District 54 Executive Council Meeting Minutes

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Peoria Civic Center

Peoria, Illinois

Table of Contents

OPENING.....................................................................................................................................................3

SECRETARY..................................................................................................................................................4

REALIGNMENT COMMITTEE........................................................................................................................4

NOMINATING COMMITTEE.........................................................................................................................5

AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT........................................................................................................................6

TREASURER..................................................................................................................................................6

DIVISION A REPORT.....................................................................................................................................7

DIVISION B REPORT.....................................................................................................................................8

DIVISION C REPORT...................................................................................................................................11

DIVISION D REPORT...................................................................................................................................11

DIVISION E REPORT....................................................................................................................................12

DIVISION F REPORT....................................................................................................................................13

PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER......................................................................................................................14

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR MARKETING ………………………………………………………………………………………………….15

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING..............................................................................15

DISTRICT GOVERNOR.................................................................................................................................18

UNFINISHED BUSINESS..............................................................................................................................19

NEW BUSINESS..........................................................................................................................................19

ANNOUNCEMENTS....................................................................................................................................19

ADJOURNMEMT........................................................................................................................................19

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OPENINGSergeant-at-Arms Rebecca Zentko called the meeting to order at 8:15 AM. She led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

The reading of the District Mission was read by Jen Moore.

District MissionWe build new clubs and support all clubs in achieving excellence.

District Officers in Attendance

Present First Last Designation OfficeY JEFFERY LEHMANN DTM DG

Y PATRICIA REISDORF ACS,ALB LGET

Y VALERIE HORTON DTM LGM

N AHAVAHA PYRTEL ACB, ALB PRO

Y JENNIFER YATES CC, ALB DISTRICT SECRETARY

Y CECE WROBLEWSKI DTM DISTRICT TREASURER

Y LUANN LARSON DTM IMMEDIATE PAST DG

Y LOUIS KREPPERT ACB,ALS DIVISION A GOVERNOR

Y ANTHONY KOURY ACS, ALS DIVISION B GOVERNOR

Y MARGUERITE ROSS DTM DIVISION C GOVERNOR

Y SHERRI DELEONARDIS DTM DIVISION D GOVERNOR

Y DEBRA TOOHILL CC, ALS DIVISION E GOVERNOR

Y CHRIS BOYK ACB DIVISION F GOVERNOR

N JAN LAMEYER DTM AREA 10 Governor

N LINO CARILLO CC, ALB AREA 11 Governor

Y JOHN WESSER AREA 12 Governor

Y BALA SREEDHARAN ACB, ALB AREA 20 Governor

N SARAH JOHNSON CC, ALB AREA 21 Governor

Y MATT BARTUSEK ACS, ALB AREA 22 Governor

N MIKE KING ACB, CL AREA 30 Governor

N JEFFREY GRIFFIN AREA 31 Governor

Y ANGELA MULLIN CC, ALB AREA 32 Governor

Y JEN MOORE ACB, ALB AREA 40 Governor

Y JORDAN SOVEREIGN ACB, ALB AREA 41 Governor

N LINDSAY BROWN ACG, ALB AREA 42 Governor

N NICOLE BAGBY ACB, ALB AREA 43 Governor

Y HARVEY THOMAS ACG, ALB AREA 50 Governor

Y DARLA HOLDEN DTM AREA 51 Governor

Y KAMAL SOAN ACS, ALB AREA 52 Governor

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N MONIKA SAUER ATMB, CL AREA 60 Governor

N JOYCE SCHUMPERT ACB, ALB AREA 61 Governor

Y JOSEPH WILHELMI DTM AREA 62 Governor

DG Jeffery Lehmann announced and recognized all the dignitaries at the conference. He then went through the order and rules for the Council Meeting.

PDG, LuAnn Larson came forward to confirm that there were enough club presidents, club vice presidents, and district officers present to constitute a quorum. One third of the 166 club votes is 56 for a quorum. The executive committee is 32 votes, of which 17 is needed for a quorum. In attendance were 83 club presidents / vice presidents and 19 members of the executive committee for a total of 102. We had a quorum. A motion to accept the credentials was given by Chris Boyk, Division F Governor. Sherri DeLeonardis, Division D Governor, seconded the motion. The credentials were voted and approved.

