By Callum Ludwig
The Wandin Toastmasters have been named as the District 73 Club of the Year for their outstanding work instilling confidence in local people.
District 73 contains a staggering 144 clubs across Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.
President Annie Martin said members were very excited to have been recognised for the award.
“We had a great celebration, it was fabulous. We put in a lot of work, but you never know until the results of the vote come out,” she said.
“There were a number of different categories we had to address, and one of the main ones was creating a friendly atmosphere which is very welcoming to new people and with a strong mentorship program.”
The award was announced on 2 July at the District Change Over and Awards night by Club Growth Director Dani Streets, with 35 Wandin Toastmasters members in attendance.
Ms Martin said she thinks the club has gone the extra mile in recent times.
“One of our club members is brilliant at organising that all the speeches are recorded, and then we’ve got access to be able to watch ourselves back, so there is a continuous ability to learn by watching ourselves back and working on any evaluation we had,” she said.
“Obviously with a pandemic, things were moved online and we have continued that as a hybrid club. If we’ve got members, who’ve become unwell or who are travelling they can still zoom in, but most members are face to face in the CFA clubrooms in Wandin.”
A number of other awards have been received by Wandin Toastmasters members, with ms Martin recognised for her role as coordinator of the Youth Leadership Program at Boronia Heights Primary School and Madi Hodgson as the People’s Choice winner for the exemplary way she begins the meetings.
Ms Martin said people get a lot of confidence out of being involved with the group.
“Toastmasters is a club involved with public speaking, but it goes broader than that, to try and help people gain the skills involved in leadership as well. It’s not uncommon for people to feel a bit overwhelmed if they’re going to have to speak in front of a roomful of people. You can’t really get better until you practice it, and you can’t invent a crowd,” she said.
“Our members improve in their public speaking, but also they get an enormous amount of friendship as well. Close friendships are formed because people are giving speeches about their lives, we get to learn from each other, you know, maybe more so than if you’re a member of another club, where you’re not getting that depth of what is going on in that person’s life.”
