Page 18 - 8.2016 Voices

SUCCESSFUL CLUB
How to Become A Distinguished Club
by Frank Hupp, DTM
You would think becoming a Distinguished
Club would be pretty easy. For this journey that
I will take you through I would have to tell you
it is not necessarily so.
I will give you some background information
to set the stage. I live in Columbia City, Oregon,
and I am a member of Columbian Toastmasters
Club in St. Helens, Oregon.
I accepted the
assignment as a club
coach about 9 years ago
for Astoria Toastmasters
in Astoria, Oregon. I
thought it would be
easy as I had almost 10
years experience as a
Toastmaster at that time.
At the first meeting I
attended, there were
three Toastmasters
present. I was one of
them.
We meet on the first, third and fifth Mondays
if there is a fifth Monday. That makes about 26
to 28 meetings per year.
We built the club to the distinguished level
within two years. Then a member left because
there were limited employment opportunities.
Unemployment was about 20% in the Astoria area.
We missed being Distinguished by one member.
Then other members left to attempt to find
employment. We would build up membership
and then lose as many as we had gained. This
happened to us twice.
About two years ago, I told Astoria
Toastmasters that we needed to work really hard
to become Distinguished as I felt that we had
become a little complacent.
We decided that on those fifth Mondays we
would have an open house. We had fliers printed
and distributed to local businesses. I started going
to Astoria in the mid afternoons and contacting
18 Volume 3 Issue 2 - AUGUST 2016
local businesses. I contacted realty companies,
banks, county offices, Fred Meyer, Les Schwab,
health care clinics, gas stations, and whomever
else I could think of to contact.
Several of our members caught fire and
started contacting their circle of influence.
That worked really well as they live in the
Astoria and southern Washington communities.
Multiple Area Directors
(Governors) assisted
whenever they could.
We made a corporate
decision and joined the
Astoria Chamber of
Commerce.
It was truly a team
effort. Each and every
Astoria Toastmasters club
member did their part.
With any membership
building effort, it takes
many hours of dedicated effort by each and
every member.
There is not just one decision or effort that
made the difference. It is all of the things that we,
underscore we, did over the 9-year journey that
helped us to become a President’s Distinguished
Club by meeting ten of ten goals.
Frank Hupp joined Toastmasters in 1997. He is
a member of Astoria Toastmasters and Columbian
Club. He is currently serving as President of Astoria
Toastmasters and Sergeant at Arms for Columbian
Toastmasers. He is serving as Area 81 Director in
Division G (Northern Division).