As the Toastmaster year draws to a close, I am proud to say that our AbbVie Bioresearch Toastmaster club, where I am the President, achieved the President’s Distinguished Club award, the highest award a club can get. We obtained this award because:

1. two of our members completed the ten Competent Communicator speech projects;
2. two of our members completed the ten Advanced Communicator speech projects;
3. two of our members completed the ten Competent Leadership projects;
4. two of our members completed the Advanced Leadership projects;
5. we signed up 13 new members;
6. all of our officers were trained in both the summer and winter Toastmaster Leadership Institute (TLI) trainings;
7. we submitted our membership dues on time;
8. we submitted officers and members list on time;
9. and we maintained a membership base of 38.

In addition, our club sponsored a Youth Leadership Program, an eight-session, workshop-style program, designed to enable the youth to develop communication and leadership skills through practical experience. Our club also premièred the movie “Speak,” a powerful and inspiring documentary about conquering life’s hurdles and finding your voice.

We also held several Open Houses to attract new members and held Speech Contests to enhance our members educational experience.

All of these accomplishments were made possible because of the untiring and enthusiastic efforts of our officers and members.

Being a Toastmaster officer is challenging. I have to constantly motivate people to attend the meetings, volunteer for roles, and finish their communication and leadership projects. But it is a very rewarding experience. I learned practical skills on leadership, management and organization. I learned “people skills” such as interpersonal communication skills, conflict resolution, and patience. But there is no better reward than knowing that our club members are getting better in their speaking and leadership skills.

I signed up for an Area Governor position for the next Toastmaster year and I am looking forward to bigger challenges.