Page 10 - 2016 february issue

FROM THE DESK
Starting New Clubs, One Office Tower At A Time
by Erik Bergman, DTM, Club Growth Director
It’s not often
that one building
is the birthplace
of multiple new
Toastmasters clubs in one year. That’s the
unusual scenario that is about to take place in
the Wells Fargo Center in downtown Portland.
We have already
chartered one club,
PDX Pioneers, at
the commercial
real estate offices of
CBRE on the 30th
floor. And with a
wildly successful kickoff meeting at Wells Fargo
Bank on the 10th floor, another club is on the
horizon.
It’s always a great sign when the room for
a kickoff meeting is too small for the crowd of
people who want to learn about Toastmasters.
Such was the case at Wells Fargo. The room
we were scheduled for held 25, but the over-
flow crowd soon
packed the room
and blocked the
hall. The Wells
Fargo staff quickly
found a larger
conference room
to accommodate
all 45 prospects, and we moved the entire crowd
and our meeting supplies to the new location.
(Toastmasters are flexible and adaptable!)
The kickoff meeting went brilliantly, we
answered lots of questions, and it appears Wells
Fargo is on its way to chartering its own club
soon.
None of this can happen without behind-
the-scenes planning. As he did with CBRE, once
again Cleon Cox, DTM, was the chief instigator
and collaborator working with a top executive
at Wells Fargo to make the kickoff event happen
and ensure great employee participation.
It sure helped that Wells Fargo CEO John
10 Volume 2 Issue 7 - FEBRUARY 2016
Stumpf, was featured as the January cover story
in Toastmaster magazine. When the company’s
top boss says that Toastmasters cured his fear
of public speaking and made him successful as
a leader, colleagues listen. “Toastmasters was
the vehicle that saved me,” Stumpf said in the
interview. “Toastmasters was not only a safe
place to learn how to speak, it was a collab-
orative place where
people genuinely
wanted to help each
other get better.”
If you work in or
near a large office
tower, or if there is
Club president Jason Green (right) holds up a Wells Fargo office
the club’s new banner with Erik Bergman at near you, perhaps
the PDX Pioneers charter ceremony that building needs a
Toastmasters club. Send your idea for where
we can start a new club to me at cgd@d7toast-
masters.org.
Every season is recruiting season
Besides building new clubs, as a District we
want to build the membership of existing clubs
to keep them strong. Successful clubs know that
every season is recruiting season.
To boost your club’s membership in the
next two months, Toastmasters International
offers this incentive: Talk Up Toastmasters—
February 1–March 31. Add 5 members, earn
rewards!
Clubs that add five new, dual or reinstated
members with a join date between February
1 and March 31 will receive a special Talk Up
Toastmasters ribbon to display on their club
banner. Qualifying clubs can also earn a special
discount code for 10 percent off their next
club order at the TI online store. Plus, District
7 will pitch in a special bonus prize for your
club! Take advantage of Talk Up Toastmasters.
Encourage your members to invite guests to
a meeting where prospective members can
learn about the many benefits you enjoy as a
Toastmaster. Toastmasters love to connect, so
take advantage of it.