Help for VPs Public Relations – 2019-20
Your Club Leadership Handbook contains valuable guidelines and resources for you on pages 31- 34.
Help with your Club Website
A well designed front page is an effective membership recruiting aid.
Have a look at this file for help with designing your front page
District Public Relations Awards - 2019 -2020
Dear District 17 Toastmaster Members,
I am pleased to present to you the District 17 PR Awards for the term 2019-20. These awards are designed to recognise the Best Clubs which:
- Promote Toastmasters in the best light, aligned with the Brand Standards and the Brand Promise.
- Maintain proper channels of communication and update them regularly.
- Follow the Best Practices in Public Relations to the best of their abilities.
- Mainly will focus on
- Clarity in Message
- Design (Use of TI branding elements)
- Creativity
- Visual appeal
The criteria for each award have been designed to reflect the essentials of what the particular medium of PR pertains to. In order to help all the clubs aim to achieve these awards, the PR Team will be organising several webinars over the course of the year. We will also be providing a detailed feedback on all entries that meet the qualifying requirement and guidance for those which don’t.
Pasan Ganegama, ACS, ALB
District 17 Manager - Public Relations 2019-2020
Email: pasan.ganegama@toastmastersd17.org
The following will be evaluated during the specified time period.
- Best Social Media Presence
- Best Club Newsletter
- Best Club Website
General Instructions:
PR awards will be annual recognition and the Results will be announced during Convention 2020
Start Date: 1 December 2019
Deadline: 10 PM EST on 20 April 2020
The evaluation will be continuous and will start from the moment the entry has been submitted. So clubs are encouraged to share entries regularly and timely instead of waiting for the Deadline. Filtering out of entries based on qualifying criteria will be done by the PR Team.
A Panel of a minimum of 12 Judges on rotation will score the entries based on the point system set and rank the top three.
The following PRM awards are also envisaged.
01. - Golden Quill Award
Award eligibility criteria
* Open to members who promote Toastmasters programs to reach a larger section of the society through printed publications. i.e.- Newspaper articles - Local / State
* Time line - 01st December 2019 to 20th March 2020.
* Open to - Any D 17 TMI club members in good standing
* No. of Awards - 01 but the participants will be posted on D 17 Members page.
* Award details - Recognition at the Convention.
02. - Best PR Poster Award / Flyer of the Month
Award eligibility criteria
* Best club meeting/ open house invitation posters that attract guests and members.
* Time line - 01st December 2019 to 20th March 2020.
* Open to - VP - PR at Club level
* No. of Awards - 01 winner per month will be posted on D17 Members page.
* Award details - Recognition at the PR Awards ceremony.
03. - Golden Lens Award
Award eligibility criteria
* Awarded to the best photograph showcasing any or all of the values, objectives and the spirit of toastmasters
* Time line - Phase 01 - From 01st December 2019 to 29th March 2020.
Phase 02 - From 01st March 2020 to 30th June 2020
* Open to - Any D17 TMI club members in good standing
* No. of Awards - 01 winner per month will be posted on D17 Members page.
* Award details - Recognition at the PR Awards ceremony.
04. - D17 WOW Award
Award eligibility criteria
* Awarded to the clubs that create a video showcasing the values and spirit of Toastmasters, club activities, testimonials and the WOW factor of the club. The video should be inline with the TMI branding guidelines and should be promoted on social media platforms.
* Time line - 01st December 2019 to 20th March 2020.
* Open to - Any D17 TMI club members in good standing
* No. of Awards - 01 winner per month will be posted on D17 Members page.
* Award details - Recognition at the PR Awards ceremony.
05. - D17 Club Newsletter Award
Award eligibility criteria
* Awarded to the clubs that publish Newsletters during the term. A minimum of 3 newsletters in digital format with a minimum of 12 pages.
Newsletters must showcase the Values and the Spirit of Toastmasters, member and club activities and other content relevant to Toastmasters International and it’s programme
* Time line - 01st December 2019 to 20th March 2020.
