The History of Toastmasters
Since Toastmasters began, more than two million men and women have benefited from the communication and leadership programs of the organization. The first club was formed in October 1924, when a group of men assembled by Dr. Ralph C. Smedley met in the basement of the Santa Ana, California YMCA to form a club to afford practice and training in the art of public speaking and in presiding over meetings, and to promote sociability and good fellowship among its members. The group took the name Toastmasters.
A year later, a second club was started in Anaheim, California, followed by a third in Los Angeles. By 1930, it was apparent that a federation was necessary to coordinate activities of the clubs and to provide standard methods. After formation of a club in Victoria, British Columbia, the group became known as Toastmasters International. Growth was slow during the early years, but the number of clubs increased steadily. The forerunner of today’s Communication and Leadership program, Basic Training was introduced in 1942 and has been expanded and updated many times since then to keep abreast of the times and members’ needs.
Membership in Toastmasters International increased rapidly after the end of World War II, and by 1954 the number of Toastmasters clubs had approached 1500.
Gavel Clubs were formed in 1958 to accommodate groups wanting Toastmasters training but not qualified for Toastmasters membership. These clubs provide communication and leadership training in correctional institutions, hospitals, and schools. In 1966, the Youth Leadership Program, for young people in junior and senior high school, was added to the list of established community programs being presented by Toastmasters. In 1962, World Headquarters offices were moved to a new building in Santa Ana, California, not far from where the first club began.
In 1973, Toastmasters club membership was opened to women, enabling them to benefit also from self-development in communication and leadership. In the same year, a comprehensive listening program was introduced to further help members develop their communication skills. The following year saw a celebration of their organization’s first 50 years and the promise of an even more successful second half-century. New programs, including the modular Advanced Manual Series, Success/Leadership Series, and self-study cassette tape programs, were added to augment the Communication and Leadership program. Growth in new clubs, especially in the corporate sector, reached new highs in the late 1980s, with more than 7000 clubs, and there are now over 10,000.
Today, Toastmasters International is the undisputed world leader in public speaking training with the promise that the best is yet to come.
The History of the Sears-Halifax Club
The Sears-Halifax Toastmasters Club has a long and illustrious history, being the oldest Club in Nova Scotia. The Club was chartered on the 25 February 1956 as the Simpson and Simpson-Sears Toastmasters Club and it wasn’t until 1977 that it changed it’s name to the current Sears-Halifax Toastmasters Club. The club has been very active supporting and sponsoring Clubs throughout Nova Scotia. These include: Dartmouth (1963), Telco (1968), Yarmouth (1968), Waverley (1969), Cobequid (1970), Schooner (1979) and Sackville (1981). The Club has conducted Speechcraft courses for companies and the community including Maritime Tel & Tel (1967 & 1972), Junior Chamber of Commerce (1970), Royal Bank Managers (1977) and Chartered Accountants (1978). Club member Jack Kiuru became Nova Scotia’s first Distinguished Toastmaster in 1979 and went on to become District Governor of the Year that same year and was elected International Director in 1980.
The Club continues to thrive, picking up awards along the way. The club was named a Distinguished Club in 1971, 1978, 1981, 1983 – 1985, 1992, 1995 – 1997, 1999 and 2001. It was a Select Distinguished Club in 1982, 1986, 1991, 1993 and 2003 – 2005. The highest award is the Presidents Distinguished Club and we achieved this in 1987, 1989, 2002 and 2006 – 2011. The significant anniversaries of the Club have been celebrated in style with distinguished speakers from all walks of life. The 25th Anniversary was held in 1981 at the Admiral Lord Nelson Hotel with the then Sears General Manager Gerry Grandy as the Guest Speaker. The 40th Anniversary (1996) had the 1995 World Champion Speaker Mark Brown as the Guest Speaker and it was held at the Halifax Sheraton. The 50th Anniversary (2006) was held at the Westin Nova Scotia and attracted Toastmasters Past & Present to celebrate this milestone in the history of Nova Scotia’s premiere Toastmasters Club. Guest Speaker on this occasion was the Hon John Buchanan – former premier of NS (1978-1990), former Senator (1990-2006). Finally our 55th Celebration was held at the Halifax Atlantica Hotel on May 7th, 2011 with guest speaker, Neil Everton from Podium Coaching & Communication.