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Avinash Agarwal, CC, ALB, is getting coached by Darren Lacorx.

A general who has burned all the boats to reach to the final stage of WorldChampionship of Public Speaking. Avinash Agarwal will represent District

41 in final contest @ Cincinati, USA. We wish him all the best for theWorld Championship of Public Speaking.

District: 41

Aug/2013 – Vol 2

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

1 Editorial – Umesh Agashe,

CC, ALB – Page 2

2 Remember? LGET - ReetArora, DTM – Page 3

3 Goals & Vision – LGM -Brillian S. K., DTM - Page 4

4 Goals & Vision – AjitDembla, ACB, ALB – DistrictPRO - Page 8

5 News & Views – Page 9

6 Know Your Divisions –Page 10

TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL

NEWSLETTER

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Umesh Agashe, CC, ALBEditor–Newsletter,2013-14Toastmasters InternationalDistrict 41

Editorial

Umesh Agashe, CC, ALBEinstein defined Insanity as doing the same things, & expecting differentresults. But don’t you think that insanity would keep on prevailing if we donot know what results we are expecting? And when we are expecting them?During DOTP (District Officers Training Program) District Governor PrasadSovani presented one goal book to each district officer, & urged us to writeour GOALS. What gets written gets done.

What are your goals for this year in Toastmasters? Each one of us is atdifferent levels. We are running our own race, we are competing withourselves, to improve, to enrich & take our leadership & communicationskills to our next level. But have you written down your goals? Becausewhat gets written gets done.

We have our own challenges. For someone, challenge may be standing infront of a small group of people & expressing thoughts comfortably, forsomeone challenge may be organizing big events, for someone challengemay be winning the contests. What’s your challenge? Which challengerelated to your leadership & communication skills you can overcome in thisyear? It may appear small, trivial, but progress always happens step bystep, brick by brick.

As we have our own dreams, challenges, & goals, similarly leaders ofDistrict 41 also have set their goals & shared their dreams & wish lists withus. What have they planned to achieve in this year? How are they going tobuild new clubs in this year? How are they going to promote Toastmastersin this year? And how are they planning to take District 41 to next level?

You too can play a vital role in promoting platform of Toastmasters. Contactyour Division PR Task Force; learn how you can contribute in promotingToastmasters.

You can regularly communicate with active, inactive members & people newto Toastmasters about happenings in your club. If you are alreadydistributing e- Newsletters, then you can also send them for District 41 e -Newsletter contests. Please know about District 41 e – Newsletter contestmore on Page 7

Please mail us your suggestions, feedbacks, stories, & your interests forcontributing in District 41 e - Newsletter to d41enewsletter@gmail.com

Keep communicatingUmesh Agashe, CC, ALBEditor, Newsletter, District-41

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Reet Arora, DTM,Lieutenant Governor –Education & Trainings2013-14, ToastmastersInternational, District 41

Remember?

Reet Arora, DTM

Do you remember the first time you stepped into a Toastmasters

meeting? Do you remember the speaker? That one speaker you were

‘wow’ed by? Do you remember the wondering if you could ever be as

good as that speaker?

I do! That day I had made a promise to myself that one day I would be

able to speak as well as her, if not better.

Often when we start our journey in Toastmasters, we get overwhelmed

with the sheer brilliance of some of the speakers. Our innate fears, ‘What

if I make a fool of myself, what if I don’t have anything to speak on, what

if I forget?’ Instead of focusing on what we can do, we end up living our

lives on “what if’s.” This results in a disinterest.

Then comes the other end of the spectrum, ‘Oh I’ve done my CC,’ now

that I am a Competent Communicator, I have learnt to speak better, I

don’t need more improvement, or worse, let me take a break.’ In my last

12 years of my Toastmasters journey, if there is one thing I have learnt, it

is that we rust when we rest.

People ask me the secret of my 4th DTM, its simple. I remember. I

remember the promise I made to myself, the promise of constant growth.

Toastmasters is a journey of a lifetime, are you living up your promise to

yourself. So take on more and more roles, give yourself that extra push,

and if someone asks you the secret, just smile and say…

I remember!

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Brillian S. K., DTM,Lieutenant GovernorMarketing, 2013-14,Toastmasters International,District 41

LGM’s Goals & Vision for 2013-14

Brillian S. K., DTMQ: Congrats for being elected as Lieutenant Governor Marketing(LGM) District 41, for 2013-14. Please share with us how & whendid you join Toastmasters?A: Thank you very much. I take this opportunity to thank the membershipof District 41 for giving me the honour to serve as LGM 2013-2014.

