An Overview of District 17 History
The history of our District divides into two major periods, which are separated at June 30/July 1, 2011 when WA Toastmasters split off from District 73 and became District 17.
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The incoming District Governor, Mark Richards DTM, appointed as joint Historians Judith Allen DTM and David Nicholas DTM. Our role is to set up a process for gathering records of our past, to arrange them systematically and make them available on the District Website to all those interested. |  |
The District 73 period
This subdivides into two periods.
Early days - approximately 1968 to 1985
Western Division - 1985 onwards
Early Days
The first Toastmaster Club in WA was City of Perth in 1968. The club functioned successfully for just on four years, but then collapsed. This information was supplied by one of the original members, Doug Fortescue, a neighbour of David Nicholas.
WA’s growth in Toastmasters began in the early 1970’s when a small group of enthusiasts started a number of clubs. Peter McDonnell, a founding member of Banyandah, recalls an Advanced Club being started. However it, and one or two others, failed to reach Charter strength.
When the provisional District 73 was formed in 1976, Banyandah, which had chartered in August 1974, and two newly chartered clubs, Sandgroper in April 1976 and Talkabout in December 1976, were three of the 22 clubs from Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia making up the new District. These 3 clubs are still functioning as at July 2015.
For seven years these three were the only clubs in WA. However, seven new clubs were chartered between 1983 and 1989.
The 1990’s were definitely the boom years with 20 clubs added to WA’s numbers – a steady growth of three or four each year and 15 of them still going.
This momentum carried through into the 2000’s with another 35 clubs chartered, including a phenomenal 12 clubs during Mike Helm’s reign as District Governor in 2007/2008. Mike was the first West Australian to become the District 73 Governor. We then chartered six clubs the following year, and a further 11 in the next two years. In 2006/2007 a second Division was formed in WA - Perth Division - and 2 years later in 2008/2009 a third Division was added -Innercity Division - as WA grew to it's target of 60 clubs to form a new District.
District 17 is Born!
At last, the dream of a Western Australian District was becoming more of a reality. In 2009 a Reformation committee was set up. It was chaired by David Nicholas with members Mike Helm, Michael Malone & Mark Richards. Our sights were set on a separate District in WA in 2011.
District 17 came into being on Saturday 21st May 2011 at the Swan Song on the Swan Convention in Perth. During the Toastmasters District 73 West District Council Meeting, the first District 17 Officers were elected and Western Australia ended its association with District 73.
Historically, this year, 2011-12 is one of the most important for Toastmasters in Western Australia.
The new District 17 began to operate on 1st July 2011, led by our first District Governor, Mark Richards DTM and his executive team.
This Toastmasters year was one of consolidation and steady growth. Every achievement was a first for our new District 17 and sets the standard for years to come.
2011-2012
District 17’s first year 2011-2012 was an outstanding success led by District Governor, Mark Richards DTM 
with the District achieving Select Distinguished Status in the old ranking system on a points base where only the top 6 Districts could achieve Presidents Distinguished and the next 6 Districts, Select Distinguished. The rest of the Districts could only achieve Distinguished status.
There were four new clubs chartered
- Applecross
- CPA
- Gourmet Guns N Roses
- Healthy Toasters
and one club, The A-Team, was suspended.
36 out of 60 clubs achieved Distinguished status or better, with 19 of them achieving Presidents Distinguished. Two of the three Divisions achieved President’s Distinguished status, 12 of the 13 Areas achieved Distinguished or better with 3 of them Presidents Distinguished. The foundation was a solid one for the District to grow upon.
At a Glance:
District Leaders:
District Governor: Mark Richards
Lieutenant Governor, Education and Training: Ross Wilkinson
Lieutenant Governor, Marketing: Pascale Amberville-Colby
Active Clubs: 63
Membership Payments: 2,282 (+10.08%)
Paid Clubs: 63 (+5%)
Distinguished Clubs: 36 (60%)
District Distinguished Status: Select Distinguished
Rank: 11 / 88 (12.5%)
2012-2013
The 2012-2013 Toastmasters’ year was one of strong growth in new members and new clubs under the guidance of District Governor, Ross Wilkinson DTM. 