* Open to - VP - PR
* No. of Awards - 03 winners and will be posted on D17 Members page.
* Award details - Recognition at the PR Awards ceremony.
06. - D17 Best Website Award
Award eligibility criteria
* Awarded to the clubs with the best Website along with Regular updates will be considered for the award. Clubs encouraging guests to visit their site will get extra mileage Newsletters must showcase the Values and the Spirit of Toastmasters, member and club activities and other content relevant to Toastmasters International and it’s programme
* Time line - Nominations before 31st March.
* Open to - VP - PR or Webmaster
* No. of Awards - 03 winners and will be posted on D17 Members page.
* Award details - Recognition at the PR Awards ceremony.
07. - “ PR Pioneer - D17” Award
Award eligibility criteria
* Awarded to the initiatives done out of the box under the canopy of VP-PR to achieve club mission or to enhance club quality.
* Time line - 01st December 2019 to 20th March 2020
* Open to - VP
* No. of Awards - 01 winner and will be posted on D17 Members page.
* Award details - Recognition at the PR Awards ceremony.
08. - “Social Champion - D17” Award
Award eligibility criteria
* Clubs/ Areas/ Division that promote Toastmasters with a kiosk/ booth/ stall/ pop-up meeting with maximum exposure during a social/ community/ corporate event.
* Time line - 01st December 2019 to 20th March 2020
* Open to - Clubs / Areas / Division
* No. of Awards - Top 3 and will be posted on D17 Members page.
* Award details - Recognition at the PR Awards ceremony.
09. - “Community Outreach - D17” Award
Award eligibility criteria
* Awarded to the Clubs/ Areas/ Division that are actively conducting and participating in various community service events or environmental projects.
Toastmaster banner must be displayed in all those events and the benefits yielded must be shared in social media
* Time line - 01st December 2019 to 20th March 2020
* Open to - Clubs / Areas / Division
* No. of Awards - Top 3 and will be posted on D17 Members page.
* Award details - Recognition at the PR Awards ceremony.
PR Award Guidelines
- All the entries must comply to Toastmasters International branding guidelines to qualify for the awards (https://www. toastmasters.org/resources/brand-manual)
- A member and the club should be in good standing to qualify for the awards
- All submissions will be evaluated by a committee to be appointed by the District PR Manager.
- At the discretion of the evaluation committee, awards may not be declared for any category in case a minimum entries not received under the category or if in the judgement of the evaluation of the committee none of the submissions meet a minimum quality that is expected for a submission of entries
- All the entries must be sent to PRawards@toastmastersD17.org with clear award title, name and club/ area/ division and contact details
- For any clarification regarding PR Awards criteria contact District PR Manager - Pasan Ganegama.
- The submission format for each category is listed below.
| Award | Award Title | Last date to submit | File format to be submitted |
| PRA # 1 | Golden Quill Award | 20th March 2020 | pdf or jpeg of the article |
| PRA # 2 | Best PR Poster ! Award | Last date of month | pdf or jpeg of the poster/flyer should be shared in social media including District 17 FB page, prior to submit to the award committee |
| PRA # 3 | Golden Lens ! Award | Last date of month | jpeg -less than 5 MB |
| PRA # 4 | D -17 WOW ! Award | 20th March 2020 | Shall be uploaded on YouTube or vimeo and the link should be shared in social media including District 17 FB page, prior to submit to the award committee |
| PRA # 5 | D -17
Club newsletter |
20th March 2020 | Should be uploaded on issue.com and the link should be shared in social media including District 17 FB page, prior to submit to the award committee |
| PRA # 6 | D -17 Best Website | 20th March 2020 | Website link |
| PRA # 7 | “PR Pioneer” D- 17 | 20th March 2020 | pdf, jpeg, links and achievements, innovative PR works not covered in any other awards should be presented |
| PRA # 8 | Social Champion - D17 | 20th March 2020 | Prior notification to District, pdf or jpeg and benefits summary |
| PRA # 9 | Community Outreach | 20th March 2020 | Photographs with club banner - pdf or jpeg, benefits summary |