Develop The Leader In You

Have you ever been the leader over something and felt you were lacking? Maybe, you got nervous having to speak in front of a group. Or maybe, you did not know how to coordinate people’s activities. If your answer is yes to any of these, you will want to read this article.

Pictured above is Larry Josephson. He is a Toastmaster (TM) and belongs to Lincoln-Way TM which is based in Frankfort, IL. TM is an international, non-profit, educational organization whose primary mission is to help its members overcome the fear of public speaking and at the same time develop leadership skills.

This past year Larry was named District 54 Toastmaster of the Year. He won the honor because of his exemplary leadership skills. He had to oversee the operations of 13 local TM clubs during a pandemic plagued year. In a short period of time, these clubs had to go from in person to virtual meetings. In this craziness, the 13 clubs in his division needed to retain memberships and the members continue to reach educational milestones.

Larry’s division performed better than the other divisions in District 54. The 13 clubs in his division were spread out into 3 areas; 2 of the 3 areas were deemed Distinguished which means membership strength and educational accomplishments were above average.

Larry was very modest about his success. When asked about going from in person to virtual meetings, he credits Chris Boyk. Last year, Chris served as the District Director. Chris is a technology expert and spearheaded the use of Zoom as our virtual meeting app. When asked about retaining membership and educational achievement, Larry credits his 3 Area Directors: Garrett Gray, Dr. Craig Karvala and Jemma Ku. When the pandemic drastically changed how everything function, he chose not to panic but to adjust and carry on. Larry provided the leadership and coordination to maximize the efforts of others for a common cause. Larry also credits TM for giving him the skills to do all this.

If this year, you would like to develop your public speaking and/or leadership skills, check out TM. We are non-profit and open to all individuals 18 years or older. The membership cost is very nominal. There are multiple clubs throughout the area. Due to COVID-19, you can stay at home and attend meetings virtually. Over time when it is safe to do so, in person meetings will resume. To find a club, go to: www.toastmasters.org and click on the ‘Find A Club’ link. You can also call Thad Gray at 708-769-7506.