The Founder Spring 2005

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Croutons!

Founders District News Bites

Welcome to Croutons. For those who are hesitant to write an article but have something to share, Croutons is for you—bite-size pieces of information and news! Send me your club/member accomplishments by May 7 for the next issue of the Founder.

– Elizabeth Anderson

Accomplishments–First Person

Maurice KwonAbout a year and a half ago, my supervisor recommended Toastmasters to improve my conference call skills. At that point I was seriously horrible at conference calls: I couldn't see anyone and it was so strange having 20 people meet over the telephone instead of in person, so it was hard for me.

My goal in joining Titan Toastmasters, Club 4181, was to improve. A few weeks ago I had a performance meeting with my manager and he said that I not only improved significantly during our conference call meetings, but asked if Toastmasters taught us how to motivate people as well. He said that I became a very effective communicator over the telephone and was impressed in my ability to motivate our team.

So I wanted to say Toastmasters and all of you really assisted me in obtaining my goals this past year, including my CTM, and I have gained so much from our club. I really enjoyed every meeting that I attended and felt very welcome from the first day that I came. I improved so much in public speaking, but more than that, I really enjoyed learning from all of you, sharing our stories, lives, and building friendships with such quality people.

– Maurice Kwon, CTM

¡Hola! ¿Se Habla Toastmasters?

There are no Spanish-only clubs in Founders District! Surprised? Our Clubs are either bilingual or English only. A bilingual club, regardless of the second language, has different needs and goals than their English counterpart.

The bilingual member has two obstacles to overcome: (1) the fear of speaking and (2) the language itself. Not only are bilingual members learning to communicate, they are also learning how to process English as a second language. And you thought we had it tough! If a member overcomes their fear and learns the basic skills (Speeches 1-5 in the CTM manual) then they are able to convert to English with a high level of success. These increasing victories set the stage for success along with a huge feeling of accomplishment as they continue to improve.

I've had the pleasure of coaching several bilingual members, and I have found that if they give their first several speeches in their native language (in this case Spanish) and then switch to English the rate of success is very high. One person earned their CTM in English within 8 months! In the clubs they are encouraged to convert to English as soon as they are comfortable. Some members only needed two speeches, some needed five; however, after the fifth speech they were at an English-only level.


If the evaluator does not know the language, this poses a challenge, so the Vice President of Education must be aware of the language skills and needs. However, this method does work and is very beneficial to all members regardless of their multi-language skills.

We have some good bilingual clubs in the District, so come out and visit us-you will be pleasantly surprised!

– Debbie Gibbons, ATM-S/CL, Club 667303 Voz Latina

Toast Hosts for L.A.C.E.

Founders District wants to thank the following clubs that encouraged their members to participate as volunteers at the two L.A.C.E. events in January. L.A.C.E. can not happen without many volunteers in key positions.

Our host clubs were