Over the past year, members of Fountain Hills Toastmasters (FHTM) had their sights set on achieving the highest honor a Toastmasters club can achieve; the President’s Distinguished distinction, which recognizes club achievements in education, membership growth, leadership and administration.

The goal was reached last year, but with wavering membership growth, it was a question of whether or not the club would again achieve the award.

Hitting their marks in education, leadership and administration is always manageable, Tom Lindsey said, the club’s past president and current vice president of education. Attracting and maintaining new members to meet the 20-member requirement is the perennial challenge.

“It is always a challenge to seek, attract and grow our membership. We are in a small town that has a substantial seasonal population,” Kathy Koultourides said, the newly elected club president who tracked club goals by distributing scorecards to keep members engaged and on track.

Through strong efforts to promote, recruit and engage club membership, the club gained over 15 new members, reaching well above the number of members needed to check the final box to obtain the award.

“This is a huge accomplishment for a club in a market the size of Fountain Hills,” Koultourides said. “All it takes is a visit to the club as a guest – and you’re hooked!”

According to FHTM Treasurer, Alyson Reichstein, many of the newly joined members are in the Millennial/Gen Z age group.

“It is fantastic to see so many young professionals taking this first step to advance their careers,” she said, adding that she’s enjoyed watching members enhance their public speaking and leadership skills by taking on new challenges and stepping outside their comfort zones. “That is what Toastmasters is all about.”

The club was awarded presidential distinction on July 22, during the District 3 Symposium Award Ceremony. It was also here where Lindsey took running up in the International Speech contest and club member Valerie Krugh earned first place in the Humorous Speech contest.

“Not only does it take skill to compete but it also takes courage to step out there like that,” Edna Saucke said, Toastmaster’s Ocotillo Division director, who visited the club on Wednesday, Aug. 9, and presented the members with a plaque for achieving the award. “This award is important because it represents setting goals and executing them. This club executed all four goals needed to get Presidential Distinguished.”

Out of 165 Toastmasters clubs in Arizona, only 28 were awarded presidential distinction.

The Distinguished Club Program (DCP) was established by Toastmasters International as a measure of club success. Each year, the DCP recognizes club achievements in education, membership growth, leadership and administration.

According to Reichstein, the future looks bright at Fountain Hills Toastmasters.

“We have a great group of people who are fun, lively and committed to seeing one another succeed,” she said. “With this year as our stepping stone, we look forward to achieving even bigger and better things in the coming year.”

All are welcome to visit the club to learn more. Join the club on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. or on every first and third Monday at 11 a.m. at the Chamber of Commerce, 16837 E. Palisades Blvd. For information about joining the Fountain Hills Toastmasters, visit fountainhills.toastmastersclubs.org.

“Be our guest at an upcoming meeting,” Koultourides said. “You won’t regret it!”