Message From Outgoing President
As my term as President of Ottawa Toastmasters ends, I would like to thank all the people who have made our club so successful this year. Once again, the club has achieved the highest possible distinction for a Toastmasters club: President Distinguished Club. This would not have been possible without the hard work and commitment of all our members. Even more gratifying was to hear our members share a mentoring moment at one of our club meetings. To hear a member relate how our Toastmasters club enabled them to achieve a personal goal or overcome a personal fear is extremely fulfilling. Of course, the year was not without its unexpected challenges as well and I would like to thank all the members who served on the executive with me; it was their energy and imagination that enabled us to overcome these challenges and facilitated the club reaching its goals. Perhaps our greatest achievement was to keep our meetings fun and energetic throughout the year. I was always delighted to hear guests exclaim that they never thought that a Toastmasters meeting could be so much fun.
Of course, one of the most satisfying experiences as a Toastmaster is to mentor a new member, to hear them speak with increasing confidence throughout the year as they worked through the Toastmaster program. It was a great pleasure to see so many of our newer members reach the point in their Toastmaster’s journey that they were willing to participate in the club speaking contests throughout the year. I was also proud to see our members perform so well in the various speech contests. It was a proud moment for the club to see Greg Miskie qualify for the Division Table Topics Contest against some very tough competition.
I am confident that our incoming President, Greg Miskie, will guide our club to even higher levels of achievement in the coming year. I am sure that under his leadership our club will continue to nurture a positive and supportive atmosphere where members will gain confidence and overcome their fear of public speaking. It will be a pleasure to serve on the new executive with him.
- Duncan Rens


