An Extraordinary History: Past Leaders Discuss 100 Years of Toastmasters

Moderator

In addition to a successful business career in sales and management as President and CEO at BARCOL Doors and Windows, Neil Wilkinson leveraged his Toastmasters leadership experience to serve in leadership roles in a myriad of Alberta (Canada) organizations over the years. He served as Board Chair for the Capital Health Authority 1996–2008. He was an officer of legislature for the Province of Alberta serving as ethics commissioner and lobbyist registrar from 2008–2014. Since 2017, he has served as a board member for the Capital Care Foundation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alberta Health Services and one of the largest long-term care organizations in Canada.

Wilkinson is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 125th Anniversary Commemorative Medal from the Governor General of Canada in recognition of significant contribution to compatriots, community, and to Canada. He was also chosen as one of Alberta's 50 most influential people in Alberta's business community by Venture magazine.

In September of last year, Wilkinson celebrated his 50^th anniversary as a Toastmaster, complete with a dinner event featuring Toastmasters International CEO Daniel Rex as the keynote speaker.

Panelists

Dilip Abayasekara was born and raised in Sri Lanka, the tropical island to the south of India. In 1972, he emigrated to the U.S., where he received his higher education. When he started his first job as an industrial scientist in St. Louis, Missouri, his wife, Sharon, spotted a newspaper advertisement about a Toastmasters club in the area. When he walked into that Toastmasters club in 1986, little did he know the dramatic impact that it would have on his life.

Abayasekara was twice a finalist at the World Championship of Public Speaking®, placing second in 1992, and attained the Accredited Speaker (AS) designation. In leadership, he served in club officer roles and District officer roles, culminating in leading District 18 to the President's Distinguished award in 1996-1997. Following service as International Director from region 7 in 1999–2001, he served as International President in 2005–2006, with the theme, “Find Your Voice, Serve Your World.”

In 2003, when Abayasekara was serving as Third Vice President of Toastmasters International, the President of the Colombo (Sri Lanka) Toastmasters Club, Balraj Arunasalam, invited him to visit the island to conduct educational sessions and help publicize Toastmasters. At that time, there were only three Toastmasters clubs in Sri Lanka and seven clubs in India. This visit proved to be pivotal for the growth of Toastmasters because it sowed the seeds for cooperation between clubs in India and Sri Lanka to form a Territorial Council, which eventually led to the formation of provisional District 82 in 2006.

Since then, the Indian sub-continent has given rise to hundreds of Toastmasters clubs, two more International Presidents—Balraj Arunasalam and Deepak Menon—and now Sri Lanka has its own District, while India has eight Districts, some of which also include clubs in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan.

Abayasekara currently resides in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with his wife.

Ted Corcoran joined the Fingal Toastmasters Club in 1985 in Dublin and was elected president at its first meeting. Having served in successive years at club and District level leadership, he was elected 1994-1995 District Governor of District 71; he led his District to Presidents Distinguished District status, finishing second in the world in achievements that year.

Corcoran was involved in the creation of the Club Excellence Programme in 1992, (adopted by District 71, bringing it unprecedented success for many years); this was instrumental in his election for a two-year term as 1996 International Director, representing all Toastmasters outside of North America.

In Miami, he was elected 2000 Third Vice President and went on to serve as 2003-2004 International President—the first—and only—Irish/European member to do so in the 80-year history of the organization up until then. He was the 2011-2012 Region Advisor for Region 11 of Toastmasters International, which brought him to Scotland, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and South Africa.

Cororan has also been a member of Rotary International since 1991; he served as the 2001-2002 President of the Dublin Rotary club.

Corcoran was involved in the creation of the Club Excellence Programme in 1992, (adopted by District 71, bringing it unprecedented success for many years); this was instrumental in his election for a two-year term as 1996 International Director, representing all Toastmasters outside of North America.

Corcoran has also published a book on leadership, The Leadership Bus; it was followed by his second book, Hiring a Car and Walking After It, which has fifty chapters covering various lessons and experiences from his Toastmasters journey.

He wrote A Comprehensive History of Toastmasters in Great Britain and Ireland, which covered the years 1935-2022 and was published in 2022 by District 71.

Pat Johnson joined Toastmasters International in 1983 in rural northern Manitoba (Canada). During her four decades of continuous learning and membership in Toastmasters, she has spoken in a long list of countries around the world as a keynote speaker and educator.

Her professional career was in adult education within the corporate, government and not-for-profit sectors, where she was responsible for providing training needed to support employee success in their various roles.

Within Toastmasters, she served as 2001–2002 District 21 Distinguished District Governor; 2004–2006 International Director Region 1; 2010–2011 International President; Learning Master Manager for the curriculum design of the Pathways program; District Host Chair for 2017 International Convention in Vancouver, BC, Canada; 2020–2021 Region 10 Advisor (Europe and United Kingdom); 2021–2022 Region 2 Advisor (Norther California and Nevada); and 2023/2024 Co-Chair for the International Disciplinary Committee that supports the Board of Directors.

Johnson is also the author and publisher of Building and Sustaining Vibrant and Sustainable Toastmasters Programs in Corporations; she launched this book at the 2018 International Convention in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

She is currently the Special Events Coordinator of her home club, Rise & Shine #331, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Tim Keck earned a PhD in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1975; In the same year, he began his career with the U.S. Air Force as a civilian military historian. For the next 38 years, he served as a historian in Europe, Hawaii, and finally, in Washington, D.C. as the Air Force Senior Historian.

Keck joined Toastmasters in 1979 with the Ramstein Toastmasters in Germany. In the early 1980s, he was a member of the group that established the Continental Council of European Toastmasters (CCET). After moving to Hawaii in 1985, he continued his leadership path, serving as 1989-1990 District Governor. He was elected to the Board as International Director in 1992, later as Third Vice President in 1996, and served as Toastmasters International President from 1999-2000. Since leaving the Board in 2001, he has served as an active member of the Toastmasters Advisory Committee of Past Presidents (ACCP).

Keck cites his Toastmasters experience as one of the most meaningful in his life; he believes Toastmasters offers an experiential educational program that teaches vital life skills, provides opportunities for personal enrichment/transformation, and abundant opportunities for service in one's personal and community life.

He currently resides in The Woodlands, Texas.