Page 4 - 2016 february issue

EDITORIAL Publisher

CHANGE! Phyllis Harmon, DTM

by Phyllis A. Harmon, DTM Associate Publisher
Immediate Past District Governor
Brenda Parsons, ACB, ALS
Cee, aitch, ay, en, gee, ee. No matter how you look at it,
change happens. Whether it’s a letter from International Senior Editor
President, Jim Kokochi, announcing that on October 1st dues
will increase by 25% while grace periods dissolve, the exhila- Phyllis Harmon, DTM
ration of new clubs chartering, or the death rattle of dying
clubs, change is happening all around us—all the time. Change Associate Editors
might be unwanted, but it must happen for life to continue.
Leanna Lindquist, DTM
Me? I’m not fond of change. I’m as entrenched in my Erik Bergman, DTM
routines and habits as the next person. (That’s Karen O’Keefe, DTM
what change does by the way. It takes us out of Alexis Mason, DTM
our comfort zones, to stretch, grow, and—oh
my goodness—do something different!) Layout/Design
What about you? Do you run towards
change with open arms or oppose it with Phyllis Harmon, DTM
every fiber of your being? Curtis Low
Yes, change is difficult. It destabilizes our
realities and makes us darned uncomfortable. 2015-16 Officers
But isn’t that why we joined Toastmasters? To
change something about ourselves? Rather than District Director
throwing up our hands and retreating into “what’s
Michelle Alba Lim, DTM
the world coming to” mentality and proverbially killing the
change agent every time it pokes us on the forehead, what if Program Quality Director
we looked at change from a different perspective.
Leanna Lindquist, DTM
What if we embraced it as a springboard to becoming a
better us? Ask yourself how you can benefit from change. What Club Growth Director
skills, experience, and/or knowledge do you possess that will
help you adapt to change? What skills do you need to acquire Erik Bergman, DTM
before it happens?
District Treasurer
Change is as inevitable as night changing into day. Use
what you’ve learned in Toastmasters to adapt to your changing Jill Ward, ACB, ALB
circumstances. You can do it! I know you can because you are
amazing and changing into the person you were meant to be. District Secretary

I leave you with the following thought from Reinhold Tom Knapp, ACG, ALB
Niebuhr, American theologian, ethicist, public intellectual,
commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Public Relations Manager
Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years. He sums
up the topic very nicely: Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the Becky Holm
things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the
wisdom to know the difference. Voices! is published monthly by
District 7 Toastmasters. First issue
published August 2014.

4 Volume 2 Issue 7 - FEBRUARY 2016