DG Jeffery Lehmann asked that the special rules of order which were included in the packets be adopted. Louis Kreppert, Division A Governor, motioned to approve the special rules of order. Darrel Felty seconded the motion. The special rules of order was voted and approved.

DG Jeffery Lehmann next reviewed the agenda and asked to amend that the PRO Report would be delivered by Angie Mullin. No other discussion or changes noted. The agenda has been adopted with the amendment. Sherri DeLeonardis, Division D Governor, made a motion to approve the updated agenda. Darla Holden, Area 51 Governor, seconded the motion. The updated agenda was accepted as discussed.

SECRETARYDG Jeffery Lehmann asked if there were any changes needed on the Spring Counsel Meeting Minutes for the Secretary Report from the November 2014 Conference. No discussion or changes were made. Chris Boyk, Division F Governor, made a motion to approve the minutes. Darrel Felty seconded the motion. The minutes were adopted and placed on file.

REALIGNMENT COMMITTEE

The District Realignment Committee was chaired by Bev Hornickel. She thanked the other members of the committee: Jon Girrard for Division A, Anthony Koury for Division B, Margaret Lawler for Division C, Darrel Felty for Division D, Jason Heisler for Division E, and Andy Weismann for Division F. RLI moved from Area 32 to Area 22. ADM City Center moved from Area 41 to Area 40. Tek Talk moved from Area 50 within Division D to Area 5# within Division E. Bev Hornickel made a motion to accept the Realignment proposal. The motion was seconded by Marguerite Ross, Division C Governor. The Realignment proposal was accepted as presented. Jeff Lehman, District Governor, thanked the committee for the great work.

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NOMINATING COMMITTEE

Chair Jon Greiner, PIP. The nominating committee interviewed all candidates and they have great confidence in those who have been nominated. Committee members included: Division A - Del Caldarini, Division B – Bob Dillard, Division C – Ed Slininger, Division D - Sherri DeLeonardis, Division E – Lindsay Brown, Division F – Bruce Murdoch, ad hoc member Dick Poirier.

District Director – Pat Reisdorf motion made by Darrel Felty, seconded by Matt Bartusek and accepted by the memberships present.

Program Quality Director – Val Horton motion made by Ed Slininger, seconded by Tom Olson and accepted by the memberships present.

Club Growth Director – Cece Wroblewski motion Anthony Koury, seconded by Chris Boyk and accepted by the memberships present.

A motion to close nominations, direct secretary to cast single ballot for the following positions was made by Sherri DeLeonardis, seconded by Marguerite Ross and accepted by the memberships present.

Division A Governor - Lino Carrillo

Division B Governor - Anthony Koury

Division C Governor - Matt Bartusek

Division D Governor - Jen Moore

Division E Governor - Kamal Soan

Division F Governor - Angela Mullin

A motion to close nominations, direct secretary to cast single ballot for the following appointed positions was made by Jon Greiner and accepted by the memberships present. Several of the appointed positions are listed below.

Finance Manager – Bala Sreedharan

Administrative Manager - Debra Toohill

Area 11 – John Wesseer

Area 20 – Michael Downey

Area 21 – Andy Nippert

Area 31 – Andrea Gluck

Area 40 – Hariharan Senthilnathan

Area 41 – Kayla Krippner

Area 50 – Balamurali Jagadeeswaran

Area 51 – Ching-Yuan Su

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Area 52 – Siddharth Mahodaya

Area 61 – Chris Boyk

Area 62 – Jenny Hamby

Jon Greiner then passed out a list of open positions for the upcoming year within the District. Some of the open positions include Public Relations Officer, Sergeant at Arms and several Area Directors. Please contact Jon Greiner if you are interested in any of these positions.

AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORTJason Heissler presented the audit committee report which was passed out to the members attending the conference. Audit went smooth, with very few glitches. All documents were submitted to Toastmaster International on time and the funds were used appropriately.

TREASURERDivision 54 Treasurer, Cece Wroblewski presented the Treasurer’s report and also provided a written copy below.

Available Funds As of: 02/28/2015Checking $1,852.60Savings 5.19PayPal 0.00District Reserve 6,121.87Total Cash & District Reserve $ 7,979.66Minimum District Reserve Required at Year End -$ 6,638.00Total Available Funds $ 1,341.66

Year to Date Income Statement 7/1/2014 – 02/28/2015Revenue $ 21,780.36Expenses 29,943.53 Net Income ($ 8,163.17)

Comments:We are under budget on almost every category. That’s a good thing. But at this time of year that means we are “under water” as they say in the mortgage industry. Our expenses exceed our revenue. But that is the way the budget was written. When all the dues are in for April, we plan to see a positive balance.

