One week till Rotorua convention!

The contestants are ready, the judges are ready... are you ready for Rotorua?

The District (national) convention kicks off next weekend at the Distinction Hotel in Rotorua. An awesome weekend is planned at this lovely venue.

Image source: Distinction Hotels

On Saturday, the regional evaluation champions will meet in the District Evaluation contest - a test of skill in listening, analysing and giving feedback. We'll also enjoy educational workshops and keynote presentations from a "business maverick" and a long-serving Toastmaster, and will see who's elected to office for next year in the District Annual Business meeting. Saturday will end with revelry at the dine & dance. Make sure to wear a hat representing a culture of your choice!

Image source: mgrush.com

Sunday morning brings the glamour event - the District International speech contest, which will see the winner jetting off to Washington DC to represent New Zealand on the world stage. Before the contest we'll warm up with workshops on the online world of Toastmasters, and another keynote from a well-travelled businesswoman.

If you're travelling to Rotorua for convention, remember:

• Register to vote by 18 May! Download voter registration forms from the District website. Have a look at the meeting papers on that website, too - it'll help you follow what's happening at the business meeting.
• 18 May is also the deadline for booking a shuttle from the airport to the hotel. See the latest convention newsletter for details.
• The registration desk at the Distinction Hotel opens at 3pm Friday and 7am Saturday. Get in early to beat the crowd.
• If you're looking for something to do on Friday night, come along to the mix and mingle from 5pm. There'll be a chance to see speeches from those standing for office in the Candidates' Showcase at 7.30pm.

And finally, the number one tip from a convention veteran... bring a few snacks to keep in your convention bag! You'll be pleased to have them when you get so busy talking to people that you forget to eat morning tea.

See you there!

Image source: TMC Rotorua

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!

Guest post: Who was Colin Perfect?

Today we are very pleased to feature a guest post from Past Distinguished District Governor Joy Ackrill. At our request, Joy is sharing some memories of PDDG Colin Perfect. Every six months we remember Colin at the Division E conference by presenting a trophy to the club that achieves the highest attendance at conference. The Colin Perfect award was donated shortly after Colin's death by senior Toastmasters who had worked with him; today, we find out more about the man behind the name.

When I came to the end of my term as Area E1 Governor in 1998, I approached Colin Perfect as a potential replacement. At that stage he wasn’t ready to move into a District role. However, the following year he took on the Area Governor role. In 2000 he became Division E Governor where he was Division Governor of the Year.

Subsequently he took on Top 3 roles, culminating in District Governor for 2004-2005. His theme was Achieving Success Together – Haere ngätahi. He led the District to Distinguished status (14^th of 76 Districts) and also received the Excellence in Leadership Award for three consecutive years as a Distinguished District.

Colin Perfect's District Governor banner (2004-05), bearing his motto "Achieving success together".

Colin stood for election to the Toastmasters Board of Directors at the August 2006 International Convention in Washington DC. He was unsuccessful, being beaten by George Yen who went on to become International President.

Colin joined the Public Service Club in Wellington in October 1991 and kept this club as his home club through to his sudden death in September 2008. Over his Toastmasters career he belonged to many other clubs including The Gourmet, WOW, Mt Victoria and Victoria University.

Outside of Toastmasters, Colin was an architect with a special interest in heritage transport. He project managed the restoration of Grip Car number 3 which is displayed at the Wellington Cable Car Museum. After much searching, Colin found a craftsman he believed capable of conserving the Grip Car. This was the Wheelwright Shop at Gladstone in the Wairarapa. We had one of our WOW meetings at the Wheelwright Shop with speeches that day focusing on heritage restoration - Colin talking about the Grip Car, Sarah Harper talking about her Dutch street organ and me talking about my floating crane Hikitia.

Colin was interested in all forms of transport. At the time of his death he was working on restoration of a whale chaser from Peranos in the Marlborough Sounds. Earlier in 2008 he delivered a presentation about whaling and his involvement with the heritage side to the Maritime Archaeologists Association of New Zealand (MAANZ). The video of this presentation is available through the MAANZ library (if you would like to see the video, ask any District officer for Joy's contact details).

Colin was on jury service when he died. He told the Court Bailiff he had some indigestion which he attributed to a meal he had eaten the previous evening. In its early stages a heart attack is often mistaken for indigestion and this was the case with Colin. He collapsed and died aged 64 in the jury box. He had often said he didn’t think he would live to 65.

At Colin’s funeral, Warwick Lowndes (Distinguished District Governor 2002-2003) spoke on behalf of Toastmasters and John Reimers (Distinguished District Governor 2006-2007) was a pall bearer.