My journey with Toastmasters began in January 2009. My better half,Vaishali felt that I was spending too much time on the other “T” –Television.

Arvind Nair (my mentor) was her colleague and he casually mentionedabout Toastmasters to her. She thought this is a good forum to keep meaway from becoming a “couch potato”.

Since the first time I attended the meeting, this “T” has not let me goanywhere towards the old “T” ;-)

Q: As a HR professional you help bring the right people on the rightseat, as a trainer you train people to be on the right seat at the righttime, please share with us your professional details.A: On the professional front, I have worked as a Trainer, SoftwareDeveloper and HR Generalist.

I am currently Director - Human Resources for a Global Business Schoolheading the HR function.

Communication is critical for success in any role, my Toastmastersexperience has helped me gain confidence and hone my leadership skillsthat I can use at work.

Q: How do you plan to make it a remarkable year as LGM of District41? What are your top three goals as LGM, District 41 for 2013-14?A: I have big shoes to fit into with stalwarts like Deepak Menon, DTM,Nagaraja Rao, DTM, Vinay Jain, Prasad Sovani, DTM and Ritu Arora, DTMwho have excelled in Marketing.

As a team we have decided to focus on retention and help Divisions and Areas insustaining clubs. We all know that District 41 has grown exponentially and we stillhave scope for more. Broadly we are looking at

Reaching out to the remote areas where we have not yet penetrated.Target about 70% membership retention at an Area levelEnsure that we have less than 5% club losses (excluding the ones that havealmost wound up)

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Q: What are the top three challenges we have in submitting all the reports (Club, Area, andDivision) on time to World Headquarters?A:

1. Most of the time, there is an element of “procrastination” since there is time for the final deadline.2. The lack of access to the website has been reported as one of the key factors that have resulted in

many reports not getting filed.3. Based on the feedback received the new AG report is long and needs data to be entered for every

question. Especially the AG’s have reported that for a non functional club this becomes anoverhead.

I take this opportunity to request Club & District Officers to file relevant reports as soon as it is done. Thiswill help in avoiding missing of deadlines and last minute rushes.

Q: You have done excellent work in building new clubs in past few years, but what are yourplans for district retention efforts?A: Thank you Umesh. Retention is not just a problem with District 41, it is a worldwide concern. I havebeen speaking to some senior Toastmasters around the world and they echo our concern.

I have a few recommendations based on both personal experience and shared learning that clubs canpractice to retain members.

Make Members Matter – the fact that TI is an inverted pyramid with members at the top, weneed to focus on Members. Understand why did the member join and is the member getting whatthey wanted. Ensure that there is variety at club meetings. If a member has been absent for twoconsecutive meetings the VPM must call the member and ensure that an informal connect is alsodeveloped. There are many clubs where camaraderie is the reason why members continue to staywith the club.Mentoring and Coaching – Clubs and Members both need an active Mentoring system. With anactive Mentoring system we can help tide over the roadblocks and help members and club achieveexcellence. For Clubs with below charter strength membership, Coaching is vital. We lack trainedcoaches, our LGET Ritu Arora, DTM and Asst. LGET Sunil Khunteta would be happy in conductingand recommending training for the Coaches.Let’s Have Fun – Learning is best when it is fun, no pressures, no targets but focussing onachieving excellence for self would help us succeed. At times we get too focussed on the targetsand forget about the members and having fun. We can continue to succeed as a team even whilehaving fun.

Q: May you please share with us Marketing Strategy of District 41 for the year 2013-2014.A: I can summarise it in below three points.

The focus as previously mentioned remains on retention and sustaining clubs and members.Think beyond IT / ITES, while the domain has huge potential we have untapped potential in theEnergy, Power, Automotive, Logistics where benefits of TM can help corporate. We aim to get ourfoot into at-least 3 new domains this year. Focus on reaching to regions beyond Tier I & Tier IIcities.Add more community clubs, at-least one per division. I know this is an ambitious target, but it isthe need of the hour. Initial challenges exist but it is not -impossible. With the Hindi, Telugu clubsofficially starting we have potential to reach thousands of members across the nation.

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Q: We do not have a leadership challenge, but what do you think District 41 can do to bring outmore leaders for its rapid growth?A: Leadership pipeline is always useful, even if we have a steady pool of leaders. Leadership is not onlyabout taking leadership roles at the Area, Division or District levels. We need members to experienceleadership beyond the official roles.

