Today's Kick-Off TLI was at Hillcrest Church at Dallas. I didn't have to attend any club officer training this time - but as the Area Gov - it was a super cool opportunity for me to meet and greet my club officers and also meet up with the new District leadership. As I have always seen in the past, the main auditorium was packed with Toastmasters - some coming to get trained for the first time. As we were settling down at our tables one of my home club officers observed: "You seem to know a lot of people around here". "So will you", I smiled back. That is so true. I remembered the first time I attended the TLI to get trained for my VP Public Relations role (Fall 2005). As I walked into the General Information session that day, I didn't know anyone and was soooo relieved to find my fellow club officers at the far back of the room! During the course of the day I many club officers, some first-timers like me with whom I can instantly relate to..
As time passed, I started getting involved in the District activities like: member of the Outstanding Club Officers Committee, Summer 2006 TLI Publicity Chair and now the Area 41 Governor for the 2007-08 year! I learnt so much from my first TLI experience that I make it a point to attend it every year.
This TLI I listened to Jim Key speak about getting the most out of Toastmasters experience. In case, you don't know him, Jim is the 2003 World Champion of Public Speaking and it's always a pleasure to hear him speak. I was not able to sit for the rest of the sessions as I had my other Area Gov duties to take care of (like making sure all the club officer lists are submitted on time). I hope some of my club members attended the sessions and have some interesting stories to share.
As I sign-off for today - I'll ask each TM to attend the TLI as it's the best $5 investment you could ever have :)
Upcoming Summer TLI sessions are:
- Eastern TLISaturday, July 14thJarvis Christian College
- TLI LiteThursday, July 19thBill J. Priest Center
- Last Chance TLISaturday, August 11thCuster Rd. United Methodist Church
Have a great weekend!
