When Someone Mentions Such Things As Area and Division Within Toastmasters, Some Members

When someone mentions such things as Area and Division within Toastmasters, some members have this look in their eyes like the proverbial deer in the headlights. “What are they talking about?”. Or, they may just be hearing Charlie Brown’s teacher talking again. Whhaaa whha whha whhhaaa!

There are many levels within the Toastmasters hierarchy. All have their separate duties. All are geared towards helping the members of Toastmasters International reach their goals. Several Toastmasters clubs (from three to seven) make up an Area. From three to seven Areas make up a Division. And, from three to seven Divisions are in a District. There are close to one hundred Districts around the world which are divided into fourteen Regions.

All levels within Toastmasters have officers who are leader servants of their respective entity. Clubs have seven elected officers lead by the President. Districts, Divisions and Areas all have Directors as their chief executive officer. All serve a one-year term. All but Area Directors are elected. Area Directors are appointed by their District Director\ and approved by their District Council. All club officers and Directors are volunteers. Certain officers at each level comprise a Council of the next level along with their counterpart peer officers.

The Regions each have one International Director. International Directors who are elected to two-year terms. Toastmasters International has a board of 20 members. All board members are elected except for the Chief Executive Officer and the Immediate Past President. All board members are volunteers except for the Chief Executive Officer who is hired by the Board. The Chief Executive Officer and his/her staff at International Headquarters are the only persons within Toastmasters that are paid by Toastmasters. Additionally, each Region has one Advisor, they each serve a 16-month term.

Only International and Districts have budgets. Their budgets come from membership dues, sales from the International catalog, convention and conference fees, and donations.

Here is what I call the Toastmasters Pyramid. It shows graphically what I just described. If you seemed like a classmate of Charlie Brown when it comes to understanding the Toastmasters hierarchy, hopefully now you are ready to graduate from that class!