TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT 15 BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES May 14, 2011 Ogden, Utah Call to Order: Darin Kowalis, acting Sergeant at Arms, called the meeting to order at 8:27 AM. Darin introduced Peggy Carr, DTM, District Governor as the presiding chair. The secretary was present. Inspirational Opening: Helga Davies, DTM, read a quotation about the Law of Karma from Deepak Chopra. Reading of the District Mission: Dave Manning, DTM, IPDG, read the District s mission statement. Welcoming Remarks: Peggy Carr, DTM, welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked everyone for coming. She introduced the Past District Governors that were present. She also recognized our guest, International Director, Emmy Hager, DTM and the current District 15 Officers. She asked that when addressing the chair to please state your name, club name, office held, and delegate status. Credential Committee Report: Credentials Chair Jerry Allen, DTM, PDG reported that District 15 had 189 possible voting members. Out of 81 clubs in District 15, representatives from 42 clubs were present and eligible to vote. There were 18 officers in attendance and a total of 95 voting members. A quorum was present. Rules of Order: The meeting was to be conducted in accordance with published bylaws and articles of incorporation of Toastmasters International as well as Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised. Guidelines for Respectful Conferencing were also pointed out in the Delegate s Packet. Adoption of Agenda: Jeremy Peterson moved to adopt the agenda as presented in the packet. Motion seconded. Motion carried. Approval of the Minutes: With no corrections to the minutes from the District 15 Business Meeting on November 6, 2010, Michael Rusnack moved that they be approved as written and presented. Motion seconded. Motion carried.
Adoption of the Club Alignment for 2011-2012: Emmy Jones, DTM, LGET as chair of the Alignment Committee, reported that the proposal was voted on at the District Council meeting in March 2011. She asked for a motion to approve the alignment. Shirley Tarbet moved it be accepted. Motion seconded. Jeremy Peterson moved to amend the proposed alignment to resolve a meeting time schedule conflict within Division A. His motion would move CommuniCreator s to Area A3 and HP Speakeasies to Area A2. Motion seconded. Motion carried. Lloyd Alexander moved to amend the proposed alignment to rebalance Division D Areas after several club loses. He proposed movement of Taxmasters from D3 to D1, UHCC from D4 to D1, TURN from D2 to D1, Broadway Speakers from D1 to D3, and Key Club from D1 to D3. Further, when chartered, Talking Blue Democrats will be added to D2 and IHC will be added to D1. Motion seconded. Motion carried. Nate Wheeler moved to amend the proposed alignment, so that Eagle Toastmasters would be moved from A1 to A2 and Boise Club would be moved from A2 to A1 due to proximity to surrounding clubs. Motion seconded. Discussion: Nate Wheeler stated that the proposed amendment would allow for the clubs to be more regionally located to help the Area Governor with visits and allow the clubs to work better with nearby businesses in terms of member recruitment. Jeremy Peterson was against the motion and explained the presence of a natural geographical division already taken into account in the Areas. He felt that the Areas are already aligned optimally, and Area Governors would likely have to travel no more than 25 miles to visit all the clubs in their Area. Moreover, there was no overlap on meeting times. The Sergeant at Arms counted the vote with 4 in favor of the motion and 24 against. Motion defeated. The realignment motion, as amended twice, carried. Nominations Committee Report: Susan Baer, DTM, PDG chair of the Nominations Committee presented the list of nominees for next year as follows: Emmy Jones, DTM for District Governor, Annette Manning, DTM, PDG for LGET, Lloyd Alexander, CC, CL for LGM, Jeremy Peterson, ACS, ALB for Division A Governor, Dawn Wilson ACS, ALB for Division B Governor, Shirley Tarbet, ACG for Division C Governor, Scott Pickering, CC, CL for Division D Governor, and candidates Mark Hersom, ACG, CL and Eloise Thomson, DTM running for Division E Governor.
