New Governor for Lanka’s Toastmasters

Toastmaster Darshana Welikala was appointed Governor of Division-A for the year 2007/2008, beginning July 1, 2007. Division-A is a part of the South Asian body of Toastmasters International U.S.A which represents all Toastmasters Clubs in Sri Lanka. Toastmasters International has administrative regions, districts, divisions and areas of which District 82P consists of clubs in India and Sri Lanka.

Welikala was appointed to the post at the last District Conference in New Delhi, India. The colourful event was held at the India Habitat Centre with over 500 Toastmasters in attendance for a three-day conference which included the annual business sessions, an international speech contest and many educational and speech training programmes.

Toastmasters are spread over 90 countries with a membership of 347,000 across 11,155 clubs. The organisation dates back to its humble beginnings in 1903 when its founding father Ralph C. Smedley, after graduating from Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois, took a job as Director of Education for the local YMCA and realising that the older boys who visited the YMCA needed training in communication, began a public speaking club.

Smedley called his group, "The Toastmasters Club" because the activities resembled a banquet with toasts and after-dinner speakers. The boys enjoyed taking turns making speeches and evaluating them, as well as presiding at the weekly meetings. Smedley propagated the idea of ‘Toastmasters’ wherever his job took him. Finally, Toastmasters laid its firm foundation in Santa Ana YMCA on October 22, 1924.

In Southern California's optimistic climate, the concept caught on. Men from neighboring communities sought out the group and liked what they saw. Smedley was quick to help them organise their own Toastmasters clubs. The new clubs were united in a federation designed to coordinate their activities and ensure uniform methods. In 1932, the federation was incorporated as Toastmasters International, following the establishment of a club in British Columbia, Canada. Districts were created later, as the number of clubs increased.

“The first Toastmasters club to be established in Asia was the Colombo Toastmasters Club, which was chartered in 1983. Today, we have over 500 Toastmasters in Sri Lanka making up 22 registered clubs,” Darshana said. “In my personal experience, Toastmasters serve two very important purposes.

“First, a Toastmasters meeting is the most conducive environment for a person to learn and master the art of public speaking; it provides the right support and guidance to a speaker through experienced mentors, detailed evaluation and friendly feedback. No one leaves a Toastmasters meeting without speaking – yes, ‘speaking in public’. Public speaking is not necessarily that which we see on electronic media with audiences in the thousands but, is also, speaking before audiences we come into contact with, in our every day life – at home, friends, workplace, business presentations etc; wherever one may be called upon to present one’s thoughts and ideas effectively. You could simply put it as – effective communication.”

“The second opportunity is in leadership training. Toastmasters is an organisation that encourages teamwork, leadership and organisation management. Let’s not forget that it is more challenging to work with, and lead teams, in a voluntary organisation compared to the others whose members/employees are obliged to perform and deliver results on account of the remuneration they receive. Performance and results in a voluntary organisation are achieved through motivation. The pragmatic approach to teaching these skills and techniques are a very interesting part of the Toastmasters programme.”

Inspired by what he witnessed at a Toastmasters meeting, Darshana joined Toastmasters in 2003. He has been a member of The Millennium Toastmasters Club since. He served the Club as its President in 2005/2006, and as Area Governor in 2006/2007. His club and area were decorated by Toastmasters International’s President’s Distinguished Award for achieving the highest standards in the Toastmasters communication, leadership and membership programmes.

“I am fortunate to have a team of experienced and dedicated Toastmasters to work with in the new year. Our focus will be to facilitate effective personal growth for the membership and to carry the message of Toastmasters to a wider public. Effective organisations are increasingly recognising the need for effective communication, both at the level of corporate and individual. Effective communication is a key element of success,” Darshana said.