Judy Laythorpe, DTM - District 80

District 80

At the International Convention in August 2004 I had the honour and privilege to attend the kick off celebration hosted by the members of the brand new District 80. The pride, the excitement was evident. This was a new beginning, a new era and a new focus. It was a real pleasure to be invited to participate in the celebration.

As I reflect on the past few months similarities come to mind between the birth of this new District
and the birth of a child. Both are looked forward to with great anticipation. Both are celebrated with
great joy. Both look to benchmarks, points of reference from which measurements can be made,
to gauge our success. Both have the same universal hope - that each generation shall build on the
progress of the parents; and parents take great pride that their children fare better.

I think back to the birth of our son. We were immediately aware of a problem. Brian would need to
be seen by a specialist. It appeared that his ankles may not have developed properly - his feet
were turned upwards, his toes resting against his calf. With great relief we were informed the ankle
bones and muscles were indeed there but because of his position in the womb the muscles had not
been allowed to stretch. With exercises the feet would drop and he would be able to walk. The
benchmarks we looked towards as parents would not be met on the same timeframe or guidelines
as set. Although his first year was not as expected we believed the future would be bright. It was,
Brian grew and developed into an active, healthy child.

Your District Governor painted a very visual picture of the future of District 80 when he said “If
District 80 is a plant; we can say that it is a bud graft. And that it came from very good stock –
District 51. The mother stock was the number one district in the world for 5 consecutive years.”
“Let us fulfill our obligation in life – to make our parents proud, to help the next generation do better
and to help all members achieve their dreams to be better speakers, better leaders and better
persons.”     

District 80 is struggling to meet the benchmarks in the way they anticipated. Yet, the future is
bright. You are changing lives. You are making a difference.

Your District leaders believe you can meet the goals set out by Toastmasters International.
Believing is the first step to success.

Do you know the story of the Little Engine that could? It goes something like this:

It is the time when Diesel engines were replacing the steam engine. A circus train had pulled into
town and the diesel engine broke down. The circus was due at the next town the following day.
The circus master went from diesel engine to diesel engine in the train yard asking for help. But all
the engines were too tired, too lazy or just didn’t care enough to help the circus train out.

On the side track sat an old steam engine waiting anxiously and hoping to be asked. He believed
in himself. He knew he could get that circus train to the next town. He had to so the children would
not be disappointed. Finally the circus master asked him. He jumped at the chance, hooked himself
up the circus train and started to pull out of the train yard saying “I think I can, I think I can, I think
I can. He was not very confident as first but as he picked up energy his confidence grew “I think
I can, I think I can, I think I can and he headed out into the countryside.

Then he came to the first hill. It was not a very steep hill but the load was heavy. The engineer
threw more coal into the fire and the little engine kept going “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can”
and he made it up that first incline.

Before long he came to an even steeper hill. Was he going to make it? The people on the circus
train saw that he needed help. They unloaded some of the elephants and some of the other animals
to help lighten the load. More coal was thrown on the fire and the little engine started pulling the
train up the hill, “I think I can, I think I can I think I can”. Slowly he pulled the train all the way to the
top. The animals were loaded back on and the train continued its journey.

There was one more very steep hill to climb before the final run into the next town. Once more the
circus people saw that the engine needed some help. They unloaded the animals and all the people
got out and walked beside the train. More coal was put on the fire and the engine started pulling
“I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. The top of the hill seemed very far away and the engine
was losing energy “I   think I can, I think I can, I think I can.”

Then he heard it! The voices of the children yelling and shouting as word reached them that the
circus train was coming. He had to do it. He couldn’t disappoint the children. He had to get that
circus train to town. “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can”. And he did!

D80 has a mountain to climb. You can do it. Believing is the first step to success.

However, Believing does not make it happen. There is work to be done. I challenge each of you to
take the next step, invite a guest to your meeting, open the door of opportunity for them to see
Toastmasters in action Do it Now! Give someone the opportunity to achieve their dreams. Give
yourself the opportunity to make a difference, to change someone’s life.

Now is the time to review your progress schedule your speeches to complete your projects and
earn your Competent Toastmaster or Advanced Toastmaster Award before June 30. You can do it!
Do it Now!

Believing is the first step to success. Focus and teamwork make it happen. Do It Now!

District 80 will always hold a special place in my heart. Than you for changing my life.

Judy Laythorpe, DTM

Lilian Lau DTM - Past District Governor 2001-2002

THE JOURNEY OF A DISTRICT GOVERNOR

My journey as a Toastmaster began in April 1992 during the formative years of the Territorial Council which later evolved into District 51.  As I look back, my development in the Toastmasters movement seemed to be in tandem with the development of District 51 over the last twelve years.

Toastmasters had a great impact on me from the start.  I was so enthusiastic that I signed up for the 1992 convention in Pattaya, Thailand soon after I joined.  My enthusiasm has not waned inspite of having attended thirty conventions including the last seven TI annual conventions in the USA.

When I joined my first club, I was immediately co-opted into the club exco.  In 1995, I was elected President of Orchard Toastmasters Club.  During my term, Orchard achieved the Top Club Award for the 30-39 member category and was ranked No. 4 Club in District 51 in terms of club performance.  Club leadership was a challenging experience for me as I was shy and reserved.  But I was determined to develop my leadership skills as I had only one term as President.  For the next three term, I was Area D2 Governor 1996-1997, Division D Governor 1997-1998 and Area D4 Governor 1998-1999.  Due to a last minute resignation, I agreed to be area governor again.  These three terms provided a strong foundation for the next level of top district officer positions.  As Area Governor and Division Governor, I devoted much time and energy mentoring club officers of several clubs which needed support.  The main areas of my focus were on club building, coaching weak clubs, mentoring club and district officers.  In 1997, I built my first new club, the New Millennium Advanced TMC and as Division D Governor built a total of seven new clubs, amongst them SRC TMC, Sky Media TMC, Queenstown TMC, OAC Mandarin TMC.  More importantly, Division D became a very strong division and I was very proud of the Division D Clubs. 

The LieutenantGovernor and District Governor experiences were completely different from the area and division governor experiences as the responsibilities covered Brunei, Hongkong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.  As LGM 1999-2000, our district achieved the world record of 57 new clubs built.  I had personally built 13 new clubs during that term.  By the end of my DG term, I had built more than 30 new clubs and helped “close the sale” for numerous new clubs.  Club building has always been my passion because I believe each new club has the potential to transform many lives.  I was invited by Toastmasters International to be a panel speaker on “Building Strong Clubs” at the TI Annual Convention in Chicago, USA in August 1999.  As LGET, our district achieved a record number of CTM awards for that term.  As District Governor, our district achieved No. 1 in performance ranking for the 4^th consecutive time.

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