2021 Annual Awards
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
Area Director of the Year
Area Director of the Year 2020-2021 – Chie Kawahara
I’m glad I returned to Toastmasters after a 17-year hiatus. In addition to becoming a better speaker, I’ve grown as a leader in the last 4 years.
One of my goals as the Area A4 Director was to have all five clubs participate in the Area Speech Contest. I remembered how much I grew when I competed. I wanted the club members in my area to experience this too. So, early on, I gave a short pep talk about this to all the clubs during my club visits. Then for the few months leading up to the contest I continued a steady drip of sharing tips, videos, and contest information. When the club that had not participated before sent in a competitor and a functionary, I was thrilled!
Another goal was to set up each of the clubs for success when my term ended. During the last three months of my term as an area director, I worked with an exceptional guidance committee for my High Performance Leadership project to help clubs identify future leaders, have club elections early, and encourage knowledge transfer. I invite current and future ADs to use and improve on the tool I’ve created.
Division Director of the Year
Division Director of the Year 2020-2021 – Kalpana Aroda
When I began my professional journey two decades ago, I very quickly realized that I needed to work on my communications skills. It wasn’t broken, it was just not dependable.. What do I mean when I say dependable, it’s simple, Presentations were simply a hit-and-miss scenario. Some were excellent and some were borderline embarrassing. Like any normal human being, I identified the problem and thought it would go away with time. Guess what? It did not, on the contrary, I passed on opportunities at work where I lacked the confidence to speak in public and then life happened, priorities changed….
One day an opportunity came along my way and I decided I will not let this pass by. It was an opportunity to introduce a guest speaker in a room full of 100+ participants. When my name was proposed to introduce the speaker, I knew I had to do all I could to give my 100%. I immediately searched for the Toastmasters clubs meeting near my home, I spoke in front of 10 people as a guest and I knew I had a long way to go…I joined the club on that very day I walked in as a guest and never looked back. I took on officer roles, district roles and with each opportunity have only learned that there is so much more to learn in the field of communications and leadership… and my journey now continues as a program quality director for the district. I have to totally acknowledge one simple fact, Toastmasters is and will always be a part of my life and hopefully so will my growth. Thankful to all who have mentored me these past five years, looking forward to where growth takes us next.
Division Director of the Year 2020-2021 – Megan Mayer
This year’s team of Area Directors was Awesome, as was the entire District leadership team. At the very start, we supported each other, working closely together, to craft excellent Online Club Officer Trainings that maximize our Club Officers’ learning experience. Learn. Troubleshoot. Grow. Repeat. I learned more tech in our first 3 months than…ever? – and had great fun doing so.
This same teamwork and support carried through the rest of the year, at every level of leadership in the District. I learned how to work effectively with multiple styles of leadership while finessing my own, and made wonderful friendships while serving our members on their growth journey. Watching future leaders blossom in their roles as Contest Chairs, Chief Judges, Club Officers, District Officers, and public speakers has proved heartwarming.
Identifying how to equip your team for success is liberating – and Toastmasters teaches us just that! Thank you all for making this year one of learning and friendship. My goal was to reflect upon a productive and educational year with fondness for my team members.
Mission accomplished – you are all Awesome! Thank you for a great year.
Toastmaster of the Year
When I initially started out as a Toastmaster at MCA Toastmasters in October 2018, I had little intention of doing anything except improving my speaking skills. However, I would have never guessed I would be the Toastmaster of the Year a couple years later.
I always liked helping people, sometimes too much! When I started my journey, I just wanted to help out my club members by becoming a Secretary and later, a President. I constantly tried to help others by taking on more as I got more comfortable. With this mentality, I soon participated in the Fall Fusion 2019, May Conference 2020, and became a Tech Guru as part of the 2020-2021 PQD Team.
What Toastmasters taught me was my limits and how they are just an illusion. I never needed to know how everything worked, never had to commit more than I could, and never felt that I wasn’t being challenged. All I had to do was communicate my willingness, my abilities, and my bandwidth. Thank you to all the Toastmasters, many of whom have become great friends, who have helped me through my journey. You gave me feedback when I needed it, helped when I felt overwhelmed, and encouraged me to be a leader. I’m happy to have just helped out others grow and learn what I’ve learnt. This award is the cherry on top.
Past Annual Award Recipients
2019-2020
Division Director of the Year
Shoba Rao
Division B Director
Achieved President’s Distinguished Division!
Area Director of the Year
Ines Ben Cheikh
Area B5 Director
Achieved President’s Distinguished Area!
Club Officer of the Year
Abhijeet Joshi
Nspeak Toastmaster
Toastmaster of the Year
Mythili Prabhu
2018-2019
Division Director of the Year
Hedi Moalla
Division B Director
Achieved President’s Distinguished Division!
Area Director of the Year
Shyamala Sista
Area E4 Director
Achieved President’s Distinguished Area!
Club Officer of the Year
Eddie McMorrow
Los Gatos Toastmasters
Toastmaster of the Year
Rita Barber
2017-2018
Division Director of the Year
Sophia Liu
Division B Director
Achieved Select Distinguished Division!
Area Director of the Year
Satish Shenoy
Area C6 Director
Achieved President’s Distinguished Area!
Club Officer of the Year
Rex Coleman
Toast on Fire
Toastmaster of the Year
Gergana Angelova
2016-2017
Division Director of the Year
Aditi Vijaykumar
Division G Director
Achieved President’s Distinguished Division!
Area Director of the Year
Lydia Lee
Area G2 Director
Club Officer of the Year
Anahid Avakian
MoToast
Toastmaster of the Year