I would bet that there isn’t a Toastmaster anywhere in this world who does not remember their Ice-Breaker. Regardless of our level of expertise when joining a club for the first time, every one of us experienced varying degrees of nervousness when we delivered that first speech to our peers in our club. It also became evident that the only way to get over that nervousness was to keep on doing it.

In much the same way, we all had a certain amount of trepidation the first time we were asked to evaluate the speech of a fellow member. Will I be able to do it properly? Will I say something to offend the speaker? Will I be able to find something encouraging to say? Once again we received the same assurance that the best way to improve was to keep on doing it.

Happily, most of you did..!! You achieved your CC and your CL and went on to higher and more prestigious awards. But more important than the awards, was the skill and expertise you achieved. Some even tried their hand at competing in the various contests during the year, and became even better. Many use their skills to conduct the leadership, communication and success modules that abound in Toastmasters.

Somewhere along the way, your fellow toastmasters started to come to you for assistance and advice. You became a leader in your club and you realised you were getting good at it, just as you had improved in your communication skills. Many of you became a leader without ever having a title.

Such are the benefits of learning from and presenting the many Education and Leadership programs we are privileged to share in this great organization.

My wish for you this coming year is that you set your goals high and achieve maximum benefit from your involvement in every aspect of the Toastmaster programs.

Oh, and by the way...... don’t forget to enjoy yourself.