Toastmasters International -

In August 2020, every Toastmasters club will have the opportunity to vote on proposed amendments to the Bylaws of Toastmasters International.

Proposal A

Board Composition

The Board of Directors proposes amendments to the Bylaws of Toastmasters International that would increase the maximum percentage (from 15% to 20%) of Toastmasters Member Clubs that could compose one (1) region. If approved, the size of the Board would remain the same. However, instead of one (1) International Director serving each of 14 regions, two (2) International Directors would serve each of seven (7) regions. The International Directors would serve staggered two-year terms per region to promote continuity of knowledge on the Board of Directors for each region. In addition, the International Leadership Committee (ILC) will potentially have a larger pool of candidates per region to evaluate. If adopted, this new structure would be in place starting July 1, 2021.

Following are the proposed Articles to be amended, with a brief description of what those amendments entail:

Bylaws of Toastmasters International

Article V: Board of Directors, Section 1: How Constituted – Change to two International Directors from each geographic region serving staggered two-year terms. The current requirement is one International Director from each geographic region.
Article V: Board of Directors, Section 4: Duties – Increase the maximum percentage of clubs per region to 20%. The current maximum percentage is 15%.
Article VII: Committees, Section 3: International Leadership Committee – Include two International Leadership Committee (ILC) members representing each region who would serve staggered two-year terms. The total number of ILC members would remain the same. The current requirement is one ILC member from each geographic region.
Article VIII: Nominations, Section 2: International Directors – Enable the ILC to nominate candidates for International Director from all regions. The current requirement is for the ILC to nominate candidates for each geographical region that has an International Director’s term expiring that year.
Article IX: Elections, Section 1: Time and Section 2: Qualifications – At the Annual Business Meeting, delegates would vote for one International Director from each of the seven regions. If approved, each of the continuing International Directors on the Board would be assigned to one of the seven regions by the International President.

Proposal B

Statement Submission for International Disciplinary Proceedings

When conducting a disciplinary hearing, it is important that the Board, or the International Disciplinary Committee when authorized by the Board, have sufficient time to conduct effective due diligence when reviewing information provided by the charged member. The amount of information provided by a charged member can vary greatly.

In order to ensure there is enough time to review all materials before the hearing, the Board proposes that the Bylaws of Toastmasters International, Article III, Section 13.d, be amended to require that information from the charged member be submitted 96 hours before the hearing. The current requirement is 48 hours.

For any questions about the voting or the proposals, please email BoardContact@toastmasters.org.