"We all need a daily check up from the neck up to avoid stinkin' thinkin' which ultimately leads to hardening of the attitudes." -- Zig Zigler (Get New Quote)

District 37 Toastmasters Speakers Bureau

Objective:

• Establish a Speakers' Bureau comprised of Toastmasters in District 37.

Purpose:

• Establish and maintain a central, coordinated source of capable and talented speakers, available to the community at no charge, able to make brief presentations about a variety of topics as well as promote Toastmasters in North Carolina. The bureau will consist of active Toastmasters who wish to offer quality presentations and education to the general public while also showcasing and promoting the benefits of the Toastmasters program.

Benefits:

• Showcase Toastmasters and increase community awareness of Toastmasters and its purposes and objectives.
• Expand speaking opportunities for members outside the club environment, helping members gain experience speaking to a variety of audiences and reaching objectives in speech manuals or Accredited Speaker program.
• Recruit new members to Toastmasters.
• Creation of new opportunities for Speechcraft and Youth Leadership programs. After learning more about the Toastmasters program, many organizations may wish to sponsor one of these programs either for themselves or as a community service.
• Additionally, speakers may receive offers to give longer presentations or emcee events. Several of our bureau members may be professional speakers who offer fee-based presentations, workshops, and seminars as part of their business. To be a member of this bureau, each participant must agree to offer free services as a Toastmasters representative. If a member offers paid presentations, we will provide a link in our bureau web pages to their personal or company web sites. However, if an organization hires a speaker for a paid performance, they cannot be introduced or acknowledged as a "representative" of Toastmasters and that all coordination, liabilities and responsibilities are between the hiring organization and the speaker.

Marketing:

• A section of the Charlotte Area website will serve as the key marketing tool and contact point for the bureau (www.charlottetoastmasters.info).

Administration:

• The bureau will have three administrators, named by the Division C Governor as vacancies occur. Currently, the bureau administrators are Tim Trumble, Missy Howard and Dontae Latson. Rick Pasotto will administer web pages for the bureau. The bureau administrators will coordinate membership and booking of speaking engagements, and will report directly to the Division C Governor as needed.

Membership:

• Each prospective member must have the written recommendation of their respective club VPE (or President if the prospect is the club VPE) and approval of bureau administrators. This allows the bureau to assure quality presentations without an excessively time-consuming and potentially awkward "audition" process. Also, each prospective member of the bureau must submit:
1. Completed Application
2. Signed Membership Agreement
3. Letter of Recommendation from club VPE
4. Headshot (digital preferred but not required)
5. Biography (150 words max.)
6. Summary of Toastmasters Experience (100 words max)
7. One paragraph summary of each of their presentations for use on the website, plus outlines of each of their presentations for review by the administrators
• Each bureau member must have four presentations, maximum 30 minutes each, at least one of which must be specifically about Toastmasters, promoting the organization and recruiting new members. The other three may be of the member's own choosing, depending upon their own interests or areas of expertise.
• The bureau administrators will reserve the right to reject any material deemed offensive, excessively controversial, or detrimental to Toastmasters.