Page 20 - 2016 february issue

SUCCESSFUL CLUB

High Noon: It’s Time to Draw, Pardner!

by Joe Donahue, Vice President of Membership, CC, ALB

Picture it: cowboys set at 20 paces, the sun high growth for the following six months! In 2015, we
overhead beating down with furious heat, clock
tower ready to strike 12, spectators anxiously celebrated storytelling with Tall Tales contests.
standing far off to avoid stray rounds. They have So, what opportunities does your club have to
come to see a showdown, drawn to the center celebrate?
of the town where life and death hang in the
balance! It’s a spectacle that joins curiosity with We create an environment that helps dissipate
excitement, agility with steadiness, and anticipa- the fear most people connect with public speaking
tion with fear. by crafting evaluations that are encouraging,
constructive and seek to make the experience a

As uncommon a sight this is for most people positive one for each speaker. The importance of
today, many of the same emotions are whipped making evaluations both critically constructive
up the moment someone stands front and and supportive cannot be overstated; this is the
center to speak in front of
others for the first time. It can very heart of what can
feel perilous, dreadful, and
even death seems a possible make a good club great.
outcome. It can even be magni- Regular trainings from
fied in a contest setting, where the Successful Club
speakers are literally pitted series on how to give
against one another. great evaluations can
Disclaimer: Toastmasters does really benefit members
at all levels. Have you

not actually put on any events considered how your

where potential death is a club can capitalize on

consideration, even if it feels evaluations as a device
possible to the contestants.
This is the very reason so to grow your members’

many are drawn to High skills and your club’s
Noon Toastmasters in Salem.
Not necessarily because they’re Fred Olson, DTM, longest membership at membership?
expecting to see dueling desper- High Noon, receives a recognition certificate Lastly, High Noon
ados, but because they want for the club’s 50 years of training speakers
and building leaders. has a memorable time
slot that makes it an easy
to witness others hold a showdown against fit into many members’

their fears, fears they share, of giving voice to (and newcomers’) schedules. High Noon’s name
their thoughts in the courts of public opinion. is not only easy to recall because it evokes images
Watching others overcome these fears inspire rooted in classic Westerns, but also because the
many to enlist after only their first meeting. And club meets — literally — at high noon every
yet, there’s more we can do to at the club level Monday. Because it’s a club open to all comers,
to continuously entice new members.
Much of the growth and success that High Noon and is nestled in the middle of Oregon’s capital
Toastmasters has experienced over the last few mall, it’s a prime spot for hosting lunchtime
years can be directly attributed to employing attendees. Nothing breaks up a case of the
three elements, consistently, at our weekly Mondays better than a friendly and enter-
meetings: taining environment where there’s likely to be
We celebrate! Looking for opportunities to cele- a celebration. Do your club’s time and location
brate as a group changes the atmosphere of any lend themselves to easy access to members and

meeting from potentially hostile to friendly newcomers alike?
and inviting, by giving everyone a reason to Talk with your officers and members, and see

be excited. In May 2014, our club celebrated a what opportunities you can create to encourage,
major milestone, our 50th anniversary, which celebrate and foster the most easy-access envi-
we stretched out for an entire month of festivi-
ties. With some local announcements and Web ronment possible. Who knows — you just may
advertising, we enjoyed a period of significant draw a whole new group of buckaroos.

20 Volume 2 Issue 7 - FEBRUARY 2016