District Director – Elect
John Kallenberger
Trustworthy, Visionary, and Perseverance
Three qualities I possess to be used in fulfilling the role of District Director are trustworthy, visionary and perseverance.
Build trust among diverse membership skills, talents, and abilities for unity of purposes. Listen with discretion shared perspectives before making a decision, since consequences always follow decisions.
Edison said “Vision without execution is hallucination.” use visual display of information to enhance understanding and obtain consensus and commitment for mutual success for the individual and team. Convey the Toastmasters International core values as a membership advocate with academia, government and industry communities of interest. Dr. Smedley said “We share with others the benefits we have gained for ourselves.”
Persevere to achieve short-term and long-term strategies of success. Seek out and encourage opportunities for growth in club membership, expand knowledge of available resources for officer training and promote club distinguished recognition. Perseverance to convey the VALUE of Toastmaster volunteer time as Visit your own and other clubs, Achievements, Leadership, Unity of club effort and Education.
Very Respectfully,
John Kallenberger
Program Quality Director – Elect
Wesley Gibbs
Open-minded, Demonstrate patience, and Supportive
Greetings District 18 Toastmasters. If elected as Program Quality Director for the 2023-2024 program year, I will lead with the following qualities:
Three qualities that best describe me are open minded, patient, and supportive.
Open minded: leaders don’t have all the answers, but it’s imperative for a leader to think outside of the box and accept new ideas and perspectives. As PQD, I will build a robust TLI curriculum by collaborating with club leaders throughout our 7 divisions and seek their opinions on what’s needed to help them be successful in their leadership roles.
Demonstrate patience: patience is an essential character trait that requires self-control and resilience to effectively deal with situations that will arise. Understanding that newly elected district leaders will not know every facet of their leadership responsibilities, as PQD, I will hold regular office hours, carefully listening to the concerns of our district leaders and provide them with essential tools to magnify their success.
Supportive: people are more likely to succeed when they receive support from leaders who have their best interest in mind. As PQD, I will orchestrate focused training sessions to make certain contestants, contest volunteers, and district leaders are prepared to showcase their talents across our district though our contests.
Division A Director – Elect
Janet Leary-Prowse
Resilience, Collaboration, and Eager to learn
The qualities which will make me a good Division A Director:
1. Resilience -This has been a challenging year. I am encouraged by clubs trying hybrid formats, with all of us having to learn and share technology skills. Many of us need to relearn how to speak in person, after 3 years of virtual meetings. Due to unforeseen circumstances, my responsibilities grew to include Area 14 as well as my assigned Area 12. While challenging, overseeing 9 clubs allowed me to gain a broader understanding of the workings of both corporate and community clubs. Not only was I able to network with many talented and experienced Toastmasters, I was able to share knowledge gained during club visits.
2. Collaboration – Putting together a joint Area speech contest took teamwork, problem-solving, and flexibility. We learned how to work together and recruit volunteers to fill roles, while filling roles for other contests that took us out of our comfort zones.
3. Eager to learn – In addition to belonging to clubs in 2 Districts, I enjoy attending workshops, particularly regarding Pathways, mentoring, coaching, and evaluating, and sharing information with my clubs. I encourage others to broaden their Toastmasters education as well.
Thank you, Janet Leary-Prowse
