The Sergeant At Arms is a pivotal role in the Club. There are two key aspects you may need to look into as you start your term.
- Welcome Committee
It is a good idea to gather together a team of club members (maybe including executive committee members) to act as a welcome committee. This committee will be responsible to welcome new faces into the room and ensure that they are introduced to the Vice President Membership and seated next to an experienced member who can talk to them and guide them through the evening’s activities. Ensuring that the committee is in place and knows what to do will enable you to focus on setting up the meeting room and managing the logistics of the evening.
Be sure the committee members know to be on the lookout for new faces at the door and that one (or two at most) members go and greet the member. Do not swoop down on the poor unsuspecting guest like vultures on a carcass but ensure that the guest is welcomed by a warm greeting and introduction to the club.
- New materials
When the Treasurer is drawing up the budget (and hopefully you are all doing this together as an executive team) be sure to consider what materials you may require for the upcoming events – perhaps ribbons or certificates, evaluation ballots or other useful items. The TI website provides a good plan to investigate what branded materials are available to support the club and provide the right atmosphere for your events. I would recommend Ballots and Brief Evaluations (Item 163); and ribbons such as Best Speaker (Item 393BS), Best Evaluator (Item 393BE) and Best Table Topics (Item 393BTT).
The club could also earn Club Fitness Reward vouchers (see the District 74 website – www.toastmasters74.org for details) which could be used for such stock items. Most of these items can be ordered from the District stock custodian at stock@toastmasters74.org.
All the best in your role.
Keith Bowen
Immediate Past District Director