Club Officer Training, Aug. 28, 2022 (Online)

Great opportunity to discuss our future

In Toastmasters, members take turns in serving as an officer. This is one aspect that Toastmaters is totally different from a speech school. There are no teachers or people running the school. We run our club ourselves and provide feedback to each other to support our growth and progress. There are seven officer roles: President, Vice President Education, Vice President Membership, Vice President Public Relations, Secretary, Treasurer, and Sergeant-at-Arms.

At this moment, we do not have enough members to take those officer roles and there are some officers serving in two different positions. Most of our experienced members are too busy with work and family reasons while others are too new to take on an officer role. On top of that, A good chunk of members has decided that they have to leave the club because of their other commitments. Simply put, we are not in an ideal situation, in terms of running the club.

Yet, after this special session called "Club Officer Training," which is sponsored by District 76, which covers 200 plus clubs in Japan to train newly inaugurated club officers. In this four-hour training program, we listen to presentations and engaged in discussions. The last session was devoted to club-specific challenges and goals. The officers and one member, who volunteered to join this training session even though she is not an officer, got together and discussed the challenges we face and steps we can take. At the end of the day, we came to realize that as long as we do what we are supposed to do and we have fun doing that, things will get better. That is to have fun and educational meetings, encouraging each member and supporting each other. We overcame a similar situation before we were officially acknowledged as a full-fledged Toastmasters club.

As if to prove our conviction, one guest decided to join us on August 2, and another decided to join us two days after this training, on August 30. The meeting on August 30 was full of energy with an experienced member sharing her expertise and newer members trying new roles.

Shin-Osaka Leaders Toastmasters Club is open to anyone wishing to improve their skills and grow as a person in a friendly and supportive environment, proactively taking roles and providing feedback.