Programs like the Speech Craft, Youth Leadership Program must be conducted to help groom leaders. Thismay or may not lead to a member joining, but we would have touched their lives by helping them becomebetter as communicators and leaders.

District Governor, Prasad Sovani, DTM has already announced that Divisions and Areas must groomleaders for the future by giving them roles at the Conferences, OTP’s etc. This is a small step towardshelping young and new members learn the nitty-gritty’s of leadership.

Q: Please share with us your wish list for District 41? Where we can reach?A:

One thing for sure is on the top of the list – a World Champion from District 41.Entry into the 20+ membership club in the coming yearsWe need to make our presence felt in the Eastern part of India where we have scope but it iscompletely untapped.

Q: Thanks for talking to us, any last remarks?A: It has been a pleasure sharing my thoughts with the members through the District 41 e - Newsletter. Iwish you good luck and look forward to a fantastic year ahead where each and every member has fun andat the same time achieves excellence.

Add more community clubs, at-least one perdivision. I know this is an ambitious target, butit is the need of the hour.

Speechcraft is a short, seminar-style presentation that teaches basicToastmasters skills: speaking and evaluating. Toastmasters membersbuild their meeting management skills by leading the seminar. It’s agreat way to attract members to an existing club or begin forming a

new club. To know more about Speechcraft click here.

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Spread Share & Propagate

Innovate & Communicate

District – 41Newsletter Contest

Each club can send one or more e - Newsletter designed & distributed betweenJuly to September 2013.You can mail your club’s e – Newsletter with subject “District – 41 NewsletterContest” along with club details to d41enewsletter@gmail.comFinal date for sending your club’s e – Newsletter is 15th Oct 2013Judging Criteria

o Contento Presentationo Number of people from the club contributing in e – Newslettero Number of people to whom it is distributed.

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Ajit Dembla, ACB, ALB,Diistrict PRO, 2013-14,Toastmasters International,District 41

District PRO’s Goals & Vision for 2013-14

Ajit Dembla, ACB, ALBQ: Congrats for being elected as District – Public Relation Officer(PRO), District 41 for 2013-14, please share with us how & when didyou join Toastmasters?A: I was introduced to Toastmasters in 2003-04, when i attended a meetingat Wipro, Bangalore. However the meetings were moved to a differentlocation and I could not continue attending.

When I moved to Hyderabad, a new city then, for career reasons in 2005, Ichose to reach out to a toastmasters club so as to network with new friends.There was no community club in Hyderabad at that time, so I joined withsome wannabe toastmasters on meetup and we all together founded thefirst community club that is now known as Hyderabad Toastmasters, thatwas chartered in Nov 2006 - 15 months after the thought was seeded.

Q: As a management professional you are meticulous aboutnumbers & cautious about governance, please share yourprofessional details.A: I completed my B.com from Podar College Mumbai and complementedthat with a CMA degree before I moved to IT after 8 years of practice asworks accountant.

I completed my SAP FICO certification from SAP A.G., Germany.

So you are right there - I have always been a numbers man.

Q: What is a comprehensive communication program, goals & planfor publicity of Toastmasters for the year 2013-14?A: This year - I would attempt to create (with the help of my team) someprocesses that can help the district over years. PR has been an area wherewe have not focussed well in the past and yet have grown meteoricallyevery year. Our growth last year (in terms of new clubs) was significantlyhigher than the growth of the next top district. If we were to focus better, Iam sure our movement can grow much faster and farther.

Q: Please share details of your initiative as a District PR, & howToastmasters across can contribute/benefit from it.A: Let me call it an idea rather than an initiative for now. I hope totransform the following simple plan into a multi-pronge initiative with thehelp of my team

Formation of a PR task-force that shall drive District 41 PR initiativesForming a directory of PR resources - that can be used in future(Press / TV / Radio )Aim for as many YLP or a Gavel clubs as a form of Giving back toSocietyReach out to multiple professional forums and popularizeToastmasters amongst community that needs it the most

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News & Updates

Proud moment for District 41

In the first year of the new District Recognition Program 37 districts earned Distinguished recognition, 12President's Distinguished, nine Select Distinguished and 16 Distinguished districts. Please click here tocheck the rankings on TI website. District 41 has been ranked 2nd in the world.

Unable to Attend the Convention?