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DIVISION A REPORTDivision A Governor, Louis Kreppert presented the following report which was also submitted in writing:

Division A Vision (a) Each member in Division A has the opportunity to grow, learn & develop at his/her own pace, encouraged & supported by club members, & (b) Each club has the chance to grow & develop beyond charter strength, encouraged & supported by District 54 Leadership!

CONGRATS AND WELCOME TO OUR NEW CLUB IN AREA 10- ROCKFORD BLUEMASTERS. CLUB NUMBER 04508263

OFFICIAL CHARTER DATE - MARCH 1, 2015

SPRING DIVISION SPEECH CONTEST RESULTS International speech contest winner Rudy Segovia(Fox Valley Toastmasters) and runner up David Fait(Fox Valley toastmasters) Speech Evaluation Contest Winner Marc Lindsay(Advanced Expressives) and runner up Tom Pedrick(Fox Valley Toastmasters)

Congrats to Stephenson club for having all 7 officers attend training. They will be recognized at the Saturday luncheon at the District 54 conference.

March Madness contests is complete and we had two winning clubs. They will each receive a TI Gift Certificate for their efforts in recruiting new member and achieving DCP goals.

Timely Talkers 6 new members + 5 DCP Goals so far Talk of the Town Toastmasters 8 new members & 5 DCP Goals so far

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Reminder: All Club Officer Elections for 2015-16 are to be held in May, with results reported to TI online ASAP. No absentee ballots; only in person voting is allowed.

NEW CLUB CHALLENGE!- District 54’s mission is to build new clubs and support all clubs in achieving excellence. We encourage you to send us your idea(s) for starting two or more new corporate or community clubs in District 54. Email (a) a brief description + (b) contact info + (c) tell us why this would be a good lead. Please send an email to either: Valerie Horton, LGM, Hortonvalerie91@yahoo.com or Tom Willison, Club Extension Chair, tomwillison2004@yahoo.com

EDUCATION AWARDS EARNED IN MARCH

DIVISION B REPORTDivision B Governor, Anthony Koury presented the following report which was also submitted in writing:

1. New Clubs & New Club Leads Concerning the Macomb area lead, we are no longer in the process of contacting the two individuals who have a desire to see if there is any interest in starting a new club in the Macomb area due to the fact that it came to our attention that the Macomb area is in District 8. However, Tony is working with the HR Department at the Caterpillar Mapleton Foundry which is located in Mapleton, IL to hold a DEMO meeting as there are 22 employees who have shown an interest in attending a DEMO meeting to learn more about Toastmasters. The exact date has not been determined yet for the DEMO meeting, but it will be held sometime in mid-May.

2. Division Speech Contests The Division B Spring Speech Contests were held at the Galesburg Public Library on Saturday, March 28th. Sarah Krieger, Assistant Division Governor Education & Training coordinated the contests. The 1st place winners are as follows: Evaluation Contest – Kristin Bruchmann of the Esprit De Corps Club; International Speech Contest – Steve Van De Walle of the QC Colleges Club. They will both represent Division B in the District Speech Contests at the District Spring Conference in Peoria on Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18.

3. New/Reinstated Membership Contest The Division B New/Reinstated Membership Contest began on January 1, 2015. It will run through April 30, 2015. The club with the highest percentage of new/reinstated members in each Area (Areas 20, 21, 22) will win a $20.00 Toastmasters International gift certificate. Of the

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three winning clubs in each Area, the club with the highest percentage overall will win an additional $10.00 Toastmasters International gift certificate.

Area 20 (Bala Sreedharan, Area Governor; Michael Downey, Assistant Area Governor)

Area Governor Club Visit Schedule / Reports QC Colleges Toastmasters: Monday, 2 March. Status: Visit completed and report submitted. Quad Cities Easy Speakers Toastmasters Club: Thursday, 5 March. Status: Visit completed and

report submitted. Esprit De Corps Club: Wednesday, 18 March. Status: Visit completed and report submitted. John Deere Toastmasters Club: 25 March. Status: Visit completed and report submitted. Yash Toastmasters Club: Wednesday, 22 April. Visit pending. Speakeasy Toastmasters Club: Visit is not required as the club has been disbanded.

