Welcome to District 101 Toastmasters

A Toastmasters district that serves the area from Mountain View to King City, including most of Santa Clara county and all of Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito counties.

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District 101 Toastmasters

District 101 is a lively and diverse Toastmasters organization that prides itself on putting members first. We have a supportive community of Toastmaster members of all levels who are here to learn about how to reach goals together.

Our District Director’s theme for the year 2024-25 is Your Story Matters

“Your Story Matters” is more than a theme—it’s a call to share the chapters that define us. Each narrative of resilience, triumph, and growth, whether personal, professional, or within Toastmasters, has the power to inspire, influence, and impact others. Let’s celebrate our narratives, unlocking their transformative potential to inspire a ripple effect of connection and growth among the district members.

Programs & Events

Throughout the year, D101 provides a variety of opportunties through Events & Conferences and Speech Contests, Education/Training to grow your speaking and leadership skills and District Programs to help grow your club and reach educational goals. Get the most out of your membership by participating in all the district has to offer!

Education/Pathways

Club Officer Training (COT)

It’s time again for another Club Officer Training Season (COT). Registration and training has begun. Training season will run from December 9 to February 28, 2024. View page for complete schedule.

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Pathways After Hours

Pathways After Hours provides an opportunity to discuss the Pathways Experience. We will discuss common Pathways challenges members may be having and learn from each other in a collaborative way. Pathways questions are welcome.

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District Programs

District Programs are club incentives for club goals reached by participating in District Programs that help grow your club. By participating in these District Programs, clubs can earn District Credits that can be used for one of three purposes:

Buy items at the Toastmasters store. There are lots of gadgets that are very useful to clubs – get some meeting equipment, awards, gifts, and so on. These will spruce up your club meetings, make your club look more professional, attract guests and new members, and reward achievements.
Convert the credits to physical gift certificates for use at the store later, or to give as gifts. Gift certificates don’t expire.
Free tickets to the District conferences! Clubs can use District credits to cover registration fees of district conferences so your members attend for free. Many of us in the District can attest to the inspiration, enrichment, and information we learned from the amazing speakers at these conferences, and we highly encourage our club members to attend.

District News

A Monthly Newsletter from our District Director

November 2024

Raji Bandanapudi, DTM, reflects on giving and receiving feedback and how a balanced evaluation helps foster community.

November

A new podcast, events to learn from and unique incentives to help grow your club, plus Thank a Toastmaster contest.

Announcements

Congratulations Annual Leadership Award Winners:

Vilvakumar Sundaramoorthy – Club Officer of the Year

Manini Pattnayak – Area Director of the Year

Hrishikesh Gokhale – Division Director of the Year

Kari Lynn Morgan – Toastmaster of the Year

Learn more

Thank a Toastmaster Challenge 2024

#ThankAToastmasterD101 entrants:

Learn more

One of the best things about Toastmasters is the gift of mentoring. If there is one person
that I would like to thank throughout my entire journey is Dr. Patricia Wiggin.
Patty’s gentle guidance and unwavering support paved the way for me to become part
of this wonderful organization. She saw my potential during those moments of self-
doubt and suggested that I should join Toastmasters to help me rediscover who I am
and become more.
Like many others, the first speech was the most difficult and I remember how she
assisted me well to overcome my fears and how to start well. I remember sending
several revisions of my speech to her and she constantly gave feedback on how I can
master them well. She gave me the format of how I can best structure my speech.
Over the last five years, I have been blessed to have been gifted with other mentors, but
the first person will also have a special space in my heart. If not for her insistence for
me to join, I would have not been able to discover the path to greatness and leadership.

Recipient: Patricia Wiggin

Entrant: Grace Camille Curtom, Interpersonal Toastmasters Club

My name is Priya Shastri, a member of the Saratoga Big Basin Toastmasters Club since 2021. I want to thank Sowmya Raman from Saratoga Big Basin TM Club for encouraging me through this journey in Toastmasters. She helped provide valuable feedback in the very first icebreaker that I provided. She asked me to watch my movements and make deliberate movements while talking to draw the audience’s attention. This has helped me in the process. She guided me to perform various roles in Toastmasters meeting as a General Evaluator, Table Topics Master, and Grammarian. She is extremely thorough in any role that she performs. She is dependable, trustworthy and enthusiastic in all of the Saturday 8 am meetings and drives the meetings to completion. She jumps in to be a team player and helps the club without bias. With her continued involvement in Toastmaster, many junior members of the club can grow to new heights in public speaking. When the VPE role was not filled in the toastmaster calendar year, Sowmya has been consistently sending reminder emails for weekly meetings without being recognized as VPE. I am grateful to Sowmya and the Saratoga

Big Basin Toastmasters Club members for helping me grow in my public speaking journey. I would love to see Sowmya Raman as a Toastmaster role model in D101.

Recipient: Sowmya Raman, Saratoga Big Basin Toastmaster Club

Entrant: Priya Shastri, Saratoga Big Basin Toastmaster Club

My name is Priya Shastri, and I have been a member of the Saratoga Big Basin Toastmasters Club since 2021. I want to thank Megan Mayer from Women Lead Toastmaster for encouraging me through this journey in Toastmasters. She helped provide valuable feedback in the very first icebreaker that I provided. She asked me to watch my movements and make deliberate movements while talking to draw the audience’s attention. This has helped me in the process. She guided me to perform various roles in Toastmasters meetings as a General Evaluator, Table Topics Master, and Grammarian. She is extremely friendly in her interactions with me and patted me on the back for all the minor achievements. She is an excellent mentor and guided me in my Pathways projects. She has reviewed many of my blogs and provided valuable feedback. She is very patient in her interactions and corrected my mistakes while writing blogs over and over without a snitch. I am extremely grateful for her encouragement and her belief in me to take on district roles. I sincerely appreciate her involvement in mentorship for all the junior members of Women Lead Toastmasters. in 2020. She is a role model as a mentor and I would like to emulate her in my mentor-mentee relationships. I thank her for introducing me to several distinguished Toastmasters and participating in a Women’s Panel Discussion on the impacts of Covid break on women’s careers. I look forward to her continued guidance to D101.

