Page 16 - Voices! - october 2015

SUCCESSFUL CLUB

Siuslaw Tale Spinners “On the Road to Success”

By Cathy French

The Siuslaw Tale Spinners Club in Florence, Oregon was chartered on 9/1/1991.
We meet on Wednesdays from 5:30pm-6:30PM at the Siuslaw Valley Fire &
Rescue at 2625 Hwy 101 in Florence. Like all clubs with limited population we have had our ups and
downs recruiting and retaining members. Having enough members always seems to be the biggest
challenge.
Utilizing theToastmaster Educational Programs has given us a positive approach to facilitate the recruiting
and retention of new members. In 2015 we have 3 DTM’s as members of the club, 2 other membersn are
actively pursuing their DTM by working the High Performance Leadership Program, and others pursuing
the ACS designation through the speech manuals.
Why is this important? These are the members that make great mentors for the newer members who
come to join the club. Our mentors actively guide the new member through the CC and CL manuals
explaining the importance and benefit of each step. Learning the benefit is essential to the continuation
of a person in Toastmasters. As soon as there is no benefit to the member the quicker they are lost to us.
One of our members found her benefit by being encouraged to write a book based on the speech she
did in the international speech contest. She is now a published author.
Events! Events are a large part of our recruiting process. We invited speakers from other areas to come to
Florence and do a community event for us. In 2015 we have been lucky to have had both Eric Winger and
Tom Cox come to Florence and do wonderful community events for us. Along with learning a lot from
the speakers, the club was able to recruit quite a few members due to these events.
We are also looking to the future. The club is very involved with the Youth Leadership Program offered by
Toastmaster International. Many of the club members organized, participated and became Coordinators
or Assistant Coordinators for this program. Every year, parents and students from Florence and Mapleton
ask when our program will start. Many of these student participants come back year after year until
graduation. Others have gone on to participate in Speech contests hosted by other organizations.
Our club also encourages our members to look past the club level. We have had at least 4 Area Directors
come from the club and some of us are looking to participate at the Division or District level in the future.
We find it is important for smaller clubs to promote the higher level participation of our members to
keep new ideas from Toastmaster International floating into the remote areas.
The Tale Spinners is filled with very friendly, outgoing people who love to invite others to come visit.
Whether you are a member of another club, or a complete stranger to Toastmasters you will find us
welcoming and informative. Everyone is handed a guest packet, signs our guest book, and receives
follow up from one of the officers. Come! Visit us. You will always be Welcomed!

16 Volume 2 Issue 4 - OCT 2015