Distinguished Club Program (DCP)

95% of Toastmasters members will tell you they joined to become better speakers and leaders. Your Toastmasters club’s purpose is to provide the environment in which they learn these skills. Members learn what they joined Toastmasters to learn when clubs provide plenty of speaking and leadership opportunities, members receive helpful evaluations, and there are enough members to conduct the program. The Distinguished Club Program helps your club accomplish its purpose by focusing on four areas:

View the District’s DCP Dashboard →

Education: Members who have the opportunity to earn education awards are reaching their goals.

Membership: When new members join, everyone’s experience is enhanced because your club has enough members to provide leadership and fill meeting and committee assignments.

Training: Trained club officers are better able to serve and support your club because they know how best to fulfill their roles.

Administration: Fulfilling administrative duties, including submitting information on time, helps your club run more smoothly, which benefits members.

A note on requirements

In order to properly conduct the educational program, a club should have at least 20 members (or a net growth of at least five new members as of June 30th each year)*  and be in good standing according to Policy 2.0, Section 4: Good Standing of Clubs. Membership turnover is unavoidable as members move, change jobs or encounter other situations that take them away from the club. Your club should continually strive to bring in new members to combat this natural turnover, to provide a stronger leadership base and to bring a flow of fresh, new ideas and personalities.

*Note, transfer and honorary members do not count toward the qualifying requirement.

How it works

The Distinguished Club Program is an annual program, running from July 1 through June 30. The program consists of 10 goals your club should strive to achieve during this time using the Club Success Plan as a guide. World Headquarters tracks the progress of your club toward these goals throughout the year, sending quarterly progress reports to your club president (updated reports are posted twice monthly on the Toastmasters International Web site, www.toastmasters.org). At year-end, World Headquarters calculates the number of goals the club achieved and recognizes it as a Distinguished Club, Select Distinguished Club or President’s Distinguished Club based on the number of goals achieved and the number of members it has.

1. Education

Toastmasters Pathways learning experience

  • P1. Four members complete Level 1
  • P2. Two members complete Level 2
  • P3. Two more members complete Level 2
  • P4. Two members complete Level 3
  • P5. One member completes Level 4
  • P6. One member completes Level 5

Traditional education program

Following are the goals your club should strive to achieve during the year:

  1. Two CCs
  2. Two more CCs
  3. One ACB, ACS or ACG
  4. One more ACB, ACS or ACG
  5. One CL, ALB, ALS, or DTM
  6. One more CL, ALB, ALS or DTM

Note, this program has been discontinued for District 5, ending December 2018. To read more about the changes read here →

2. Membership

  • Four new members
  • Four more new members

3. Training

  • Minimum of four club officers trained during each of two training periods

4. Administration

  • One membership dues renewal report
  • One club officer list submitted on time

In addition, your club must meet a membership requirement. 

At year-end (June 30) it must have: at least 20 members OR a net growth of at least 5 new members.

Resources:

Example:
Bill Smith receives a CC award in July. His club receives credit toward a goal. Later in the year, he earns an ACB award. His club receives credit toward a goal for this award, too. However, in the same Toastmasters year, Bill earns a second CC and a second ACB award; for these awards, his club does not receive credit toward Distinguished Club goals.

Note, credit for an award may be given to only one club. Members who belong to more than one club must choose which club
receives credit for any one of their awards.

What does “President’s Distinguished District” mean?

  • It means we pay it forward by building new clubs or adding new members to existing clubs to let more local residents—our current/future families and friends— benefit from the program.
  • It means we enhance the quality of every club to create a better experience for every member to Learn more, Engage more, Advance faster, and Develop the platform for personal and professional success.
  • It means when our schedule changes, when we relocate, or when we shift our interests, it is more likely there will be another club that can support us to continue to LEAD.

Transforming the experience in Toastmasters increases our individual and community marketability. When a District is strong, there will be more diversified roles  to help our members practice transferable skills and even explore career opportunities without job-hopping that may clutter their resume. Achievements in Toastmasters are a track record of working in a leadership organization. Hiring managers value volunteerism.

In addition to these amazing benefits, working together at the Club/Area/Division/District level polishes our team building skills, increases confidence through accomplishment, and delivers intrinsic rewards like making a difference in people lives and careers. It also allows us to achieve our goals at a higher level and brings a sense of fulfillment for being a part of success.

How do we accomplish the goal to be a “President Distinguished District”?

We accomplish this goal together as a team. The role of Area Director is geared toward building new clubs. The role of club officers is to enhance club quality with a focus on membership building. What is your role on District 5’s team?

  1. I add ___ members to my club(s)
  2. I accomplish ___ educational goal(s)
  3. I mentor ___ members
  4. I support ___ district events by ___
  5. I sponsor/mentor/coach ___ club(s)
  6. ________________.
Be all you can be.

Information and Links

  • Find a Club – View the District 5 Club roster list and view the interactive map. [Content from Toastmasters.org]
  • Performance Reports – View previous year reports on District 5  [Content from Toastmasters.org]
  • MeetUp Groups – MeetUp is a website that facilitates local group meetings. Meetup makes it easy for anyone to organize a local group or find one of the thousands already meeting up.

Awards

  • District Director’s Pin – The District Director’s pin recognizes exceptional contributions and accomplishments.
  • Meeting Excellence Award– Recognizing the importance of meeting excellence, Past District Governor, Bob Traber, DTM, created the “Golden Gavel Award” as a symbol of excellence in club meetings. The award has been renamed as the “Meeting Excellence Award” because “Golden Gavel” is a patented term.
  • Helen Blenchard Award
  • Toastmaster of the Year
  • Division Director of the Year
  • Area Director of the Year
  • Triple Crown