Disbanding Club - Speakeasy Toastmasters Club (#1371049) Speakeasy Toastmasters club in area 20 submitted the Suspended Club Resolution form to Toastmasters International and officially disbanded. The club has turned in their Toastmasters banner and declared that they don’t have any money in club treasury to turn in.

Area 20 Success PlanThe following three clubs are on track targeted to be Distinguished before end of June by meeting at least five DCP goals and either by retaining 20 members or by having a net growth of five new members. This will help Area 20 become a Distinguished area this year.

QC Colleges Toastmasters Esprit De Corps Club John Deere Toastmasters Club

Quad Cities Easy Speakers Toastmasters Club is struggling with retaining members. In case this club succeeds in retaining and adding members to reach 19 members by end of the year, Area 20 can earn the President’s Distinguished area recognition because a new club – Yash Toastmasters Club – was chartered this year.

Area 20 Marketing Plan – Contest 2 All Area 20 club officers were notified of the second area-20 marketing plan contest described below.

The second contest is to encourage clubs to do whatever is necessary to retain the highest number of existing members to renew their membership for the April 2015 – September 2015 period. Since there is big difference in the membership base between the clubs, percentage of members retained rather than number of members will be used as criteria for this contest.

The clubs with the highest percentage of member renewals and growth by 15 April 2015 will receive a $35.00, club that finishes second will receive $25.00, and the club that finished third will get $15.00. The rewards will be in the form of Toastmasters gift certificates.

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Number of active members of each club as on March 13th will be used as the base and compared to the number of members who have renewed membership for the April – September period as on end of the day April 15th for the calculations. For instance, if a club has 15 active members on March 13th and all renewed by April 15th and 1 member was added, the percentage will be 16/15 = 107%.

If clubs are tied in terms of percentage renewals and growth, the club with higher number of members as on 15 April 2015 will be ranked higher.

The gift certificates for the contest will be mailed to the club presidents before the end of April 2015.

Area 21 (Sarah Johnson, Area Governor; Carol Loser, Assistant Area Governor)Spring Club Visits All visits have been completed.

Spring Club Visit Reports All reports have been completed except for the Orpheum Orators Club; this report will be submitted the week of 4/12/15.

Club Activities

Lincoln-Douglas: Membership Event TBA; Sarah will work with Nicole Grube on planning a contest or event;

Pimiteoui: District 54 PRO Ahavaha Pyrtel has reached out to Pimiteoui to help them advertise in the community;

Prairieland: Sarah has reached out to the club to see if they need assistance on planning a club contest or event;

Orpheum Orators: Offsite club meeting and Open House scheduled for May 6th at Vintages (Sarah will be in attendance);

Forging Leaders: Just held a Speechcraft and will gain two new club members as a result

Area 22 (Matthew Bartusek, Area Governor; Phillip Daniel, Assistant Area Governor)

DTM Advanced Club - Next meeting at the District Conference to showcase an advanced club.

Speak Boldly Club - Looking into having a good Spring Job Fair at a local Community College.

Illinois Valley Toastmasters Club - This Thursday April 16th, they will have a booth at a Job Fair and also an Open House.

Club Visit Schedule: -DTM Advanced Club - Completed -Illinois Valley - Completed -Speak Boldly - Completed

Club visit reports still need to be submitted to Toastmasters International.

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DIVISION C REPORTDivision C Governor, Marguerite Ross submitted the following report in writing which was presented by Area 32 Governor Angie Mullin:

1. What’s my Division’s outlook for New Clubs?a. I concede canvassing the Peoria community to attract new members into the Toastmasters

organization has been a challenge. However and no matter the challenges, I am still committed to the task of contacting several businesses in and around the Peoria area in hopes they will be receptive to the Toastmasters Doctrine thus allowing their business and employees to benefit from what we have to offer.

b. In the event no such organization accepts my offer to grow better communicators and leaders, during the final months of my Division C Governorship, I will at least do my best to lay a foundation of possible prospects for the incoming Division C Governor to contact.

