Toastmasters International District 51 DISTRICT 51 REFORMATION RECOMMENDATION DOCUMENT

Transcription

1 Toastmasters International District 51 DISTRICT 51 REFORMATION RECOMMENDATION DOCUMENT 14 th January 2009 (Revised 1 st March 2009) District 51 Reformation Committee (Past District Governors Council): Sivanganam, DTM, (Chairman) District Governor Gerald Green, DTM, AS -Territorial Council Chairman Li Yo Wei, DTM, District Governor Dunstan Chan, District Governor SL Liew, DTM, District Governor Datuk Adeline Leong, DTM, District Governor Maimunah Natasha, DTM District Governor , International Director John Lau, DTM - District Governor , International Director Ho Fong Ming, DTM - District Governor Arulnathan, DTM - District Governor Low Yat Seow, DTM - District Governor Chee Keng Kok, DTM - District Governor Joseph Gomez, DTM (Ex-Officio) - District Governor Prepared by Sivanganam, DTM siva@rsm.renesas.com Assisted by Dunstan Chan, DTM desee@pc.jaring.my Page 1

2 Contents 1. Executive Summary... Pg Rationale for Reformation of District 51 Pg. 4 a) Performance of District 51 b) Why reform into smaller Districts? c) Current Number of Clubs, Areas, Divisions and Members d) Distance/Geography e) Population and potential growth 3. Options Considered and Rejected Pg Proposal for the boundary alignment of the two reformed districts. Pg Potential Candidates for Leadership for the two reformed districts. Pg. 14 a) Quality of Service Leadership 1. Potential Leaders from District 51-Peninsula: 2. Potential Leaders from District 51-Rest: b) Support from Past Leaders to the Proposed New Districts 6. Benefits after Reformation Pg Timeline for Approval Pg Apportion of Roll-Over Fund. Pg District Number Assignment Pg Recommendation and Conclusion Pg. 14 Page 2

3 1. Executive Summary The second reformation of District 51 since its inception was first discussed at the Past District Governors (PDG) Council meeting in April 2007 at the Sunway Club House, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Council discussed at length, taking into consideration the geographical location of clubs in the three countries, (Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia), their current and past performances of each Division and the available pool for resources for district leadership positions. Having considered the various alternatives, the recommendations were proposed at the District Council meeting on 18 th April 2008 at the Gurney Hotel, Penang, Malaysia, and were approved. The District was privileged to have the attendance of our Immediate Past International President, Chris Ford, DTM at this meeting. The proposal recommends splitting the district into two new districts, herein referred to as 51-Peninsula and 51-Rest with 202 and 117clubs respective. 51-Peninsula refers to all Clubs in West Malaysia. 51-Rest refers to all clubs in East Malaysia (Sabah & Sarawak), Brunei and Indonesia. Page 3

4 2. Rationale for Reformation of District 51 a) Performance of District 51 District 51 started in 1991 as the PANSEA Territorial Council with toastmasters clubs from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. In 1993 Toastmasters International granted it the Provisional District status (District 51P). The District moved on to become a full-fledged District in August 1996 with a club base of around 150 clubs. In 1998, Toastmasters clubs from Hong Kong & Macau joined District 51. Since becoming a full district in 1996 the District had performed exceeding well, achieving President s Distinguished status in consecutive years. In July 2004, having reached over 400 clubs, the District was reformed into two Districts. District 51 was assigned to the clubs in Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia, whilst the clubs in Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Thailand were assigned to District 80. District 51 continued to excel and maintain its growth after this reformation. The table below shows the performance of District 51 since its first reformation in July District Term / Metric Distinguished District President's --- President's President's Payments (100%) (104.4%) (112%) (130%) Clubs 254 (100%) 249 (98%) 292 (115%) 319 (125.9%) CCs ACs Leadership Awards Distinguished Clubs 122/254 (48.0%) 144/249 (57.8%) 155/292 (53.1%) 175/316 (55.4%) Distinguished Areas 39/53 (73.6%) 45/59 (76.3%) 52/64 (81.2%) 54/66 (81.8%) Distinguished Divisions 6/9 (66.7%) 5/9 (55.6%) 12/13 (92.3%) 10/14 (71.4%) Membership Retention Rate 67.7% 61.5% 63.2% 63.1% Page 4

