There are many opportunities to enhance your leadership skills and expand your Toastmasters expertise. Consider stepping outside your club into a District officer or committee role.
As the District’s chief officer, the District Director assists all members of the District Executive Committee in their roles. The role involves planning a District Success Plan with the team and helping create a strong Leadership team. Some of the goals include achieving the mission of the district in a manner that motivates volunteer leaders and promotes a standard of excellence in all district activities.
District director is responsible for directly overseeing and managing the district’s day-to-day operations, finances, and human resources. Fortunately, a team of district leaders are available to help fulfill these responsibilities.
The District Director must empower their district leadership team to work together toward the district mission, while supporting each one in his or her development as a leader.
Together with the district leadership team, they participate in District Leader Training, Mid-year Training, and online tutorials. To serve as district director, you must have served at least six consecutive months as a club president and at least 12 consecutive months as a program quality director, club growth director, division director, or a combination thereof at the time you take office.
The Program Quality Director (PQD) works on helping Clubs and members achieve their goals. The Program Quality Director also leads efforts in designing District Trainings, Contests, Conferences, and other special events. They are responsible for all aspects of education and training within the district.
This includes supporting quality club programming efforts, promoting the Distinguished Club Program, and planning and executing the district conference.
Together with the district leadership team, they participate in District Leader Training, Mid-year Training, and online tutorials.
To be program quality director, you must have served at least six consecutive months as club president and at least 12 consecutive months as a club growth director, division director, or area director. Once you serve as program quality director and training for a full year, you may not be re-elected to the same office for a succeeding term.
The Club Growth Director (CGD) makes the benefits of Toastmasters membership available to greater numbers of people. The role involves planning, developing, and implementing District Club Growth objectives. The Club Growth Director leads the District’s efforts to build new clubs and to work on strengthening existing membership. They are responsible for all aspects of marketing, club-building, and member- and club-retention efforts within the district. This includes defining an overall marketing strategy for the district, developing outreach and retention efforts with existing community and corporate clubs, and penetrating new markets.
Additionally, the club growth director supports challenged clubs and helps them to become Distinguished. Together with the district leadership team, you participate in District Leader Training, Mid-year Training, and online tutorials.
To be club growth director, you must have served at least six consecutive months as club president and at least 12 consecutive months as a program quality director, club growth director, division director, or area director. Once you serve as club growth director for a full year, you may not be re-elected to the same office for a succeeding term.
A Division Director provides support to Area Directors (typically 4-6 Areas per Division). A Division Director term is one year (July 1st to June 30th). This role will provide you an opportunity to foster leadership skills in Area Directors and a chance to sharpen your leadership skills. As division director, their job is to lead and support the division through the supervision and support of the area directors.
One of the primary goals as division director is to ensure that each club achieves its mission and fulfills its responsibilities to its members. To achieve this, they coordinate division activities, set division goals, and assist in the training of area and club leaders.
To serve as division director, they must have served at least six consecutive months as a member of a district council. The division director may be re-elected to one succeeding term.
For more information refer to the District Leadership Handbook.
An Area Director provides District contact, support, and assistance to the clubs in an Area (typically 4-6 Clubs). An Area Director term is one year (July 1st to June 30th). This role will provide you a great opportunity to hone your leadership and communication skills. They serve as the direct liaison between the district and the clubs. The District Administrative Bylaws provide for the selection of area directors either by appointment by the district director or by election by the area councils.
Toastmasters International recommends that district directors appoint area directors.
Area directors conduct club visits twice a year within their respective areas to understand and support club needs. In turn, these visits help district leaders understand how to support and meet the needs of each club. It is important that area directors have the support they need to serve clubs. The success of the district depends on it.
Area directors are eligible for re-election or re-appointment for one succeeding term only. Ideally, area directors have served as members of a district council.
For more information refer to the District Leadership Handbook and for information on Area Directors Club Visit Reports.
The Finance Manager establishes and maintains effective fiscal management of the district, promotes the growth of Toastmasters by providing sound fiscal guidance to the district. The Finance Manager is also responsible to produce monthly reports reflecting the district’s financial status and ensure that expenditures remain within the budget approved by the district council. They work closely with the district director, program quality director, and club growth director to ensure that the district is making cost-effective decisions—within policy—that result in effective fiscal management.
The finance manager should have knowledge of accounting and be acquainted with the handling of financial matters.
The finance manager may be elected or appointed at the will of the district director, subject to the approval of the district executive committee and confirmation by the district council. You are eligible for re-election or re-appointment for one succeeding term only. The office of administration manager and finance manager may be combined.
The Administration Manager helps the district function effectively and achieve its mission by recording and maintaining accurate minutes of district council, executive committee, and other meetings. The Administration Manager serves as upholder of the District Administrative Bylaws and policies. They are responsible for maintaining the historical records of the district, recording, and distributing meeting minutes, and otherwise maintaining accurate, timely records of district business.
The administration manager may be elected or appointed at the will of the district director, subject to the approval of the district executive committee and confirmation by the district council. You are eligible for re-election or re-appointment for one succeeding term only. The office of administration manager and finance manager may be combined.
As the public relations manager, they are responsible for coordinating publicity efforts in the district. By establishing and maintaining lines of communication between the district and its members, as well as between the district and the public, they work to increase awareness of Toastmasters through all available media.
The public relations manager may be elected or appointed at the will of the district director, subject to the approval of the district executive committee and confirmation by the district council. You are eligible for re-election or re-appointment for one succeeding term only.
The Public Relations Manager focusses on internal and external publicity. The position will give you an opportunity to work on your creative side.
The PR Manager plays a critical role in ensuring District Success through a detailed planning and execution.
The immediate past district director provides counsel and guidance to district leaders and plans, directs, and organizes projects and committees as requested by the district director. One of the major responsibilities of this role is to ensure the incoming district director receives all pertinent district documents prior to June 30.
Other responsibilities include serving as a member of the district executive committee and district council, upholding the bylaws and policies of Toastmasters International, encouraging dedicated members to accept leadership positions, and helping the district achieve Distinguished recognition.
For questions on any of the District Leadership positions, please contact District Leadership Committee Chair, at [email protected] and for more information about these roles, refer to the District Leadership Committee Handbook and the District Administrative Bylaws, Article VII: Officers in the Governing Documents.
The District conducts several events throughout the year. These include training sessions, contests, conferences, and special events. Opportunities range from chairing the entire event to managing more focused areas such as food, facilities, decorations, registration, and opportunity drawings. These short-term roles allow members to work with other district leaders to be part of planning important events for the entire District. Examples include, but not limited to:
The most important person in District 56 is the member, with Club Officers and District Officers providing support.
There are 7 elected Club Officers and the Immediate Past President who gain practical leadership experience while helping people learn and grow.
The District Executive Committee and District Council work together to build effective teams that support the District and enhance the quality of the member experience.
