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Members of District 29,
The following information was sent to all members of the District Council earlier this week but as it important to all of you we are posting it here. Please especially look for the survey link near the end.
As we continue to adjust to life during a pandemic with its closures and social distancing, we must all remember that Toastmasters is still in business. Our clubs are holding successful on-line meetings and member dues are still being collected and paid, we are conducting successful on-line contests, we are proceeding with planning for a virtual conference and we are going to successfully hold our required online business meeting. Here are a few important updates to help you plan and a request for your input:
- We will conduct the conference keynote address and education sessions virtually. The current Eventbrite registration site will be cancelled, which will enable the District to provide full refunds to members who have already registered. A new Eventbrite registration site for the virtual sessions, which will be free to all registrants, will be set up shortly. We still plan to provide outstanding presentations from resource persons, but we are developing physical-distancing plans for all agenda items so that means you’ll be watching them on-line.
- We will not hold a live and in-person Hall of Fame until prohibitions on mass gatherings are lifted and it is safe for our members to meet face-to-face again. As of now that means we plan to recognize member and club achievements and have a hug line for the new DTMs at the District 29 Mid-Year Gala.
- We are conducting all contests on-line. A new schedule is being built and the Division Directors are working with their teams to provide a good experience to participants. Kudos for conducting District 29’s first online area contest go out to:
- PQD Narayanan Doraswamy
- Division F Director Kimberly Choplin
- Area 61 Director Mary Anne Wassenburg
- Area 64 Director Leilani DeWitt
- Contest Master Bill Hand (also Area 62 Director)
- Zoom Host Amy Brener (also Area 23 Director and Past District 29 Director)
- Contest Chief Judge Jennifer Ryan ( also Area 43 Director)
They have proven we can do this!
- We will conduct the Annual Business Meeting online. We’ve done this before so this isn’t totally new to us, but we must do it prior to June 1.
These changes are in response to measures that have been implemented to slow the spread of COVID-19, so we didn’t ask for them. But they do present opportunities such as increased flexibility in scheduling contests, conference presentations and the business meeting. We have a survey of the main options that we would like for you to complete: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GZN6SS7