On July 2017, I approached my club's past president to inquire about serving as a club officer. I had minimal knowledge of Toastmasters leadership program, as well as club officer roles. A few days later, he stated that the area of need was vice president of public relations (VPPR). My willingness to serve and support my Toastmasters club in any way helped me in saying, "Yes, I'll take it!" However, I absolutely had no idea what I was getting to - Seriously! I do not have a background in marketing nor in the public relations arena; yet, my willingness to learn and try new things has supported me these past 2 years as the club's VPPR. Every time I grew eager to learn much more about Toastmasters, involve myself on a greater and deeper level because I desire to hone my speaking and presentation skills, as well as to develop my leadership skills. I have learned so much after my involvement as the club's public relations officer.
Let's go back to the beginning, to the time when I accepted this role. Unfortunately, I did not a predecessor nor a mentor to guide and support me as I transitioned into this role; so, I had to be open to network with other past public relations officers and trainers to understand the expectations and responsibilities of this role. Slowly, but surely, I began to learn and master the fundamentals and understand the purpose of public relations. I understood the critical importance of club's having a public relations representative.
Toastmasters International defines Public Relations as... "a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their public," and the organization clearly states that the responsibility of the vice president of public relations is... "to generate positive awareness of the Toastmasters brand for the purpose of attracting and retaining members. It requires keeping the public (external audience) and members (internal audience) informed about club or district activities through effective communication channels and media relations. Good public relations will build membership and gain public recognition.
Whoa! Yes, my thoughts exactly! Let's break it down..
This training was led by Jan McGinn, a Toastmaster in the Inland Division in District 5. I enjoyed and learned much from this training as her primary strategy was conversation roundtable, where new and past public officers shared their experiences, tips and lessons, and public relations strategies to do in and outside the club meeting. After this training, I joined multiple Toastmasters moderated social groups on Facebook to learn more and engage in best practices as vice president public relations. The best practices were my guide as they are a reassurance that I was complying with VPPR responsibilities in and outside the meeting, as well as through participation in executive office committee meetings.
While this two-year experience has been very challenging, it has also been an enjoyable and exhilarating ride - and yes, with bumps and all, but the bumps allowed me to continue and push further, to test my skills and improve my performance. Believe it or not, serving as VPPR was similar to an internship experience and with the proper training and guidance, I was able to learn how to use social media to raise positive awareness about Chula Vista Toastmasters Club and Toastmasters International. Serving as VPPR has been an invaluable experience and I encourage anyone to try it out as you will only reap positive benefits through the practice. Remember that this is not a one-person job, but you have the opportunity to create and collaborate with a team. Invest time and involve yourself, take advantage of your Toastmasters membership and become the next vice president of public relations. Why do I consider this an internship? Because this is the perfect platform where you can research best practices for public relations and experiment by devising and implementing marketing plans and strategies for your club and the organization, which you can eventually apply in other separate real-life situations such as personal and professional pursuits.
Toastmasters International defines Public Relations as... "a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their public," and the organization clearly states that the responsibility of the vice president of public relations is... "to generate positive awareness of the Toastmasters brand for the purpose of attracting and retaining members. It requires keeping the public (external audience) and members (internal audience) informed about club or district activities through effective communication channels and media relations. Good public relations will build membership and gain public recognition.
Whoa! Yes, my thoughts exactly! Let's break it down..
Because public relations was entirely knew to me, one of the first things I did was attend leadership development training for club officers to learn more about VPPR responsibilities.
This training was led by Jan McGinn, a Toastmaster in the Inland Division in District 5. I enjoyed and learned much from this training as her primary strategy was conversation roundtable, where new and past public officers shared their experiences, tips and lessons, and public relations strategies to do in and outside the club meeting. After this training, I joined multiple Toastmasters moderated social groups on Facebook to learn more and engage in best practices as vice president public relations. The best practices were my guide as they are a reassurance that I was complying with VPPR responsibilities in and outside the meeting, as well as through participation in executive office committee meetings.
How do you generate "a positive awareness of the Toastmasters brand"?
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| A strong and thriving club engages in best practices of public relations. |
- One major task is to be the central administrator for the club website and manage all club's social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube Channel, Blogger, and LinkedIn). It is extremely important to maintain these channels updated. Our club's primary channel of communication is e-mail, so it helps to keep it updated because it helps us share club news with membership and prospective guests. Though social media can get overwhelming, you're not along in this! Find social media strategists in your club and create a social media committee. Each person can be responsible for one social media account and create content for their account. Another helpful tip is to link all social media accounts; so, they're not isolated and if something you share on Facebook, it can be shared on Instagram too. Remember, you have different followers in all platforms. Those who are on Facebook, may not have an Instagram account and those who don't have social media accounts, still are able to access and subscribe to your club's YouTube channel.
- Other tasks included: writing and publishing club newsletters and blogs and an additional task added included planning, organizing, and execution of club events like the club's 80th anniversary, club's speech contests, open houses, and biannual Happy Hour gatherings, and attending district networking events (TLIs, conferences, and speech contests).
While this two-year experience has been very challenging, it has also been an enjoyable and exhilarating ride - and yes, with bumps and all, but the bumps allowed me to continue and push further, to test my skills and improve my performance. Believe it or not, serving as VPPR was similar to an internship experience and with the proper training and guidance, I was able to learn how to use social media to raise positive awareness about Chula Vista Toastmasters Club and Toastmasters International. Serving as VPPR has been an invaluable experience and I encourage anyone to try it out as you will only reap positive benefits through the practice. Remember that this is not a one-person job, but you have the opportunity to create and collaborate with a team. Invest time and involve yourself, take advantage of your Toastmasters membership and become the next vice president of public relations. Why do I consider this an internship? Because this is the perfect platform where you can research best practices for public relations and experiment by devising and implementing marketing plans and strategies for your club and the organization, which you can eventually apply in other separate real-life situations such as personal and professional pursuits.
Final lesson from the VPPR:
Strategize, devise, and develop a marketing plan.
Use best practices for public relations.
Create a team and collaborate with your team.
Delegate roles and tasks to your team.
You are not alone in this endeavor.
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Brenda Garay, ACB, ALB
Vice President Public Relations
Chula Vista Toastmasters Club #108
July 2017 - June 2019
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