District 96 to merge with District 21

On Nov. 26, 2024, Radhi Spear, International President of Toastmasters International, announced that the Board of Directors has approved the boundary proposal for Pilot Group B, consisting of Districts 2, 9, 21, 32, and 96. This will mean that on July 1, 2025, the following Districts and boundaries will be
effective moving forward:

• Districts 21 and 96 will be aligned into one (1) District – District 21
• Districts 2, 9, and 32 will be aligned into one (1) District – District 2

International President Spear's letter stated, "The Board acknowledges the difficult discussions and decisions made to ensure that the members and clubs are positioned to be well-supported moving forward. Change may be difficult and will take time, but the board trusts you, as leaders of Toastmasters International, to be the right person to help implement these changes." Download full letter.

Further information will be forthcoming on this page about next steps. We expect this realignment to have minimal, if any, effect on the day-to-day club experience of D9 members.

Toastmasters International is maintaining a FAQs page for the overall District Realignment Project.

Executive Summary of the proposal of Group Realignment Committee B

This is the committee that developed the proposal under the leadership of past International Director Mary Morrison, DTM. The proposal was submitted to the Executive Committee of the Toastmasters International Board of Directors on Oct. 31, 2024:

Group B recommends realigning five districts in Region 1 (Northern districts) into two districts: one district aligning Districts 21 and 96 into a single district (184 clubs) and the other aligning Districts 2, 9 and 32 into a single district (207 clubs). Group B recognizes that this creates two districts beyond the recommended 120-180 districts. The report contains detailed information about the recommendation.

The Canadian district will encompass familiar territory. Prior to 2015, District 21 covered nearly the same geography of the proposed realigned district, although in 2015 the newly formed District 96 incorporated the Yukon Territory (one club). The district leaders in District 21 and District 96 have maintained cordial relationships over the years since reformation.

The newly aligned USA district, which will incorporate the States of Alaska, Washington and parts of Idaho and Oregon, covers a vast area that geographically expands, while keeping the population center compact and centered in the greater Seattle metro area.

Group B members met weekly, beginning September. Members reviewed the criteria for newly aligned districts, as established by the Board of Directors, brainstormed options, evaluated pros and cons for each option. Members voted on the options, using a speech contest ballot format of assigning points based on first, second and third place choices. The decision to make a two-district recommendation was a clear choice. Members then shared the recommendation with district leaders, seeking feedback, comments and concerns, in addition to checking with leaders to see if anything significant had been missed.

Major factors for this decision:
To keep districts contained within the country borders of Canada and USA. Border crossings would add unnecessary travel time of two-four hours, followed by travel to whichever population center to attend events. An expanded explanation is detailed in the geography section of the report.

No configuration worked to realign into three districts with 120-180 clubs each, stay within the five district boundaries, and not cross the Canada-USA border, or cross into districts not included in Group B.
Feedback from District leaders: Most district leaders were positive about the realignment proposal. They
expressed various concerns, including:

• Leadership opportunities for those seeking a trio position, especially for leaders not well known in the most populated areas of the district could be challenging, especially for the first few years until relationships were established.

• Realignment efforts within the newly formed districts will follow an expedited process with little familiarity by voting members of the new divisions and areas, making it difficult for them to make informed choices.

• Conducting business meetings: separate and jointly and managing the complexities involved

• The size of the Canadian district, and the ability of leaders to manage so many clubs and over the distance of the district

• The pipeline of district leaders in the newly realigned district will have minimal experience managing the number of divisions and areas inherent in large districts

• Losing momentum for growth in District 96, which was the only district to achieve distinguished status in 2023-2024

• Concerns that the more remote areas of the newly aligned USA District would not receive attention from District leaders, particularly the clubs in Alaska.

• Maintaining focus, cohesion and morale for the remainder of the year as district leaders work on carrying out the district mission and managing and communicating a transition.

• Communicating with district members about changes and the impact the realignment will have on contests, conferences, and recruiting leaders.

• The transition to realigned districts includes considering changes to recognition, incentives, contests, training, use of social media, communication to members, newsletters, travel times, membership campaigns, and other topics still to emerge.

For reference, here is also a map of the 3 US districts merge: