Almost four years ago I walked into my first staff meeting as an Ad Sales Rep, and as soon as I stuttered and stammered through introducing myself to my new boss, the first words out of his mouth were, “You’d be an excellent candidate for Toastmasters!” I looked at the table and said, “Umm…thank you!?” I had no clue what Toastmasters was back then, and I am “starry” to say, it took me six months to attend my first meeting.

Since then, I have served as a club secretary and vice president of public relations for my amazing home club, the Key Peninsula Toastmasters, also known as The Center of the Universe. My first year there I was honored with the award for “Most Improved” and I even won second place in the Area 24 Speech Evaluation contest. I am forever grateful for the continued support of my club and all the Toastmasters I have met while I worked my way through a mouthful of filler words, 10 second table topic answers, and reading my speeches at the speed of light. I want to note a special “thank you” to Frank Grubaugh and William Michael Paul for being my mentors and helping me more than they could ever know. (And Connie Harris, for you will always be my favorite evaluation contest competitor!)

The growth and confidence I have experienced as a Toastmaster these past three years is astounding, and I hope that I, too, can become a beacon of light and a source of inspiration and motivation for all of you. I also hope you read my future newsletters with a cup of coffee or gravi-tea and glean value to improve your life in some capacity. It is a new Toastmaster year – let us shine together like the moon and stars. Let us help each other to become better speakers, better leaders, and better people. “We are limited only by our imagination and our will to act.” – Ron Garan.

I am delighted and humbled for the opportunity to sharpen my communication and PR skills and interact with other Toastmasters at a district level every month. I will try my best to not space out on my duties or be too Sirius. Please feel free to reach out to me at any time. I would love to hear from you.

“For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.” – Vincent Van Gogh

Let us dream big this Toastmasters year and beyond.

xoxo Christina Welsh