THREE Exciting In-Person District 21 Contests Highlight our 2025 Conference
The District 21 speech contests were a huge success at our May 27th conference in Sidney, BC. All five divisions were well-represented in the Table Topics, Evaluation, and International Speech contests, with some contestants traveling far and wide to participate. Our event was graced by a very special guest: our Toastmasters International President-elect, Aletta Rochat, who came to us all the way from South Africa.
The competition was fierce, but the winners stood out. Gayle Nuiwenhuizen from Knights of Abbotsford (Div F) took the top spot in Table Topics, while Tatum Freigang from Rise and Shine (Div A) won the Evaluation contest. Phyllis Nielsen, a past District Director, delivered a memorable test speech, “A Speech for Rick,” to challenge the Evaluation contestants.
The International Speech contest was the main event, with all contestants delivering outstanding speeches. Rikki Cornell from Energized Communicators (Langley) (Div E) won first place with her speech “Goat Wisdom,” which will now be forwarded to Toastmasters International for the quarterfinals. Rob Evans from Mid Island Advanced (Div C) and Sharleen McBlain from KelownaToastmasters (Div J) took second and third place, respectively.
The contests wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work of many volunteers, including Chief Judge Lamei Yao, the judging team, timers, ballot counters, and Sergeant at Arms. The tech team, led by Torsten Lenk, Shawn O’Hara, and James Falcon, also deserve special recognition for their behind-the-scenes efforts.
The conference received high praise from Distinguished Toastmaster Raymond Ho, who compared it to an International Toastmasters conference. Kudos to Conference Chair Brian Evans and his team for putting on a great show. District Director Virginia Keast also deserves thanks for her leadership and support.
As Contest Chair, it was an honour to guide the contestants through the competitions. Congratulations to all participants, who represented their clubs with pride and took another step towards achieving their Toastmasters goals.
Sincerely,
Steven Leung, DTM
District 21 Conference Contest Chair