Page 11 - August 2017 Voices

JUST SAYIN’ . . .
Getting Ready
by Donna Stark, DTM—District Director
I associate this time of year with the
Scandinavian Festival, the County Fair, and
getting ready to go back to school. I thoroughly
enjoyed each summer vacation but by late August
I (and my mother, no doubt) would be excited
about getting back to class. I would organize and
re-organize my supplies. Notebooks filled with
clean, fresh paper. Number two pencils with
their newly-sharpened smell. Crayons still in
one piece with the wrappers and points intact.
It all added to the excitement and promise of a
new school year.
Laptop, check. Reading materials, check.
Passport, check. The supplies have changed, and
it’s not quite back-to-school, but your Trio is
headed to Vancouver B.C. to attend district leader
training and the International Convention. It’s
our opportunity to work and learn together as a
district team, with our peers from other districts,
and with World Headquarters staff. I’m looking
forward to reconnecting with old Toastmaster
friends, and meeting new ones. I expect I’ll pick
VOLUME 4 ISSUE 2 AUGUST, 2017
up needed knowledge and wisdom. I have a
similar feeling of excitement and promise that
I felt as a schoolgirl. Hmmm—maybe it is like
back to school!
When I was in high school, Friday night
football games were the highlight of the week.
The thrill of competition and cheering on your
favorite team—it was fun! The International
Speech Contest will be the Friday night highlight
of the convention. Guaranteed to be great fun,
we’ll cheer on our favorite team, D7’s own Quint
Crispin, in his semi-final competition and
hopefully beyond.
The next several days will be a whirlwind of
activity! We will strive to become better leaders
to serve you more effectively. We will seek out
the best information, tips and tricks to share
with you. The next several days will be a whirl-
wind of activity! When it’s over, I look forward
to returning to District 7. There is, after all, no
place like home.
See you soon!
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