Peggy Carr read the Toastmasters International rules governing elections. She asked for nominations from the floor three times for each office, and in each case, hearing none, she subsequently closed the nominations for each office. Michael Rusnack moved to cast a single ballot for the election of District Governor. Motion seconded. Emmy Jones, DTM elected as District Governor 2011-2012. Susan Baer moved to cast a single ballot for the election of Lieutenant Governor of Education and Training. Motion seconded. Annette Manning, DTM, PDG elected as LGET 2011-2012. Jeremy Peterson moved to cast a single ballot for the election of Lieutenant Governor of Marketing. Motion seconded. Lloyd Alexander, CC, CL elected as LGM 2011-2012. Nate Wheeler moved to cast a single ballot for the election of Division A Governor. Motion seconded. Jeremy Peterson, ACS, ALB elected as Division A Governor 2011-2012. Evelyn Peterson moved to cast a single ballot for the election of Division B Governor. Motion seconded. Dawn Wilson, ACS, ALB elected as Division B Governor 2011-2012. Michael Rusnack moved to cast a single ballot for the election of Division C Governor. Motion seconded. Shirley Tarbet, ACG elected as Division C Governor 2011-2012. Lloyd Alexander moved to cast a single ballot for the election of Division D Governor. Motion seconded. Scott Pickering, CC, CL elected as Division D Governor 2011-2012. The Division E Governor race was contested, and the candidates, Mark Hersom ACG, CL and Eloise Thomson, DTM were each given an opportunity to give a two-minute speech. Secret ballots were then cast, and a recess was taken at 9:26 AM to allow for vote counting. The meeting came back to order at 9:41 AM. There were 29 votes for Mark Hersom and 66 for Eloise Thomson. Eloise Thomson, DTM elected as Division E Governor. Announcements: There are three candidates running for International Director of Region 1, and two were present at the meeting. The third candidate, John Barnes, was unable to attend.
Dick Carr, DTM delivered a speech on behalf of John Barnes of Cheyenne, Wyoming whose slogan is DARE to Win. DARE stands for determination, action, resilience, and excitement. He is determined to serve as Region 1 International Director. He will take action to continue the growth of Toastmasters while meeting the needs of our members. He is resilient in facing the twists and turns that present themselves. He looks forward to serving as the Region 1 International Director. J Randy Penn, DTM has been active in Toastmasters for 24 years and has built skills useful in strategic planning and evaluation that will help grow our international educational organization. He is both independent and a team player, and he has a fierce work ethic and determination. He has the strategic vision to be the world s choice for communication and leadership training. He wishes to return the value he receives from Toastmasters by serving as the Region I International Director. James Sultan, DTM feels we need to nurture each other and help each other grow in Toastmasters. He also feels we need to help Toastmasters move into the next century. He has gained experience by helping with governance restructuring, rebranding, and strategic planning. He is eager to help Toastmasters move forward with his energy, commitment, and love. Audit Committee: Heli Hunsaker, DTM referred us to the audit report in the packet, which is correct and current. Treasurer s Report/Statistician s Report: Victor Hernandez, DTM was called out of town and was unable to attend, but his reports were provided in the packet and posted on the District website. If there are any questions, they may be directed to Peggy or Victor. District Governor s Report: Peggy stated that her report was in the packet, and she encouraged us to read it. She thanked everyone for the support that they have given her over the last three years, and especially, this year in her role as District Governor. Lt. Governor Education & Training Report: Emmy Jones, DTM stated that we did really well with our educational goals this year. She pointed out that her report was in the Delegate s Packet. She learned a lot over the past year and reminded us that learning is an ongoing process. She has found that no one cares how much you know, but they know how much you care. She is excited for the coming year.
Lt. Governor Marketing Report: Michael Rusnack, DTM, PDG stated that a detailed report was provided in the packet. This was a challenging year for us as we lost over 10 clubs for various reasons. Two clubs chartered this past week, and he encouraged Lloyd to nurture the newer clubs and continue to build on the foundation that has been set for District 15. Public Relations Officer Report: Sharon Aaron, DTM spent this year focusing on social media and getting a new email marketing distribution system. She felt she reached a lot of her goals this year, and she was looking forward to having her successor build upon her work. District Governor Carr asked that the Division Governors stand and be recognized. In the interest of time, we were asked to refer to their reports in the packet. Past District Governor s Council Report: Dave Manning, DTM, IPDG met with the Past District Governor s Council, and it was suggested that a PDG mentoring program for District leadership be implemented. It will be presented to the current District Governor and the incoming Trio by June 30, 2011. Fall Conference: Don Walton, DTM reported that the Fall Conference will be held November 4-5, 2011 in Salt Lake City, Utah at the Airport Hilton. Online registration will begin today. Unfinished Business: None. New Business: None. Time and Place of Next Meeting: The next District 15 Business Meeting will take place at the Fall Conference on November 5, 2011 in Salt Lake City, Utah at the Airport Hilton. Adjourn: Sonya Dermody moved to adjourn the Spring Business Meeting. Motion seconded. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 10:06 AM. Lori C. N. Welter, ACS, ALB District 15 Secretary