After Colin’s death Geoff Moss approached me saying he would like to anonymously donate a trophy to Division E in memory of Colin. And so we have the Colin Perfect trophy. When Division E split into Divisions E and J, Geoff donated a further trophy to Division J. Geoff has agreed his name can now be public.

Colin was an inspirational, supportive and encouraging leader whose favourite word seemed to be ‘tremendous’. Truly Mr Perfect.

Colin Perfect DTM, PDDG 2004-05

26 September 1945 - 30 September 2008

Can you afford $69 per member?

Well, that's dues renewals done for another six months! It can be a big job - well done! Did you know that the next renewal in October will be more expensive? Dues in October could be as high as $69 per member - not even counting club costs such as room hire. But don't worry, Eat Your Crusts is here to help.

To explain what we mean, here's a sample expenses budget for a club with 20 members that meets twice a month. It's made up mostly of the dues that clubs pay to Toastmasters International (TI), together with some small expenses specific to the club.

Item	Cost	Per	Total cost per month	Cost per member per month
TI dues	$69	Member, per six months	$230	$11.50
District service charge	$6	Member, per year	$10	$0.50
Room hire	$20	Meeting	$40	$2.00
Tea and coffee	$3	Meeting	$6	$0.30
Total	$85.80	Member, per six months		$14.30

The club in this example has per-member expenses of $14.30 per month, or $85.80 every six months. That's probably more than what you're currently paying at your club - possibly a lot more. So why the increase? And what should you do about it?

What you need to do

Your club is almost certainly going to need to increase the dues paid by members. There's more detail about that below, but first, here's how to go about it.

1. Re-do your club budget
   If you're a club treasurer or other committee member, go over the club budget again. Make sure the main points from the sample budget above are accounted for - especially that the TI component of the budget is increased to around $65-$70 per member per six months. That will tell you what your new dues amount will have to be, given your club's other costs.
2. Notify members
   Dues can be changed only by a vote of the club's members. The annual business meeting in May is a good time to do that, but it can be done at any club meeting. Before you can hold a vote, you need to notify people in writing that it's coming (email is fine). The club constitution suggests giving at least four days' notice.
3. Hold a vote
   A notified dues motion can be voted at any club meeting where there's a quorum - that is, at least half of all the club members are present. Make sure the reasons for the change are made clear at the meeting, and that people have time to ask questions and discuss.
4. Record your new dues amount in Club Central
   TI keeps a record of important details about your club - such as your meeting location, election frequency, and club dues - in the Addendum of Standard Club Options. To keep these details up to date, login to Club Central and enter the new dues amount into the Addendum. It's near the bottom of the Club Central menu, as you can see in the graphic below.
   
   
   

Now that you know what you need to do - why do you need to do it?

Toastmasters International dues are increasing

The dues that members pay to their clubs are made up of a portion that covers club costs, and a portion that goes directly to TI. At the moment, the TI portion is US$36 per member per six months. That number will increase to US$45 at the October 2016 dues renewal. (There's information about the reasons for the dues increase in this letter from TI.)

What does that mean for your club? Well, the increase is US$9, which at today's exchange rate is about NZ$13. So the quick answer is: just increase your dues by $13.

The exchange rate has fallen

However, there have been other changes over the past year that could also increase the costs faced by your club. The main one of these is a big fall in the New Zealand dollar exchange rate. In April last year, the dues payment of US$36 was equal to about NZ$48. Today, it's about NZ$52 - an increase of $4 just from exchange rate movements. While that may not sound like much, once you multiply it across 20 or more members, your club could be facing extra costs that you haven't budgeted for.

So the other quick answer is: just increase your dues by $17 (that's $13 for the increase in TI dues, and $4 for the exchange rate). But exchange rates are unpredictable. How can you know that a $17 dues increase will be enough if the exchange rate falls even further?

To make extra sure, it can be helpful to look at exchange rate movements over the past few years. While no one can really predict what's going to happen next year, it's reasonable to set your club's budget on the assumption that the exchange rate won't go much lower than its lowest point in the past, say, five years.

Let us explain. This chart shows the New Zealand dollar cost of TI dues since 2006. There are two lines - a blue one for the actual dues we paid in the past (US$36), and a red one for the dues we'll be paying from October 2016 (US$45). Pay most attention to the red line, since that represents the amount we have to plan for right now.

data source

You can see that the cost of that US$45 payment goes up and down a lot, but it hasn't really risen above NZ$70 much in recent times. That suggests that if you set the TI portion of your club dues at $69 per member per six months - or $11.50 a month for each member - you'll probably be able to absorb most exchange rate fluctuations. And if the exchange rate goes the other way, so that your costs decrease unexpectedly, you can return the surplus to your members by spending it on better club equipment, contributions to the costs of manuals, and other things that improve their Toastmasters experience.

