Antigua Toastmasters Club sponsors Youth Leadership Program

Antigua Toastmasters Club conducts Youth Leadership Program for 20 students from Clare Hall Secondary and Antigua State College and the community. The program is a unique 8 week workshop which commenced on Saturday 25th October, 2014 and will run until 13th December, 2014.

The program is designed to help high school aged children meet the challenges of adulthood and leadership successfully. Sponsored and conducted by Toastmasters International and its local club,

Youth Leadership helps young people build their communication and leadership skills so they may become tomorrow’s leaders in business, industry and the community. Activities taking place include evaluation of present speaking ability, discussion of chairmanship principles, presentation of speeches, impromptu talks, group evaluation, discussion and practice in listening and discussion of voice and vocabulary.

In the month of October Toastmasters International celebrated 90 years of service and continues to be the leading movement devoted to making effective oral communication a worldwide reality.

The Antigua Toastmasters Club meets every Thursday @ 6:00 p.m. at ABI Financial Center on Redcliffe Street.

District 81 May Conference in Antigua & Barbuda

The Antigua Toastmasters Club has the proud honour of hosting the District 81 May Conference! The Theme of the conference is Unlock your Potential and it will be taking place at the beautiful Jolly Beach Resort & Spa, May 16th - 18th.

Attend A Meeting

Do you want to spend an evening with a warm and inviting group of people? Do you want to laugh, learn or get a new perspective on life? Do you want to know what Toastmasters is all about? Then join us at our weekly meetings.

 Every Thursday at  6pm, the Antigua Toastmasters Club meets at the ABI Conference Room on the second floor of the ABI Financial Centre on Redcliffe Street.

What Should You Expect?
Majority of our meetings are divided into four segments,

Introductions - The meeting is brought to order by the club President who introduces the Toastmaster of the evening who leads the meeting. He/she in turn introduces the individuals who have roles in the meeting, e.g. Ah-Counter, Jokemaster, Grammarian, etc. When they are introduced, the role holders give a small talk on the responsibilities of their roles. In the case of the Jokemaster and the Quote Presenter, they present their joke or quote.

Table Topics - During our meetings, we have this segment before the prepared speeches. In this segment, members not otherwise scheduled as program participants have an opportunity to present one or two minute impromptu talks.

Prepared Speeches - During this segment of the meeting, two to five members present speeches based on projects in the Competent Communication and Advanced Communication manuals.

Evaluations - After a short break, the entire meeting is evaluated. Each prepared speech is verbally evaluated by a fellow member in a helpful, constructive manner using given evaluation criteria. Verbal evaluations of the meeting are also given by the Ah-Counter, the Grammarian, the Timer and the General Evaluator. Also in this segment the winners of the Best Table Topics, Best Speaker and Best Speech Evaluator are announced.

To see a copy of a meeting agenda, click here.

In addition to our regular meetings, we have Speech-a-thons where we have upwards of seven speakers giving speeches. During these meetings, the Table Topics segment is removed to accommodate the extra speakers and ensure we end at our usual time. We also have Speech Contests such Table Topics Contest, Humourous Speech Contest, Evaluation Contest. The winners of some of the contests will go on to represent the Antigua Toastmasters Club at the district level, and could go on to take part in the International contests. Sometimes, our meetings are replaced by training sessions, such as How To Be A Better Evaluation, How to Listen Effectively, etc.

During our meetings, there are countless opportunities to learn and grow. Not only do you meet great people, you also learn from the speeches that are presented.

Although attending a meeting is fun ad a great way to spend a Thursday evening, there are so much more benefits from being a member of the Antigua Toastmasters Club. To learn more, visit Being a Member and/or How To Join, or join us at our Thursday meetings, for directions to the ABI Financial Centre, click here.

Contact Us

Want to know more? Do you want to get in contact with us? Here are the different ways you can connect with us,

Email: antiguatoastmasters@gmail.com

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/antiguatoastmasters

Tel: (268) 783-4796

We welcome all inquiries.

