A History of Toastmasters in The Southern Berkshires in Great Barrington MA over the last quarter of a century!
The following was shared at a recent meeting by a Toastmaster as a club meeting on zoom. Let's share this and consider the insights, information and ways to keep the club going or encourage people to join another Toastmasters online (many clubs are operating in that capacity!)
We also had a regular social time after the regular meeting that was held at the BCC Main Street in Great Barrington MA. We would enjoy lunch on our own nickel per person at the Berkshire Co-op on Bridge Street in Great Barrington MA. Many people would offer ideas to network outside of the club and followed up as friends, doing business and sharing in life journeys.
The late member DebKoffman.com offered an ongoing Open Mic at her Art Studio in Housatonic MA. That is meeting online and is called IWOW, In Words Out Words.
The challenge of COVID seemed to take its toll in many ways and the 'need to close the club' seems another loss. The odds of finding enough people to fill the roles are slim, even with training for the roles. Many people may appreciate a formal time of closing the club. Another could be started down the road as well!
Before COVID hit, SB Toastmasters has a robust group of twenty members which is a good number for an active club. With COVID, numbers dropped to about 11 members even on zoom. Eight members is the minimum number to have a club from the International Toastmasters Club.
A membership drive person and public relations person did a great job promoting the club online with creativity and humor.
She made advertisements and kept us in the public eye. A steady trickle of people responded and were invited in by the membership person. There was a welcome packet and application process that was a bit more complicated than doing more in person.
In the Spring of 2021, there was a virtual open house with a friendly fun advertisement. That went well but no one signed up afterwards.
The summer coasted along and by fall the officers felt a bit discouraged. There was an effort to have hybrid meetings in a public space with the right equipment, yet not enough people wanted to venture out yet due to COVID. That was ended shortly.
Then the membership drive effort by one person went to an Executive Committee to get ideas and support. She reached out to Last Word Toastmasters of the Pittsfield MA area to join the SB Toastmasters. With a couple more people afterward, 31 former members were contacted to return.
Eight came for a couple of visits and only one out of a total of 34 guests joined the club. The next idea was to go to organizations to get referrals.
By January 2022 that was becoming more challenging to follow up with. Now at the start of March 2022, there is an added need to consider whether it is worth having people sign up if the club cannot readily sustain the energy to get 5 to 11 new members who would participate with running the meetings, give speeches that are evaluated and bringing guests online.
Many people have heard about Toastmasters from this group that has run steadily with many awards along the way for 25 years as of 2022!
Other feedback from an experienced member who helped found the club is as follows: The person sharing this information about getting new members and the experience of doing the extensive outreach is much appreciated. It's clear that she cares and it's not easy to communicate without getting maudlin on the one hand or trite on the other, without cliches or 'dropping it on the floor!'.
When introducing the the overview, the introduction could have started with a "Ho-hum crasher to get the audience engaged' such as "So What's Really Going On Here with our Group? How Did we get here, to the brink of closing the club or more likely doing so?!"
Bringing in slides showing on the screen the various ads and efforts made that were engaging conveyed the process. Even though it seemed 'pointless' since the responses were not readily forthcoming. The outreach was tremendous and the results were beyond your control.
When we have 34 guests, if only one or two signed up, there may not be a good match for with our offer of what they were needing or able to take advantage of at this time or in this format.
Others share their gratitude for what each person has given to keep the club running as well as it has and through challenging times. The leadership team, founders and kind of 'Sysiphus Effort' (of rolling a rock up a hill and having it fall back down.
For years people have been taking on leadership roles and changing hats to keep things going. The President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer and Sargeant of Arms Roles all need filling. The dues for the club need to be paid to keep the club intact.
There can be sorrow about closing up the club. There will be another meeting on the 15th and the 29th in March, with the last session being a time of closure and celebration. There will be time to applaud everyone's efforts.
If someone wants to pay 45 dollars (and another club's fees of about 10 dollars) for the six months to join a new Toastmasters Club and continue with their Pathways and projects.
If people really felt they had a change of heart and energy to commit to stepping into roles, then the club could continue on. The commitment would have to be made This Month to get a slate together or send out invoices for dues.
In six months we could restart the club without redoing the charter. It's a lot of time and investment in paperwork and you'd have to get 20 people committed, open a new bank account. Without a slate of officers, you can't have a club.
One member emphasized the great need to keep this particularl club going. Hundreds of people participated in the program. The founders were speaking about the incredible effort and skill that it took to get the club going over two decades ago (before technology which now should make it easier...)
The energy it takes to get the club going is critical to its success and that may be lacking. Five people are needed to get a club going in terms of having officers who get training. Meetings could be as short as an hour a month online however. One speaker is a minimum ideally but sometimes people can coast with Table Topics and ideally there would be a back-up speaker with prepared notes as needed.