Remember to budget for your other expenses

On top of that $69, you'll also need to add your club's usual running costs - whatever you pay for room hire, stationery, tea and coffee supplies, and anything else that you need to buy for meetings. While you're doing this exercise, it's also a good idea to make sure your dues can accommodate the District Service charge, a fee of $6 per member per year that the District asks clubs to pay to help cover the costs of things like inter-club speech contests.

Good luck!

If you have any questions, leave a comment below and we'll get back to you. Alternatively, your Area Director can help you with your planning.

Source: Toastmasters International

Division E Conference report - results and photos

On Saturday the 9th of April 88 Toastmasters from around the Wellington region descended upon the LifePoint auditorium from midday onward to celebrate the very best of our Division.

Arriving on buses, in taxis, and on foot (as per instructions because of the scarcity of on site carparks) they entered the auditorium to be greeted by welcoming slides and a stage ready for action:

Little did they know that the Division Conference team had been busy redecorating for hours before their arrival. It was a very different set up from the one we had walked into:

An especially big thank you has to go out to Tim Law and his partner Liz Lee who lifted the very heavy pieces of staging!

Although there was some concern about the acoustics, overall the feedback we received was very positive about the venue.

Of course, however the main reason everyone was in the room was to enjoy the speeches and celebrate the successes of our fellow Toastmasters.

Simon Lin, stepping up and taking on the role of Master of Ceremonies ably, kept the very full programme running. Gael Price, Division E District Director gave a timely reminder that the Distinguished Club Programme is an important part of the Toastmasters year, and that it does align with our personal goals. Achieving them within the programme is easily done when we take each step in our Toastmasters' journey.

The International Speech Contest

Following this presentation the conference moved into the International Speech Contest chaired by Area E6 Director, Owen Winter. The speeches ranged from the formula to always staying young to pushing our physical and personal boundaries and how we can apply Meyers Briggs personality testing to political candidates interwoven with insights drawn the speakers' lives and interests.

Although all of the speakers were fantastic, this was a contest and there had to be placings.

Third Place was awarded to Raymond Kemp, from Five Crowns for his speech “Sixty Kilometres in Sixty Hours” where he took us on a gruelling mountain bike experience filled with broken pedals and hurt knees. In second place Ella Kahu (Island Bay) shared her experience of learning Te Reo Maori for the same amount of time her grandson had been learning English - and the lessons she could learn from his attitude to life. In first place, going on to represent Division E at the District 72 Conference in Rotorua (www.tmcrotorua.co.nz) was Andrew Stott, of Taxing Toastmaters who shared his struggle of being a ‘Tax Therapist’ from the IRD and pleaded with us all to understand his plight.

L-R: Contest Chair Owen Winter, Andrew Stott (1st), Ella Kahu (2nd), Raymond Kemp (3rd), Sarah Bate District 72 Club Growth Director

After the initial contest, everyone adjourned to the community room to catch up with old friends and make new friends while enjoying some much needed and appreciated refreshments.
(Many thanks to Kai Chan and his team; John Lulich and Kent Stevens from Te Aro, and Ros Coote from Pipitea, who made that possible.)

District address & awards

Following afternoon tea the District Address was presented by District 72 Club Growth Director, Sarah Bate who shared her journey of creating a District wide marketing campaign, using the skills and passion of Toastmasters around the country to promote and connect with our communities. As a member of Division E there was a huge sense of pride in our one of our own demonstrating such initiative.

Sarah concluded her presentation with ‘one of her favourite parts of the role’ when she presented Tricia Walbridge of High Noon Bankers with a long service certificate, celebrating 25 years in Toastmasters.

L-R: Sarah Bate, Tricia Walbridge

The evaluation contest

Next up, the contests were in full steam with Mary Clarke chairing the Division E Evaluation contest. The seven contestants were given the challenge of evaluating test speaker Debby Emeny’s excellent speech reflecting on how a childhood trauma was blocking her in later life. Debby, from Porirua Central Toastmasters, is a newer Toastmaster. Her presence and participation really fitted the Step Up in 2016 theme of the conference!

The contest results were in third place Rebecca Barrow from High Noon Bankers , second place Peter Scholtens from Statistically Speaking and in first place, going on to represent Division E at the District 72 Convention in Rotorua next month, was Raymond Kemp, from Five Crowns.

