Division

DIVISION

A Toastmasters district divides itself into divisions. Divisions are vital to the success of the District. As the Divisions go, so goes the District. three to six Areas are grouped together into one Division. Divisions must have at least three areas. Districts may not form divisions with one or two areas. Divisions have a name, usually a single alphabetical letter such as A, B, C or if the district wishes, by letters such as N, S, C (for Northern, Southern, Central). Two divisions within a district cannot be designated by the same letter. For example, the letter N can be used for northwest division or northeast division, but not for both.

District 79 has 14 Divisions designated alphabetically from A to N.

Mission

The division's mission is to provide district contact, support, and assistance to its areas so that the clubs they serve may in turn fulfill their responsibilities to the club members. A "Division" also assists in administration, presentation of Division speech contests, and provide club officers training in coordination with Lt. Gov. of Education & Training.

Purpose

A division should strive to achieve the district mission within that division by conducting a portion of the district’s activities. Have its own set of goals in line with the district goals

Each division is managed by a governor who works with Area governors to motivate clubs and provide good, effective educational programs. His mission is to achieve the mission of the district within the division, accomplishing district goals. A Division Governor is usually an elected position within a District. .  

Objectives of a Division

• Extend the network of clubs
• Support and promote membership growth and retention
• Train club officers at least twice a year
• Build the leadership base by recruiting and developing new leaders
• Support Area Governors and coordinate their activities
• Schedule and conduct division council meetings
• Be responsible for administration functions such as:
  
  • prompt submission of club semi-annual reports
  • proxy collection
  • area club visitation forms
  • club officer lists
• Support and promote educational achievement in clubs
• Recognize member, club and area achievement
• Enhance the performance of clubs
• Promote and conduct division speech contests
• Support and supervise the conduct of area contests

A Strong Division Structure -

To have a strong Division Structure, the division Governor has to be aware of what makes a successful District 

What is a Successful District?

•  Demonstrated growth in the critical success factors of:
  • membership
  • club extension
  • educational achievements
• Strong performance in  the CSF’s at the division level
• Use divisions effectively to help improve performance and growth of clubs and members

How to make a stong division structure?

Divisions that operate to their full potential are instrumental in helping districts become more:

• Successful:
  • districts with strong active division governors have outstanding records of continued growth
• Efficient:
  
  • as districts increase in size, help is needed to achieve the district mission.  This help is obtained by having the appropriate division structure in place
• Effective:
  
  • volunteers are trained and used more effectively when divisions operate to their full potentialDivision Governor

Division Council 

Divisions are encouraged to form councils. Council members include Assistant Division Governor for Education & Training, Assistant Division Governor for Marketing, Area Governors of the division. A division council is advisory in nature and its purpose is to help its governor achieve club, area, division and district goals and also help with administrative activities, such as division contests, meetings and training. The division council should meet at least twice a year. Up to 50 percent of division council meetings may be conducted via various technology options (e.g., teleconference or videoconference, etc.). Division councils cannot endorse candidates for district office.

Reproduced by TM Subha Anupindi

Dist. Division

DISTINGUISHED DIVISION

TMI believes in rewarding merit when an Area/ Division achieve the goals it set for itself that is, success.

The Distinguished Area/ Division Program for rewarding success is by designating the Area / Division with an honor of “Distinguished”. It provides ample leadership opportunities and also the tools needed for a successful leader.

The Distinguished Area/ Division program goals are generally an offshoot of the goals District set for itself for qualifying as a Distinguished District Detailed information about this program can be found in the Distinguished Area and Division Performance Plan -- which is included in the program brochure (Area and Division Programs brochure - Item 1481). Surprisingly, the plan is a simple one, and comes with a lot of easy-to-use tools, aimed to ease your goal setting process.

A nine goals tab is used to measure an Area’s success. These goals include membership renewals, educational awards, club visits, distinguished clubs, and, club growth. Every year from July 1 through June 30, these goals must be achieved. There are three honours awarded to the Areas and they are, in the ascending order of merit, “Distinguished”, “Select Distinguished” and “President’s distinguished”.

An Division's work is cut out, to attain each level of distinction and is as follows: 

Distinguished Division 

To become Distinguished, a Division must achieve the following two goals:

1. No net loss of Division clubs: the number of paid clubs as of June 30, when compared to the number of clubs as of the prior July 1, must at least be the same.
2. Half of Areas are distinguished: rounded up, the number of Areas within the Division that themselves must reach the Distinguished Area level.  

Select Distinguished Division 

Same criteria as a Distinguished Division except that three-fourths (instead of half) of the Areas in the Division are Distinguished Areas. 

Presidents Distinguished Division 

Same criteria as a Select Distinguished Division with the additional criteria that the Division had a net gain of at least one club (vs. breaking even for the other levels of distinction). 

