Current Announcements
New Members:
*Please help us to welcome our newest members, Abdel, Nicole and Sandra! We look forward to supporting them as they develop and strengthen their public speaking and leadership skills!
New Location:
*We have found a new location for our in-person meetings approximately twice per month at Memorial Miramar Hospital in the Mediterranean Conference Room, 1951 SW 172nd Avenue, Miramar, FL 33029. In addition, we still offer online access with the same Zoom connection as before. Two or three Wednesdays per month, we will meet online only.
Audio Visual/Tech Support Needed:
*Please let us know if you have IT/audio-visual meeting expertise and could assist with the weekly hybrid pre-meeting set-up.
2025-2026 Club Officers:
*Our new club officers for the 2025-2026 year are:
Sergeant at Arms, Jonah
Treasurer, Alina
Secretary, Kannan
VP of Public Relations, Valda
VP of Membership, Franklin
VP of Education, Frances
President, Maribel
(and Immediate Past President, Arlene)
Membership Renewals:
*The Membership Renewal window is now open from August 1 to September 30, 2025 for the October 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026 period. Our members are now able to renew their own membership by logging into the toastmasters.org website. The steps to renew using the new Self Pay feature on toastmasters.org are: click on the “Welcome, your name” link at the top of the Toastmasters.org home page, click on the arrow for the drop-down menu, select My Home, scroll down to the “From the Organization to You” section, click on Pay Your Dues. If you are unable to do this, you can zelle $60 to westpinestoastmasters@gmail.com (preferable) or renew on the club website westpinestoastmasters.toastmost.org under Member Info/Renew Existing Membership and the club will process the renewal for you.
Club, Area, Division and District Speech Contests:
*Club Speech contest season is approaching. We will hold Table Topics, Evaluations and international Speech contests In November or December 2025. We need 2-3 contestants in each contest and various contest functionaries. If you do not want to compete in the contests, please attend online training for judges and contest master if they are offered by the district. In-person is the format for Area, Division, and District contests this Toastmasters year. Therefore, we will primarily use the in-person format for the club contests. We will have briefings for contestants and functionaries a few days or the day before the contests since we have to end the contests at the library by 745 pm. The winner of the club contests will represent the Club at the Area Contests. Whoever wins the Area Contests will progress to the Division Contests. Whoever wins the Division Contests will progress to the District Contests.
Toastmasters Leadership Institute (TLI) semi-annual training:
*Toastmasters Leadership Institute (TLI) training and Club Officer Training for the Winter season will be held between December 2025 to February 2026. Each of seven Divisions in our District (5 in Southeast Florida) will hold several one-hour educational sessions/topics on a Saturday morning between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. that are presented by the most experienced Toastmasters in the District.
Topics usually include How to handle Meeting Roles, Table Topics, Evaluations, Fear of Public Speaking, Team Building, Writing Speeches, Pathways Learning System, Speech Contests, Leadership and more. In-person trainings cost $10 in advance/$15 at the door. Online trainings are free. Please take advantage of this opportunity to learn tips and techniques from the best in our District.
Volunteer Leadership Opportunities:
*Serving as a Club Coach is one of several steps to becoming a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) and a way to practice your leadership skills. If you would like to serve as a Club Coach for approximately 6 months to help a struggling club become a Distinguished or better club, please email Juliana Clarke, Club Retention Co-chair at jclarke@toastmastersd47.org.
*Coordinating a Youth Leadership Program (YLP) for teenagers or a Speechcraft Program for adults for 4 weeks to 8 weeks is another step to becoming a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM). Please let us know if you would like to coordinate a YLP or Speechcraft starting by approximately March 1, 2026 to be completed by April 15, 2026.
Other:
We need more prepared speakers!. Please sign up for prepared speaker and functionary roles using our club website or message the WhatsApp group. It is important to plan your own journey, complete your path, and learn all of the meeting roles to grow as a professional speaker.
You can join District 47’s and Division A’s closed Facebook groups to receive official announcements of available events and opportunities in our District. (3) Toastmasters District 47 | Facebook Division A – Toastmasters District 47 | Facebook
*Please help us make the transition to online speech and role reservations on our club website (westpinestoastmasters.toastmost.org) and/or the Toastmost mobile app. Please respond to the emailed invitation to register to be able to reserve your speeches and roles online.