L-R: Contest Chair Mary Clarke, Rebecca Barrow (3rd), Peter Scholtens (2nd), Raymond Kemp (1st), Sarah Bate

Celebrating new Distinguished Toastmasters

There were other successes celebrated throughout the afternoon with Pamela Snow from Public Service and Lillian Morris from Statistically Speaking receiving their Distinguished Toastmasters plaques. Mark Casson from Five Crowns and Carol Mitchell, District 72 Director, also honoured for their Distinguished Toastmaster awards, were unable to be present.

L-R: Gael Price Division E Director, Pamela Snow, Sarah Bate

L-R: Gael Price, Lilian Morrison, Sarah Bate

And the announcement you've all been waiting for! The Colin Perfect Award, presented by Joy Ackrill, went to Advanced Wellington.

Advanced Wellington Toastmasters club receives the Colin Perfect award from Past Distinguished District Governor Joy Ackrill (left) and Division Director Gael Price (right).

The afternoon conference was a great success and we want to thank all of those who made it happen - whether they had a role within the conference or those who came to support the division.  It was amazing to discover that nearly 50% of those who had preregistered were first time conference attendees. Great to see you along!

Last but not least

And as we all know the best round ups always end with … BUT wait there's more!

Have you booked your place for the Rotorua Convention yet?

Check the website for programme details, accommodation offers ...

Can you spare us a piece of your mind?

If you haven't already given it, we want your feedback on Saturday's Conference. It helps us do better in the future.

Click the link to enter your evaluation online. Thank you!

(With thanks to Owen Winter & Gael Price for text & edits.)

Please tell us how you experienced the Division E Conference

Online Evaluation Division E Conference

For the first time we are collecting feedback online. This has a number of benefits.

1. It gives you time to consider your responses. 
2. It makes it easier for us to collate them.
3. We save paper!

Here's the link to fill out the Evaluation Form.

On behalf of us all thank you for "stepping up" and coming along.  Thank you too, for taking the time to let us know what you thought about the event. Your insights will be used to help us serve you better.

Area contest reports - E1 and E9

In our final Area contest update, we bring you the results from the E1 and E9 International speech and Evaluation contests. The set of contestants is now complete! On 9 April, all these people will compete for Wellington's spot at the national-level contest in May. Don't miss this chance to see Wellington's best speakers all on the same stage!

Contest night in Area E1 was on 30 March and hosted by Capital Toastmasters (who, to accommodate the crowd that arrives for an Area contest, had temporarily moved their venue to the new MBIE office on Stout Street). The International speech contest was a smorgasbord of stories as six speakers shared experiences with sugar, grooming, grandparents, and even game theory. Contest chair Sue Hamlett ran the show, and at the end of the night, Khorshed Irani (Cupcake Communicators) was named contest winner. Second place went to Quang Nguyen (Assurity Testmasters), and third place to Jack Snow (Public Service Toastmasters).

E1 International speech contest. (L-R) 3rd place Jack Snow, 1st place Khorshed Irani, 2nd place Quang Nguyen.

Later in the night, E1's Evaluation contest was chaired by Jacqui Smith. The audience enjoyed an enlightening speech from Sampath DeCosta (Pipitea Toastmasters) on the benefits of failure. Six evaluators gave their views on Sampath's speech. First place went to Margaret Nixon (Capital Toastmasters), second place to Bryan Ventura (Wellington Toastmasters), and Glenda Bullock (The Gourmet Toastmasters) placed third.

E1 Evaluation contest. (L-R) 1st place Margaret Nixon, 3rd place Glenda Bullock. Second placegetter Bryan Ventura is absent from this photo.

The International speech contest in E9 was on 14 March and chaired by Peter Scholtens (Terrace@12). Intriguing speeches from four contestants had the audience thinking as we learned about mountain biking, the good side of redundancy, how to start a charity, and several different ways to look at apples. The contest was won by Raymond Kemp (Five Crowns), with Rose Austen-Falloon (Terrace@12) in second place.

E9 International speech contest. (L-R) Area Director Rob Barton-Howes, 2nd place Rose Austen-Falloon, 1st place Raymond Kemp, contest chair Peter Scholtens.

E9's Evaluation contest was chaired by Andrew Neal (Terrace@12) on 31 March. Four evaluators gave their thoughts on Mike Wareham's (Victoria University Toastmasters) inspiring speech on the theme of 'Girls can do anything'. First place went to Raymond Kemp (Five Crowns), and second place was Rose Austen-Falloon (Terrace@12).

E9 Evaluation contest. (L-R) Contest chair Andrew Neal, 1st place Raymond Kemp, 2nd place Rose Austen-Falloon.

Congratulations to everyone who got involved in contests this season! That wraps up our Area contest reporting. All these wonderful winners will go head-to-head on Saturday. Who will win?

See you there if you can join us - if not, keep an eye on this blog for results next week.