During District 23 Toastmasters’ Fall 2016 Conference in El Paso, Texas, four members were honored for their service to the district during the 2015-2016 Toastmasters year. As the 2015-2016 District Director Tracy Thomason said, “So many of our members served with such excellence last year that it was hard to decide who to select.”
Tracy met with Program Quality Director Natalie Waters and Club Growth Director Jenny Zappone and the three carefully went through all of the accomplishments of the nominees before selecting the four individuals who were most deserving of the awards for Area Director of the Year, Division Director of the Year, Compañero, and Toastmaster of the Year.
Cliff Colvin (right)
Cliff Colvin – Area Director of the Year
Like all of the twenty-four Area Directors, Cliff served his clubs and helped them to achieve excellence. Like several others, Cliff also went above and beyond to help a fellow Area Director achieve a Distinguished Area award, too. He stood out, though, as the only Area Director to get 100% of his base clubs to Distinguished and he not only had a new club in his area, he was responsible for getting the club started and was the closer at the launch meeting when L.E.A.D. Toastmasters chartered with 37 members. Cliff was the only Area Director to achieve President’s Distinguished Status.
Cliff received the award from Immediate Past District Director Tracy Thomason during the Hall of Fame luncheon on Saturday, October 15, 2016, in El Paso, Texas.
Analisa Martinez
Analisa Martinez – Division Director of the Year
Similarly, all six of the Division Directors worked diligently to help their Area Directors and clubs achieve Distinguished status. Two Division Directors achieved President’s Distinguished status for their Divisions. Analisa was selected as the Division Director of the Year for her “over the top” service of helping clubs both inside and outside her Division and for working with our Toastmaster of the Year (below) to create a new program for assisting troubled clubs.
Analisa was unable to attend the ceremony in El Paso.
Miguel Navrot
Miguel Navrot – Compañero Award
The Compañero Award is a District 23 tradition. It’s given to a past district officer who continues to serve the district and its members with distinction. Miguel Navrot is a past Area and Division Governor. During the 2015-2016 year, Miguel worked to ensure quality Toastmasters Leadership Institutes in Albuquerque and mentored the two Division Directors in Albuquerque. He also worked closely with other district officers to maintain the district calendar and helped Program Quality Director Natalie Waters with a project to reinvigorate the district’s DTM Ceremony.
Miguel was also unable to attend the ceremony in El Paso.
Lynn Fugelso (right)
Lynn Fugelso – Toastmaster of the Year
Not only was Lynn Fugelso an Area Governor in 2014-2015, like Cliff (above) she was named Area Governor of the Year for her term of service. And Lynn’s service did not end there. She continued to assist with district events like contests and Toastmasters Leadership Institutes. For the latter she devised an innovative approach to the Distinguished Club Program training. She worked closely with Analisa (above) to assist a troubled club with a special program. And she helped launch a new club, the DTM Think Tank, by shepherding the members in the discovery of their club mission and vision.
Lynn received the award from Tracy during the Hall of Fame luncheon in El Paso.
