District 18 Trio
July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024
AnnMarie Givans
District Director – Elect
Wesley Gibbs
Program Quality Director – Elect
Catherine Damavandi
Club Growth Director – Elect
District 18’s first post-pandemic conference on April 22, 2023 was a resounding success. District 18 was able to get back to the business of hosting a fantastic in-person conference at the Maritime Conference Center in Linthicum Heights, Maryland. Highlights included presentations by Cyril Junior Dim, the 2022 World Champion of Speaking on “It Takes a Village – Building a Circle of Trust” and Toastmasters Immediate Past International President Richard Peck, DTM, who presented the “SOAR to Success” Educational Session.
The Spring Conference would not have been a success without the energy, support and guidance from Carmen Lee Pow, DTM. As the D18 Conference Advisor, Carmen spent countless hours assist D18’s Conference Committee so this conference would meet the District’s high standards of excellence. Thank you, Carmen Lee Pow, for your exceptional service, commitment and leadership!
Congratulations to our District Contest Winners
D18 hosted three outstanding Speech Contests in April 2023: Table Topics, Humorous and International Speech. Each Division was represented by phenomenal speakers.
Table Topics Contests
Competing in the District Table Topics Contest were Achala Bhat for Division A, Natasha Tierra for Division B, Veronica Schroeder for Division C, Gerry Stephens for Division D, Gregg Harris for Division E, David Klyce for Division F, and John Berkley for Division G.
Gregg Harris came in 1st place, Achala Bhat came in 2nd place, and Veronica Schroeder came in 3rd place in the Table Topics Contest.
Humorous Speech Contests
Competing in the District Humorous Speech Contest were Margaret Russ for Division A, Tamika Daniels for Division B, Freeman Bagnall for Division C, Ken Matos for Division D, Gregg Harris for Division E, Wanda Danney-McLaurin for Division F, and Norman Johnson for Division G.
Gregg Harris came in 1st place, Margaret Russ came in 2nd place, and Ken Matos came in 3rd place in the Humorous Speech Contest.
International Speech Contests
For the International Speech Contest, Timmie Mirza represented Division A, Ashlin Price represented Division B, Mansur Hasib represented Division C, Beth May represented Division D, Felicia Rowe represented Division E, Kiona Leah represented Division F, and Norma Johnson represented Division G.
Felicia Rowe came in 1st place, Ashlin Price came in 2nd place and Mansur Hasib came in 3rd place in the International Speech Contest. Felicia Rowe will represent District 18 in the Quarterfinals of the International Speech Contest.
Thanks and congratulations to all of the amazing Toastmasters who competed in the District Speech Contests!
You represent the absolute best of District 18!
Congratulations to our New DTMs
The Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) award represents the highest level of educational achievement in Toastmasters. To earn the DTM, you are required to:
- Complete two learning paths,
- Serve as a club officer for 12 months,
- Participate in the preparation of a Club Success Plan, and
- Participate in a district-sponsored club officer training program
At this year’s Spring Conference, Toastmasters who earned their DTMs during the pandemic were invited to the Walk of Fame, along with DTMs from the current Toastmasters year.
DTMs were congratulated by: Current District Director, Kannan Sankara, Past District Director Cynthia Williams, and Immediate Past District Director Ben Crist
Celebrating their achievement of DTM for the current year were:
Jim Book
Hector Javier Cardona
Merlyn Clarke
Tammy Wylie
Freeman Bagnall
