Are you curious to know what to expect at the Spring Conference? The best way to find out is to come! If you still need convincing (or if you are just excited to see what fun awaits!), you can check out more information on the Conference Page What are you most excited about?

The District 28 Conference Team is excited to announce another new feature on the D28 Website. Not only can you order an ad in the District 28 Conference Program, you can also upload your artwork and pay at the same time! If your artwork is not ready, you can still reserve your space and submit your artwork later. Hurry! Orders and artwork must be received by Monday, April 2 at 6PM.

GUESS WHO’S COMING TO TOWN??

If you said Darren LaCroix, 2001 Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking, you’d be right. You are cordially invited to attend an AWESOME District sponsored FREE Event! If you have never heard a World Champion Speaker, the time is NOW for you to take advantage of this great opportunity. The First 50 District 28 members to RSVP will have guaranteed food! Please RSVP by Monday, March 5 at 3:00 pm to D28PRO@d28toastmasters.org. It is important to RSVP so we know how much food we will need to order. Who: Darren LaCroix, 2001 World Champion of Public Speaking. What: 2 of Darren’s programs offered for FREE in one special evening!!!!!! 1. Speak outside of Toastmasters for Fun, Profit and Club Building – from 6:00 – 7:15 pm 2. Learn How to Own the Stage from a World Champion Coach – from 7:35 – 8:50 pm When: Wednesday, March 7, 2012 from 5:30 – 9:30 pm Where: University of Michigan in Dearborn 4901 Evergreen Road Social Sciences Building, Room 1500 Dearborn, Michigan Why: Because we value you! Take advantage of these types of opportunities for self-growth. You will also have an opportunity to purchase products from Darren–bring your checkbooks and/or credit cards! A special thank you goes out to District 10 Governor, Dave Wiley for offering to share Darren with us. Darren will be doing a special Humor 101 Event for District 10 on Thursday, March 8 in Middleburg Heights, Ohio. Thank you also to District 62 Governor, Lisa Waalkes, for sharing this event and helping to make it a success.

New information has been added for the Spring contest: The contest schedule is finally available online. Details and flyers will be added as we receive them. Are you interested in presenting at the conference? A presenter application form is now available on the Conference page.

You have probably seen (or heard, since Toastmasters talk!) that the 2012 Spring Conference has been announced. A downloadable registration form is now available. Online registration is planned to open on Tuesday, 2/14/2012. Here are some details: When Friday, April 27, 2012 6:00PM to 11:00PM Saturday, April 28, 2012, 7:30 AM to late evening (bring dancing shoes!) Where Westin Hotel 1500 Town Center Drive Southfield, MI 48075 We will update you as more information becomes available.

Message from the District Governor

Fellow Toastmasters, Welcome to 2012. I challenge you to make this an exceptional year! Will you? We are halfway through our Toastmaster year and I hope that after spending the holidays with your family and friends you are renewed, refreshed and revitalized for our sprint to the finish line in June. It is not as far away as it might seem … so start planning. As usual, January is a very busy month with Toastmaster Leadership Institute (TLI) sessions, district meetings, and club contests. I hope that you are all looking forward to becoming engaged and excited to finish the year strong. Encourage others to join you as a Toastmaster, and keep your educational goals in sight as you strive to be a distinguished club. The district spring conference, Moving Forward With Purpose, will be held on April 27 – 28, 2012. Save these dates on your calendar. We are looking forward to a great attendance, with plans in place for many exciting events including contests, presentations and elections* for various district roles. You will be hearing more about our conference plans in the coming months in the Rolling Stone and the website. I look forward to seeing many of you around the district in the next six months. Be safe, happy and healthy … enjoy the rest of your year. Heather *Nomination form for elected positions is available here

Are you thinking about stretching yourself? Maybe you know someone who has skills that could help the District. Information for positions in the district have been updated for the 2012-2013 Toastmaster year. Check them out on the Resource Page.

Welcome! Do you know what it’s like when you buy a new home or rent a new apartment? You’re so excited to spend the first night there that you set up the bed and bathroom and leave a few things behind. That’s exactly what we’re doing with our new website. The paint is still drying in some rooms, in others you’ll see a drop cloth on the floor while we decide on colors and curtains. For now, we have the most important stuff (conference registration and contest schedule) in place. We will be bringing more stuff over from the “old home” in the coming weeks. In the meantime, have a look around. I’ll be having cold pizza for breakfast. TJ District 28 Webmaster for 2011-2012

The contest schedule is now posted! Check back often. We will post updates and flyers as soon as we get them.