âtoast masteringâ to the enthralled audience.
The highlight of the evening was, guest speaker, Racquel Hall, CEO of Sanlam Corporate Solutions who shared her personal story of triumph and disaster and her response to the question âWHO AM I?â
An unexpected twist came in a guest appearance by Lebohang Sello, a knowledge keeper from the Credo Mutwa Cultural Village in Jabavu, Soweto. Sello captivated the entire audience with his profound knowledge of African history and of the role of women in the African story of creation. Members were lined up afterward to soak up Selloâs knowledge and wisdom.
Most of all, the meeting was a celebration of who we are, where we come from and where we are going as Africans. The joy came in asserting for ourselves that we have every reason to be proud of and celebrate who we are â CELEBRATE OUR HERITAGE.
The Social Network (TSN) Toastmasters is the ONLY Toastmasters club in District 74 that meets on a Friday evening (18h30 â 22h00). We have two meetings a month. TSN Main meets every second Friday at rotating venues. TSN Pro meets every last Friday of the month at KPMG Offices, Empire Rd, JHB.
Contact Kolosa Qali (VPM) for more info â 074 866 7478
Zoya Mabuto, CC – President: TSN Toastmasters Club
The JOY of first manuals!
I am the District 74 new member kit co-ordinator. This has meaning as I have seen the joy in new members and clubs when they receive their new member kits.
The manuals will not only help them improve their communication and leadership skills, it will also give them a sense of belonging in Toastmasters. I am not alone as we have at least one co-ordinator in each Division. It is thanks to them that we are able to distribute new member kits (NMK). I am sure with Pathways we will see similar joy when new members receive their access. For me personally, Toastmasters brings me joy because it is a continuous learning experience.
