The club coach program is the best tool districts have to help struggling clubs, yet many districts don’t promote the club coach program very well. There are districts with 30-40 or more clubs eligible for coaches, but only a dozen or so assigned.
They’re effectively leaving these struggling clubs to fend for themselves, or whatever the Area Governor can spare. Official training is available, and it’s perfect to include in Toastmasters Leadership Institutes (TLIs).
Any club with 12 or less members (according to WHQ rosters) is eligible for a coach (there can be two coaches per club), and a coach can be anyone who is not already a member of the club at the time of appointment. To volunteer, contact your district Lt. Gov’r of Marketing! To find a club that needs a coach, click here, then click on your district number and scroll down in the right-hand panel to the “Clubs that need coaches” section; click on club numbers for meeting information.
The club coach’s goal is to bring the club to distinguished by the second following June 30. Simple, right? Of course, the biggest challenge is usually rebuilding membership to be eligible to be distinguished (a whole ‘nother topic!). A good place to start is the Successful Club Series module Moments of Truth.
Top 10 reasons to be a club coach (some good, some bad!):
10. You’re bored on the night they happen to meet
9. To fulfill the requirements for your Advanced Leader-Silver and DTM
8. To help the area/division/district be distinguished by keeping its clubs
7. Because your Area Governor asked you to help
6. To get more speaking and education session opportunities
5. To exercise your leadership skills in a new environment
4. To help organize a membership-building drive
3. To bring ideas from your club(s) to a new club, and vice versa
2. To network with the members in a new club
1. To give back to an organization that gives its members so much
What’s YOUR reason? Add it in the comments!
My 2 favorite positions in Toastmasters to date have been
– Club President – I converted a near death club with 11 members and no DCP points to a President Distinguished Club which reached 30 members shortly after finishing my term as President.
-Club Coach – I converted a struggling club to Distinguished and encouraged the club to breath the DCP as the 1st step. There is really no better measure of a club’s success.
I originally attended a coached club to give some speeches and help throw better meetings to attract new members, I was immediately struck by the warm and friendly atmosphere and knew we could not lose this club, so I became club coach. Now it’s my home club!
Toastmasters is like a box of chocolates – ‘you never know what you’re going to get’