5 b) Why reform into smaller Districts? District 51 comprises Toastmasters clubs from three countries, namely, Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia. It has experienced steady growth with club number increased by 26% from 2004 (254 clubs) to July 2008 (319 clubs). Currently District 51 has the largest number of clubs and membership base among all the districts in the world. While this growth has provided ample leadership opportunities, it also poses a great challenge for the top three senior district officers to oversee the 319 clubs and 5,917 members. With 66 Area Governors and 14 Division Governors and a host of other and supporting volunteers, it is virtually impossible to keep regular contact on a personal level. The District Governor spends a significant amount of time to oversee the operation of the District, which includes planning for upcoming events, keeping almost daily contact with the LGET and LGM and responding to the constant flow of queries. The LGET and LGM spend almost as much time keeping up with their portfolio of activities. The demand on these officers is indeed tremendous and if the workload continues to escalate unabated many potential candidates may be discouraged to take up these leadership positions in the near future. Because of the big number of Divisions (14) all contests at the Annual and Semi-annual conventions need to have run-offs before the actual finals. Apart from the requiring a large pool of judges and role players, the run-off contests take up a major portion of the conference program, thus reducing the time allocated for the educational sessions. c) Current Number of Clubs, Areas, Divisions and Members As at 30 th June 2008, District 51 has 5,917 individual members in 319 active clubs averaging around 18.5 members per club. Page 5

6 The table below shows the latest status as at 31 st December Division Areas Active Clubs Location (Remarks) A 3 13 West Malaysia B 4 21 West Malaysia C 5 30 West Malaysia D 4 19 East Malaysia E 3 18 East Malaysia H 3 12 Indonesia I 6 21 Indonesia J 6 24 Indonesia K 6 23 East Malaysia M 5 21 West Malaysia (Mandarin) N 5 30 West Malaysia P 4 20 West Malaysia S 6 33 West Malaysia W 6 34 West Malaysia Total (Total) * term ending June 2008 e) Distance/Geography The District is made of clubs from 4 major geographical locations: - West Malaysia, comprising of 8 Divisions, 38 Areas with 202 Clubs - East Malaysia & Brunei, comprising of 3 Divisions, 13 Areas with 60 Clubs. - Island of Sumatra, Indonesia, comprising of 1 Division, 3 Areas with 12 Clubs. - Main Island of Indonesia, comprising of 2 Divisions, 12 Areas with 45 Clubs. It is obvious that distance and geographical spread is a challenge in managing the District. f) Population and Potential Growth The following information was taken into consideration for the various options. i) Population Indonesia : 237 Million Population West Malaysia : 21.9 Million Population Brunei : 0.38 Million People Sabah & Sarawak : 5.8 Million People (Note that these are gross figures. The actual figures for Toastmasters market need to be adjusted to account for age, education and locale) Page 6

7 ii) Expected Growth of New Clubs in the next 5 years Location Indonesia Kedah/ Selangor/ Johor/ Sabah/Brunei Total / Term Penang/Perak Wilayah Melaka Sarawak iii) Divisions Performance under the Distinguished Division Program Division A Pres. Distinguished B Pres. Distinguished Pres. Distinguished C Pres. Distinguished Pres. Distinguished Pres. Distinguished Pres. Distinguished D Pres. Distinguished Pres. Distinguished E Distinguished ---- Pres. Distinguished Pres. Distinguished H Pres. Distinguished I Pres. Distinguished Pres. Distinguished Pres. Distinguished ---- J Pres. Distinguished ---- K Pres. Distinguished ---- M Pres. Distinguished Select Distinguished Pres. Distinguished ---- N Pres. Distinguished Pres. Distinguished Pres. Distinguished Pres. Distinguished P Pres. Distinguished Pres. Distinguished S Pres. Distinguished Pres. Distinguished W Pres. Distinguished Pres. Distinguished Pres. Distinguished Pres. Distinguished Page 7

