The highest award presented by Toastmasters International is the Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) award. Hours, weeks, and even months can be required just to complete one of the steps in this daunting process. But for those Toastmasters with the drive to accomplish it, all the work is worth it to receive the bronze medallion, the admiration of their peers, and the skills gained.

For the 2013-2014 year (July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014), the following District 23 Toastmasters have earned the Distinguished Toastmaster Award:

CharlesStaplerCharles Stapler

Date: July 24, 2013
Club: Las Aguilas Club
City: Las Cruces, NM
District Office: Area 43 Governor (1998-99)
Club Mentored: Amigo Club in Las Cruces (2004)
HPL Project: Charles acted as Chair of the Spring Area Speech Contest in Las Cruces, New Mexico. This entailed serving as Chair for two areas.

CharlesStaplerCharles Stapler (2nd DTM this year!)

Date: August 13, 2013
Club: Amigo Club
City: El Paso, TX
District Office: Lt. Governor of Marketing (2000-01)
Club Coached: Las Aguilas Club in Las Cruces (2013)
HPL Project: During the 2012-2013 year, Charles used his term as Area 45 Governor, Division D, for his Leadership Excellent project.

StacyCainDTMStacy Cain

Date: August 13, 2013
Club: Llano Estacado Toastmasters
City: Lubbock, TX
District Office: Area 61 Governor (2009-10)
Club Mentored: Eloquent Raiders in Lubbock (2012-13)
HPL Project: Stacy served as the Fund Raising Chair for the 2013 District 23 Spring Conference that was held in Lubbock, TX. Her project goal was
to successfully chair a committee that was responsible for raising money, collecting items for the casino night prizes and the silent auction, as well as sell advertising in the conference program.

JenniferCodyMartinJennifer Cody Martin

Date: September 18, 2013
Club: Midday Madness Club
City: Albuquerque, NM
District Office: Area 23 Governor (2012-13)
Club Sponsored: AS We Speak (Albuquerque – 2013)
HPL Project: Jennifer facilitated and recorded 3 radio commercials designed to create awareness and increase membership in Toastmasters within our Albuquerque Metro Area. They ran on two of Vanguard Media’s stations, KOAZ and KRKP, for two months.

TedGonzalesTed Gonzales

Date: October 3, 2013
Club: Marketing Masters Toastmasters
City: Albuquerque, NM
District Office: Division Governor (2006-07)
Club Mentored: Tamaya Talkers in Albuquerque (now Midday Rio Rancho)
HPL Project: Led a team of Toastmasters to create a Conference Breakout Session on Training Evaluators to become Contest Judges. Session included test speakers and talking through different evaluations. This session, went far beyond the existing material (at that time), to enhance the judging, contestant, and overall contest experience.

SharonOwensDTMSharon Owens

Date: October 22, 2013
Club: Raging Toastmasters Club
City: Amarillo, TX
District Office: Area 52 Governor (2010-11)
Club Coached: Panhandle Pro Club in Amarillo (2012)
HPL Project: Chairman of the PR Committe for the District 23 Fall Conference held in Amarillo. Responsible for soliciting donations and selling ads for the conference brochure. Successfully sold $655.00 in ads.

IrelanetteBroadnaxIrelanette Broadnax

Date: October 26, 2013
Club: Border Toasters Club
City: El Paso, TX
District Office: Area 42 Governor (2012-13)
Club Sponsored: Sun City Toastmasters in El Paso (2012)
HPL Project: During the 2012-2013 Toastmasters year Irelanette used her term as Area 42 Governor for her HPL project. At the end of the year Area 42 achieved Distinguished Area status.

DavidBroadnaxDavid Broadnax

Date: November 6, 2013
Club: Border Toasters Club
City: El Paso, TX
District Office: Division D Governor (2012-13)
Club Sponsored: Sun City Toastmasters in El Paso (2012)
HPL Project: During the 2012-2013 Toastmasters year David used his term as Division D Governor for his HPL project. At the end of the year Division D achieved Select Distinguished staus.

Larry Buelow DTMLarry D. Buelow

Date: February 14, 2014
Club: Taylor Ranch Toastmasters
City: Albuquerque, NM
District Office: Division B Govenor (2010-11)
Club Mentored: Boeing-SVS Toastmasters in Albuquerque
HPL Project: I was Conference Chair for the District 23 2010 Spring Conference in Albuquerque. This conference was highlighted by Jim Key as the keynote speaker; the conference also raised over $3,000 for the district.

Sylvia Price DTMSylvia J. Price

Date: March 5, 2014
Club: Amigo Club
City: El Paso, TX
District Office: Area 44 Governor (2012)
Club Mentored: Sun City Toastmasters in El Paso
HPL Project: I used my experience at Area 44 Governor as my HLP. I had four clubs that I visited, two I joined, and learned that all clubs are unique and have their own culture. My area was distinguished.

David Wallace DTMDavid L. Wallace

Date: March 11, 2014
Club: Las Cruces Toastmasters Club
City: Las Cruces, NM
District Office: Area 41 Governor (2012-2013)
Club Mentored: City of Las Cruces Club in Las Cruces, NM (2012)
HPL Project: During 2013-2014, I led a leadership team at NASA-White Sands Testing Facility to charter the WSTF Space Toasters #3017618 corporate club which provides a creative, magnetic, and supportive environment to enhance their speaking and leadership skills.

Rose Johnson-Tsosie DTMRose W. Johnson-Tsosie

Date: March 13, 2014
Club: Power Talkers Club
City: Santa Fe, NM
District Office:
Club Sponsored:
HPL Project: Coaching the Area & Division A Speech Competition

This is Rose’s 5th DTM.

Amy Beaschler DTMAmy Beaschler

Date: March 13, 2014
Club: Eastside Club
City: El Paso, TX
District Office: District Treasurer (2009-10)
Club Sponsored: GC Talking Heads (2008)
HPL Project: A call center project was ramping down due to the contract ending. Management and 133 call center agents were going to be out of jobs. The HPL included the announcement of the project ending, arranging interviews with other projects and coordinating the release of agents to new assignments.

Natalie WatersNatalie M. Waters

Date: March 27, 2014
Club: Pantex Lunch Bunch Club
City: Amarillo, TX
District Office: Area 53 Governor (2011-2012)
Club Sponsored: Amarillo Coffee Weekenders in Amarillo, TX. (2014)
HPL Project: Coordinated a Region Advisor Visit / Division E City Wide Open House held May 10-11th, 2013. HPL activities included securing a date/location, a club visit, five corporate visits, a TI corporate award, a corporate recognition, and a Friday night social dinner. On Saturday, a Division-wide open house was held with hospitality, demonstration meetings, raffles, speech contest exhibitions, a local news channel interview along with club information/ marketing tables.

CarolynPeelerDTMCarolyn Ann Peeler

Date: April 2, 2014
Club: Desert Basin Club
City: Alamogordo, NM
District Office: Area 45 Governor (2009-10)
Club Sponsored: Lambs to Lions Toastmasters in Hobbs, NM (2009)
HPL Project: My high performance leadership project was Co-Chairing the Fall 2011 Conference at the Inn of the Mountain Gods in Mescalero, NM. This was the District’s first one day conference as well as one which had committee members from various clubs and Divisions. It encompassed a monumental communication and coordination effort.