D50 After Dark Podcast
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Highlights
(0:00) Intro
(0:33) District 50 Quality Contest Chair Bonnie Dubbin discusses upcoming contest season.
(1:15) Excitement about returning to face-to-face contests after COVID.
(3:52) Explanation of her role as Quality Contest Chair.
(8:37) Discussion of this year’s contest format.
(16:24) Announcement that contests are returning to fully in-person format.
(21:59) Bonnie’s perspective on why clubs should host contests.
Summary
This episode of D50 After Dark features a discussion with Bonnie Dubbin, the newly appointed Quality Contest Chair for District 50 Toastmasters. Despite being relatively new to Toastmasters (only a few months), Bonnie brings relevant organizational experience from her work at Willis-Knighton Health System. The conversation focuses on the upcoming contest season, which marks a return to fully in-person events.
As Quality Contest Chair, Bonnie’s responsibilities include organizing contest locations, ensuring proper equipment availability, managing professional advertising with correct logo usage, supporting contest organizers at all levels, and serving as a resource person for questions. She emphasizes the importance of maintaining quality standards across all contest levels by providing resources and support to contest organizers.
This year features a streamlined format with two contests held in the spring: Tall Tales and International Speech. The Tall Tales Contest is open to all members in good standing and requires a 3- to 5-minute speech, while the International Speech Contest requires completion of Levels 1 and 2 in Pathways and allows for 5- to 7-minute speeches. The return to fully in-person contests is highlighted as a positive change, moving away from the online and hybrid models used during COVID.
Bonnie strongly advocates for clubs to participate in contests, noting they provide valuable opportunities for members to speak to new audiences and receive diverse feedback. For clubs unable to host formal contests, she suggests organizing informal showcases to encourage member participation. The episode concludes with a call to action for clubs to engage in the contest season— whether through formal contests or informal showcases— and promote the return to face-to-face speaking opportunities.
For any questions or to accept the challenge, contact District 50 Quality Contest Chair at qualitycontest@D50tm.org.
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