Editor’s Note
Robert Rizzo is a leader. He had a vision of a successful club even when the club had only six dispirited members. To make his vision a reality, he developed a plan, set goals and built a team. He remained steadfast throughout the trials and detours which always threaten to derail a well-crafted plan. He displayed leadership skills ranging from decisive action, moving the club to weekly meetings, to patience, allowing his plan to unfold. I’m positive that we can all learn from his story.
Collier Communiqué was formed January 13, 2003. The club was formed and supported by the Collier County Board of County Commissioners. The economic downturn hit Collier County hard and thus the membership of Collier Communiqué. By the summer and fall of 2009 attendance dropped to 3 or 4 per meeting and the club’s future was in doubt.
Assessment
I was appointed Area 12 Governor for the 2009-2010 year and Collier Communiqué is part of Area 12. Losing the club was not an option. My thoughts, along with the Division A Governor Scott Vail, were how to save and rebuild the club. I recognized that Collier Communiqué was in trouble and action needed to be taken. At the October 2009 dues renewal period, Col- lier Communiqué had only three members committed to renew. Linda Valentine, the president of Collier Communiqué was frustrated and running out of desire to hold the club together.
Planning and Implementation
The first need to be addressed was to renew the club at the minimum strength of six members. Three experienced toast- masters, Scott Vail Division A Governor, Kathryn Gaertner, DTM, and myself were added to the membership of Collier Communiqué to renew at six members for the October 2009 renewal period. The location, time and frequency of meetings were addressed. I was previously a Toastmaster in Orlando where most of the clubs met weekly. I urged the club to move to a weekly meeting that meets in the evening. I felt that the consistency of a weekly meeting would boost commitment and the timing of an evening meeting would give us access to more people. The club was moved to a weekly meeting on Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. The club also moved to a better location. It was previously meeting twice a month (the norm in Naples) on Friday at 12:00 noon. We started video recording all the speeches and giving a copy to the speakers and created a YouTube Channel which appealed to many members. Collier Communiqué had a grand reopening on November 5, 2009 with 15 in attendance including nine guests. There was a definite excitement in the club with the changes. In most of the subsequent meetings, the club had four speakers scheduled. Linda Valentine updated and improved the website, giving the club better publicity. As a result of these efforts, Collier Communiqué returned 15 members at the April 2010 renewal date. By 06/30/2010 the club had grown to 21 members.
Results
The efforts stated earlier resulted in Collier Communiqué becoming a Select Distinguished Club with seven goals for the 2009-2010 Toastmaster year. We are seeing new guests weekly and new members are joining. We are the fastest growing club in Area 12 and are continuing to see new growth. A full slate of officers was elected for the 2010-2011 Toastmaster year for the first time in years. The club home to the division governor, area governor and two DTM’s. We especially thank Linda Valentine for her determination and commitment to hold the club together the last couple of years. She has done a tremendous job and her leadership is evident in the renewed Collier Communiqué Toastmasters Club.
Lessons Learned
The best piece of advice I could give a future club coach is to develop a good assessment on why the club is in trouble and a good understanding with the current active club members. Determine the factors that led to the troubles and propose solutions to address those factors. Keep an open mind and think out of the box in determining solutions. Be prepared to change meeting locations, times and frequency of meetings. Seek help from fellow toastmaster clubs and some of its members since they can be a tremendous help. I learned to be more patient and keep a cool head when there were challenges.
By Robert Rizzo, DTM
A Letter of Praise
I am the President of Collier Communiqué, Toastmasters Club #4392. The club was formed and supported by my employer, Collier County Board of County Commissioners. The economic downturn hit Florida hard, and as an institution funded primarily by real estate taxes, our local government faced many challenges, and as a result, our club was hit hard. We were a noon-time club comprised primarily of County employees who could no longer make meetings, and were frankly too stressed and exhausted at the end of the day to consider an evening meeting. All but three of our officers resigned, and it was a challenge to find enough members to hold a meeting. By September of 2009, I had little or no desire to try and hold the club together any longer. At that time Robert Rizzo was our area governor and had started attending our meetings and expressed an interest in reorganizing the club. Not wanting the club to fail on my watch, I agreed to give it one last try, but was not hopeful. The conditions of my remaining were that the District would ensure the help of three experienced Toastmasters to assist me in rebuilding the club. Robert was among the most experienced of the three and came to us with the plan that has made Collier Communiqué the club that it is today.
In November we reopened our doors with the minimum of six members required to keep a club: the remaining three officers, Robert a club member, Scott Vail our division governor, and DTM Kathryn Gaertner. Robert and Scott scouted a new location in a local shopping center, and at Robert’s urging we agreed to move to evenings and to a weekly meeting instead of the twice monthly meeting that was the norm in Naples.
Seven months later , we are the fastest growing club in the area, having reached Distinguished status with 21 members and new members in the pipeline each month. For the first time in years, this election period resulted in a full slate of officers, and our club is the home of two DTMs, the present and future area governors, the division governor, the winner of the Area 12 Evaluation Contest as well as the Area 12 International Speech contest winner.
Robert Rizzo was the key to this success. In addition to moving to weekly meetings, Robert’s innovations also included presenting speakers with video recordings of prepared speeches, and the creating of a Collier Communiqué YouTube channel. Robert’s cool head and consistency despite many initial challenges continues to keep us focused and on point. The turnaround of this troubled club is due in large part to Robert’s coaching and never failing optimism.
When I look around the room at a meeting and see the energy and enthusiasm of our members, it is hard to believe that I ever thought of closing our doors. When I see the growth of our members, I know that we serve a much-needed purpose in our community, and I know, perhaps more than anyone else, that none of this would have happened without the direction and hard work of Robert Rizzo.
by Linda Valentine
President
Collier Communiqué Toastmasters Club 4392