2. Discuss Membership Retentiona. There’s always comings and goings of members throughout this organization. It’s

commendable for those clubs like Peoria Downtowers , CU@Yappyhour, Riverfront, TEK it Easy and others to retain their base membership numbers while still attracting new members and reaching DCP goals.

b. I believe with the new direction being introduced throughout all of toastmasters International organizations, fresh new ideas, new methods of learning and teaching will invigorate clubs and help retain our members better.

3. Clubs’ Dues Paymentsa. Encouragingly, all but two of Division’s C’s clubs dues payments are verified. Upon

completion of this EXTRA-ORDINARY Spring Conference, Area 32 Governor and I Believe those last two clubs will Achieve submitting their payments.

DIVISION D REPORTDivision D Governor, Sherri DeLeonardis presented the following report which was also submitted in writing:

Our Membership goal is 356 + for the year and we are at 308 so far! Only 48 to go … with 18 clubs and 3 months left in the Toastmaster year that means if we add 1 per club each month we will pass last year’s base by 6 members…. We can do this! Area 43 is working together to host a table at an Employee fair in May … maybe they will carry us to our 18 members for the month! As of April 15th all clubs have paid dues, with only the ThursdayNoon Talkers of Decatur working to complete reinstatement to get the minimum memberships paid. Our Educational Awards goal is 144 … we have 45 so far. We are working to finish up personal members goals by the end of the year, this will help bring this number up. We have 6 of our 17 clubs already Distinguished and 1 of the Areas in Division D, (Area 43 lead by Nicole Bagby with Windjammers, Pioneer, State Farm SpeakEasy, State Farm Oaks, and State Farm Downtowners,) is the only Area in the District to be Distinguished so far! Way to go Nicole & Area 43!

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Shout outs to the officers & members of Windjammers, State Farm Oaks, & State Farm Twinlakes for being Distinguished and to State Farm SpeakEasy, State Farm Talk of the South, and State Farm Talkin’ 24x7 for being Select Distinguished already! We are in the process of reinstating the Thursday Noon Talkers of Decatur with the help of Darrel Felty & Bonnie Tippey. We have a struggling club at State Farm that will be meeting with the Area Governor, Jen Moore, & Bonnie Tippey to make a plan to try to revitalize them. We have two other clubs that are working diligently to get their membership numbers back up as well. One of them is even moving their meeting to a new location & meeting date to see if that will help. I have sent letters to three of the local nursing home/ retirement villages to see if we can stir up interest in a club at their respective locations … with the concept of employees, residents, and family members to make up the club. So far I have not heard back, but will be following back up with them again soon. As we wind down the Toastmaster year in the next three months, Division D is going to keep on Dancing, Dancing, Dance the year away!

DIVISION E REPORTDivision E Governor, Debra Toohill presented the following report which was also submitted in writing:

Division E Vision: Every member in Division E is energized to enthusiastically achieve their personal Toastmaster goals. Each member feels empowered to become a more effective communicator and leader. Every club in Division E is encouraged to grow and thrive within the Toastmasters environment. Every officer in Division E, at both the club and district level, is effectively trained, evolving, and achieving leadership excellence. Division E is ecstatically thriving, chartering new clubs, and encouraging new members to join Toastmasters.

Our TEAM:Division E Governor: Debra K Toohill ACB, ALSAsst. Division E Governor: Darrel Felty DTMArea 50 Governor: Harvey Thomas ACG, ALBArea 51 Governor: Darla Holden DTMArea 52 Governor: Kamal Soan ACS, ALB

Status: ENTHUSIASTIC DIVISION E. Area 50: Sunrise Speakers and Four Seasons Distiguished!! Delightful Greeters with 6 DCP

goals, needs membership growth. Area 51: Toast of Champaign and Fireside, both Select Distinguished!! Ecstatic news !! Area 52: Wingover Select Distinguished!! COB on target to be distinguished, need members

and one more DCP goal. NACCO has their 20 paid members, submitting charter papers. Very Effective team getting it

done. Woo Hoo!! April Area Governor visits are underway with several completed, no conerns with meeting

deadline. Experiencing the vision !!

