After the annual business meeting: what next?

So you've successfully organised the ABM - found people willing to stand for office, sent around the reports, persuaded enough club members to attend, and even got the wording right on all the motions! Well done! Now that it's all over, though, there's one more thing to do before you relax.

Encouraging someone to be President is half the work - the other half is letting the rest of the world know that you've done it. Well before the new Toastmasters year starts on July 1st, Toastmasters International (TI) need to know who the new President is - and all the other club officers - so that they can get in touch with those people. Otherwise, the new club officers won't be able to access Club Central, and that means the club will have difficulty with everything from paying dues to registering awards and new members.

TI aren't the only people who need a way to contact your club. Members of the public who find your club through the New Zealand club finder will most likely contact you by sending an email to yourclub@toastmasters.org.nz. Is that email going to your current VP Membership - or someone who was in the role two years ago and has since left the club? Updating your details on the New Zealand club finder is important to make sure you don't miss those potential guests.

Any club officer can submit these updates. Here's how.

To submit your new club officer list to Toastmasters International:

• Login to the TI website
• Go to Leadership Central on the top menu, then Club Central
• Click on the name of your club
• Click on the menu option "View/Update/Print my club officer information" (it's the fifth one from the top)
• The next screen shows you your current club officers. Click on "Future" at the top to put in new officers for next year (see the image below).
• The screen will show you a list of positions with drop-down menus next to each. For each position, select the club member on the list who's been elected to that position.
• Click "Confirm" at the bottom to save the officer list and send it to TI.

To update your information on the New Zealand club finder:

• Go to the Club Finder and find the login pane on the right-hand side.
• Login with your member number and password. If you don't know your member number, go back to the TI website and have a look at your profile - your number is shown at the top right.
• On the Members' Menu at the right (see image below), click on "Club Editor".
• Scroll down to the "Email Redirections" section and make sure the three addresses listed are correct.
• Further down the page there's a place to change your current club officers. Make sure you come back closer to the end of the year so you can put in the new officers before they take office!