Six new clubs chartered:
- ToastiES
- Madison
- Northern Gourmet
- Willetton
- Curtin GSB Sundowner
- DTM Pathway
42 out of 63 clubs achieved Distinguished status or better, with 17 of them achieving Presidents Distinguished.
All three Divisions achieved President’s Distinguished status, 8 of the 13 Areas achieved Distinguished or better with 6 of them Presidents Distinguished. With a new District performance system in place that year, the District reached Presidents Distinguished for the first time with a world ranking of 10th out of 88 Districts. (World rankings are sorted by percentage of Distinguished clubs)
Our District also saw Mike Helm DTM
installed as the International Director for our Region, Region 12 at the Toastmasters International Convention in Orlando in 2012. This is the first time a West Australian has been elected to this position. We are extremely proud of Mike’s achievement.
At a Glance:
District Leaders:
District Governor: Ross Wilkinson
Lieutenant Governor, Education and Training: Pascale Amberville-Colby
Lieutenant Governor, Marketing: Robyn Richards
Active clubs: 69
Membership Payments: 2,512 (+19.03%)
Paid Clubs: 69 (+9.52%)
Distinguished Clubs: 42 (66.7%)
District Distinguished Status: President's Distinguished
Rank: 10 / 88 (11.3%)
2013-2014
The 2013-2014 year saw our District achieve President’s Distinguished District status once again lead by District Governor, Pascale Amberville-Colby DTM.
We chartered seven clubs:
- 235 Toastmasters
- Deloitte
- ToastEY
- Risky Toast
- Currambine
- WA School of Mines
- Karratha
A record number of 45 of our 69 clubs attained Distinguished or better, with 23 of these achieving President’s Distinguished.
All three Divisions achieved Presidents Distinguished status, 11 of the 13 Areas achieved Distinguished or better with 5 of them Presidents Distinguished.
In this year's realignment we added 3 more Areas to begin the following year. Past District Governor Ross Wilkinson ran for International Director this year for Region 12 but was unsuccessful against Kaylene Ledger - Canberra and eventual winner Charlie Starrett from Queensland.
At a Glance:
District Leaders:
District Governor: Pascale Amberville-Colby
Lieutenant Governor, Education and Training: Robyn Richards
Lieutenant Governor, Marketing: Ian Pickens
Active Clubs: 76
Membership Payments: 3,275 (+8.91%)
Paid Clubs: 75 (+8.7%)
Distinguished Clubs: 45 (65.22%)
District Distinguished Status: President's Distinguished
Rank: 14 / 91 (15.4%)
2014-2015
The 2014-2015 year saw our District achieve President’s Distinguished District status for the 3rd year running, lead by our first female District Governor, Robyn Richards DTM.
We chartered eight new clubs:
- Shell
- Kwinana
- PwC
- Jacobs
- Bechtel WA
- Sunday Sundowners
- Golden Gourmet
- Masters at UWA
with one club, Toast2FS suspended.
44 out of 75 clubs achieved Distinguished status or better which is 58.67%, 23 of them achieving Presidents Distinguished.
All three Divisions achieved Presidents Distinguished status, 11 of the 16 Areas achieved Distinguished or better with 6 of them Presidents Distinguished.
In this year's realignment we added 1 more Division (Eastern) and 3 more Areas (19 Areas now) to begin the following year.
At a Glance:
District Leaders:
District Governor: Robyn Richards
Lieutenant Governor, Education and Training: Ian Pickens
Lieutenant Governor, Marketing: Leonor Ragan
Active clubs: 83
Membership Payments: 3,698 (+10.85%)
Paid Clubs: 82 (+9.33%)
Distinguished Clubs: 44 (58.7%)
District Distinguished Status: President's Distinguished
Rank: 20 / 96 (20.8%)
2015-2016
The 2015-2016 year saw our District take a little set back with the decline in the WA economy and we did not achieve Distinguished District this year.