Information:

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Clubs: 12 paid. Of which, 9 below charter strength. Clubs with 12 or fewer paid members: 3 Coach Eligible: Lincoln Trails, Voices for Service. Need McKinley to pay dues, have 18 members graced.Members: 255 base count, 508 membership payments. Current active member count: 203. 81 graced.Education Awards YTD: 35, including 1 Triple Crown.Earned from 3/11 through 4/14: 3 CC, 1, ACB, 1 ACGCongratulations: CC: Judy Bee, Venkata Nalladdhighal, Laurie Heermance

ACB: Jaeun Ku ACG: Mani RajagopalClub DCP goals achieved YTD: 58Distinguished Clubs: 5 Distinguished Areas: 0Prospective Clubs: 2 (4076443 Meadows at Mercy Creek in Normal, IL – on hold, 4517250 NACCO in Danville, IL). Dates:05/13/2015 Delightful Greeters Guest Day.

Action Items:Focus on Marketing and Rebuilding our Toastmasters Clubs.Finish up club visits and complete the Area Governor Reports in TI District Corner.

ENCOURAGE clubs to help members meet personal goals. Let’s promote Toastmasters to help maintain and rebuild clubs to charter strength. Get Excited about the Membership Campaign/Contest.

DIVISION F REPORTDivision F Governor Chris Boyk presented the following report which was also submitted in writing:

Division F retention progress

Division F has a total of 135 Members out of 201 per TI’s and growing fast

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Upcoming Events

District 54 Spring Conference April 17th and 18th at the Peoria Civic Center in Peoria, IL.

Congratulation to:

Confident Communicators on their 10th anniversary.

PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICERPublic Relations report was given by Angie Mullin on behalf of Ahavaha Pyrtel.

Ahavaha has been busy sending many emails to our district and surrounding districts to increase conference attendance. We have lots of exposure in downtown Peoria via the Civic Center marquee, our posters and our Teleprompters here in the civic center. Even folks that come in for the Monster Truck show or Caterpillar event next door will see Toastmasters and who we are. Our WEEK channel 25 interview fell through. But, let’s keep exposing Toastmasters and getting the word out.

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR MARKETINGLieutenant Governor Marketing Val Horton presented the following report which was also submitted in writing:

Welcome to the Spring Conference, I hope everyone has a great time meeting new people and getting those valuable nuggets of information to take back to your clubs. The chairs and committee members have worked hard to make this an exciting conference for all of us!

It has been a great year so far, we have chartered two new clubs, reinstated a club, and another club is in the process of getting their charter papers complete. None of this work could be accomplished without the dedicated people in District 54. I want to thank all of you for your hard work.

However, the work is not done, we have 2 ½ months left and we need to get the membership payments in. We have some clubs that have not turned in any dues and other clubs that have not turned in at least 8 members. So I need every one of you to bring a guest to a meeting and continue to have open houses, guest days, and circulate fliers around your town or company about your Toastmaster club.

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I would like the Area Governors to continue to visit their clubs and turn in their reports online as soon as the visit is complete.

Starting (May 1 to June 30) is the Beat the Clock Membership Contest! It’s simple—add five new, dual or reinstated members to your roster within the contest dates to win this award.

Continue to send your club building leads to me.

Thank you all for everything you do for Toastmasters. Enjoy the conference.

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR EDUCATION AND TRAININGLt. Governor Education and Training Pat Reisdorf presented the following report which was also submitted in writing:

If you see Angie Mullin, Mike Mullin, & Marguerite Ross hanging out at our D54 Spring

Conference, give them a High Five for all their hard work and dedication in bringing you BELIEVE IT & ACHIEVE IT! Absolutely phenomenal!

Congrats to 8 clubs who qualify for an official 747 Award Ribbon, with all seven club officers trained in 2015. These Club officers will be recognized at Saturday’s luncheon: Stephenson + Pimiteoui + DTM Advanced + College of Business + Four Seasons + Logistically Speaking + State Farm Talkin’ 24/7 + Delightful Greeters Advanced. Way to go!

The following clubs met March Madness requirements & deadline, and are eligible to pick up a TI Gift Certificate at Saturday’s luncheon: [Other clubs were very close!]

