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Health & Fitness

GULFPORT RESIDENT NAMED TOASTMASTER OF THE YEAR

The accolades keep coming for the Toastmasters International club in Gulfport. On Thursday, October 17, the Division A Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contest was held at the All Children's Hospital auditorium in downtown St. Petersburg. At the end of the event, a surprise announcement was made by District 48 Governor and Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) Ron Rice. District 48 extends along the Florida Gulf Coast from New Port Richey to Naples and inland to Sebring. It is divided into six Divisions, A through F. Gulfport Toastmasters Club President, Robin Riddell, DTM, was awarded the 2013 Division A “Toastmaster of the Year” award.

The Toastmaster of the Year award is given to the individual who best embodies the organization’s values of Integrity, Respect, Service and Excellence. Besides providing leadership as President of the fastest growing Toastmasters club on the Florida Gulf coast, Robin is also Area 10 Governor (southern Pinellas County) and helps guide the growth and development of five Toastmasters clubs in the St. Petersburg area. These are:

·         Gulfport Toastmasters Club, meeting Wednesdays at 6:15PM - 7:30PM in the Community Room of the Gulfport Library, 5501 28th Ave. South in Gulfport;

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·         The City Power Toastmasters Club that meets at Noon on Wednesdays in Room 600 of the Municipal Services Complex at 1 4th Street North;

·         the newly formed Downtown St. Pete Toastmasters which meets at the All Children’s Hospital in the Multi-Purpose Room at the All Children's Education and Conference Center on the corner of 7th Avenue South and 4th St. South - Thursday evenings from 6PM to 7PM;

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·         The Toastmasters at All Children’s Hospital (TACH) club which meets at 7:30AM on Wednesdays in Employee Education Room 1 at the Business & Technology Building at All Children’s Hospital; and

·         The Ceridian St. Pete Toastmasters Club that meets Wednesdays at Noon at the Ceridian campus.

The TACH and Ceridian clubs are corporate clubs which primarily serve the employees of the sponsoring organization and help build employees communication and leadership skills.  

Division A Governor Lynne Perry, DTM, nominated Riddell for the award and explained how Robin fulfilled all of the facets of the honor.

“Integrity in Toastmasters,” said Perry, “is how we conduct ourselves and what we stand for even when unpopular to do so. Robin enacted accountability among the club officers in their service to the members and in reaching club goals.  Respect is what we earn from our peers and usually results from what we contribute to others. Robin has earned that throughout the entire district for her tireless efforts in promoting Toastmasters’ effectiveness in building leaders in the community. Service is self evident and Robin works extremely hard for this organization. Excellence is how well we do what we do and Robin’s results are there for all to see.”

Gulfport Toastmasters is quickly becoming one of the most dynamic and eclectic clubs in the Tampa Bay region. It was awarded the prestigious “President’s Distinguished Club” award in its first year under the leadership of immediate Past President Donna Kolody and is on track to repeat that feat again under Riddell’s term. The Gulfport club has enjoyed significant growth in the last few months, including several local practicing attorneys. One of Robin’s current goals is to encourage the law students at Stetson University to investigate how Toastmasters’ skills can energize their legal training and help make them effective advocates and litigators. She has similar hopes for the business and marketing students on the campuses at FSU-St. Petersburg and St. Petersburg College, inviting them to check out the Downtown St. Pete Toastmasters club which meets Thursday evenings from 6-7PM.

“The Downtown St. Pete Toastmasters club is an alternative for the professionals on the All Children’s campus, but it is also a great opportunity for the students at the local universities who are majoring in Marketing, Business or pre-Law,” says Riddell. “The Toastmasters program is a great way to develop the speaking and leadership skills that are going to supercharge the knowledge you have gained in school. If you are serious about becoming a leader in your chosen profession, you have to consider in Toastmasters.”

Gulfport Toastmasters meets every Wednesday from 6:15 pm to 7:30 pm at the Gulfport Library and guests are always welcome. For more information, please contact Rene Enfield at (727) 251-0874 or visit www.GulfportToastmasters.com.

Toastmasters International is a non-profit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of meeting locations and has more than 280,000 memberships in 13,500 clubs in 116 countries. Membership is open to anyone over 18 years of age.
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