One Member insisted she could take the reins and get more people to join in since it is a zoom platform. People could come from all over the world and would be inspired to join in to keep the boat afloat. The assertion that people would have to be familiar and ideally experienced in managing a club was made, so the Challenge to all who may want to see a viable Southern Berkshres Toastmasters Club keep going is on!
All leaders in government or education, business or faith groups and other members of groups and in families would benefit enormously (and economically) from this kind of experience. Maybe more testimonies are needed but it can help in every area of one's life from feeling more clear and organized, socally supported and coached as well as inspired and connected with others in an efficient, respectful forum. The possibilities are manifold and important to consider Before Closing a Great Club!
There is an online magazine and many videos on youtube to help people benefit. The low monetary and time investment gives one a huge ROI, Return on Investment plus a great group of people to know and likely call friends! Each member needs to pay their own dues to avoid 'stacking the deck' of how people engage in the club. There are many ways to enjoy the benefits of the local, area, country and international district.
That helps one think and learn more about the world as a 'global citizen' as well. Some people join to help them in their role in a family, group, business, faith or other capacity. In the club there have been people who lead breath and yoga work, Pfilates (pelvic floor exercises for men and women), top companies (think aerospace and technology), who work on local farms, in architecture and personal coaching, parenting, teaching, politics and so much more. Many have families and have travelled, are artists and musicians, actors and writers.
The talents and speeches cover an array of interests and skills. Learning to listen and give effective feedback is a key feature to help everyone improve in their speaking and speech delivery. There are Table Topics for a few minutes or prepared talks for 5-10 minutes as the Pathways program online guides one to pursue with an evaluator and a mentor role. 'Just learning about the program can help one with running a meeting or managing another kind of program with many people taking on a role, having clear steps to follow to do that and keep track to get credit as a member and for the club.
There are contests which are optional but open to help people speak (after completing a certain level of the program) or run the event whether in person or online. The winners of those compete at the next two levels and so on.
One of the founders said he walked into his first Toastmasters meeting at New York Toastmasters, which was capped at fifty members. He walked in and 'fell in love!" He realized another fifty wanted to be in the club, so created Big Apple Toastmasters. It's such a beautiful group and energy. The people make the program. He spoke with his friend who works at the top levels. He shared that 'COVID killed it."
His friend said, "We're not socially relevant anymore. We don't click with the younger groups or people." So the question arises, how do we become relevant? Many things need to be looked at. When he shared that "Southern Berkshires was going down" with his top dog friend, his friend said, "That's really too bad."
That sense of defeat came from knowing many people and clubs have disengaged and have closed clubs. Will said that the thrill and challenge of speaking in groups and to live audiences was the old goals. Now there are different needs. Now it's feeling dire but maybe is not the end.
Others were sharing that it's time to celebrate what we've learned and done here. Everything is of the nature to change. Yet might there need to be a new format and a way to re-emerge.
The founder would like to post on social media about the 25 years of the club! By far after being in many clubs, Will feels this is his favorite club!
A new club member suggests that a hiatus could be helpful to tell more people what Toastmasters is all about to help communicate better in general in one's life. If other guests did not understand how the club could benefit them. If not doing the leadership or gving speeches, how does that help people? She was feeling sad the club would not continue.
An experienced officer of the club reminded the group that the person in charge (the officers) would interface with the Toastmasters International Group. It takes some tech skills, commitment to being trained, energy and support on many levels.
The ongoing commitment is challenging but worthwhile if people have the energy for it. Some desire a way of 'having it light and easy' and have inquired about easier ways to keep a meeting and connection going.
Another founder and experienced leader shared that beyond the immediate Toastmasters concerns, there is an overall change due to the technological change and the confluence of that and isolation caused by COVID has been seismic in terms of how we relate to one another.
Toastmasters senior team managers came up with Pathways may be having repercussions. That may have been an added challenge and not serving everyone.
Another leader and experienced business person shared that in the 94 countries around the world have had a huge number of clubs close, about 50 percent! The twenty people recommended to run a club is to share the load. The efforts made by a small group can create a heavy load and then 'burn out'.
Even if suspending the club, it could be challenging. One or more shared the 'end should be final' rather than suspended. If the energy of the club is depleted a new club... If a batch of new people are brought in and a new club is formed, great. Taconic Toastmasters, and Torrington CT.
There is an extreme need for more support to help youth and others communicate verbally and share beyond the texting and online as the main forums. If you'd like to talk shop about keeping this club (or any other for that matter) up and running rather than caving into the pressures and ennui of these times, please be in touch soon on my public Facebook page, Catherine Palmer Paton.
We're on the clock to keep the club going another six months and of course, longer than that. Let's have a great response to this with that sense of sharing for the greater good and giving back to our world when 'all voices and choices' are adding up to major outcomes...one way or the other!
With family, friends and online connections especially with many wanting to be in the media and connect with others, this could be the Best Deal In Town or rather Online! Especially helpful for students in high school on up, those graduating or or going to work. This can give you the confidence, edge, support and inspiration you are looking for and can help you succeed in all areas of your life more than you'd expect!
