District 5 Toastmasters Golden Gavel Award

The best and simplest way to retain club members and recruit curious guests into enthusiastic members is with well-run, lively and educational meetings that meet the member's needs. Recognizing this, Past District Governor, Bob Traber, DTM, created the Golden Gavel Award as a symbol of Excellence in Club Meetings. This is a blue patch embroidered with a Golden Gavel.

To EARN this prestigious award, a club meeting must meet the following criteria:

Members and guests are greeted warmly and enthusiastically.

Meeting starts adjourns on time.

15 or more Toastmaster members are present (not limited to members of the hosting club).

At least one non-Toastmaster guest is present.

There is applause after every speaker, functionaries included.

All speeches are MANUAL speeches.

Evaluations are both specific and supportive.

Participants are positively recognized and ribbons are awarded.

Members wear badges and guests are given name tags.

Printed agenda are distributed and followed, with three or less assignment changes to the agenda.

Table Topics are interesting and/or fun - most participants are able to speak the full time period.

Download a copy of the Golden Gavel Award Form.

District 5 Mission
The Mission of the District is to enhance the performance and extend the network of Clubs, thereby offering greater numbers of people the opportunity to benefit from the Toastmasters educational program, by:

• Focusing on the critical success factors as specified by the District educational and membership goals.
• Ensuring that each Club effectively fulfills its responsibilities to its individual members.
• Providing effective training and leadership development opportunities for Club and District Officers.