Ian Pickens DTM was our first District Director and during this year we chartered 2 new clubs:
- NAB
- Competitive Speakers
with the loss of 2 clubs, Margaret River and PWC.
40 out of 82 clubs achieved Distinguished status or better which is 48.78% , 26 of them achieving Presidents Distinguished.
One out of four Divisions achieved President's Distinguished and 9 of the 19 Areas achieved Distinguished or better with 1 achieving President's Distinguished Area.
Past District Governor Mark Richards ran for International Director this year for Region 12 but was unsuccessful against Dennis McCord - New Zealand, Tracy Green - Victoria and eventual winner David Fisher from New South Wales.
At a Glance:
District Leaders:
District Director: Ian Pickens
Program Quality Director: Leonor Ragan
Club Growth Director: Sue Fallon
Active clubs: 84
Membership Payments: 3,529 (-4.8%)
Paid Clubs: 82 (0%)
Distinguished Clubs: 40 (48.8%)
District Distinguished Status: None
Rank:69 / 98 (70.4%)
2016-2017
The 2016-2017 year saw a huge growth in clubs for our District adding 8 new clubs and losing none. Unfortunately our membership renewals were low and therefore the District did not reach Distinguished.
Leonor Ragan DTM lead our District to 37th in the World out of 102 Districts, by our high amount of Distinguished clubs, 50 out of 82 clubs, with 18 of them achieving Presidents Distinguished. All four Divisions achieved President's Distinguished and 14 of the 19 Areas achieved Distinguished or better with 5 achieving President's Distinguished Area.
We added 8 new clubs:
- Stanley College
- bToasty
- Curtin
- Verbivores
- Butler
- UWA College Row
- Co Burners
- Fremantle Quaynote Speakers
At a Glance:
District Leaders:
District Director: Leonor Ragan
Program Quality Director: Sue Fallon
Club Growth Director: Patricia D'Cruz
Active clubs: 90
Membership Payments: 3,525 (-0.8%)
Paid Clubs: 90 (+9.76%)
Distinguished Clubs: 50 (60.58%)
District Distinguished Status: None
Rank: 37 / 102 (36.3%)
2017-2018
In 2017-2018 the district did not have a Club Growth Director for most of the year. Despite this, the District had a very consolidated year adding 3 new clubs and losing 3 clubs. Our membership saw a slight growth and our Distinguished clubs were over 50%. We did not achieve Distinguished status this year. 
Sue Fallon DTM lead our District to 35th in the world out of 105 Districts worldwide.
We added 3 new clubs:
- Persuasive Speakers
- Energy Club
- CIL Toastmasters
Three clubs were suspended: Netmasters, Co-Burners and NAB Perth.
46 of our 90 clubs achieved Distinguished status which is 51.11% with a record 28 of them achieving Presidents Distinguished. Two out of the Four Divisions achieved Select Distinguished and there were 7 Distinguished Areas and 3 Presidents Distinguished Areas.
At a Glance:
District Leaders:
District Director: Sue Fallon
Program Quality Director: Patricia D'Cruz
Club Growth Director: Vacant
Active clubs: 93
Membership Payments: 3,592 (+1.15%)
Paid Clubs: 89 (-1.11%)
Distinguished Clubs: 46 (51.11%)
District Distinguished Status: None
Rank: 35 / 105 (33.3%)
2018-2019
In 2018-2019, District 17 saw the introduction of Pathways, and Past Division Director Kevion Sansome stepped into the role of Program Quality Director.
The year saw our District have a slight loss in clubs and membership payments, but our Distinguished clubs stayed above 50% again. We did not reach Distinguished status this year.
Patricia D’Cruze DTM lead our District to 50th in the world out of 116 Districts worldwide.
We added 3 new clubs this year:
- ABU
- Toastwest
- Toastminers
4 clubs were suspended, Bonanza, Karratha, Verbivores and Fremantle Quaynote Speakers
47 of our 92 clubs achieved Distinguished status with a new high record of 32 of them achieving Presidents Distinguished. Two out of the Four Divisions achieved Distinguished and there were 7 Distinguished Areas, 3 Select Distinguished and 1 Presidents Distinguished Area.
At a Glance:
District Leaders:
District Director: Patricia D'Cruz
Program Quality Director: Kevin Sansome
Club Growth Director: Henry Yau
Actice clubs: 95
Membership Payments: 3,438 (-4.9%)
Paid Clubs: 90 (-2.17%)
Distinguished Clubs: 47 (51.09%)
District Distinguished Status: None
Rank: 50 / 116 (43.1%)
2019-2020
The 2019-2020 year saw our District and the world take a huge drop in clubs and membership payments due to the COVID 19 effect worldwide. This also had an effect on our Distinguished clubs, so we did not reach Distinguished status again. Our District expanded our Divisions from 4 to 6 trying to keep our Areas to a maximum of 4 clubs per Area.
Kevin Sansome lead our District to 112th in the world out of 119 Districts worldwide.
We added just 1 new Club:
- Piara Waters
A record 11 clubs were not in good standing, with 1 club, Shell Australia, suspended.
There were only 26 clubs at Distinguished status with 22 of them Presidents Distinguished. None of our Divisions reached Distinguished with 3 of our Areas Distinguished and 2 at Select Distinguished.
Most of our clubs were unable to meet face to face, so Zoom became the preferred way to run meetings.
The District made the tough decision to cancel the annual conference, along with the District speech contests. A very tough year for our District and a huge congratulations to our Trio for seeing us through this bump in the road.
At a Glance:
District Leaders:
District Director: Kevin Sansome
Program Quality Director: Henry Yau
Club Growth Director: Tim Blackburn
Active clubs: 92
Membership Payments: 3,110 (-9.67%)
Paid Clubs: 81 (-10.99%)
Distinguished Clubs: 26 (28.57%)
District Distinguished Status: None
Rank: 112 / 119 (94.1%)
2020-2021
The 2020-2021 year saw our District struggle again, to take a huge drop in clubs and membership payments due to the COVID 19 effect worldwide. It also had an effect on our Distinguished clubs status, so we did not reach Distinguished District status again. 
Henry Yau lead our District through trying times to 80th in the world out of 122 Districts worldwide.
We added 2 new clubs:
- Melville
- Byford
10 clubs were suspended: Gosnells Foothills, Rising Stars, Terrace Speakers, AECOM WA, Kalamunda, WesCEF, Risky Toast, Gerladton, Meeting Procedures and Toastminers.
There were 27 clubs at Distinguished status with 15 of them Presidents Distinguished. None of our Divisions reached Distinguished with 3 of our Areas Distinguished and 1 at Presidents Distinguished.
The District held it's first online Conference over 2 weekends with most of our clubs returning to face to face meetings by October. Another huge pat on the back to our District leaders for a tough year.
At a Glance:
District Leaders:
District Director: Henry Yau
Program Quality Director: Tim Blackburn
Club Growth Director: Vijaykumar Vijayaratnam
Active clubs: 93
Membership Payments: 2,767 (-11.26%)
Paid Clubs: 80 (-8.05%)
Distinguished Clubs: 27 (31.03%)
District Distinguished Status: None
Rank: 80 / 122 (65.6%)
2021-2022
The year 2021-2022 did not bring any relief to District 17.
The District Director Tim Blackburn was the only expreienced District Leader, with both the Program Quality and the Club Growth Director facing their fist time in Distrcit Leader roles. The District saw a reduction in all metrics of club and payments growth.
Tim Blackburn lead our District through trying times to 94th in the world out of 125 Districts worldwide.
