Area Director Resources

As Area Director, you are responsible for leading your Area by serving the needs of clubs.

In order to understand clubs’ needs, the Area Director contacts Club Presidents monthly to discuss their performance in the Distinguished Club Program.

The Area Director also discusses District training and other District events with the Area clubs.

As Area Director, you follow up on items identified during previous contact with Club Presidents

• • Build relationships with Club Presidents, Club Officers and members.
  • Find out Who > What > When > Where > How to communicate with your Clubs.
  • Contact the Club and introduce yourself as the incoming Area Director.
  • Set up a time to talk about the Club with the Club President.
  • Ask the Club President when the best time would be to visit the Club (allow 2 weeks notice).
  • “Listen” – Ask lots of questions about the Club, Members and what support they would like.
  • Discuss Club Success Plan and role in Area Council and Area Success Plan.
  • Provide key dates/deadlines: CLT & Proxies, Contests, ACLT, Councils (Area/District), Conference.

A good relationship with the Club President will help you to follow-up to ensure Club Officer lists are submitted on time, that Club Officers attended the CLT (June-August) and ACLT (November-February) (minimum 4 required – ideally all 7), that Dues renewals are submitted by the end of October and end of March (minimum of 8 members are required or it will not be a club in good standing; out of those eight three need to be a Club President, Club Secretary and a VP (VPE, VPM, or VPPR) and chasing up proxies and attendance to vote at Council Meetings.

The Area Director is the Area Council chair and holds at least two Area Council meetings each year.

At Area Council meetings, the Area Director discusses each club’s plans and goals in the Distinguished Club Program and reviews attendance at club officer training.

In accordance with the District Council’s decision to elect or appoint Area Directors as specified in the District Administrative Bylaws, Article VII, Section (c), evaluate and assess Area Director candidates in order to either (1) provide one or more appointment recommendations to the District Director or (2) elect the following year’s Area Director.

• • It is a meeting of Club Presidents, VPEs and VPMs and any Area Assistants within an Area (often all Executives are invited as well but only Presidents, VPEs and VPMs have voting rights).
  • Organise an Area Council Meeting (find out when the best time is to meet and where). Decisions are made to plan the year ahead for collective programs (e.g. Area Contests, PR initiatives, etc.). It is also a place for Clubs in the Area to meet, share information, collaborate and learn from each other. Leadership growth often occurs outside the club and the comfort of your familiar settings.
  • Only the Club President, VPE, and VPM are allowed to vote. Proxies are allowed.
  • Provide choices on when, where, what time and how to meet as an Area Council.
  • Send out an Agenda prior to the meeting and welcome all incoming Club Officers.
  • Set up the year – decide as a team when, where, how often to meet and how to communicate. Some meetings can be held virtually or via telephone, before CLT or workshop. Some Councils have held meetings prior to visiting their respective clubs for their club meetings, then were invited to attend each other’s club meetings.
  • Develop your team – share what is hot, what is not, issues to resolve and goals.
  • Set an Area Council goal and vision for the year.
  • Set up expectations and accountabilities – discuss what responsibilities each has.

Toastmaster Magazine October 2020 – Area Council Meetings – Why they’re important and how to get the most out of them

• • Develop your Area Success Plan with feedback from the Area Council.
  • Encourage Clubs to submit their Club Success Plan to you by end of July.
  • Minimum two (2) official visits required in year (set-up both dates with each club for first half and latter half in year) so they can be prepared for your ‘official’ visit.
  • Visit the clubs outside of official visits to build rapport. Ask Club Presidents 2 weeks prior. Find out some key dates (e.g. anniversaries, recognition, special events). Much of this can be found by downloading the database within Leadership Central > District Central > Reports (original join year for members and charter year for clubs).
  • Clubs often invite Area Directors to key functions (note key dates).
  • Give them a copy of the Area Club Visit Report to let them know what you will be submitting to TI.
  • Club Contests: Find out potential Club Contest dates so Clubs and Areas can help each other out with Judges, Officials and Test Speakers if needed. (e.g. each club provides 1 judge for a club contest).
  • Set up Area Contests: Type, Host, Venue, When, Where, Time, Budget, Contact. See Contests Menu.
  • Share key dates for CLT and ACLT, Meetings & Voting (TI & District), campaign deadlines.
  • Share Marketing, PR and Club Support information and resources with clubs.
  • Send out minutes after the meeting.

• • Make at least two club visits per club per year:
  • Assess club membership and its leadership’s willingness to grow.
  • Determine who fulfils education achievements and when these are completed.
  • Submit the Area Director’s Club Visit Report online

Before the Visit

• • Contact: the Club President to discuss the Club (build rapport, listen and ask questions).
  • Questions: What’s working, not working, key issues, goals, best time to contact and meet.
  • Club Visit: Set up two “official” Area Director visits (ideally have an informal meeting in July; visit a few times before conducting an ‘official’ visit).
  • Share: Area Director visit report (research and add information from the TI Dashboard, or based on feedback from the Club Officers – leave the rest blank to discuss later).
  • Download: Moments of Truth (MOT) and Club Quality Checklist to help guide what to observe during the visit.
  • MOT: Some clubs may ask Area Directors to conduct a brief educational on Moments of Truth (MOT).
  • RECOGNISE: Find out if any members or the club is to be recognised for anything (e.g. Triple Crown, DTM, 7 out of 7 Club Officers trained, 10-20-30-40-50 year anniversary of membership or club anniversaries).
  • ASK: District if there are any promotional or club support materials you can give clubs.
  • REVIEW: Club Support items are available in case you get asked. Not to worry – you can always find out later by discussing this with your Division Director. Just let clubs know you are knew and will find out the information and get back to them.
  • NOTE: Key dates to share during the visit: E.g. Area, Division, District Contests, District Conference, CLT/ACLT, Workshops, Campaign deadlines, anniversaries and special events. Share flyers where available.