Division A Talk of the Town Toastmasters 12 new members & 5 DCP Goals so far & now DISTINGUISHED

Division C Progressively Speaking 10 new members + 7 DCP Goals so far & now SELECT DISTINGUISHED Tech It Easy 12 new members + 6 DCP Goals so far & now DISTINGUISHED

Division D State Farm Talk of the South 10 new members + 7 DCP Goals so far& now SELECT DISTINGUISHED State Farm Talkin’ 24/7 30 new members + 8 DCP Goals so far & now SELECT DISTINGUISHED State Farm Twin Lakes Club 9 new members + 6 DCP Goals so far & now DISTINGUISHED State Farm Speakeasy Club 8 new members + 7 DCP Goals so far & now SELECT DISTINGUISHED

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Division E Four Seasons 10 new members + 5 DCP Goals so far & now DISTINGUISHED Toast of Champaign 30 new members + 7 DCP goals so far & now SELECT DISTINGUISHED Fireside Toastmasters 8 new members + 7 DCP Goals so far & now SELECT DISTINGUISHED

[MARCH MADNESS: Clubs with April membership dues paid (in good standing) who have at least 5 new members, and (c) Equivalent of Distinguished w/ 5 Distinguished Club Plan goals (or more) completed by April 10 are eligible for a TI Gift Certificate at the Conference.] Reminder: All Club Officer Elections for 2015-16 are to be held in May, with results reported to TI online ASAP. No absentee ballots; only in person voting is allowed.

Club Officer Training for 2015-16 will be held at three D54 Toastmasters Leadership Institutes TBD (Jun 6 - Aug 1). Watch for announcements coming soon to a location near you! Congratulate colleagues who stepped out and stepped up to serve as District 54 Summer TLI Deans: TLI-West: Rong Li, TLI-North: Dorothea Mitchell, & TLI-South: Hariharan Senthilnathan.

Incoming District Officer Training: Saturday, June 13, Sunfield Restaurant, Ottawa, IL

Save the Dates: District 54 Fall Conference, Nov 13 & 14, 2015. Details forthcoming from our fantastic Fall Conference Chairs: Lindsay Brown & Crystal Dyer; congratulate them for their courage & commitment! Fall Contests: Table Topics (1-2 min) & Humorous Speech (5–7 min).

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DISTRICT GOVERNORDistrict Governor, Jeffery Lehmann, discussed his concerns and submitted the following report in writing:

Welcome to all of you who are attending the Spring Conference.

Let’s be sure to thank the 2015 Spring Conference Chairs (Angie & Michael Mullin, and Marguerite Ross) and Committee members. They have put together a wonderful event to help you grow and become the BEST YOU. Take advantage of the opportunities!

Do you believe in the power of the Toastmasters International Program? How about yourself? With the theme of, Believe It and Achieve It!, you’re on your way!

What are the benefits of attending this conference? Well, you can learn from the best through the educational sessions and workshops. You can network with other Toastmasters to get ideas to help you grow as a leader. How about picking up new tips and techniques to develop your speaking and communication skills? We hope you have fun and enjoy your journey in becoming the best that you can be.

The conference focuses on the 17 principles of success from W. Clement Stone’s book, Believe and Achieve. Do you know what they are? The five major principles are attitudinal, personal, fraternal, intellectual, and spiritual. You can find out more by attending the educational workshops.

You will want to hear our keynote speaker, Presiyan Vasilev, the 2013 World Champion of Public Speaking! Presiyan’s desire for self-improvement brought him to Toastmasters in 2010, and he belonged to six clubs at one time. As a member of multiple clubs, he had plenty of opportunities for feedback to polish his presentation skills. Practice brings improvement!

We will be electing next year’s district officers for the 2015-2016 year. Thank the candidates, as they will be volunteering their time, effort, energy, and expertise in helping District 54 to retain and grow the membership base and number of clubs. Let’s be sure others know about the Toastmasters program!

Good luck to all the District Speech Contest participants. See the tremendous talent that District 54 has. Listen to the speeches. Can you predict which one of our contestants in the International Speech Contest will advance to the next stage…the semi-finals in Las Vegas in August 2015?

Do you believe? Will you achieve your personal and professional goals?

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UNFINISHED BUSINESSPDG Larry Shipman was recognized for 27 years of service as the District Sound Tech. Mike Mullin will be taking over for Larry.

NEW BUSINESSNominating committee, led by Jon Greiner, for the 2015-2016 District year will be forming soon. Jon was recognized for all he has done and continues to do to support District 54.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

None

ADJOURNMEMTJeffery Lehmann asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. A motion was given by Sherri DeLeonardis, Division D Governor and second by Jen Moore, Area 40 Governor. The motion was voted and approved. The meeting was adjourned at 9:18 AM.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jennifer YatesDistrict 54 Secretary

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