You can still be part of the action. Two popular convention events will be available online via livestreaming video. Watch the Board Briefing for free on August 21 at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT),and experience the World Championship of Public Speaking on August 24 at 8:30 a.m. EDT to find outwhich of the nine contenders will become the 2013 World Champion (check website for pricing). You canalso watch the Opening Ceremonies and the International Speech Contest Semifinals for a fee. Moreinformation will be available soon at www.toastmastersondemand.com

Video Brand Contest

Does your club need help transitioning to the updated brand? If so, enter Toastmasters video brandcontest and learn how your club can win branded banners, lecterns and marketing materials.

This contest will begin on August 1, 2013 and run through January 31, 2014. Each month one club wouldwin the prize. To send your videos & to learn more about this contest, please visit Toastmasters VideoBrand Contest.

Thank you members for your wholehearted support, myteam could not have done it without YOU!

IPDG Vinay Jain

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Know Your Divisions

Division K

Division K is lead by Division Governor Arvind Nair, ACB, ALB. He is retired after nearly 40 years’service in many leading companies, the last one being with Bennett Coleman and Company Ltd.,publishers of the Times of India, Economic Times, etc. He has been a Toastmaster since February 2008and presently the only Charter Member in the Bombay Toastmasters Club. His vision for the year is tospread the movement through adding more clubs, conducting Speech Craft and Youth LeadershipPrograms. He wants to see Mumbai as a Division in a year or two.

He is assisted by below team of Area Governors.

Area K1, Mohit Chhabra, CC, ALB: Mohit is working with TCS in Software Quality domain for 5+ years,and have been associated with Toastmasters for almost 4 years now. He believes in what Past President ofToastmasters International Helen Blanchard used to say “If you get out of Toastmasters all there is to getout of Toastmasters, you’ll never get out of Toastmasters”. He wants to take his Area to newer heights.

From Left: TM Mohammed Babrawala AG-K3, TM Arvind Nair DG-K, TM Hitendra Badang AG-K2, TM Mohit Chhabra AG-K1. Extreme right TM Ankita Tapkire AG-K4

Area K2, Hitendra Badang, CL: Hitendra Bhalchandra Bhadang is a Graduate in Mechanical Engineeringand an MBA in Operations & Materials Management. He is working with General Mills India Pvt. Ltd. asAsst. Manager Supply Chain Analytics. Hitendra started his Toastmasters journey in Sept 2011 as aCharter member of General Mills India Toastmasters Club. His Vision as Area Governor K2 is to have allthe clubs under his Area achieve President’s Distinguish title. And he wants to groom leaders and mentornew members.

Area K3, Mohammed Babrawala, CC, ALB: He is working with TCS as a Project Manager with over 6.5years and overall experience of 10+ years. Mohammed joined Toastmasters 2 years back as a charter

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member of the Thane Toastmasters club. His vision as a Area Governor is to have more Gavel Clubs inMumbai.

Area K4, Ankita Tapkire, CL: She is currently working as Senior Software Engineer with CSC India Pvt.Ltd. She has achieved her CL and is planning to complete her CC by December 2013. She has beenassociated with toastmasters since 1.5 Yrs. Toastmasters has helped her to gain lot of confidence in herpersonal & professional life. As a Area Governor she wants to promote this platform, & take it to more &more people who can benefit from it.

Division L

Division L is led by Alfred Ravi Tauro, DTM. He is Toastmasters since last 5 years, & planning to completesecond DTM. By profession he is a SAP functional consultant. He says that Toastmasters has helped him toimprove his public speaking skills, find lot of friends and given something to look forward to apart from hisjob.

He believes that the best PR that a club can do it the positive word of mouth generated due to the qualityspeeches and evaluations. Therefore strengthening the weak clubs, ensuring regular club meetings toleave a positive impression on guests is his vision for the year.

He will be assisted by below Area Governors

Area L1: Sushil Bhaskar Ravi, CL (Kenexa Vizag)Area L2: Rohit Swain, CL (TCS-Maitree Hyderabad)Area L3: Vidyasagar Uddagiri, ACB, ALB (TCS-Maitree Hyderabad)Area L4: Srinidhi Dasaka, CC, CL (TCS-Maitree Hyderabad)

From Left: Rohit Swain, Alfred Ravi Tauro, Srinidhi Dasaka, and Sushil Bhaskar Ravi,

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This is a monthly e - Newsletter of District 41 - Toastmasters International. The sole purpose of this e - Newsletter isto share success stories of fellow Toastmasters, activities at district level & spread the brand of Toastmasters. This e –Newsletter is a result of efforts by many contributors. If you would like to contribute in e - Newsletter or have an idea

for content or suggestions for improvement in e - Newsletter, please write to D41eNewsletter@gmail.com