Public Speaking Northwest
Officers Meeting
May 12, 2026
I. Opening Theresa called our meeting to order
Members in attendance: Theresa, Nancy, Katie, Bill, Maria C, Deanna
Welcome
April 2026 Meeting Minutes were approved unanimously
II. Officer Reports (page 2)
III. Ongoing/Old Business
IV. New Business
Birthday Party since May 19 is the anniversary of the founding of Public Speaking Northwest, the board decided to have a birthday party at our zoom meeting on that day. Kelly, being our toastmaster, will conduct the birthday themed meeting. She will conduct a raffle drawing, and the board unanimously approved a $25 Amazon gift certificate for the prize.
Elections The Board is actively seeking members to fill the Secretary and Sgt. At Arms positions. We hope to fill out our officer slate by mid-June 2026. However, Deanna is willing to help out with the Sgt. At Arms duties at the in-person meetings. She offered to set up the equipment and perform the other duties at that meeting. Other officers could pitch in as well. But we hope to find a person to do the entire position. We will hold officer elections at our zoom meeting June 16
Holiday Meeting : Kelly suggested we consider having a Holiday themed Meeting in December. We would be able to book the larger room on that date at no additional cost. Katie proposed that we look into this. If available, members would be able to practice on a stage with a microphone. Since we have the room from 11:00 to 2:00, Kelly suggested we have line-dancing during the 2nd half of that time. (she would sponsor this). There was some discussion about this, and the
Board voted unanimously to proceed in securing the room for this meeting.
Expense Authorization Deanna suggested that in order to eliminate the need to vote each time someone requests a small disbursement, we authorize a new procurement procedure. The proposal was to not require a vote on disbursements of $40 or less—up to a limit of $400.
Once that $400 amount was reached, further disbursements of any amount would require a vote. We discussed this proposal but decided to table it for now and continue the current procedure.
Announcements
VI. Adjourn Motion to Adjourn Nancy 2nd Katie
Officer Reports
VP Education and Webmaster: Nancy
Webmaster Report
he contacts us form in the body of our page did not work. Secret knowledge was passed from FreeToast Host to Nancy, who passed it on to Web Magician Kelly. Magic was applied and now it works.
The capricious email distribution outage event is still a mystery.
VPE Report
Pathways Completions in April:
Kelly completed levels 1 and 2 in Engaging Humor.
Maria C completed level 4 in Motivational Strategies.
Deanna completed her first path, Leadership Development, technically early May.
Speeches done in April:
Alex - Call the Cops More
Ram - Hope, Empathy, and Resilience
Kelly - Toast, Don't Roast
Kelly - My Ego Objects
Maria C - Debate, Discover, Direction
Turtle - Pollyanna
I still need to check that members are logging their project completions.
Attached is our DPR. It is also appended below with highlights. We are Select Distinguished. 1 more point brings us to President's Distinguished, a level we have achieved nearly every year for a long time. 2 more points brings us a perfect score, the new level of Smedley Distinguished. By the end of June, we will need 1 new member to receive one point. Another would be from one of our members completing level 3 in their path.
Pathways:
1. Additional path price rises from $25 to $35 at the end of June.
2. You can purchase new old paths for $65. These are the legacy Competent Communicator and Competent Leader from many years ago.
3. Remember the recently added advanced speeches? It was a higgledy-piggledy mass download of bloated manuals and outdated PowerPoints. I spent HOURS and HOURS, literally days, reworking it into something useable....only to find out that it was no longer a mass download at TI. You can find an individual download of each manual (without PowerPoint) for speech options for that level at the beginning of levels 3, 4, and 5 of your path.
Calendar: Attached
Membership: Maria
New members for April: Sonal and Jeff.
Anniversaries: Jean hit 23 years (guessing it's our charter month 
New Members | 2 |
Inquiries | 5 |
Mtg Visitors | 4 |
Member removals | 0 |
VP Public Relations: Kelly
VPPR is going strong!
Katie and I earned our ‘mentor’ credit for the AGL – Toastmasters (Amazon club.) Yay us!
I am on track to receive my DTM. I can apply this June, and our current District 2 Growth Director, Joanna Tavera, would like to present me the plaque at either our in-person meeting or a Zoom meeting. I will keep you posted on possible dates, and it gets closer.
Social Media
Facebook: 550 followers • 2 following
YouTube: 59 subscribers•477 videos
Officers
We still need a secretary. Maria S. is a no.
December Holiday Party
I know it is early to think about Christmas, but I would like to vote to secure the larger room at the Brightwater Center now for our in-person holiday party this year. I was thinking we could book the Community/Hearth Room, next door to the room we usually meet in. The room has a stage and comes with AV and microphones. The first hour can be our meeting and we can use the stage and microphone to give members a new experience. Then the second hour can be food and line dancing. I propose the theme: A Country Christmas and I will cover the line dancing instructor.
Treasurer: Deanna
2026 YTD D2 $ awards are as follows: Earlybird $25, PROMOTE $25, District Participation $25, Finish Strong $50, March Madness $40.
Concur expense reports for all D2 $ awards (except March Madness) have been submitted but $ not yet received as of 5/11/26.
First Benevity xfer payment received on 4/27/26. $112.62
TI has confirmed that PSNW can accept donations & donations are not considered to be a fundraising activity
Hi! I am Ora Tor, the Toastmasters Virtual Assistant. How can I help you today?
You said: Are donations to the club considered fundraising?
OT said: Donations vs. Fundraising in Toastmasters Clubs
Donations made to Toastmasters clubs are not considered regular fundraising activities. Toastmasters International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and clubs can accept donations, which may be tax deductible for the donor. However, donors cannot dictate how donated funds are used, and requests may be honored at the discretion of club officers…
TI/D2 has listed the following re use of club funds:
YES: meeting materials, photocopies, food/drinks for club meetings, audiovisual equipment, Zoom for online/hybrid meetings, meeting space rental, promotion (ex: Meetup, Facebook ads), recognition items (ex: pins, badges, TI store items), speechcraft program kits
NO: pathways educational materials, parties/social gatherings, alcohol, scholarships, payment of dues for individuals, donation of money or goods to outside causes
The PSNW bank account balance is $1127.94 on 5/11/26.
Secretary/Scribe: Bill
Nothing new.
Sergeant at Arms: Katie
All is well.
President: Theresa
I appreciate all of your hard work. This club runs exceptionally well because of your hard work, always keeping things running in the background. We have many outstanding officers serving in this group.
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