Each Toastmasters Club is a private club, run by its own club executive, adhering to the Toastmasters International core values of integrity, respect, service and excellence and using a standard Toastmasters Club Constitution with its own Addendum of Standard Club Options covering items such as venue, meeting fees and times.
The Club is a business and the executive is the management team that keeps it viable, ensuring that the programmes presented meet the members’ needs. The Club executive is encouraged to meet once a month to discuss club business. The executive needs to address items such as the annual plan for the club, whether this is on track, whether members are achieving what they came to Toastmasters for, whether viable membership levels are being maintained.
The Club executive may decide to commit the Club and its members to certain obligations and/or expenditure. This might include raising or lowering membership fees, changing venue, paying for members to attend training or contests, through to applying for grants that can be used towards purchasing equipment or running special workshops or courses such as Speechcraft.
Whatever the Club executive decides, they need to take decisions to the Club members for ratification. This way there is transparency. The place for this to happen is at a business session within the Club meeting – probably once a month. The business of the Club executive is presented to the members for their approval and the items are minuted by the Secretary. What’s the purpose of this? The members are informed about the work the executive is doing on their behalf, decisions are recorded and the Club executive is transparent in its actions.
This is wise and ethical business practice – everything is open and correct. The interests of members are protected and the actions of the Club executive are protected.
Marilyn Freeman
District 69 Governor 2013-14
I agree that this is wise and ethical business practice and important for building focused and robust clubs. But I note that some clubs have newer executives who are not necessarily experienced in how to run a business session. I note that every member of the executive needs to be well prepared for these to be engaging rather than burdensome for club members. Like most things in life preparation is the key.
I agree that this is wise and ethical business practice and important for building focused and robust clubs. But I note that some clubs have newer executives who are not necessarily experienced in how to run a business session. I note that every member of the executive needs to be well prepared for these to be engaging rather than burdensome for club members. Like most things in life preparation is the key.