To The Great Leaders, And Those Preparing To Become One
“One of the most important things of any leader
is to never let anyone else define who you are.
And you define who you are.
I never think of myself as being a woman CEO of this company.
I think of myself as a steward of a great institution.”
-Ginni Rometty, CEO of IBM 2012-2020
My fellow Toastmasters and friends,
As we look back at the most challenging time in Toastmasters history, we have seen ourselves conquer unique challenges and embrace the opportunities presented to us. The status quo, our foundations, and our beliefs were not only challenged but were shaken to their core. What we once knew and loved came into question. Despite all this, exceptional leaders have risen to the occasion. Our great leaders have inspired us, shown us what it means to be better, be great, and treat us like family.
We, as Toastmasters, have defined ourselves rather than let the Pandemic define who we should be. That is why we have seen so many successful leaders who have continuously served our Toastmasters members in ways that made a difference. Our great leaders’ actions have brought us approximately 29 Distinguished Clubs. Effective leaders such as EP McKnight and Suzi Oliver pushed through the arduous task of chartering a club and getting their DTMs towards the last few days of the year. Working on a club charter and their DTM’s for over two years is not an easy task. The leadership skills of Steve Savage, Paul Reyes, and Crista Jackson gave us an example of managing contests we can all be a part of.
We thank these great leaders and individuals who tirelessly served our Toastmasters members in ways we could not be thankful enough.
Inspiring leaders like Circe Denyer, Jim Kearney, Enrico Pena, Anca Enache, Dawn Jenkins, Peter Williams, John Alexenko, and many more, pushed their clubs to be more than just Distinguished but to be President Distinguished. With over 700 educational, 90+ Triple crowns, and many more, we have defined ourselves. With over 29 Distinguished Clubs, we have Area Directors such as Lance Webster, Ruchi Agarwal, Linda Cota-Kumagai, and Ruchin Gupta, who have led their areas to be Distinguished or better.
In the coming year, I invite you, my fellow Toastmasters, to let us have more fun, spread the word of Toastmasters, and continue to grow. We can make more connections by aiming to have one new member a month on each of our district’s clubs. Our Club Growth Director, Bill Guthrie, will lead the instrumental role of growing our community with his team to achieve the goal of building at least two new clubs per month. We will also continue to grow by getting more Toastmasters joining Pathways education programs and completing our Level 5 Paths, getting more Triple Crown Awards by achieving more than three educational pathways. We can actively grow by attending monthly workshops, contests, and district events. To support our members, let us target getting our officers 100% trained and our members to adopt and accomplish Pathways projects fully. Our Program Quality Director, Rose Abbott, and her team will also here for you.
We become distinguished Toastmasters not because we are told to but because this is that path we have chosen. We choose this path because this makes us better in all walks of life. In the process, we will learn to make critical decisions, manage people, improve our leadership quality, inspire one another, and push ourselves to be better, one step at a time. We do this simply because we are Toastmasters. The vision Ralph Smedley put forth almost a century ago works. Toastmasters works. In doing what is right, in being the inspiring leader we prepare ourselves to be, we light the way for others.
Toastmasters works. In doing what is right, in being the inspiring leader we prepare ourselves to be, we light the way for others.
Together with Rose Abbott, William Guthrie, Catherine Ghaffari, Anca Enache, Alex Casteleiro, Albert Lin, Anita Kugler, Paul Reyes, Ruchin Gupta, Judy Thang, Vanessa Herrera, Marianne Toghia, and many others, we will continue to serve you to the best of our abilities.
Through all this, let us simply remember that this is our time to shine, let others know who we are.
We are not leaders by birth, but we are leaders because we have chosen to.
In doing so, we grow, enlarge our family, friends, and most especially, we have FUN!!
We are who we are because at District 52 we prepare great leaders!
To your success,
Lawrence Quesada, DTM
District Director 2021-2022
District52, Toastmasters International
“And as we let our light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we’re liberated from our fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.”
-Marianne Williamson, as quoted in the inaugural address of Nelson Mandela
