Toastmasters' Board of Directors meeting 9th-14th February 2009

Toastmasters’ Board of Directors met during the week of February 9-14, 2009, and announced the results of its deliberations at an open briefing held at Toastmasters World Headquarters on Saturday, February 14. Here are some highlights of the Board’s announcements, especially regarding the status of the current governance reshaping project:
Strategic Planning Committee - The Board re-examined the guiding principles of the governance reshaping project, and presented a refined vision of the structural changes under consideration. These changes can be summarized as follows:
Bylaws:

• A new regional map, with 14 regions/14 directors/14 region advisors
• International Leadership Committee (ILC) replaces International Nominating Committee
  Policy:
• 14 region advisors
• No regional conferences
• District officer training face-to-face at Convention and midyear (TI pays travel for both)
• E-learning year-round for district officers
• Semifinal speech contests at the Convention District Administration Committee (DAC)

The District Administration Committee focused on district reformation, district boundaries and the continuing development of the Region Advisor Marketing concept.
The Board approved the reformation of District 51. The district split will be effective July 1, 2010. The district will elect two lt. governors education and training, two lt. governors marketing and one district governor for the 2009-2010 program year in order to support the transition year.
The Board approved the boundary change between Districts 62 and 86. There are four clubs impacted by the U.S./Canada border that will be aligned with District 86, effective July 1, 2009.
Finalized a Region Advisor Marketing (RA) guide which includes:
Job description for the RA
Process, criteria and selection to become an RA
How RAs will directly support the districts
The RAs will work closely with WHQ to ensure each district receives the support they need.
The Board defined the support relationship between WHQ and the Region Advisor Marketing (RA), as well as ways to maximize the RA support to districts, which includes district visits.
The Board identified new policies to support the RA structure.
Governance and Policy Committee (GAP)
The Board finalized the proposed changes to the Bylaws of Toastmasters International pertaining to governance reshaping. Proposal A, Global Representation and Support, will be presented to the delegates at the 2009 Annual Business Meeting in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Complete information on the proposal will be included in the proxy mailing that will be mailed on March 31, 2009, to all clubs. Information will also be available on the Toastmasters Web site, at www.toastmasters.org/future. The Board of Directors recommends a “Yes” vote.
The Board drafted policy and guidelines related to the International Leadership Committee. Topics addressed include the following:
Treating all candidates equitably during the selection process
Training and orienting new ILC members
Identifying attributes of effective leadership
Providing for ongoing discussions between ILC members via an electronic forum and other methods
Developing a transition and implementation plan
Before finalizing the policy and guidelines in August 2009, World Headquarters will conduct a survey of past Nominating Committee chairmen and members to learn about their experiences and identify best practices.

More detailed information can be found at Board Directors meeting (click on it)

while the governance reshaping project can be found at www.toastmasters.org/future