Oakton Club Receives Top Honor

OAKTON, VIRGINIA, June 20, 2023—Toastmasters International has named the Toast of Oakton Toastmasters as a President’s Distinguished Club for the 2022-2023 year which ends on June 30, 2023. The Toast of Oakton Toastmasters club was charted February 1, 2011, and have achieved the President’s Distinguished honor every year since 2018 except 2021 when they were a Distinguished Club.

“Congratulations to the Toast of Oakton Toastmasters Club for achieving President’s Distinguished recognition for the 2022-2023 program year”, says District 29 Toastmasters Director Rick Taylor, DTM. “The fact that the club has achieved the highest level of recognition four of the last five years speaks volumes about the quality of the Toast of Oakton Club meeting experience. Well done!”

The Toast of Oakton Toastmasters were led this year by President Matt Mertz, who stated, “Congratulations Toast of Oakton, for earning President's Distinguished status. This year seemed like a whirlwind at times. Last Autumn, audio-visual issues affected our hybrid meetings. We cleared that hurdle and gained momentum from there. A temporary move to Vienna helped the club meet prospective members. The VP of Membership was always diligent following up with prospective members. The VP of Public Relations brought Toast of Oakton to social media. The Treasurer and Sergeant-at-Arms arrived early to set up about 20 meetings and stayed after to talk to prospective members. Before closing the book for this year, we must thank all our wonderful club members. Club members and officers alike gave great speeches and put on a wonderful open house in the Spring. Kudos to everyone!”

At the end of May, the club had reached the Select Distinguished achievement which also is an honor but considering the legacy of excellence over the five years, Select was not good enough. With 10 Levels completed by members since July 1, 2022, two more were still needed for President’s Distinguished. As Distinguished Toastmasters (DTM), which is the highest honor for a Toastmaster to achieve as a member, Erin Benbennick and Bharat L. Patel stepped up to excellence to complete Level 1 projects in Motivational Strategies and Presentation Mastery Paths in the Toastmasters Pathways, the educational program for members. As Vice President Education leading the charge for all members in the club this year, Bharat reached out the membership and wrote, “Dear Toast of Oakton Toastmasters (TOOT) Framily: We are a President's Distinguished club now. As a VPE, I would like to express my heartfelt congratulations and appreciation to all TOOT members. We are all in this together. You have met the needs of the Members of this Club. This club is a beacon for all members. As a VPE, I leave the legacy of the Club as President's Distinguished.”

Vice-President Membership Donald Soules, DTM and the members of Toast of Oakton Club welcomed nine new members into the club over the year which was enough to complete the membership area of the Club Performance Dashboard (CPD) which led to this reward. Donald recalled what being President’s Distinguished means, “Congratulations to the Toast of Oakton Toastmasters Club in achieving the President’s Distinguished Club award. This is the highest annual achievement award for Toastmasters clubs and entails meeting at least nine administrative, training, membership, and education goals in a year’s time.”

The new Toastmasters year starts and resets the journey to President’ Distinguished on July 1, 2023. Excited about what is in store in the upcoming year, Mertz added, “Speaking of club officers, in July, we welcome three members as first time Toast of Oakton officers. We also welcome current VP Public Relations, Tanya White-Deyo, as Club President.”

About Toast of Oakton Toastmasters Club

The Toast of Oakton Toastmasters Club meetings are usually based at the Oakton Library at 10304 Lynnhaven Place, Oakton VA 22124-1785 the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month. Due to availability, the first meeting of the year July 12, 2023, will be held at the Patrick Henry Library at 101 Maple Avenue East, Vienna VA 22180-5794. Meetings are hybrid, so in addition to the in-person option, members and guests can attend virtually. To visit the club in-person or virtually, register to attend on Meetup at https://bit.ly/46aQ2lN or online at https://bit.ly/446lQ9, and hybrid at Eventbrite at https://bit.ly/3P0gJ6u . More information about the Toast of Oakton Toastmasters Club and the Toastmasters organization can be obtained and “Contact Us” for more information through the club website at https://too.toastmastersclubs.org or toastofoakton@gmail.com. Follow @ToastofOakton on Twitter. There is no fee to visit the club.

About Toastmasters International

Toastmasters International is a worldwide nonprofit educational organization that empowers individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders. Headquartered in Englewood, Colo., the organization's membership exceeds 357,000 in more than 16,600 clubs in 143 countries. Since 1924, Toastmasters International has helped people from diverse backgrounds become more confident speakers, communicators, and leaders. For information about local Toastmasters clubs, please visit www.toastmasters.org. Follow @Toastmasters on Twitter.

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