Page 8 - Voices-2022.05
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COVER STORY
Antonia Harrison, DTM Sileia Ninopoulou, PI1 Anthony Garvey, DTM
Club Founder
Who is Shilling Speakers? according to the Toastmasters principles.
Shilling Speakers is a Toastmasters Club,
originally set up in January 2020, as a local, Why a Public Relations team instead of one
face-to-face public speaking club in the south officer?
of England. We went online because of the The genesis of the PR Team began when
pandemic, after six live meetings and we Antonia, our Vice President of Education, saw a
decided to remain an online club. unique chance to combine her Level 5 project on
Unlike other Clubs that saw the pandemic Team Building (originally focused on an Open
as an insurmountable problem, we embraced it House meeting in May 2022) with something
as an opportunity. Within six months we had bigger. The new PR Team emerged from this
chartered with 21 members, many of them process as we saw the value of encouraging more
based in international locations. We have than one member to help with the marketing
grown in two years to 34 members, spanning 5 of the Club. After following the necessary
decades. 17 are overseas, 19 are dual members, procedures, the newly established team was
and we are proud to have attracted 4 TEDx formed and started to flourish.
speakers, 11 Distinguished Toastmasters, and The PR team consists of five members
10 advanced members to our ranks. with different backgrounds and interests: The
We chose not to become an advanced new VPPR is Sileia Ninopoulou, a vibrant
club, as we enjoy sharing our knowledge Greek member located in Groningen, in The
with new members, who learn rapidly on Netherlands with a legal background and
their public speaking journey. The club interested in competition and behavioral
achieved President’s Distinguished Club economics. Antonia Harrison, a Distinguished
status, with 10/10 DCP points for the second Toastmaster, is the club Founder, IPP/VPE, with
year running - by January! This is the highest an early career in advertising/marketing. She is
level of recognition given by Toastmasters currently also the VPPR in an Irish club. Anthony
International and means our club is doing Garvey, a Distinguished Toastmaster and TedX
everything it can to serve its members, Speaker, is a successful PR professional in Ireland.
8 ONE COMMUNITY