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How To Join

Joining The Antigua Toastmasters Club is very easy. We are always looking for new members to join our club. Follow these three (3) steps and you will be a member in no time:

1. Attend A Meeting - When you attend a meeting, you will get to experience the club dynamic - warm, friendly people, interesting speeches, etc. This will also help in your making the decision to join. See Attend A Meeting for more information.
2. Speak With An Executive Member - Normally, you would speak with the Vice President of Membership, but you can speak with any member of the Executive. They will walk you through the Toastmaster program and the application process. See The Executive to find out the names of the Executive members.
3. Become A Member - At this step you will fill out an application form like this. The membership fee is EC $270 for six (6) months. This fee covers the Competent Communication Manual, the Competent Leadership Manual, a subscription to Toastmasters Magazine, rental of the conference room and other administrative costs. See Being A Member to learn more about the member experience.

If you need more information on how to join, see Contact Us and contact us through  the various avenues.

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Being A Member

Upon visiting a  Toastmasters' meeting, it is easy to come to the conclusion that being a member of the club comes down to just giving speeches. The truth is there is more to the Toastmasters' experience than preparing and delivering speeches.

Benefits
There are many benefits to being a member of the Antigua Toastmasters Club, they include, but are not limited to,

• Developing your public speaking skills,
• Developing self-confidence,
• Developing leadership skills,
• Learning to interact with others,
• Learning to listen effectively,
• Developing the ability to think on your feet
• Opportunities to network, locally, regionally and internationally
• Building friendships
• and more

What Do You Get?
When you become a member, you will receive

• A Competent Communication Manual which guides you in the preparation of speeches
• A Competent Leadership Manual to aid you in leadership roles
• A subscription to Toastmasters Magazine

You will also be assigned a mentor who will help you in understanding the club, and assist you in preparing your speeches. Also the Vice President of Education will work with you in choosing the date of your first speech, The Ice Breaker.

Toastmasters International is an educational organization and has a track for it's members to follow and achieve the title of Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM). The current track is illustrated below.

As a member of the Antigua Toastmasters Club, you will not only experience the benefits listed above, you will grow as a person. Don't take our word for it, read what our members have to say about being a member,

Testimonials

My cup runneth over
I have had many changing points in my short life span on earth, becoming a toastmaster was one of those (good) changing points. I have seen the growth in myself since joining, not only as a better orator but a better person overall. I have become more patient, more tolerant and a much better listener. When I attended my first toastmasters meeting over a year ago, I didn’t have a clue what the program was about or if I was ever going to attend another but I was convinced by the end of the meeting, by the members and I convinced myself that this was exactly the type of organization I needed to be affiliated with, that could be beneficial to me. Toastmasters has positively affected my life so much so, that I take back almost all the information from the meetings to my family and my father constantly asks me, if toastmasters is the only thing I can talk about :-D. I also apply the lessons I learn in my daily life. I will be eternally grateful for the toastmasters program and my toastmasters family.

- Saran King

Click here, to learn How To Join

Meeting Location

Every Thursday at 6pm, the Antigua Toastmasters Club meets in the ABI Conference Room located on the 2nd floor of the ABI Financial Centre on Redcliffe Street. To see the exact location, see the map below:

View Antigua Toastmaster Club in a larger map

When you arrive at the ABI Financial Centre, you will enter the building through the doors in the middle, i.e. to the right of the bank entrance and to the left of the ATM entrance. A security guard will unlock the door, let her/him know that you are attending the Toastmasters meeting. You will be required to sign in with your signature and the time you arrived.

After signing in, you have two options, take the elevator or the stairs. If you take

The elevator, select the "2" button. When you reach the second floor, turn left, then left again. This will lead you into a short hallway. The conference room is the last door on the right.

The stairs, go up two flights of stairs, go through the door, then turn right. This will lead you into a short hallway. The conference room is the last door on the right.

When you arrive  will be greeted by the Sergeant At Arms who will assist you in being seated and will answer any questions you may have.

Please note that Toastmasters meetings start on time, exactly at 6pm. If you are late, you may be asked to wait at the door during a prepared speech as your entrance may distract the speaker.

For more information, visit Attending a Meeting or Contact Us.

We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting.

About The Club

The Antigua Toastmasters Club is one of the youngest Toastmasters clubs in the Eastern Caribbean, having been chartered in November 2012. Under the guidance of the Executive and the club mentor, Mark McKenzie, the club has grown in its numbers and has seen members achieve Competent Communicator, Competent Leader, Advanced Communicator Bronze and Advance Leader Bronze levels.

During its second year of existence, the Antigua Toastmasters Club has been given  the honour of hosting the District 81 May Conference. For such a young club, this is quite an accomplishment.

