I love February, don’t you?   The days are getting longer, and the cold snap over Christmas seems like a distant memory. I’ve attended District and Club Leadership training and I feel renewed and re-energized by better weather, fantastic keynotes and what I know our District will accomplish in the last few months of our year.   We had many clubs earn a Go Getter award-a District incentive offered to clubs who achieve 5 DCP points by the end of January-this year and I am feeling so proud of those clubs!

I love the Go Getter award because it awards clubs who have made an incredible achievement; they have the necessary DCP points to be a Distinguished club halfway through the year!   Those clubs can then focus their energy on meeting their year end membership goals and know that they will be a Distinguished club.   Being a Distinguished club is a fantastic accomplishment in any year, but I think it is even more significant this year.   Being a Distinguished club is an indication of the excellence that is taking place in clubs who finds ways to succeed in any environment.  I am truly inspired by what our clubs have done and continue to do.   We plan fun and engaging meetings on a weekly basis across our District.   We give interesting, entertaining speeches and learn evaluation skills that improve important aspects of our lives outside of Toastmasters, and we continue to be a Toastmaster family, even when the rest of the world is as challenging as it is.

Congratulations to all the Go Getter clubs who earned a Toastmasters International HD camera/microphone which your club can use towards success as a hybrid club when the time comes!  Look for the list of the winners to be on D42tm.org very soon!   Hopefully the day for meeting in person again will be soon, but if not, we will continue to be Go Getters.  

Maybe your club did not win the award this January, but it is never too late to plan to get 5 or more DCP points by the end of the Toastmasters year. Clubs with 5 DCP points or more are doing something, if not many things, right!  A club that does the right things to be successful is also a good place to be a member.   If your club doesn’t have the DCP points YET, there is lots of time to work as a team to get DCP points.   You can work as a club to give speeches and submit educational completions, you can plan a membership building event like an open house (and earn the Talk Up Toastmasters award), and you can attend leadership training on Feb 25.  Register now on the events calendar on D42tm.org.

I also love the name of the January award because who doesn’t want to be a Go Getter?   I think we all have an inner Go Getter inside of us and Toastmasters is the place where you can safely fail while also learning just what your inner Go Getter can accomplish.   Now that winter is starting to release its hold on us, we can look forward to what the remainder of the year will bring in personal accomplishments and club accomplishments. Now is the time to plan that next speech, invite a friend to see your speech, take that next step forward into leadership, and embrace your inner Go Getter!!  

Katrina Aburrow, DTM
District Director (2021-2022) | District 42
Toastmasters International

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