Egoli Toastmasters host successful ‘accolade’ evening
Joy Stander becomes Distinguished Toastmaster and here's how she did it.
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Egoli Golden City Toastmasters Club hosted its “accolade” event at St Giles Home for the Physically Disabled on April 23.
The purpose of the event was to celebrate and watch members achieve certain educational milestones on their journey through Toastmasters.
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Member Jan Strydom, who successfully completed his first speech, took to the podium to discuss the topic of survival, while Lilian Weide spoke on ascending challenging mountains, both physically and metaphorically.
Alf Rotovsky and Joy Stander completed their final speeches to become a competent communicator and Distinguished Toastmaster, respectively.
“A Distinguished Toastmaster is the holy grail of the Toastmasters programme.
“It is the equivalent of earning a PhD and on average takes eight years to complete,” said Egoli Toastmasters president Richard Francis.
“In order to achieve this accolade, one must perform a minimum of 48 speeches, serve an entire year on a Toastmasters club committee, serve an additional year as club president of a Toastmasters club, among a list of things.
“On average, only about three people a year in Toastmasters Southern Africa achieve the title Distinguished Toastmaster and less than one per cent of all people who start the programme will achieve it. Joy Stander is a very popular Toastmaster in the local area and in southern Africa and we truly take off our hats to her incredible achievement.”
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