Time jump, 2025 - what has changed?

July 2024 usually starts the new Toastmasters year. This means I started to take the leadership reins of the Hall of Learners Advanced Toastmaasters club - something we had planned to do by way of transitioning between Joyce and myself

What was not planned, but happened to fall on my lap, was to be the Division Diretor of Division N! How did this happen? Let me backtrack a bit.

When I was still the President of SETSI and Friends, I was in team-building activity for our Area. In this workshop, Area Diretor Dan Agapay asked me if I was willing to take on the role of Area Director again - basically be his successor. I olitely declined, having been there - done it, albeit decades ago. Still, I pointed out that there could be others - we eventuall convicned March Nacino to take on the role.

Similarly, in 2023-2024, when it was time for Division H to seek a new Division Director, people were wondering if I wold consider taking the role. Again I said I'd been there and done it (as Division Governor) and they should seek out someone who has not yet been a Division Director - give that someone a chance to take on the role. By then, I would say I would have my hands full with HOLA as it's VP for PR - which would later morph into VP for Education (the busiest role in any Club ExCom). This time, Abe was chosen to be the next Diretor; somenoe who many thought as deserving to be Division Director long time in waiting, and I felt glad.

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Some time April 2024 - at the tail-end of the Division Cotests, I got a call from a oastmaster friend, Tisha. Normally, I'm used to suc calls - thinking I would be invited to be a General Evaluator for a club meeting. She jokingly asked me to sit down first. I was driving with hands free communication via car stere, so yes... I wa sitting down. I told her so... wonering where this conversation was going.

"Can you be Division N's next Director?", she then jumps into the bacground and reasonng for why she was asking me to suddenly do this. By this time, the nomination for candidates - and the succeding interviews by the District Leadership Committee had already been done.. and apparently, Division N cold not find a viable nd willing candidate. I'm sure there were some of the former, but apparently a lack of the latter.

The Division was relatively young, so they still had no time to cultivate the next set of leaders. Hence the need to find candidates elsewhere - outside the Division. Thoe hey were eyeing either had other plans (migrate elsewhere), or felt the task daunting, and had no confidence to jump in. THIS... was N'ds dillema, and Tisha was N's mother hen, Charter Direcor, spiritual guide - and she had just asked the District to stave off possible plans to dissolve the Division. I later learned that the need was indeed true - no exageration at all.

I always thought about being a Toastmaster willing to help. This was a major ask - and I knew that Barbie needed to be pulled in to this idea, because it would eat up a lot of my time. To cut a long story short, I agreed, and Tisha, with the current Division Director, Troy, agreed to have dinner with Barbie and me. Call it a formality, a treat to show their appreciation (and to score some brownie points with Barbie :D

I agreed to be Diviion N's incoming Division Director, albeit skipping all he inerview processes. Then again, I was a past Division B Governor, so m qualifications were not questionable. I was also, I'd like to think, seen as a competent personality in Toastmasters circles. I later found out that another friend suggested to Tisha that she ask me to take on the position. Not sure about the validity of this - but I have no reason to doubt this friend.

So... President of the Hall of Learners Advnced Toastmasters, while concurrently being Division N's Director. I slowly started telling my HOLA colleagues, insisting that I would still focus on being their President. I needed to explain why I accepted Directorship for N, when I politely declined possible discussions of accepting H. I even, a week before agreed to join the H counil - but now, I had to let incoming Direk Dan know I had to remove myself from H's council, because I now had to form N's council.

I will discuss the journey for oth of these separately in a different entry. This was just a quick update of my two major shifts as a leader / mentor / coach.

Definitely, more to come.