Recipient: Megan Mayer, DTM – Women Lead Toastmasters

Entrant: Priya Shastri, Big Basin Toastmasters

Elliotte Mao, DTM, Thank you for your generous and steadfast mentorship throughout my ten years as a Toastmaster! First, you patiently fielded incessant emails from my boss checking up on my meeting attendance (because my work presentations were just that bad). Next, you gave me invaluable tips for surviving contests and serving as an effective officer. Then, you guided our club safely through sticky situations such as unpleasant attendees and pandemic challenges. If I’ve been able to help anyone develop their communication or leadership skills, it’s been largely because of you! With gratitude, Karen Lee, Study Group Toastmasters, #ThankAToastmasterD101

Recipient: Elliotte Mao, DTM

Entrant: Karen Lee, Study Group Toastmasters

Anita Jindal, a true beacon of light, swooped in during a challenging time, when I was working to get back to work and illuminated my path back to the workforce. She shared her wisdom and stories, introduced me to invaluable resources, and catalyzed my professional resurgence.

Her guidance and support have been instrumental in transforming me into the confident speaker I am today. Through her stories, I know that I am not alone in thinking what I think. The stories of women are common, the same challenges and solutions can be shared. Thank you, Anita, for sharing your solutions, and for being a mentor, a friend, and an inspiration. Your impact on my life is immeasurable.

Recipient: Anita Jindal, Cupertino Toastmasters

Entrant: Shalini Kaushik, Bay Area Women Toastmasters

As a club growth director, I want to thank an unsung hero, Grace Camille. You may have never heard of her, I bet you’ve seen her work.

Grace creates the graphics for District 101, including images on web pages, newsletters and other PR materials. Last September, the renewal deadline was rapidly approaching, only 30% of members had renewed. In a hotel in Warsaw, I was jet lagged but slaved away to create more renewal incentives. By 12:21 AM I finally finished and hit the “send” button. It was Labor Day weekend. When will Grace get to it? I woke up, worried. Eagerly I checked emails. Voila, Grace’s kind reply: “Hello Wendy, will this work?” Two beautiful posters of “Stellar September” and “Renewal Champion” appeared. Grace’s quick work and impeccable fliers filled my heart with joy and gratitude!

With Grace I never need to anxiously wait or follow up. The workload for the club growth director is heavy. Grace’s quick and quality help provides a huge relief as it allows me to focus on many other critical tasks.

Grace goes above and beyond. Her duty is only to provide graphics, but she takes my info and turns it into a finished flier, saving me time and professional quality that I could not do.

Grace, thank you for being a bright star. You inspire me to tirelessly serve the district.

Recipient: Grace Camille Curtom, Interpersonal Toastmasters

Entrant: Wendy Fan, Club Growth Director

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my Toastmasters mentor, Francoise Muller, for being a constant source of support, motivation, and guidance. She has been an invaluable part of my Toastmasters journey, providing not only insightful feedback but also the encouragement I needed to grow as a speaker and leader. Francoise is incredibly approachable and always available to lend a hand whenever the need arises, whether it’s preparing for a speech or offering advice on leadership development.

Our mentoring relationship, which has lasted for a couple of years now, has played a pivotal role in enhancing my public speaking and leadership skills. Francoise’s wisdom, patience, and constructive guidance have made our sessions both impactful and inspiring. She has consistently challenged me to step out of my comfort zone, refine my skills, and embrace new opportunities, all while fostering a positive and supportive environment.

I am deeply grateful for Francoise’s ongoing mentorship and for the positive influence she has had on my personal and Toastmasters growth.

Recipient: Francoise Muller, PDD, Maps Toastmasters

Entrant: Raji Bandanapudi, District Director, Nspeak

Sometimes, extraordinary individuals come forward with remarkable ideas and the determination to bring them to life. Recognizing such moments is crucial, and today, I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to Priya Gopikrishnan.

Priya envisioned the idea of forming a Toastmasters club, Manager’s Meet, as a platform to empower aspiring and upcoming managers to enhance their skills. Her vision was not just an idea but a mission she passionately pursued. She demonstrated incredible dedication, rallying 20 individuals to turn this vision into a thriving reality.

Thank you, Priya, for your innovative spirit, relentless drive, and commitment to serving our Toastmasters community. Your efforts have created a lasting impact, and we are grateful for your contribution to the district.

Recipient: Priya Gopikrishnan, Hot Buttered Toastmasters Club

Entrant: Abhijeet Joshi, DTM, IPDD

Our Latest Blogs

A Magical District 101 Holiday Party

The District 101 Holiday Party was a truly magical event held at the ICC Milpitas. I had been to the venue before, but as I approached it this time,...

On Fear

Public speaking is an art that can be both empowering and intimidating. For some, the thought of standing before an audience induces feelings of...

Wish to write a blog?

Do you want your blog published on our blog page? Please submit your idea to blog@d101tm.org!

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