8 3. Options Considered and Rejected The following options were also considered but rejected. OPTION 1 Splitting the District into 4 Districts based on geographical locations: Indonesia North Malaysian States of Kedah, Penang & Perak Central & Southern Malaysian States of Selangor, Wilayah, Melaka & Johor Brunei and East Malaysian States of Sabah & Sarawak Region Indonesia Kedah/Penang/ Perak Selangor/Wilayah/ Melaka/Johor Brunei/Sabah/ Sarawak Clubs * term ending June 2008 This proposal keeps to the boundaries of the existing named Divisions. With the exception of 131 clubs in one District, the above split appears to be fairly even. However it does not completely fulfill the guidelines of Toastmasters International Policy under Section VI B1 (the need to have 60 clubs as a basis of development for a sound district administration). OPTION 2 Splitting the District into 2 Districts based on countries: Indonesia and Brunei Malaysia Country Number of Clubs Brunei & Indonesia 57 Malaysia 262 This will create an imbalance of strength with Brunei and Indonesia not making the cut for minimum of clubs in one district. Furthermore, it does not solve the problem of having too many clubs in one district. (Malaysia with 262 clubs). Page 8

9 4. Proposal for the boundary alignment for the two reformed districts The PDG Council propose that District 51 be reformed into two new Districts, to be termed for the purpose of this document as: District 51-Peninsula (202 clubs) District 51-Rest (117 clubs) i) District 51-Peninsula The proposed 51-Peninsula District will be made up of the 11 States (Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak, Kelantan, Trengganu, Selangor, Pahang, Negri Sembilan, Melaka and Johor) and 2 Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur & Putrajaya) on West Malaysia The original boundaries of the named Divisions in this District shall remain unchanged and it will comprise 8 Divisions: States Johor / Melaka Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak Mand arin Total Division A B C P W N S M Paid Clubs Membership * term ending June 2008 Page 9

10 ii) 51-Rest Proposed District The proposed 51-Rest District will be made up of the: 2 States (Sarawak and Sabah) and 1 Federal Territory (Labuan) in East Malaysia. The Country of Brunei, and The Country of Indonesia (consisting of the main islands of Borneo (Kalimantan), Sumatra, Jawa, Sulawesi and Irian Jaya). (The clubs are currently located on the islands of Sumatra and Jawa) The original boundaries of the named Divisions in this District shall also remain unchanged and it will comprise of 4 Divisions: States / East Malaysia Indonesia Brunei Country Sarawak Sabah Labuan Sumatra Jawa Total Divisions D E K H I J Clubs ( ) Membership ( ) * term ending June 2008 Page 10

11 5. Potential Candidates for Leadership for the two Reformed Districts a) Quality of Service Leadership District 51 has been fortunate to have had dedicated leaders from all parts of the district. These candidates have generally come up through the ranks from Club Executive to Area Governor to Division Governor. They understand the program and are enthusiastic supporters of the Toastmasters program and the District. The candidates who ran unsuccessfully for the office generally continue to help the District in other District appointments such as DPRO, Treasurer and Secretary. A review of the past performance of the District Officers, Area Governors and Division Governors points strongly to the fact that there are many experienced toastmasters who can step up to take the top leadership positions in the two new districts. 1. Potential Leaders from District 51-Peninsula: (Note: In view of the fact that this report may not have fully identified the names of aspiring leaders, and some may have been inadvertently left out, this original report submitted to Toastmasters International have been revised and released for circulation to the members in District 51. March 1 st, 2009) 2. Potential Leaders from District 51-Rest: Page 11