Club Member Recognition:
*If you complete three levels in Pathways by June 30, 2025, you will earn the Triple Crown Award and receive an award pin.
*The Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) award represents the highest level of educational achievement in Toastmasters. To earn it, you need to complete 2 paths in Pathways, serve as a club officer for two 6-month terms or 1 annual term, serve as a District leader for one annual term, successfully serve as a Club Mentor or Club Coach, successfully serve as a Club Sponsor, or Coordinator of a Speechcraft or Youth Leadership Program, and complete a DTM project.
*Please review the Program Quality Incentives and Awards and Club Growth Incentives and Awards for members on our District 47 website at https://www.toastmastersd47.org/ under the Resources menu.
*Congratulations to Frances on being selected as the club’s Toastmaster of the Year for 2024-2025.! She received a $50 gift certificate.
*Congratulations to Oscar for completing his third path, Kannan for completing Level 3 of his first path, Rajesh for completing Level 4 of his second path, and Arlene for completing Level 3 of her second path!
Our club officers selected Frances as our Club Protege/Shooting Star Award winner, and Rajesh as our Stellar Member for the 2024-2025 year! A Protege Shooting Star Award winner is a new member who has been a member for less than 12 months, completed 1 Pathways Level, attended TLI or COT training, participated in a club contest as a functionary or contestant, served as a club officer and sponsored at least 1 new member. A Stellar Member Winner is a member who has been a member for more than 1 year but is not a DTM, completed at least 2 Pathways Levels, served as a presenter or facilitator at TLI or COT training, served as a Club, Area or Division Contest functionary or contestant, served as a club officer and mentor, sponsored at least 2 members, and served as a Coordinator or a YLP or Speechcraft program. If no member meets all criteria, the member who comes closest is selected. A winner will also be selected at the Area, Division and District levels.
*Congratulations to Rajesh on winning the Area 14’s Protege/Shooting Star Award and to Arlene on winning Area 14’s Stellar Member Award in 2023-2024.
Please schedule your monthly speeches in advance using the Multiple Role Planner on the club website after signing in with username and password or text it in the Whatsapp group chat or directly to me.
Congratulations to Alejandro and Rajesh for earning Triple Crown Award pins by completing 3 Pathways levels in the 2022-2023 year. They will receive Triple Crown pins at the 2022-2023 Hall of Fame Award Ceremony that will take place in the Fall of 2023 or Winter/Spring of 2024.
*For the third time, our club has earned District 47’s highest award, the Yacht Club Award in 2023-2024. The club also won the District’s highest Golden Gavel Club Award for club excellence in 2020-2021 and 2021-2022! We have and will receive beautiful award plaques!
*Pathways Level 1, for all new paths selected in November 2021 or later, has changed. As a result, there will be 4 projects requiring 5 speeches and a speech evaluation in the new Level 1 instead of 3 projects requiring 4 speeches and a speech evaluation, The Icebreaker project and Evaluation & Feedback project will remain. A Vocal Variety & Body Language project and a Writing a Speech with Purpose Project will replace the Researching and Presenting Project. However, the Researching and Presenting Project will be added to Level 3 as an Elective.
*Please help us to make the transition to online speech and role reservations on this club website by responding to the emailed invitation to create your password, reserving roles and speeches for several meetings at the same time, saving the website in your Favorites or Bookmarks and using it regularly.
DTM Awards
*Alejandro, our club’s Sponsor/Founder, is the first member of the club to earn the prestigious Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) Award in June 2020! He participated in the District 47 DTM Walk/ceremony in May 2021. DTM award requirements must be completed by March 31 in order to participate in the DTM Walk at the annual Spring District 47 Conference at the end of April/beginning of May!
Members’ Pathways Awards
*Oscar has completed what no other member of our club has completed: 3 paths in Pathways! He completed Level 5 of his Engaging Humor path, Level 5 of his Motivational Strategies Path and Level 5 of his Visionary Communications path!
