Toastmasters Say Farewell to Rancho Santa Margarita

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, CA — In a surprising move for many the corporate headquarters for Toastmasters International announced Monday that it relocating its headquarters to the Denver area.

The non-profit, educational group has been based in Rancho Santa Margarita for 26 years, and described their reasons for moving as seeking a "more cost- efficient" business environment.

Toastmasters International helps people become more confident speakers and communicators, has finalized the purchase of a building at 9127 S. Jamaica St. in Englewood, a city in the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area.

Toastmasters plans to be fully relocated to Colorado in the third quarter of 2018.

"We're eager to relocate our headquarters to such a dynamic and growing area," said Toastmasters Chief Executive Officer Daniel Rex.

"Denver is home to an affordable and talented workforce in a business environment that is more cost-efficient than California," he said. "As a nonprofit organization that strives to maximize resources, we're often challenged to do more with less. It's critical for us to be competitive in the marketplace and able to attract and retain employees."

Toastmasters has grown in membership and staff and needed a larger building, which "created an opportunity to move its headquarters to an environment with lower costs and a talent-rich workforce," according to a statement released by the organization.

Toastmasters International's Board of Directors embarked on a multiyear process to determine a potential new home for the organization and considered many sites before making the decision to relocate to its future home in Englewood, according to Rex.

At 106,575 square feet, the new space is nearly double the size of the current headquarters and gives Toastmasters an additional revenue stream through leasing the unoccupied space of the four-story building.

"California has been a wonderful home to the organization since it was founded in 1924, and it will always be part of our legacy," said Toastmasters 2016-17 International President Mike Storkey. "However, we are a global organization, so the location of world headquarters isn't a representation of our membership. Although California is a part of our roots, we look forward to opening our doors in Denver."

The organization's membership exceeds 345,000 in more than 15,900 clubs in 142 countries.

For more information, visit www.Toastmasters.org

City News Service contributed to this story. Shutterstock Photo