Program Quality Corner
The program quality portfolio directs all aspects of education and training within the district. This includes supporting quality club programming efforts, promoting the Distinguished Club Program, and planning, organizing, and executing the district conference. This portfolio also provides strategic direction to the District’s transformation journey to enable integration and alignment of people, processes, and technology.
Here are key contact officers on the program quality team. See additional contact details at Leadership Contacts page.
Program Quality Oversight | Program Quality Director |
Education and Training Coordinator | Club Officer Training |
District Conference Chair | |
District Contest Chair | |
District Contest Chief Judge |
The Distinguished Club Program (DCP) is Toastmasters International general measure of club success and quality of service delivered to members.
A primary objective of clubs is to provide the best possible member experience so that existing members are retained and new members join. When clubs possess characteristics of quality, the member experience is enhanced.
The District supports clubs to enhance this experience through the working interactions of Area and Division Directors to promote the value of the program to the club’s reputation and to coach club officers in helping their clubs achieve their set targets in the DCP.
To help members achieve their educational goals in the Toastmasters program, clubs are encouraged to create a vision and develop a Club Success Plan, which for many clubs will be based on the targets outlined in the DCP.
By achieving a certain number of the targets in this program, a club can earn one of three levels of recognition:
Achieve five of ten goals | = | Distinguished Club |
Achieve seven of ten goals | = | Select Distinguished Club |
Achieve nine of ten goals | = | President’s Distinguished Club |
The following are DCP resources available for download.
Pathways is the new educational program providing a unique journey filled with opportunities to develop skills from more than 300 unique competencies. Members complete projects giving speeches and receiving feedback in a safe supportive environment.
The District provides clubs with training and resources to help with the full adoption of the program so that the club can be Pathways ready to deliver a rich experience to new and existing members.
Here are useful resources available for reference and download.
Pathways Overview |
Pathways Masterclass – A Deeper Dive |
Pathways Companion Guide |
Pathways Competencies by Path Guide |
The success of a club and its members depend on how well club officers execute their responsibilities. By providing leadership training and support, club officers can foster a positive environment that’s conducive to members’ personal and professional growth, allowing them to achieve their Toastmasters education program goals.
There are two rounds of training sessions conducted in the program year, between June 1 and August 31 and between November 1 and February 28, with facilitators from the educational development team delivering a quality training experience.
A minimum of four club officers, preferably all seven, are required to attend each round of training which earns the club a credit in the DCP.
For officers with multiple roles, information is provided at each training session on how to get credit for multiple officer roles. If you miss this information send a note to and to request information.
Contact the Education and Training Coordinator at if you have any questions related to awarding credit for the training attended.
The following materials are available for reference.
- New training resources from TI
- Club Leadership Handbook
- Club Success Plan
- Understanding Moments of Truth
- Prospective Membership Engagement
- Agile Planning for Club Success
- Building with Public Relations
- Digital Skills for Presidents, VPEs & SECs
- TI’s new Club Marketing Guide
- Online Meetings Tips & Tricks Infographic
- Online Meetings Resources from TI
Keynote Replays (From Past Training Sessions)
Keynote Video Replays | Presentation Handouts and References |
Linda-Marie Miller – Speaking To Win | |
Jacqueline Smith – Online Contests | |
Kim Myers – Rethinking how we run our clubs | |
Keynote Video Replays | Presentation Handouts and References |
Dan McCosh – Planning for Club Success Overview | |
Mac Curfman Agile Leadership: Adaptive Mindset | Handout – Agile Leadership: Adaptive Mindset |
Richard Peck – Leading through Crisis | |
Dan McCosh – Completing the Club Success Plan | Club Success Plan Template |
Gloria Bosma – Leading for Club Success | Handout – Leading for Club Success |
Moments of Truth (MOT) Overview | WHQ – MOT Club Quality Assessment |
Gloria Shishido: Creating a quality club | Handout – Creating a quality club |
WHQ – A guide to club-quality | |
WHQ – Club Quality Checklist | |
Omar Nef – Creating a quality club | |
Kim Myers – Building a healthy team | |
Jim Kohli – Leading a hybrid club | Handout – Leading a hybrid club |
Role Specific Resources
Other Resources
Video Replays | Presentation Handouts and References |
Club Building Masterclass – Finishing Strong | |
Every year, guests join clubs as new members and existing members leave for various reason. Flourishing clubs focus on both recruiting new members and retaining existing ones. To support all clubs to achieve excellence, the District provides programs through the Club growth portfolio to train and provide clubs with resources and materials for membership building. The program quality portfolio provides clubs with the training, tools and materials to support retention of existing members. Membership retention programs include mentoring programs for new members, creative programming that offer massive value to existing and a recognition program
Here are useful resources available for reference and download.
