District 31 COVID Situation Update

Friday, March 20th, 2020

Members of District 31,

These are trying times indeed. We are all aware of the stress and disruption that the COVID pandemic has placed on ourselves, our families, and our life in general. We hope that everyone is well and settling into what could be our new norm.

First and foremost, take care of yourselves, your family and friends.

The District is also adapting to our new “norm.” Here are some important changes to be aware of. Toastmasters International, our local governments, and District 31 want to keep us safe.

Club Meetings
Clubs should meet virtually. At the advisement of District 31 and your local government, in-person meetings should be suspended. Toastmasters International has granted the exception to every club in the world to meet in a digital format. We understand this is a new way of meeting. We will be providing some additional help on the virtual meetings soon.

Dues
Toastmasters International has granted an extension to April 30th. Please reference the letter below (link to letter)

Contests
At the direction of Toastmasters International, the District Executive Committee voted on whether to continue the spring contests. The DEC elected to continue contest season with the International Speech contest. Toastmasters International is requiring that contests are held virtually as well. The District 31 Evaluation contest has been cancelled. Area and Division Directors are reworking the schedules for contest to accommodate working in a virtual platform.

Spring Conference
CLCON 2020 will not be taking place in person. The District business meeting will be held virtually and is still planned for May 16th. We will also be hosting the District level of the International Speech contest virtually. There will be more to come on the schedule for this later.

We are doing our best to share changes as they come — sometimes it’s minute to minute.

While we are all “physically distancing” ourselves to be safe, it’s also important to maintain some focus on our social health. Toastmasters meetings could be the one thing that brings back a little normalcy. It can reconnect us, get us our of heads off the world for a minute, eliminate that feeling of isolation, and provide a few laughs.

We are aware that some clubs aren’t familiar with the virtual meeting format. But remember — we are District 31 Toastmasters. We can run meetings where there once was none, rescue events that lost a speaker, and shine a little light into a person’s life when they realize they CAN do it. District 31 has the most amazing members, we’ve got it in us to figure this out and help others figure it out, too.

Now let’s all take a breath. We are all in this together.

I will miss seeing you all in person but would love to see you in the digital meetings. Please invite the trio@district31.org to your virtual meetings, and we’ll do our best to visit.

Christine Lewis, District 31 Director

Christine Lewis