Status Reports for Distinction 

The status of the Division and its Areas can be found on the the Toastmasters International website in District 79 Performance Reports 

Reproduced by TM Subha Anupindi 

Dist.Div Status

DIVISION PERFORMANCE

Detailed account of the current Distinguished Status can be found on the new Additional Reports under Reports in Officers Resources at www.toastmasters.org

Additional Reports
These new reports can help you easily view the information in a different way. You will find helpful data about critical areas such as membership payments, education awards, performance by division and club, as well as member sponsors.

Div Governor

DIVISION GOVERNOR 

A Division Governor is the chief executive officer for a Division. A Division Governor is usually an elected position within a District. Once each year the members of the District Council elect the Division Governors (along with the District Trio). This election normally occurs at the District Conference. The Division Governor strives to achieve the mission of the district within the division, accomplishing district goals in membership building and retention, club building and educational accomplishments.He or she ensures that each club realizes its mission and fulfills its responsibilities to its members by providing district support and resources through the area governors. 

Qualification (at the time of taking office) 

A Division Governor must have served at least six consecutive months as club President or Vice-President or served at least twelve months as some district officer - area governor, district secretary, district treasurer and must be a member in good standing of a Toastmasters club in good standing. He is eligible for reelection or reappointment for one succeeding term only.

Division Governor serves as chairman of the division council and helps coordinate the activities of the Area Governors and to provide educational opportunities that benefit all Clubs in the Division. He / She coordinates the Division Speech Contests and is a member of District Executive Committee & District Council

Each June or July the all Division and Area Governors along with their assistants undergo training as recommended by Toastmasters International and conducted by District  

What Does a Division Governor Do?

A Division Governor serves for a full Toastmasters Year (July 1 through June 30th) to guide and assist Area Governors within the Division. He/ She has these duties:  

Responsibilities: 

• Serve as a member of the executive committee and the district council.
• Uphold the bylaws and policies of Toastmasters International and the district administrative bylaws, following them to the best of his or her ability.
• Serve under the direction of the district governor and receive guidance from the lieutenant governor education and training, lieutenant governor marketing and the public relations officer.
• Report regularly to the district governor and lieutenant governors on division progress.
• Serve as leader of the division and chairman of the division council.
• Provide motivation, guidance and supervision to area governors so they fulfill their roles and responsibilities.
• Participate in division governor training programs provided by the district.

Basic Duties and Expectations  

• Uphold Toastmasters International bylaws and policies.
• Provide motivation, guidance, and supervision to Area Governors as they fulfill their roles and responsibilities.
• Participate in district training for division governors and area governors.
• Ensure that 100 percent of the area governors are trained.
• Hold regular Division Council meetings for Area Governors to discuss each area’s plans, goals and progress in the Distinguished Area Program, discuss the clubs’ plans, goals and progress in the Distinguished Club Program and the need for district/division/area assistance, follow-up on club visits, work on strategies to make sure there are no weak clubs with single-digit membership in any area and the need for assistance from the division governor and district and to review attendance at club officer training.
• Coordinate Division speech contests.
• Serve Division clubs by providing district support and resources through the Area Governors.
• Assist district officers in helping to build new clubs within the Division.
• Attend quarterly District Executive Committee meetings.
• Attend semi-annual District Council meetings and District Conferences.
• Report regularly to the district governor and lieutenant governors on division progress.
• Ensure a net gain of one club or more in the division.
• Achieve minimum recognition of Distinguished Division.
• Focus on area governor achievement in the Distinguished Area Program so that every area is a Distinguished Area or better.
• Prepare his or her successor to assume office, completing the steps necessary for an orderly transfer of office by June 30.

As the district spring conference nears, a Division Governor is expected to make recommendations on how clubs should be reassigned to different Areas so as to balance the clubs for all Divisions and Areas within the District. This reassignment is based on the clubs gained and lost since July 1 in addition to taking into account any clubs that moved their meeting location. It is also desirable to make the clubs within an Area as geographically close as possible to make it easier for Area Governors to visit their clubs.  

What is in it for you as a Division Governor? 

• Learn and practice leadership skills outside of your Club
• Share your knowledge and experience with other Clubs
• Learn from other Toastmaster Clubs
• Help other Clubs achieve Distinguished status or better
• Meet Toastmasters from other Clubs
• Gain satisfaction from helping others meet their personal goals
• Assist in District 79 management and decisions
• Earn credit toward Toastmasters Advanced Leadership Silver award
• Become a better communicator as you interact with Toastmasters serving in a variety of positions and having a diversity of skills  

Reproduced by TM Subha Anupindi

Div Governor's Diary

DIVISION GOVERNOR'S DIARY

Reproduced by TM Subha Anupindi