Despite all the clubs achievements, there is more to the Antigua Toastmasters Club than giving speeches and attending conferences. To start, we are a warm and welcoming group of people who are here not only to develop into better speakers and leaders, but to also support each other. During the meetings, you have opportunities to learn interesting things or to be inspired. Between entertaining and informative speeches, fun Table Topics and great people, there is a lot to be had from coming to a meeting.

We meet every Thursday at the ABI Conference Room in the ABI Financial Centre. The meeting starts at 6pm and we suggest you arrive early in time to meet the members, network and sign in.

For more information, visit Attend A Meeting, Meeting Location, Being A Member or Contact Us.

The Antigua Toastmasters Club

Where Leaders Are Made

(in Antigua)

The Club Executive

To ensure the club runs smoothly, an executive is elected into office each year.
For the 2015 - 2016 year the members of the club executive are as follows:


President: Eustace Caesar, CC
The club president is the chief executive officer of this club and is responsible for fulfilling the mission of this club. The president presides at meetings of this club and the club executive committee; appoints all committees; and has general supervision of the operation of this club.

Vice President Education: Cindy Price, CC, ALB
The vice president education is the second ranking club officer and is responsible for planning, organizing and directing a club program which meets the educational needs of the individual members. The vice president education's responsibilities also include coordinating the club schedule, assisting with education awards, planning speech contests and managing the mentor program.

Vice President Membership: Kristen Francis
The vice president membership is the third ranking club officer and is responsible for planning, organizing and directing a program that ensures individual member retention and growth in club individual membership. The vice president membership chairs the membership committee. The vice president membership's responsibilities also include conducting membership contests, assisting guests and processing membership applications.

Vice President Public Relations:Cherry-Ann Casimir
The vice president public relations is the fourth ranking club officer and is responsible for developing and directing a publicity program that informs individual members and the general public about Toastmasters International. The vice president public relations chairs the public relations committee. The vice president public relations' responsibilities also include safeguarding the toastmasters brand.

Secretary: Heidi Skerritt
The club secretary is responsible for club records and correspondence. The club secretary has custody of the club;s charter, constitution, and bylaws and all other records and documents of this club; keeps an accurate record of the meetings and activities of this club and of the club executive committee; maintains an accurate and complete roster of individual members of this club, including address and status of each individual member; and transmits the same to the successor in office.

Treasurer: Colin Francis, CC
The treasurer is responsible for club financial policies, procedures, and controls. The club treasurer receives and disburses, with the approval of this club, all club funds; pays to Toastmasters International all financial obligations of this club as they come due; and deeps an accurate account of all transactions. The club treasurer shall make financial reports to this club and to the club executive committee quarterly and upon request, and shall transmit the accounts and all undistributed funds to the successor in office at the end of the club treasurer's term.

Sergeant At Arms: Anetta Simon-Williams
The sergeant at arms is responsible for club property management, meeting room preparation, and hospitality. The sergeant at arms chairs the social and reception committee.

Webmaster: Angernel Aaron
The webmaster is responsible for maintaining the clubs identity online via the club's website and social media.


Club Sponsor & Mentor: Mark McKenzie, ACS, ALB


Past Executive

2014-2015

President: Tamara Valerie ACB, ALB
Vice President Education: Saran King, CC, CL
Vice President Membership: Cindy Price CC, ALB
Vice President Public Relations: Eustace Caesar, CC
Secretary: Shamair Joseph
Treasurer: Elka Price, CC
Sergeant At Arms: Pearl Quinn-Williams, CC
Webmaster: Kristen Francis
Immediate Past President: Julie Young, ACB, ALB

2013 - 2014
President: Julie Slusher, CC, ALB
Vice President Education: Rushawn Engleton, CC, CL
Vice President Membership: Barbara Hesse
Vice President Public Relations: Ernest Bradshaw
Secretary: Michele Mings
Treasurer: Saran King, CC
Sergeant At Arms: Elka Price
Webmaster: Kimolisa Mings, CC
Immediate Past President: Mark Young, CC, ALB


2012 - 2013
President: Mark Young, CC, ALB
Vice President Education: Julie Slusher, CC, ALB
Vice President Membership: Cherry Cassimir
Vice President Public Relations: Rushawn Engleton, CC, CL
Secretary: Pearl Quinn Williams, CC
Treasurer: Eustace Caesar
Sergeant At Arms: Tamara Valarie
Webmaster: Ernest Bradshaw