Annual Awards

Recognizing exceptional Members, Club Officers, and District Leaders within District 101.

In District 101, we recognize efforts by Toastmasters who lead the way through their example. We have special annual awards to be presented to Toastmasters in various roles for their great contribution throughout the year.

Take a look at the criteria and submit your nomination (self or otherwise) to the District Director at dd@d101tm.org by June 15th.

Club Officer of the Year

This award recognizes a Club Officer whose dedication, commitment, and area team significantly contributed towards achieving success for the Club and its members.

Criteria

Club Officer of the Year 2023-2024 – Vilvakumar Sundaramoorthy

It was a pleasant surprise to receive this award. I started the Asteralabs Toastmaster Club in November 2023, with the hopes of reducing my time to drive to other clubs, and to build a community of like-minded folks. Though the latter was achieved, we had to spend a lot more time training and building the team to achieve distinguished club status in June 2024. Unlike community clubs, adding club members was an easy task as the company was growing, and also was sponsoring the Toastmaster dues for the employees.

The challenge came in two ways. First, when a new product is launched, it is an “All-hands-on-deck” moment and almost all the club members get busy. This moves the meetings from three speakers to no quorum level. Secondly, since almost all the members are new, it is an uphill battle to train the team for the meeting roles and their speech projects. Despite all the struggles, with the help of the club officers and the club mentors (Linda Yeh, and Marty Varela), we were able to achieve distinguished club status. The learnings and the friendship that we get during such a journey is worth much more than the time and energy we spent so I am very happy and proud of my team and what we have achieved together in this short stint.

Area Director of the Year

This award recognizes an Area Director whose dedication, commitment, and area team significantly contributed towards achieving the district mission.

Criteria

Area Director of the Year 2023-2024 – Manini Pattnayak

Three years ago, when my husband and fellow Toastmaster Neetish suggested I join Toastmasters, I was hesitant. But I decided to give it a shot, and it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’m especially grateful to Neetish for introducing me to this incredible organization.

I’ve loved every moment of being a Toastmaster, and so much of that is thanks to my home club, ArtICCulators, and its amazing members. From the start, I took on various club officer roles, but I wasn’t sure about becoming an Area Director. Thankfully, District Director Abhijeet Joshi convinced me to go for it, and I’m so grateful he did. I had no idea just how vast and impactful Toastmasters could be until I took on that role.

The past year has been nothing short of magical. Being an Area Director gave me the chance to help clubs in my area grow and succeed. More importantly, it introduced me to so many incredible people who are passionate about their growth and the growth of others. Each person I’ve met and worked with has left a lasting impression on me.

I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to Abhijeet Joshi, Raji Bandanapudi, Anna Garcia, and all the members of the District Executive Committee for their unwavering support and encouragement throughout this journey.

A special shoutout goes to Division Director Wendy Fan, who has been our rock, providing steady guidance and inspiration. I also want to express my gratitude to my fellow Area Directors—Phillip, Chirag, Rupali, Ritesh, and Prachi—for being such an incredible team to work with.

And to all the clubs and members of Area E3, a big “Thank You.” It has been both a pleasure and an honor to serve you. I’m excited to see you all continue to grow and thrive.

Division Director of the Year

This award recognizes a Division Director whose dedication, commitment, and Division team significantly contributed towards achieving the district mission. Several activities and accomplishments are categorically listed.

Criteria

Division Director of the Year 2023-2024 – Hrishikesh Gokhale

I joined Intercontinental Advanced Toastmasters Club in District 101 in June 2022 in pursuit of improving my communication skills. In December of that year, I got a call from District Director Abhijeet Joshi to apply for a 2023-24 Division Director role. I was serving as Area Director in District 18 and wasn’t sure whether I would be able to take on and do justice to the role. I decided to take a leap of faith, submitted my paperwork, went through a DLC interview, got a nomination for the Division Director role, and got elected in May.

In June 2023, Abhijeet and Solarzar Dellaporta arranged a set of training sessions for Division Directors, which helped me better understand the role and responsibilities. In July, Abhijeet introduced me to my wonderful team of Area Directors: Leena, Anushree, Prajna, Sach, and Sachin.

We had a series of division council meetings which not only helped me get to know my team as a Toastmaster, but also on a professional and personal front.

As the year progressed, my team and I learned about all the events and activities which would make the term successful: COTs, renewals, contests, educational goals, club retention and club chartering, to name a few of them.

As our theme of the year was “Together we Grow”, I can say each one of us grew in their journey in this one year.

At the end, I am blessed to have support and guidance from all members, club officers, club coaches, area directors, fellow division directors, and top three district leaders to end the term with satisfaction and success.

Toastmaster of the Year

Toastmaster of the Year award recognizes a Toastmaster whose dedication, commitment significantly contributed towards achieving the district mission.

Criteria

Toastmaster of the Year 2023-2024 – Kari Lynn Morgan

Thank you for this recognition. Like most people, I joined Toastmasters to better my speaking skills, but I soon discovered an entire world beyond my club. District 101 has given me so many opportunities to practice not only speaking, but leadership and service as well. I enjoy working my magic behind the scenes, but it is nice to have it acknowledged.

When the pandemic hit and we all went to online meetings, this district was extremely responsive. I don’t even remember when I was first asked to help run events on Zoom, but I said yes, and here we are.

I want to encourage every one of you to say yes. This is the safest place to learn and grow (even if you don’t get it right). Say yes to yourself, yes to your club, and yes to the district. You never know where it will take you.