Speech contests are a Toastmaster’s tradition. Speech competitions provide an opportunity for Toastmasters to gain valuable speaking experiences. By stepping outside of their comfort zone, Toastmaster members can test the skills they have honed and developed during club meetings.
Due to the impact of the pandemic crisis, the Toastmasters International board directive is that Spring 2021 contests at the Area, Division, and District levels would be conducted online. The District’s leadership decision is to have the spring 2021 contest as the International speech contest format only. This helps us manage the learning curve impact associated with using technology to enable procedures required for conducting table topic or evaluation contests.
The international speech contest competition beyond the district level is in three stages – the regional quarter-finals, semifinals, and the World Championship of Public Speaking® finals.
The district mandate being communicated to the World Headquarters for the 2022 Spring contest is that we anticipate contests at the Area, Division, and District levels to be in person with the backup option of reverting to online if the situation suggests so by November when we start planning for the second half of the 2021-22 program year.
- Club Contests – TBD
- Area Contests – TBD
- Division Contests – TBD
Reach out to the program quality director to serve in the following role and be the District’s key contacts for the 2022 Spring contest:
Questions relating to Area and Division contests should be directed to the Area and Division Director respectively.
All other related questions should be directed to
The following are related resources for conducting online contests.
Online Speech Contest Bootcamp Resources.
Replay – Linda-Marie Miller: Keynote – In it to WIN it! | Handout – Bootcamp Chat Discussions & Questions |
Replay – Contestants breakout with Linda-Marie Miller | Replay – Mock Contest & Debrief |
Replay – Contest Chair Breakout | Slides – Contest Chair Breakout |
Replay – Judges, Timers & Ballot Counters Breakout | Slides – Judges, Timers & Ballot Counters Breakout |
Replay – Zoom Masters Breakout | Slides – Zoom Masters Breakout |
The District’s recognition programs are designed to recognize the efforts and achievements of clubs, officers and members each program year. The focus is club quality and member satisfaction, and the objective is to promote, develop and sustain quality clubs.
Awards are presented at the Spring Conference to Toastmasters who demonstrate outstanding commitment, dedication and leadership to their clubs, areas, divisions and our organization as a whole. Club members benefit by understanding the qualities of past winners who are examples of those who go above and beyond in their participation in Toastmasters.
Here are resources for the recognition programs
District Recognition Program Manual | Of the Year Awards |
Distinguished Area, Division and District Programs | |
The district’s conference is an annual weekend event held in the Spring at the pinnacle of the District 99 Toastmasters’ year.
During the event, Toastmasters gather from all across the district for a time of learning, speech contests, conducting the district’s business, renewing old friendships, and making new ones. It is all about the power of the community expressed through a first-class program packed with exciting activities, food, entertainment, opportunities to network, awards, educational presentations by keynote speakers and thought leaders.
A critical element to creating a successful district that supports all clubs to achieving excellence is providing effective training for club leaders and division and area directors. Without properly trained leaders at every level, districts and clubs cannot meet members’ needs or introduce the benefits of Toastmasters to others.
Training for division and area directors occurs three times a year, in June, August and January. The August training provides the opportunity to train these district officers who couldn’t make the June session.
The following are useful training resources for the division and area directors.
Reference Library
- District Leadership Handbook
- 2021-2022 Area-Division Directors Checklist
- World Headquarters directive on District Events
- District-Division-Area Success Plan Guide
- Club Improvement Planning Dashboard
- District-Division-Area Performance Dashboard
- Club Support Focus Strategies Guide
- TI’s digital resources for Area and Division Directors
- TI’s digital resources for club officers
- District’s resource page for club officers
- TI’s new Club Marketing Guide
- Ideas for engaging club meetings
- Online Meetings Tips & Tricks Infographic
- Online Meetings Resources from TI
Video Replays | Presentation Handouts |
---|---|
Sep 19 – Session 1 – A Day in the Life of an Area Director | A Guide to Club Visits |
Sep 19 – Session 2 – Distinguished Club Step-up Campaign | Distinguished Club Step-up Program |
Sep 19 – Session 3 – Club Growth & Retention | Club Growth & Retention Guide |
Sep 19 – DEC Meeting Proceedings | Sep 19 – DEC Meeting Minutes |
Video Replays | Presentation Handouts |
---|---|
Session 1 – The District Team and the year ahead | District Leadership Handbook |
Session 2 – Technology and Resources – Handout | Distinguished Recognition Program |
Session 3 – Program Quality Orientation | Program Quality Orientation Manual |
Session 4 – Club Growth Orientation | A Guide to Club Visits |
Session 5 – Concur Expense Overview/Leadership Q&A | Establish and Support New Clubs |
Division Directors | Area Directors |
---|---|
Roles and Responsibilities | Roles and Responsibilities |
Membership Renewal Quick Tips | Filling Out Visit Reports Online |
Area Director’s Success Roadmap | |
District’s Portal and Microsoft Teams |