Here’s my recap of the second day of the final District 13 Spring Conference. We will merge with District 10 to form the new District 219 on July 1, 2026.
First, the food. The Airport Marriott’s culinary team really came up clutch with the breakfast and lunch buffets. The dinner at the gala was also top notch. I think it goes without saying that I ate really good this weekend. The cheesecake was the chef’s kiss, and I had two pieces.
As delicious as the spread was, the weekend wasn’t about the food but the great times we had. In addition, the speech contests pitted the district’s finest speakers. Plus, Richard Peck hit it out of the park with his presentations Saturday morning.
The past international President (PIP) highlighted four types of animals that we want to be aware of:
- Crabs (people with a crab mentality will hold you and feel that if they can’t do it, neither should you).
- Parrots (people who repeat what you say and tell you that you can’t do it, or that you’re not good enough). Richard said that N & T are the scariest letters in the alphabet.Â
- Mosquitos (these people suck the life out of you and leave you with a painful feeling).
- Crocodiles (these people will eat you alive, aka destroy or be overly critical)
I stepped up to bat as the Sergeant at Arms for the evaluation contest. My job was to keep the contestants in the room until it was their turn to speak. The model speaker (Michael Nelson from the Cranberry Area Toastmasters club) taught us to “shoot our shot”. This contest ran in the family as Ryan (representing Laurel Highlands) competed against his sister Dana. Both siblings were in the ESL club at one point.
We had our choice of two workshops which we could attend. Sam from my home club presented “How to Master your Mindset to Make Magnificent Things Happen”. Lorie from South Hills Toastmasters, and also current Club Growth Director, did a fun one on club meetings. Titled “Reigniting Fun, Creativity, and Engagement”, we learned of the many fun ways (20 in all) to run a club meeting. Which one you choose, make sure you plan well and think it over well. Guests may feel a little bit confused if they’re attending a “backwards” meeting.
The International Speech Contest was a nice mix of heartfelt, uplifting speeches. When it came to judging, I was disqualified as I had friends representing in both the evaluation (Ryan) and speech (Mike) contests. TJ Rose from the Johnstown club spoke about his autism journey. He shared his story on toastmaster Liz Kopco’s podcast “The L Podcast”. We didn’t have too many participants in either contest, with five for evaluation and six for international speech. Still, both contests were amazing and the best competed.
Our group of Contest Chairs and Chief Judges did a bang up job as did their team. Hats off to James (Tamika’s husband) for helping me out with the Sergeant at Arms work.
At our panel discussion with the District Directors, we got insight from those who served in that role. It was interesting to learn how Patti and Bob held District 13 down during the COVID-19 pandemic. The panel was led by current District Director Kathy Wolf. Dr. Elizabeth Carter served as a past director in District 18. I attended a Fall Symposium in her district in the Fall of 2019.
At our dinner, we passed the torch to our new District Leaders. Sharon Imes of Laurel Highlands and Western Maryland Toastmasters will be moving up to serve as District 219 Director. Stephanie Hill and Edward Haller from District 10 will serve as the Program Quality Director and Club Growth Director. I look forward to working with all three in the coming year. At a future date yet to be determined, I also would like to attend a Diversity 4 Success Toastmasters meeting. This is our Program Quality Director-elect’s home club.
During the gauntlet, we welcomed a few new Distinguished toastmasters into the fraternity. Our Club Growth Director Lorie and Webmaster Cameron, as well as our Parliamentarian Jim all received the honor. In addition, a few more who were online got theirs too. Others took part in the gauntlet at the Fall Symposium last October. Our leaders shared some closing words and thanked those who helped them along the way.
I was happy to take part in the Parade of Banners for the second year in a row. We had a little more participation this time. Hopefully I’ll see a nice pic of all the banners. My photo frame needs some love, so look for a lot of new pictures in the coming weeks.
We ended the conference like we did Friday Fun night, with some fun disco dancing. It was fitting to have “Last Dance” from Donna Summer be our final song.
This was, indeed, the last dance for the District 13 Spring Conference.
Stylish 🍒 