Program Quality Portfolio
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 is also providing strategic direction to the District’s transformation journey to enable integration and alignment of people, process and technology.
Here are key contact officers on the program quality team for 2020-2021.
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 Paths and Competencies |
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.
The following are reference materials available for download.
Training for division and area directors occur 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.
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.
Each year, thousands of Toastmasters compete in the International speech contests, humorous, evaluation, tall tales and table topics contests at the club, area, division and district levels. The international competition has three additional levels – the region quarter-final, semifinal and the World Championship of Public Speaking®.
The following are contest related resources.
| How to organize a contest |
| Speech Contest Resource Page |
| Speech Contest Forms |
The district’s conference is an annual weekend event held in the Spring at the pinnacle of the District 99 Toastmasters’ year. Toastmasters gather from all across the district for 3 days of learning, competition, 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 activities, food, entertainment, awards and educational presentations by keynote speakers and thought leaders.
Visit the conference event page for details on this year’s conference: The Future Is Now
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 |