Extraordinary BergenMeisters Club member Michael Varma, ATMG, ALB, was recognized for “extraordinary public relations” accomplishments by Toastmasters International by raising awareness of Toastmasters mission by contacting mayors, the governor of California, Congress and the President of the United States for proclamations and resolutions.

Varma receives the Inaugural Governor's Citation for "extraordinary public relations" from Maira Pineda, immediate past district governor, at the Toastmasters District Elected Council meeting and awards dinner on Aug. 25, 2010 held at the Crystal Cathedral, in Orange, Calif. It is the first time this award has been given to a Toastmaster in an appointed position.

During his one-year tenure as Toastmasters International Founder's District Public Relations Officer, Varma successfully publicized more than 180 Toastmasters events and completed more than 110 additional projects. Major tasks included the coordination of the Founder's District website makeover with legacy documentation and engaging 34 mayors within Toastmasters’ Founder’s District, which encompasses Orange County and parts of Los Angeles and Riverside counties, to proclaim October 2010 as Toastmasters’ Month. A number of mayors attended Toastmasters club meetings and invited Toastmasters to city council meetings.

Bergenmeisters member LubyAnn Hausmann achieves a major milestone: Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM).

Club President Sheri Faulkner, CC, presented Hausmann with a DTM plaque from Toastmasters International, an engraved clock from the membership, and they all had chocolate cake to celebrate her continued success.

The Distinguished Toastmaster award is the highest educational award the organization bestows and it recognizes both communication and leadership skills. To be eligible for the award a member must have:

Achieved Advanced Communicator Gold award, which consists of completing more than 45 speeches and coach a new member with the first three speech projects.

Achieved Advanced Leader Silver award, which consists of a minimum of 36 speeches, serve a term as a club and district officer, complete 27 leadership projects including the High Performance Leadership program, and be successful as a club sponsor, mentor or coach.

Congratulations LubyAnn Hausmann, DTM, for a well deserved award.