District News

Get Ready for District Leader Training — Develop your core leadership skills and network with others from around the world at this year's District Leader Training! Sessions will take place August 17 and 18 at the Vancouver Convention Centre East in Vancouver, Canada, prior to the start of the annual Toastmasters International Convention. More information about preparing for training, including individual schedules, will be sent via email in the coming weeks. Please complete your pre-work before arriving onsite, and don’t forget to pick up your training materials during District Leader Training Check-In on Sunday!

Help Clubs Designate a Proxyholder by August 12 — This is an important time for clubs to cast their votes in the International Officer and Director elections. Remind Club Presidents that their designated proxyholder must be able to attend the 2026 Annual Business Meeting, either onsite or online, on August 19 at 12 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT)/Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) – 7. If you have any questions, email proxyinfo@toastmasters.org.

Area Directors: Visit More Clubs — Area Directors play a crucial role in the positive rapport that Districts maintain with their clubs, largely through club visits. While two visits a year are required (either onsite or online), we encourage you to visit your club four times a year. Area Directors who visit at least 75 percent of the base number of clubs in their Area can meet one of the qualifying requirements of the Distinguished Area Program by logging into District Central and submitting an Area Director’s Club Visit Report.

Train Club Officers by August 31 — Help club officers better serve members by encouraging them to attend club officer training, which continues through August 31. Clubs will also earn Distinguished Club Program (DCP) credit when the Program Quality Director reports the training details via District Central by October 31.

Train Area and Division Directors by September 30 — District leaders are better able to serve their clubs when they are prepared. Be sure to train at least 85% of these officers by September 30 for your District to qualify for Distinguished status.

Expand Your Leadership Impact — Serving as a Region Advisor is a rewarding opportunity to continue your leadership journey by supporting and coaching District leaders as they work toward the District mission. This volunteer position spans a 15-month term and reports directly to the International President. Submit your application for the 2027–2028 program year by September 30. To learn more about the position, watch this three-part webinar series, or visit the Leadership Roles Booth, online or onsite, at the 2026 International Convention.

Club Building and Club Excellence Curriculums — If you have not already, review the Club Excellence Initiative Curriculum by visiting the Club Officer Kit and District Leader Kit pages. Also, the Club Building Curriculum is available again to all District Executive Committee members as a continuation from last year. To access the Club Building Curriculum, log in to Base Camp. It is in the “Paths and Learning” section.

Online Meeting Mastery is Here — The first Pathways exploration, Online Meeting Mastery, will help you build the skills needed to participate confidently in online meetings, deliver engaging online presentations, lead effective online meetings, and understand hybrid meeting components. Learn more about Online Meeting Mastery and be one of the first to get this exploration.

Program Year in Review — International President Aletta Rochat, DTM, has traveled the world, visited amazing Districts, and met many memorable people. Take a look at her vibrant term as Toastmasters’ top leader.

Don’t Be So Hard on Yourself! — High achievers often expect a lot of themselves, which means mistakes and missteps can be derailing. Learn how to strengthen your self-compassion so you can recalibrate quickly after something goes awry.

Using Stories to Make the Sale — Need to persuade someone? The most effective way to convince anyone is through storytelling. Discover how stories create connection, making people more likely to remember your message and take action.

Congratulations, 2025-2026 Distinguished Districts! — For the 2025-2026 program year, 42 Districts met their goals and achieved Distinguished or better status in the Toastmasters International District Recognition program. There were 11 Smedley Distinguished, 5 President’s Distinguished, 5 Select Distinguished and 21 Distinguished District. Well done!

Who Will Advance from the Semifinals? — Get ready to cheer for the 2026 International Speech Contest semifinalists! During the Toastmasters International Convention, 26 contestants will compete in four semifinals for a chance to advance to the World Championship of Public Speaking^®. Find out who is competing and view the full agenda for dates and times.

International Candidate Showcase — Be sure to check out the recording of the International Candidate Showcase before the Annual Business Meeting. Take advantage of the opportunity to hear the international candidates answer questions to illustrate their applicable experiences and skills for service on the 2026-2027 Board of Directors.

Vintage Paths Available to All — An exciting update was just made to vintage paths: Members no longer need to complete Level 1 in another path to get started! If you’ve been waiting to finish Level 1, the wait is over—if you’ve selected your first, free path, you can now purchase a vintage path through the Choose My Learning page.

Toastmasters Product Shipping Pause — World Headquarters will conduct a physical inventory of all warehouse products from November 2–13, 2026. To ensure your order ships before the inventory begins, please place your order by the end of the day on October 21. Orders placed October 22–November 13 will be held and shipped once the warehouse inventory is complete.