Fall in Love with District 61!
By Izza Masud
You can’t say that this year has been short of surprises! Amidst the chaos of COVID and “normal club life” disappearing, my entry into the PRM position was epic, to say the least. When I was asked to apply for this position, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to use my professional skills as a marketer and carry them over to Toastmasters. I was so excited to follow in the footsteps of last year’s PRM Line Bouchard. There were so many ideas brewing in my head. I remember having long discussions with our DD Kimberly, where she would say, “I love it, but you know you can’t do it all, it will need an army!”. She was right! I needed a team. Meanwhile, COVID hit hard, clubs started to shut down, and a new reality emerged. The task seemed even more monumental than before! How do you engage and inspire people when the world is in crisis? How do you make members fall in love with the District and Toastmasters again?
We all know that brilliant ideas are born in chaos, and so the idea of a team started to take form. Why not make a tiger team that will be well versed in everything PR? That way, the District will benefit from consistent PR efforts, and the clubs could benefit from the new team’s training. I sent out a call, and 12 brilliant, enthusiastic and energetic Toastmasters responded. They were ready to learn all things marketing and PR while serving the district. This PR tiger team comes from all areas of the District including, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, and Deep River. They bring invaluable insight and knowledge on clubs and members, which will help me improve the overall “member experience” and in tailoring our message.
The team is spending extra time learning new skills like creating content, managing social media and persuading audiences. They are working hard for not only themselves but also for their clubs and their District. I am so grateful to have such a fantastic team taking themselves out of their comfort zones and willing to learn something new. It is the epitome of what Toastmasters is all about. We hope that our efforts will make you fall in love with our District and Toastmasters as an organization again.
I am very proud to introduce our 2020-2021 PRM Team!
Fran Watson
Daniel Jibouleau
Claude Racine
Charmaine Ralph
Nancy Mcwatters
Kanika Grover
Cathleen Fisher
Kevin Chao
Robert Leitch
Travis Richards
A very special thanks to our District’s CIO Craig Senior for his hard work and guidance in supporting the PRM Team and its plans. We hope to serve and support you throughout this year, and if we can help you in any capacity, please don’t hesitate to reach at prm@tmd61.com or our new slack channel
#prm-helpdesk-2020-2021 on the District 61’s Slack Channel tm61.slack.com