12 b) Support from Past Leaders to the Proposed New Districts With the proposed split, District-51 Peninsula will be supported by 6 PDGs and the District 51-Rest will be supported by 3 PDGs and 2 PIDs. 6. Benefits after Reformation Benefits to Toastmasters International and members in the New District The smaller districts will be more effective. The top three senior officers will require less administrative time to oversee the District events. This should encourage more people to take up leaders positions. There will be more time to provide attention to weak and struggling clubs, which in turn will help retain members. Service to the clubs will also improve because the District Governor and the two Lt. Governors will have more time to personally communicate with the Division and Area Governors. They will have increased visibility through their visits to the Divisions. There will be less stress and workload on the top three senior district officers, making it a more enjoyable journey. There will be more leadership opportunities for members at the District level for the positions of DG, LGET, LGM, DPRO, Treasurer and Secretary. 7. Timeline for Approval The District Executive Committee endorsed the Reformation Plan on 18 th April The plan was presented to the District Council at the Annual Business meeting on the same day and received the Council s approval. An update on the progress of the reformation was submitted to Toastmasters International on 14 th October 2008 for the Board of Directors meeting in November 2008, and acknowledged. The table below captures the overall timeline since the 1 st meeting. 21 st Aug Request from WHQ to consider the reformation process Page 12

13 10 th Aug Discussion at PDG Council Meeting, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 19 th Nov Endorsement from Board of Directors to proceed with the reformation. 18 th Apr Approval by District 51 Executive Council and District Council Meetings, Penang, 15 th Oct Submission of Interim Progress report to WHQ. 14 th Nov Update Reformation Progress at Executive Council & District Council Meetings, Bali. 15 th Nov Discussion at PDG Council Meeting in Bali, Indonesia. 14 th Jan Submit Reformation Report to Ms. Stephanie Demiris, Manager WHQ, to place on to the February Board agenda. Feb Analysis and Approval by the Board of Directors Mid/Feb Submit call for interested District Officers for Senior District Officer positions for Toastmasters term for both districts. 18 th Apr Elect DG, 2 LGETs and 2 LGMs at District Council Meeting, Kuching, East Malaysia. 1 st July 2009 District operates with two LGETs and two LGMs under the direction of one District 30 th June 2010 Governor. Aug All five senior district officers attend training during the 2009 International convention in Connecticut, USA Sept 2009 Report to WHQ on reformation progress. Feb The Board assigns District numbers to the new Districts, using 51" and another a new number. 1 st July 2010 The two newly formed Districts commence operation as independent Districts. 8. Apportion of Roll-Over Fund The PDG Council recommends that Toastmasters International divide the funds based on the number of members in the two new respective districts. 9. District Number Assignment At the last District Council meeting on 14 th November 2009 in Bali, Indonesia, the assignment of the District number was discussed and a vote was taken. Members in general felt that since at the formation of District 51 in 1991 ninety percent of the clubs were from Peninsula Malaysia (West Malaysia), it is appropriate that District 51-Peninsula should retain the original number. The members of the District Council would like the Board to take this historic fact into consideration when assigning the district numbers to the two reformed districts. Page 13

14 10. Recommendation and Conclusion The PDG Council recommends that District 51 be reformed into two new Districts to be termed for the purpose of this document as: District 51-Peninsula (Peninsula Malaysia with 202 clubs) District 51-Rest (East Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia with 117 clubs) This will reduce the workload on the top three senior district officers and help them to stay focused on the critical success factors and this will improve the service to the members. The visibility of these officers within the District will allow the District Officers to share their vision, motivate and inspire club officers and members to achieve their educational goals and bring more members into the organization. The two Districts will also increase opportunities for members to run for the top senior district officer positions. The committee requests the Board of Directors to approve this recommended proposal for the reformation of District 51 for the second time. Page 14