each ending is a beginning

Last evening, I attended the Toastmasters Founder's District Installation Dinner for the 2004/2005 Toastmasters year.  It reminded me that every ending ushers in a new beginning.

There were many familiar faces in the crowd, and a few new ones.  Seeing those new faces keeps me energized about my involvement in Toastmasters.

At some point in your Toastmasters career, your focus will shift.  We each join the organization for our own reasons, and those reasons are almost always related to self-improvement in the areas of communication, leadership, self-confidence, etc.  But taking that step up into a leadership role, whether it be as a Club Officer or District leader, will eventually change your focus.  It did mine.

Seeing the growth in another human being as a result of some word or deed from you makes your own self-improvement pale in comparison.  How wonderful it is to know that you've helped to change a life for the better!

Last evening marked the end of the 2003/2004 Toastmasters year, and its Officers were duly discharged from their responsibilities.  But this ending led to a beginning, as the new Officers for the coming year were installed and charged with their duties.  Among them, yours truly was installed as Division G Governor.  I'll be sharing my experiences during the year with you.  My hope is to inspire you to take on a leadership position of your own.

Those new faces I saw last evening have taken that first step into District leadership.  Their beginnings will directly and positively affect thousands of Toastmasters members, some of whom will begin their new journeys with the end of the coming year.

Take on the challenge of leadership.  Create a new beginning for someone else.  The rewards will last a lifetime, you have my word on that.