PHILIPSBURG:--- On Monday, May 25, 2020, the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset and the St. Martin Evolution Toastmasters Club held their first-ever joint club meeting via the popular online platform, Zoom, with over 140 participants from around the world.
In January 2020, Toastmasters International and Rotary International entered a strategic alliance that would provide their members with even more opportunities to develop and improve their leadership and communication skills and to help members make a difference in their communities. The ongoing relationship between the two organizations will begin at the grassroots level with local club members learning and working together.
Rotary and Toastmasters clubs are encouraged to work together and to build closer bonds by conducting joint initiatives. The joint meeting with the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset and the St. Martin Evolution Toastmasters Club was the very first of its kind on the island, within the region and throughout the world. This historic meeting took the format similar to a regular Toastmasters club meeting; whereby four prepared speeches were delivered as well as five impromptu speeches from persons in the audience.
Two members from the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset and two members from the St. Martin Evolution Toastmasters Club delivered four dynamic speeches. Toastmasters Glennicia Rodgers and Audrey Claxton presented separate speeches from their different Pathway paths entitled “I’m communicating” and “I am”. Rotarian / Toastmaster Akilah Dormoy presented her very first speech as a toastmaster entitled “Fear” and Rotarian Georginette Lake delivered a dynamic speech entitled “Love Beyond Borders”.
Rotarian Franklyn, who held the role of “Table Topics Master” kept the audience engaged throughout the impromptu segment of the meeting, by randomly posing various questions to those in participation. As the meeting came to a close, Presidents from both clubs, Ms. Jaida Nisbett and Ms. Anne Karine Fleming encouraged Rotarians and Toastmasters in attendance to embrace the new alliance between both organizations, by attending each other’s club meetings and even join Toastmasters or Rotary. The success of this joint meeting echoed the theme of the night “Beyond Borders” as both organizations displayed that there is certainly no border between French and Dutch side organizations.
Both clubs would like to extend a special congratulations to Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) Vernicia Brooks and Rotarian President-Elect Elisia Lake for their hard work in organizing and coordinating the meeting and a special thank you to all role players for the evening.
The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset meets every second and fourth Monday of the month at 7:30 pm. The club can be contacted via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via the official Facebook page at facebook.com/rotarysxmsunset. The St Martin Evolution Toastmasters Club meets every first and third Tuesday of the month from 7:15 pm until 9 pm. The club can be contacted via the official Facebook page at St Martin Evolution Toastmasters Club.