• • Arrive early to mingle with the members.
  • Get to know the Club Officers and members (suss out potential District leaders to approach), what help individual members need to achieve education goals (e.g. DTM, HPL).
  • Make sure to wear your Toastmasters Badge and dress appropriately. Area Directors represent the District and Toastmasters International.
  • Photos are often taken – make it special for them (not in daggy sweats to remember their milestone by). Seek permission first if you are asking for photographs.
  • Area Director Address: Be prepared to make a short speech or 5-7 minute speech (you can have someone evaluate it). Recognise the strengths of the club or achievements.
  • Share key dates, deadlines and flyers if available.
  • Tool kits: If you have a a toolkit to carry to clubs with some goodies to give away clubs really appreciate it – e.g. PR material, templates, ribbons, recognition awards, District 70 presentation folders, Membership kits, Visitor kits, or to recognise special achievements by members, etc.
  • Most of all – ENJOY! You will learn so much in these visits – it is one of the most rewarding experiences to get to know other clubs and members.

• • Thank the Club President and members for their hospitality.
  • Follow-up with any queries, action items or resources.
  • Share feedback on the draft Area Director Club Visit Reports and let them know when that will be submitted by.
  • Submit the Area Director Club Visit Reports within two (2) weeks of the official visit to Toastmasters International in Leadership Central > District Central. [login required]
  • TIP: Make sure to “save” the report often as it can freeze and you may lose all the information you added.
  • If you have any queries or issues contact your Division Director.

The Area Director participates in Area Director training provided by the District.

The Area Director reports regularly to the Division Director and District leaders on Area progress.

As Area Director, you are responsible for coordinating Area speech contests. You may ask the Division Director for assistance in planning these events.

What to do

• • Set yourself up for the year in the lead up to and in your first Area Council Meeting.
  • Let Club Presidents know what some of the questions you will ask about the Area Contest are so they can be prepared to answer after talking to their Club Executives before the Area Council Meeting. Most would be familiar with the process or would get guidance from their predecessors.
  • WHY: Share why Area Contests are held and how the Area Council is responsible. It provides opportunities for members to excel, for the audience to learn from experienced speakers and step up in leadership roles, opportunity for members to go beyond their clubs, and engage with a larger and unfamiliar audience.
  • WHO: Who will host the Area Contest? Find out who has hosted in the past to share hosting. Some Clubs may not want to host at all – consider joint hosting or venue sharing.
  • WHAT: What type of contest will be conducted? Humorous & Table Topics or all four Humorous, Table Topics, Evaluation and International Speech Contest in a day. Some may choose two contests divided between second and third quarter of year; others may choose to host all four on one day.
  • TIP: Try and hold all four (4) contests by the end of the year (it gets busy in the new year with training, etc.).
  • WHEN: When and what time will the contest be held? Note some clubs based on their culture or religion will avoid certain days (e.g. Friday and Saturday, corporate clubs often prefer a week night after work). During COVID-19 restrictions apply and online contests are held. Contact your Division Director or District Technical Team if you need help on how to set up an online contest.
  • WHERE: Where will the contest be held? E.g. Host club venue, does it require venue hire or is it free?, is it close to public transport, is there ample parking, is it accessible for people with disabilities, how easy is it to load/unload equipment, does it have catering so people can arrive early and eat or buy snacks and drinks nearby.
  • HOW: Who will help with the Contests and how? What type of help can the Area Director or Host club receive? Whose name will be on the Flyer as a contact (name, email, phone); how much and what details to submit as entry fees (e.g. $10 deposit to a nominated club bank – BSB/AC# required, free of charge, or pay cash on the day). If depositing into a bank account, a Club’s bank account must be used. Personal accounts cannot be used.
  • CATERING: The objective is to ensure as many members can attend therefore keep costs to a minimum. Some clubs do provide catering. Minimum required is water, in particular for contestants.
  • CLUB OFFICIALS: Recruit Contest Officials during club visits (e.g. 2 per club) OR ask a club to provide two officials each who are not competing to step up to volunteer for roles.
  • CROSS PROMOTION: Share Contest information, flyer and resources with clubs so they can help cross promote the contest with their members. Great to share flyers when visiting clubs and also recruit club officials.
  • DISTRICT PR: Provide Area Contest information to the Division Director and District Webmaster at webmaster@d90toastmasteres.org.au (details to follow asap).
  • PREPARE: Prepare in advance – start getting folders together, print forms in advance where required, organise recognition (trophies, certificates), create your runsheet and Agenda.
  • See “Contest” Site for details.
  • Work with your Division Director and co-Area Directors and enjoy watching your members excel as speakers and communicators.