Top 10 Things to Know About the District 96 Spring 2018 Conference!

D96 Spring 2018 Conference image

The District 96 Spring 2018 Conference is coming up on Friday, May 11 to Sunday, May 13. With the discontinuation of fall conferences by Toastmasters International, this Spring conference held in May will be the ONLY District 96 conference of 2018! You won’t want to miss it! And here are 10 things you might like to know about it:

It’s going to be amazing! Two unique keynote presentations—Diane Rolston and Lowry Olafson! Six education sessions to choose from! International Speech contest—the winner goes on to participate at the World Championship of Public Speaking in August in Chicago! Evaluation Speech contest—watch and learn from the pros! The menu looks delicious—you can count on eating well, including a special Mother’s Day breakfast buffet on Sunday morning!D96 Spring 2018 Conference poster

The theme. This is Your Journey … Take a Risk! We hope you’ll find the conference weekend inspires you to take risks and make your life journey the best it can be.

The location. Delta (Marriott) Burnaby Conference Centre, 4331 Dominion Street, Burnaby, BC, is right next door (same building) to the Grand Villa Casino. The hotel boasts a fitness room, sauna, hot tub, and 24-hour business centre. Parking is free, and there are free shuttles to/from nearby Skytrain stations. Our conference takes place on the 2nd floor of the hotel with most activities in the beautiful Grand Ballroom. Discounted hotel rooms are available only until April 13. If you plan to stay on site all weekend, book your room now as they are selling fast!

We need your help to spread the word. What is a Toastmasters conference without its many members from around BC and the Yukon? Do your fellow Toastmasters know about the conference and all the learning and inspiration it has to offer? We have access to conference posters and other shareable resources that you can use to promote the conference at your club meetings, at Area or Division Contests, other events, or even in your local newspaper. Contact Michael Gurney for more information.

You can help with conference planning. We still need a few people on our conference committee team. Would you like to be our Volunteers Coordinator? How about the Entertainment or Decorations Chair? Check out our team and responsibilities on the Conference Team Leaders page, and get in touch today!

Volunteers are welcome during the conference weekend. Volunteering is a great way to get to know other Toastmasters and expedite your familiarity with the Toastmasters program. You’ll feel good to be contributing, and your efforts will be appreciated by everyone. When you register for the conference, make sure to indicate that you will volunteer for a couple of hours.

The conference success relies on your generous donations. We keep conference registration prices low to help provide affordable learning for District 96 members. We aim for a breakeven event, so our Sponsorship team works hard to gather cash donations, ads for the conference program booklet, and in-kind donations for a large silent auction. You can help by making a personal or business donation. Your generosity will be recognized leading up to and during the conference weekend. For more information, contact Neil Booth or Kyriaki Papadopoulou.

The District Council Business Meeting is FREE to attend. It takes place on Saturday, May 12 at 1pm. All Toastmasters are welcome, and we encourage all club Presidents and VPs of Education to attend to enable us to reach quorum and make voting fair and representative of our District. The new District Trio (District Director, Program Quality Director, Club Growth Director) and all Division Directors will be elected at this meeting.

This is your chance to connect with old friends and make new ones. To create a Table of 8 friends to sit together with during meals, have your table organizer visit the conference website and fill out the form with your table name and names of eight paid registrants. Not part of a Table of 8 when the conference date approaches? Not to worry. The conference committee will plan activities to facilitate new connections, and the District 96 Toastmasters community will always make you feel welcome. There will be plenty of opportunity to move around, network and connect with others or create your own table with new friends on site.

Register now to save! Savings can still be made. Book your weekend registration by March 31 for just $209. On April 1, the price goes up to $229, which is still excellent value for all the excitement that will be offered on the May 11-13 conference weekend!

There you have it! The top 10 things to know about the District 96 Spring 2018 Conference. I hope to see you there!

Your Spring 2018 Conference Chair, Sheila Cameron