Texas Dragon was chartered in 1997: almost twenty-six years ago. Rumor has it that they have to turn prospective members away. Does your club have that problem? Would you like it to? Then read on.

Jasmine Yin, Vice President of Education, and Yun Liu, Immediate Past President, joined the club in November 2021 after successfully completing a Speechcraft Program sponsored by the club. Yujun Liang, Vice President of Public Relations, joined in November 2022 after completing yet another Speechcraft Program sponsored by the club. Do you see the pattern here? “High quantity Speechcraft programs attract many new members each year.”

The club has a great mentorship program. They support their members in becoming more confident in their public speaking and leadership skills. It is also a great place to give back. They are dedicated to helping other members succeed with a willingness to go above and beyond to help the community.

“For special events and holidays, we decorate the room and hold a meeting with that theme. Occasionally we go out to eat after their meeting as it’s so close to lunchtime!

“We are a family supporting each other. We had many Texas Dragon love stories, bridal showers, baby showers, and weddings in our members’ homes. We also support each other during the illness and loss of a family member.

“Our members have many achievements such as serving as district officers plus competing at area, division, and district contests. Our strengths are perseverance and high standards. Our club has obtained the President’s Distinguished club status since 2003. We strive for high-quality meetings for every meeting.

“We have dedicated officers including past presidents leading and guiding the continued success. We have great documentation for each officer role and each community program we host. We have procedures in place for knowledge transfer and passing down information.

“We have 25 years of continuous improvement. Mentorship is one of our strong suits. Each new member is assigned a member to guide him/her to perform the meeting role the first few times including practicing their ice breaker speech multiple times. When new members have a good start, they grow their confidence to do more.

“We have many members that use English as a second language. It’s inspiring to have each member continue to come and improve every single week. Joining a Toastmasters Club is the first step. Going to meetings and participating is what actually pushes your personal growth.

“Before we vote a new member into the club, we require them to come to the meetings at least 3 times before we allow them to apply. This is set in place to be a trial for both the club and the new member. We want the new member to observe if the club is a right fit for them. In turn, the club will evaluate if we have the resources to support the new member.”

The best advice they have for other clubs is:
1) Organize a speechcraft and invite members of the community,
2) Have a robust mentor program,
3) Have strong club leadership, and
4) Make meetings fun and informative.
5) Never cancel a meeting. It doesn’t matter if only 2 people show up.

They conduct regular club meetings on the University of Texas at Dallas campus in the Cecil H. Green Hall, room GR 2.530, every Saturday morning from 10:00 A.M. until noon. If you are interested in attending, please contact either the President or Vice President of Membership. Their contact information is available on the club website at texasdragon.org. You can also check them out via Toastmasters International’s Find a Club site.