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Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Toastmasters International?|
Leadership and Organization
1. What leadership opportunities within the club are open to me as a member of Toastmasters?
All clubs have a staff of club officers. These are elected once a year, Elections usually take place in May for the term July 1 to June 30.
Club offices are open to ANY member. There is no reason why a new member cannot run for President without serving in any other club office.
2. What leadership opportunities are open to me OUTSIDE the club?
You can serve as Area Governor, Division Governor, District Secretary, District Treasurer, District Public Relations Officer, District Lieutenant Governor Marketing, District Lieutenant Governor Education and Training, District Governor, International Director, International Vice-President, or International President. To explain what all these mean, you need to know more about each level.
3. What is an Area?
Clubs are grouped into Areas of three to eight Clubs. Each Area has its own Area Governor, a member of one of the clubs appointed by the District Governor to serve the Area. Area Governors are usually, but not always, members of a club in the Area they are responsible for.
Areas have Area Speech Contests several times a year, with winners from the Club levels going on to the Area Contest. The winner of the Area Contest goes on to the Division. If an Area meets or exceeds all its goals, its Area Governor is recognized for hard work motivating the clubs.
4. What is a Division?
Areas are grouped into Divisions. Divisions may be as small as one Area in size (rarely) or as have five, six, or more Areas. Each Division has its own Division Governor. The Division Governor works with his Area Governors to motivate the clubs to high membership and to have good, effective educational programmes.
Divisions have Division Speech Contests several times a year, with winners from the Areas coming together to compete. The Division winners go on to the District level. Divisions have Division goals, just as Areas do.
5. What is a District?
Districts in some cases are equivalent to "states" and in other cases are smaller or larger. If you think of a District as "the state organization" you won't be too far off. Districts are comprised of several Divisions. Districts are the main level of organization outside the Club; Areas and Divisions are sub-units of the District. Districts have their own District-wide goals. The various District officers work with the clubs, Areas, and Divisions to build membership, start new clubs, promote the earning of CC's and CL's, and so forth.
Districts have speech contests several times a year, as the Division winners come together at the District Conferences to compete for the District crowns.
6. What levels are beyond the District?
Technically, none, just Toastmasters International. The Districts *do* get together for *Regional* Conferences in June of each year, but the Regions are not formally constituted bodies. They're just groupings of eight or so Districts. Each Region is entitled to representation on the Board of Directors of Toastmasters International in the form of two International Directors who serve two-year terms, with one being elected each year, but it is the world body that elects these officers, not the Regions themselves. The main requirement for representing a Region is that you have residency and membership in a club in that Region. Once you are elected, however, you serve the world, not just the clubs of your Region.
At the Regional Conferences, you also find speech contests, with the various District winners squaring off. Only one contestant goes on to the World level; the humorous speaking and evaluation contests stop at the Regional level, leaving the International Speech Contest contestants to decide the World Championship of Public Speaking each August at the World Convention.
Regions do not have regional goals. They're not organized bodies.
7. What's the World Convention?
The World Convention takes place each August in a North American city. The main feature of the Conference, other that presentation of awards for effort during the preceding year, is the Annual Business Meeting, at which International officers are elected and policies are made and changed.
The clubs have the voting strength at the world level, with two votes each. Districts often wind up voting the proxies for clubs which don't make it to the Annual Business Meeting each August.
