Letter from the President – October 2009
Fellow Toastmasters
For the first time in my year of President, we had a proper business meeting. Lead by Danie, we 
followed the proper protocol for amending a motion and voting on the amendment and then the amended motion. Danie handed the process quickly and efficiently.
I am not sure when this newsletter will be published, and maybe Growcon will be over by then. If not, look at www.minicon.co.za or details. I have worked as part of the conference committee as the program convenor – what an eye-opener it has been! Such a lot of work and organisation goes into a conference where 150+ people are expected. I have renewed respect for people out there who do this for a living. Coming out of the conference will be one person who is the winner of the humorous contest for the Southern African region of Toastmasters. What an achievement! Of course there will have been many people slightly disappointed for having not made the various levels of the contest. Contests are the only time in Toastmasters where people compete against each other. The rest of the time, you ‘compete’ against yourself, hoping to better your previous effort.
This brings me to the ever-contentious issue of repeating speeches. There are advantages and disadvantages to being asked to repeat speeches or to merely move onto the next level. We have looked at this issue in our club committee meetings and thought that the best way forward is this: we will NOT ask members to repeat a speech during a public evaluation. The evaluator can speak to the member in private and merely suggest that they may want to repeat in order to meet the objectives of the particular speech more fully. The member then has the choice and can decide for him/herself whether to repeat or not.
Your feedback however is hugely important. In the near future, we are going to have a proper debate during the table topic session on being asked to repeat a speech. Think about whether you are FOR or AGAINST! In the meantime, if you would like to give us feedback, email me at president(at)4thdimension.org.za
Keep on keeping on!
Yours in growth,
President 4th Dimension