Do You Remember Your First Time?

by Mary Carol Holbert, Public Relations Officer

Linton McLain, DTM

When Linton McLain was assigned the task of planning the First-Timers’ Program, he was excited. He remembered when he was a First Timer, and the impression he received of Toastmasters International during his first Conference about a year and a half ago. Linton explained that he did not participate in the First-Timer program his first conference, but he found himself noting the First-Timers program over the last two conferences, thinking about things that seemed to work well, and noticing things that might be done a little better.

His memory of his own first District 84 Conference was that the atmosphere was different from the Club experience. He enjoyed the Conference environment, where everyone seemed to be supporting one another in a more relaxed setting, with lots of laughter, plenty of smiling faces, and time to talk to other Toastmasters and make new friends. His overall impression was extremely positive, and he made plans to come back – plans that he has kept, having attended each conference since.

As Division Governor in charge of planning for our first-time conference attendees, Linton’s goal was to ensure that the First-Timers to our “Once Upon a Time, A Fairy Tale Conference” left Daytona Beach with the same level of enthusiasm he had experienced.

It was important to Linton that the First-Timers experience was positive, fun-filled, and energizing, before, during, and after the conference itself. He and his team put a lot of effort into planning a program that would accomplish that goal. Ideally, every First-Timer would feel welcomed, excited, and motivated to grow throughout the weekend and going forward.

It’s difficult to comprehend how deep and wide our organization is until you’ve experienced what it’s like to share, grow, and make friends with other Toastmasters
from across the District. Perhaps Linton’s words express the sentiment that most Toastmasters feel once they attend a District Conference.

“That was the Toastmasters that I wanted to be a part of,” he said, summing up the overwhelming sense of having connected with something much bigger, more exciting, and far richer than we could ever experience if we never stepped outside our clubs.

The overriding goal was to make the Conference engaging, fun, and very comfortable for our First-Timers – to make them all feel at home. Using our Fairy Tale theme, our first-time attendees were given a Conference Guide that was focused around the educational theme.

The First-Timers were challenged to achieve three Levels of Enchantment, attainable through completing the Conference Guide. The First Level involved learning something about the various levels of educational awards, from Competent Communicator through Advanced Communicator Gold, and Competent Leader through Advanced Leader Silver.

The Second Level of Enchantment entailed the participants learning about what it takes to be a Club President, Area Governor, Division Governor, and District Governor.

The Third Level of Enchantment was designed to show the diversity of our members, focusing on finding people with different backgrounds, experiences, and talents.

And what Fairy Tale Contest would be complete without some magic? Ten magic scrolls were distributed to ten DTMs, who were given a blue star on their name badges. All ten scrolls were found by the competitors.

There were a couple of things that Linton would like to see improved going forward. There was a reception for First-Timers in the Hospitality Suite Friday evening, which was a lovely idea, but one which proved difficult to execute since most people were still checking in and trying to get ready for Friday evening’s festivities. Linton also mentioned that he would like to see the start time for the First-Timer’s meeting pushed back a little later. Many of our first-time Conference attendees did not want to start their morning so very early. A later start time would probably mean more First-Timers attending the Saturday morning session, and more energy!

Linton is currently finishing up a slide show for the First-Timers, which he hopes to have ready soon. He says he was very excited that he had a chance to impact the First-Timers’ experiences, and hopes that everyone who participated had a lot of fun.