*Alejandro completed Level 2 of his Visionary Communications path, Level 5 of his Dynamic Leadership path and his Traditional DTM award!
*Jesus completed Level 5 of his Engaging Humor Path in Pathways!
*Arlene completed Level 5 of her Presentation Mastery Path and Level 3 of Motivational Strategies path in Pathways as well as her Competent Communicator award and Competent Leadership award in the Traditional Education Program!
*Maribel completed Level 2 of her Visionary Communication path in Pathways, her Competent Communicator award and Competent Leadership award in the Traditional Education Program!
*Julia completed Level 3 of her Effective Coaching Path!
*Kannan has completed his Level 1 & 2 of his path
*Rajesh completed Level 5 of his Persuasive Influence path
Our Members Around District 47
*Julia placed 1st in the Area 12 TableTopics Contest and Kannan placed 1st in the Area 12 Evaluations Contest in January 2025.
Julia placed 2nd in Area 14’s Table Topics Contest in January 2024. In addition, Rajesh placed 2nd in Area 14’s International Speech and Evaluations Contest in January 2024. With little notice, Julia went on to compete in the Division A Contest in April 2024 because as the first place Area Contestant couldn’t compete, but didn’t place.
*Alejandro placed 2nd in the online District 47 Table Topics Contest during the online, annual 2021 District 47 Spring Conference in April 2021! Prior to that, he placed 1st in Division A’s Table Topics Contest in March 2021, 1st in the Area Table Topics Contest in February 2021, and 1st in our club’s Table Topics Contest in January 2021.
*Alejandro also placed 2nd in Division A’s Evaluation Contest in November 2020, 1st in Area 14’s Evaluation Contest in October 2020 and 1st in the Club Evaluation Contest in September 2020!
*Julia placed 2nd in Division A’s Table Topics Contest in November 2021!
*Congratulations to Jesus for earning first place in the Area 14 Humorous Speech Contest on Saturday, October 2, 2021!
*Congratulations to Julia for earning first place in the Area 14 Table Topics Contest on February 26, 2022 and 2nd place in the Division A Table Topics Contest on March 18, 2022!
*Congratulations to Julia for winning the Club’s Winter 2021-2021 Shooting Star Award in February 2022 and also for winning Area 14’s Winter 2021-2022 Shooting Star Award on February 26, 2022! The Shooting Star Award is given to a new member who embraced the Toastmasters International program within her first 12 months by completing 5 speeches, attending TLI Training, competing as a contestant and serving as a functionary in 3 speech contests within her first 12 months of membership at the club, Area, Division and District level.
Arlene served as Club Coach to struggling clubs in Division A during 2020-2021! Torah served as a Club Coach during 2021-2022!
*Arlene served as Web Editor for District 47’s website and Program Quality Director for Division A in 2020-2021.
*Arlene served as Finance Manager for District 47 during 2021-2022.
Arlene served as District Program Quality Assistant during 2023-2024 and is serving as District Proof Reader in 2024-2025.
Club Awards
*The Club earned the Smedley Club Award for adding 5 new members between August 1 and September 30, 2022 and the Garnet Award for completing our Club Success Plan and a Moment of Truth Evaluation by September 30, 2022.
*Our club earned the Talk Up Toastmasters Club Award for adding 5 new members between February 1 and March 31, 2021 and February 1 and March 31, 2022. As a result, the club will receive a Talk up Toastmasters award ribbon for our club banner and a 10% discount certificate to the Toastmasters International (TI) shop.
*Our club completed the maximum of 10 goals in the Distinguished Club Program (DCP) and earned the President’s Distinguished Club Award six years in a row (2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2021-2022, 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 and 2024-2025).
*The Club also received the prestigious Golden Gavel Club Award two years in a row (2020-2021 and 2021-2022) and the prestigious Yacht Club Award in 2023-2024.
Other Announcements
Members’ Professional Accomplishments
Alejandro became a Board certified Architect in Puerto Rico in 2019!
Alejandro passed his Project Management certification exam in 2020!
Alejandro was promoted to President of the Architecture Group at a national real estate & construction company in 2022!
Julia earned her Bachelor’s degree in Communications with a minor in Social Media Marketing & E-Analytics in May 2023!