Celebrating the Toastmasters Club That Made History

The Toastmasters club that made history in 2021 wraps up its first year on Thursday, and it plans to make more history in the upcoming Toastmasters year.

This last meeting was different than the rest as it was all speeches and no table topics. I was scheduled to be Table Topics master but will serve that role on July 12, our first meeting of the new year. All of our speakers did great (myself included) and the meeting flowed smoothly. But the purpose of this blog post is to look back on the past year and celebrate everything that’s happened and what’s to come on July 1.

Laurel Highlands Toastmasters chartered in just two weeks at the Connellsville Canteen. They had lots of support from the Fayette County Cultural Trust and the Rotary Club of Connellsville. They chartered on June 30 last year, so happy birthday Laurel Highlands Toastmasters!!! We share a birthday.

Laurel Highlands is the first Hybrid Club registered at Toastmasters International. That means they are an in person and virtual. If you live in Louisiana and want to attend remotely then you have the opportunity.

I was honored to meet club president Sharon Joseph for the first time at our DTM gala event held at Westmoreland County Community College last summer. I learned about the new club and met some of the faces who were behind the formation of the club. All had a hand in bringing a Toastmasters club to Fayette County for the first time in 40 years.

Laurel Highlands Toastmasters produced a Red Carpet Officer Induction Ceremony. This right here was a fun event and I was very pleased to attend and celebrate the newest club in District 13. There were many great keynote speakers like our District Historian Dana Mitnik, District Director Bob Johnson, and International Director Melissa McGavick. This was a magical night for the club, for our district, and for the city of Connellsville.

The Laurel Highlands chapter has the most newspaper articles in one year out of any club in District 13. VPPR Judy Eans is doing a great job getting the word out about the club. We’ve also had several guest speakers who aren’t Toastmasters.

At Tuesday night’s meeting Sharon did a year in review of all of our themes as well as some of the most memorable experiences. The Red Carpet Event is definitely up there and the best event so far in the Toastmaster year.

I joined Laurel Highlands in February, submitting my application upon the finish of the Area 23/24 contest. We also gained five more new members in the Toastmaster year. Those members all received their new member certificates or will at the next meeting. In addition to being the first club in Fayette County in 40 years, we’ve also added members from Cumberland, MD, as well as Morgantown, WV.

As officers we all received new pins which show the role we have in the club. Sharon pinned Ryan with his club president pin. Dana was recognized for his role as the Club Mentor. Sharon received a bouquet of flowers and a certificate of appreciation for serving as the first club president of the Laurel Highlands Toastmasters club.

Sharon closed the meeting by handing the gavel over to Ryan and he adjourned the meeting at 7:20pm. We all socialized after the meeting and had cake to celebrate our first year as Laurel Highlands Toastmasters.

Pictures from Tuesday’s meeting and the transition of leaders coming tomorrow.