Saturday morning, I attended club officer training at Westmoreland County Community College. We had a split amount of officers attending in person and online. I arrived super early to help our Logistics manager out. I put signs up reminding folks where to go. It reminded me of the job I had as District Sergeant at Arms, when I braved the cold and snow in January to put up signs at Seneca Valley High School. In 13 years of Toastmasters, I still haven’t figured out how to delegate (LOL!).
Our speakers all impressed, from the Toastmaster to the presenters to our trio and past district director. I got to introduce myself to the Toastmaster of the day, who belonged to the Beaver Toastmasters club. The Regional Advisor was the first presenter of the day and she presented online. She was from District 83 in New Jersey and she gave us some great words of wisdom to take back to our clubs.
The next presenter talked about AI and, how it works to our advantage but can also land us in a sticky situation. I learned about how stuff searched for in AI ends up in the “landfill”. I also learned that ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot are two most popular AI programs and both have their respective pros and cons. They all do no matter what you use. Also mentioned was Google’s AI tool, Gemini. Since my laptop has many Google Apps to use (Google Docs being one of them), Gemini will be the one I familiarize myself with the most. The presenter did an excellent job keeping us engaged in the material. He talked about how his home club is using AI in their meeting agendas. Maybe when I write the next meeting’s agenda for Greensburg this week, I can follow the lead of Johnstown and that also includes my Duolingo bestie.
During the lunch part of our club officer training, a big book was passed around for everyone to sign. The book covered the one hundred year history of Toastmasters since its beginning in 1924. It made me think of the book I picked up at homecoming in 2012 that covered the history of Slippery Rock University, even going back to its days as a State Teachers’ College. The book was authored by the Director of Student Life Emeritus, who served as Director while I was a student there. The book covering the hundred year history of Toastmasters is available online on toastmasters.org.
Other presentations included a couple at the end. One was by our past International Director, past District Governor and, another of my Duolingo besties. The other one was by our District Historian. Our past International Director talked about finding out what our leadership superpower is. He has a new book set for release in early 2025 and has authored a range of books that include poetry, photography, and leadership and personal growth.
Our District Historian has taken on this project covering the history of Toastmasters since 2021. With a hundred years of Toastmasters history, there’s a lot to go over. So, the presentation was abridged. He is going to continue with the history of the organization from the 1990’s and beyond. That includes 2020 and all of the madness that year brought with it. I think you all know what I’m talking about here, people.
The program wrapped up at 2:00pm and soon after, it was time for the Hall of Fame festivities to start. Awards were handed out to the best clubs in District 13, as well as to the clubs that had the most success in the past Toastmasters’ year. Also, area and division directors were honored for their success, as well as those in the division. Even the Toastmaster of the Year was picked. Whether it’s this or the Spirit of Toastmasters, it seems like someone from Greensburg wins this award. In 2020, that someone was me.
After the Hall of Fame and the distribution of the awards, we were treated to some appetizers. Our DJ played some music for us, including some classic disco tunes. I left the event at 3:30pm, making sure someone found the signs and left them with the Logisitics manager. Today felt like a great day, as I left with my heart and my cup full. As this time off is beginning to come to an end, everything I felt worked out for me. Look for a review of the week off tomorrow on the blog.
Some of my takeaways from Saturday’s Toastmasters Leadership Institute include the presentations. I have a deeper meaning about AI from the morning presentation and have plans to understand it better. The closing ones were good too, from two amazing district leaders. I’ve been on board with the history of Toastmasters since I’ve been seeing it pop up in my social media feed every week since 2021. I can’t wait to see the new updates on the history from the 1990s and onward. I’ve been a member of 2011 and while I’ve felt tempted to leave many times, I’m still there and doing as much as I can. Finally, it’s good to give yourself a refresher in the club officer breakout sessions and that’s what I did while attending the Vice President Education session.
I will close this blog by saying that I finally validated myself yesterday with my fashion sense. That made all the compliments I got seem very worthwhile. One of the people attending really loved my sweater and wish she’d have worn hers. That shows I’m doing a good thing in this journey that I’ve been on since 2021 and that it’s definitely better to give and be pleasantly surprised when I do get.
Stylish 🍒 