Lost For Words

Ok, so it doesn’t happen often, and yet, last night, I was lost for words.

I didn’t know what to say when I was announced
as the recipient of the coveted award

Toastmaster of the Year

at my home club, Mercury’s Motivators.

This is an end of the year award given to one member, as voted by all members, and our club has so many wonderful members that it was (is) hard to comprehend being the recipient.

It takes a lot of work to keep a Toastmasters club functioning – from the President who presides over everything and everyone with their helpful and supportive leadership, to the Vice President Education who primarily, but not necessarily solely, oversees the education program and meeting agendas – to the Vice President Membership and Vice President Public Relations who work closely together to attract new members and promote the club across social media platforms.  Then there’s the Secretary who handles all the club correspondence and maintains the club records – yes, every decision made, and the Treasurer who is the ‘keeper of the coin’ and finally, last but by no means least, there is the Sergeant At Arms (SAA) who looks after the club’s assets and coordinates the club’s ‘meeting space’.

It’s the role of SAA that I’ve been fulfilling for Mercury’s over the past 12 months.

And I must say, coordinating the clubs meeting space has been a huge responsibility.

Unlike other clubs who have a home – a permanent meeting location – Mercury’s does not, and although the club only meets once a month, each month the meeting is held in a different location somewhere here on the beautiful Sunshine Coast – and this is a locale that stretches over 2,251+ square kilometres (869.2 sq miles).  There are approx 75 kilometres from the southern reaches to the northern tip, that’s just the Sunshine Coast City Council area.  We often venture into other council jurisdictions, covering a vast area where there are so many wonderful places to chose from, all of them for a price of course.

The trick is to find a location that is enticing, and affordable, and able to accommodate the number of members attending.

Not every hotel, cafe or restaurant has a room that can seat 25 (or even 20) people, all wanting to eat and talk – and not necessarily both at the same time, or all at once.

– ⋅ o ♥ o ⋅ –

But being a member of the executive team isn’t solely about what your role entails.  It also means working as a member of a team and helping and supporting other members of that team as well as the members of the club.

I have revelled in the role of SAA over the past 12 months.  It’s required a lot of organisation on my part (also being the President of my other club) but I’m nothing if not organised.  I dedicated myself to finding interesting venues that offered fabulous food for a reasonable cost and ensuring everything is set up before the members arrive.  I’ve enjoyed calling our meetings to order – sprinkling this responsibility with clean, funny, and appropriate jokes – I’ve been conscientious in looking after the club’s assets – organising a new case for carting them to and from the meetings – and I’ve tried to help and assist the other executive and club members when I could.

Yes, it has been a great year and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my role, revelled in it as I said, and I thank everyone for honouring me in this way.

I’m not sure what the new year holds in store for me, but I do believe it will be challenging and exciting all at once.