April 2022 Leader Letter
Club News
Celebrating Women in Leadership — Did you miss some or all of the inspiring conversation on International Women’s Day? You can still join these empowered women through the On Demand webinar link. Feel free to share it with others who might benefit from the high-energy discussion.
Calling All Convention Sponsors — Toastmasters International is now taking applications for its global showcase opportunity in August! Think your company or your club corporate sponsor might be an ideal convention prospect? Share sponsorship details with company representatives to help them gain worldwide exposure to their brand, products, and services.
Submit New Club Forms Early — More clubs charter in May and June than at any other time, so beat the rush and send your new club documents early for timely processing. If you have questions, review the How to Build a Toastmasters Club manual or email newclubs@toastmasters.org.
Dues Still Accepted Online — Although the April renewals due date has passed, you can still submit dues payments online to keep your club and members in good standing. Log in Club Central to submit dues or conduct other club business online. If you need assistance, please review the Club Central Tutorials. You may also contact Club and Member Support by emailing membership@toastmasters.org. Access to Club Central will be available to unpaid club officers until April 30. Back to top
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Working on Last-Minute Achievements? — Membership dues payments for the next renewal period are now being accepted, and are due on or before April 1, 2022. To pay club dues, log in to Club Central and click "Submit Payment." Unpaid officers lose access to Club Central 30 days after their membership expires. Completing the club's membership renewal requirements by April 1 will allow the club to receive on-time submission credit for the appropriate section of Goal 9 in the Distinguished Club Program. Email Club and Member Support at renewals@toastmasters.org for service and support.
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New Videos for Club Elections — Club elections just got easier! Watch these new videos with step-by-step instructions on how to smoothly conduct your next club officer elections.
Roadmap to Online Meeting Success — It’s not just luck that holds the attention of an online audience. Share this simple-to-follow guide with members and prospective members so they can plan and deliver an online meeting that fulfills their goals and meets the needs of attendees.
Education/Resource Materials: Now in New Languages! — New translations of Toastmasters materials, many in languages that have never been available before, are coming online through the District Translation Program. Discover opportunities this new program has to offer and how Districts can participate.
Club Officer Roles, Clarified — Check out the club officer documents, featuring descriptions of each officer role, including a list of key responsibilities and transferable skills. Use the Role Summary documents to help inspire members to fill officer roles during election season.
Got a Minute? — Recording meeting minutes is an essential part of every meeting! To learn more about best practices for recording and maintaining meeting minutes, please review Club Leadership Handbook. There are also templates and examples available for and Club Executive meetings.
Good Record-Keeping —The Club Secretary is responsible for maintaining club records and managing club files, including Membership Applications, club rosters, club charter documents, bank statements, and more. Some files are required to be kept on-hand by the club for a specific amount of time, or even indefinitely. For more information about the length of time these documents need to be retained by a club, please see the Club Secretary section of the Club Leadership Handbook.
International Officer Candidates Nominated — The Toastmasters International Leadership Committee has nominated International Officer candidates. Voting will take place as part of the 2022 Annual Business Meeting in August. Find out more about the nominated candidates by visiting the International Officer and Director Candidates webpage.
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7 Tips: Attending a Bilingual Meeting — With the growth of online and hybrid meetings, you can easily practice your second language while connecting with Toastmasters from other countries. Read these tips on how to have a great time and get the most out of your online global meeting visit.
Managing and Resolving Conflict — While it may be tempting to ignore a situation, get angry, or gossip to others, researchers have found that straightforward communication is the key to resolving conflict, and how you manage and communicate your message is most important. Consider three more crucial points.
The Value of the VPM — The Vice President Membership role is critical to club success in one of the most challenging aspects of sustaining a thriving club: membership. Uncover more of this role’s duties/rewards and decide if you’re up for the challenge.
Create Meeting Spice — From Quiz Masters to Mystery Greeters, non-traditional roles are finding their way into some clubs. If your meeting agenda is starting to feel routine and predictable, adding a custom role or two is a simple way to spice things up. Discover more details about how clubs are adding their own signature style to meetings.
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Online Navigator in All Languages! — The online Navigator is now available in all languages officially supported by Toastmasters: Arabic, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Tamil, and Traditional Chinese. Members can access it in their preferred language from their Toastmasters profile page.
ERP and April/May Service Interruptions — The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform, which will serve as the foundation for the overall digital strategy that supports the Toastmasters online experience, is preparing for a May unveiling! With it, comes exciting opportunities for the near future, including the ability for members to directly pay their dues online. To support next month’s launch of ERP, some of the organization’s online and back-office transactions, as well as its website availability, will be temporarily suspended. Visit the Service Interruption Overview page for more details.
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Club Recognition Reminder — Does your club meet the Qualifying Membership Requirement needed to earn recognition within the Distinguished Club Program? Review your club’s specific Distinguished Club Program Dashboard and notice that the number of members your club must have to earn credit is listed in the "Required" box in the upper-right. Even if your club has five or more goals, it must have the required "To-Date" membership to earn its Distinguished Club Program award.
Missing Dashboard Submissions — As the program year closes, many clubs and members diligently review the Distinguished Club Program Dashboards. Please note there is always a delay at the beginning of each month before the current month's business is reflected on the dashboard. While World Headquarters is working to close all orders received in the prior month, the dashboards will not reflect transactions and updates for the current month. The Month-End Closing Dates webpage lists expected dates for the dashboard to be updated each month, but these dates are tentative and not guaranteed.
Paying April and October Dues — Do you have members who wish to pay for two renewal periods at the same time? This is an available option through the Club and Member Support team. Members who understand that dues are nonrefundable and still wish to pay for October 2022 now, can do so through you. Send an email to renewals@toastmasters.org with the member’s name and request. It will be manually created and paid in Club Central, appearing after their April 2022 renewal has been paid.
Stand By for Talk Up Toastmasters Awards — Contest submissions for Talk Up Toastmasters have ended. Please be advised that all notifications regarding clubs that have earned the award will not be posted until late April due to month-end closing. For more information about the month-end closing dates and their impact on reporting, please refer to the Month-End Closing Dates page.
Captcha — If you are receiving this error when you sign into the Toastmasters International website, first ensure that your browser is up-to-date and install any necessary updates. If the issue persists, try clearing your browser's cache and cookies. Once you have made the necessary changes to your browser, close all open windows, and try logging in again. This should solve the issue, but if the error continues, reach out to the Club and Member Support Team at membership@toastmasters.org.
2022 International Speech Contest Semifinals — This year, following the region quarterfinals, two contestants from each region will be randomly assigned to one of four International Speech Contest Semifinals, which will be held during the Toastmasters International Convention in August. The regions for each semifinal have been determined, so be on the lookout for updates regarding who will represent your region!