We added just 1 new club:
- OMTID Toastmasters
13 clubs were suspended: Terrace, Subiaco Early Birds, Armadale, Electric Toasters, Plain Speakers, Gourmet Guns n Roses, ToastiES, Leaders and Speakers (previously Curtin GSB Sundowners), Inpsiring Speakers, Stanley College, Curtin, Persuasive Speakers, CIL and Energy Club.
There were 17 clubs at Distinguished status with 11 of them Presidents Distinguished. None of our Divisions reached Distinguished with 1 of our Areas Distinguished.
At a Glance:
District Leaders:
District Director: Tim Blackburn
Program Quality Director: Julie Dall
Club Growth Director: Gavin Hyslop
Active clubs: 84
Membership Payments: 2,365 (-14.71%)
Paid Clubs: 68 (-18.07%)
Distinguished Clubs: 17 (20.48%)
District Distinguished Status: None
Rank: 94 / 125 (75.2%)
2022-2023
The year 2022-2023 may have been our toughest year yet.
The past Club Growth Director Gavin Hyslop stepped up to the role of District Director, with both the Program Quality and the Club Growth Director facing their first time in District Leader roles.
Gavin Hyslop lead our District through trying times to 108th in the world out of 128 Districts worldwide.
While we did not charter any clubs, and two clubs, Byford and OMTID being suspended.
There were 18 clubs at Distinguished status with 11 of them Presidents Distinguished. None of our Divisions reached Distinguished with 2 of our Areas Distinguished.
At a Glance:
District Leaders:
District Director: Gavin Hyslop
Program Quality Director: Peggy Leung
Club Growth Director: Jeff Zhang
Active clubs: 68
Membership Payments: 1,930 (-18.63%)
Paid Clubs: 53 (-22.06%)
Distinguished Clubs: 18 (26.47%)
District Distinguished Status: None
Rank: 108 / 128 (84.4%)
2023-2024
The year 2023-2024 was a year of consolidation.
Ian Pickens stepped in for a second term as District Director to lead our District through a rebuilding phase.
We lost 6 clubs during the year but our membership payments increased for a 4% growth. Yes the Club Growth Director did not do a good job (sic) .
There were 25 clubs at Distinguished status with 12 of them Presidents Distinguished. One of our Divisions reached Select Distinguished with 1 of our Areas also Select Distinguished.
We finished the year 55th in the World out of 131 Districts worldwide with only 33 Districts making it to Distinguished or better. Districts are ranked by the percentage of Distinguished clubs in the District. This year we had 43.1% of Distinguished clubs out of 58 clubs.
An increase in membership payments has set us up for growth in the next year
At a Glance:
District Leaders:
District Director: Ian Pickens
Program Quality Director: Jeff Zhang
Club Growth Director: Tom Bielski
Active clubs: 58
Membership Payments: 2,033 (+4.26%)
Paid Clubs: 51 (-12.07%)
Distinguished Clubs: 25 (43.1%)
District Distinguished Status: None
Rank: 55 / 131 (42.0%)
2024-2025
The year 2024-2025 brought significant growth to the district. For the first time since 2014-2015, the district reached Distinguished status, actually reaching President's Distinguished as a whole, while reaching Smedley Distinguished for Payments and Distinguished Clubs .
Jeff Zhang lead our District through this growth to 14th in the world out of 128 Districts worldwide.
We chartered 3 new clubs:
- Electric Toasters
- Kaya
- Habla Hispanic Bilingual
with only one club, Kenwick, suspended
At a Glance:
District Leaders:
District Director :Jeff Zhang
Program Quality Director: Tom Bielski
Club Growth Director: Maree Pickens
Active Clubs: 58
Membership Payments: 2,263 (+10.77%)
Paid Clubs: 58 (+3.57%)
Distinguished Clubs: 33 (58.93%)
District Distinguished Status: President's Distinguished
Rank: 14 / 128 (10.9%)