Ten years after joining the 11-year-old Western Knights Toastmasters Club in Montego Bay and serving in various offices, Synandre Montaque-Dyer has been entrusted with leading the club through its next administrative year, effective July 1, 2020.
The new president and her slate of officers were entrusted with their portfolio responsibilities in a virtual Installation and Award Ceremony recently.
Montaque-Dyer is an Associate Dean of the Workforce Division and a Computer Studies Lecturer at the Montego Bay Community College and she says, “I’m looking forward to a great year despite the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown us.”
She says her executive will continue to meet the needs of members in a changing world, building resilient leaders and effective communicators. She reminds members that “Toastmasters’ self-paced personal growth and development programme is like no other programme you will encounter. This is backed by an exceptional curriculum that is so diverse that it meets and satisfies members at all levels of the communication and leadership spectrum. These benefits I have been able to and continue to tap into.”
Other members of the 2020-2021 executive are Horace Watson, Vice President Education; Martini Henry, Vice President Membership; Distinguished Toastmaster Marline Stephenson Dailey, VP Public Relations, Densoia Stephenson, Secretary and Marcia Bailey, Treasurer. Curley Roberts, Sergeantat-Arms and Marva Senior, Immediate Past President, complete the slate of officers.
Online guest presenter for the installation ceremony. was Past International Director; Distinguished Toastmaster Eileen Wolfe who encouraged members and their guests to be “a humble authentic expression of yourself not so much in words as in actions. Be part of the solution. Help others to achieve the impossible.”
She stressed that leaders must bring out the best in people by building consensus and working toward a corn-
mon goal, by listening and inspiring through trust and collaboration.
Awards for performance over the 2019-2020 Toastmasters’ year were made to Martini Henry, Marline Stephenson Dailey, Marva Senior Curley Roberts, Sachoy Ellis Tate and Horace Watson. Tania Barnes Brown received the Advanced Leader Bronze award and special awards went to Mikhail McLeod and Domaine Gordon. Watson also earned the President’s Knight Award and the club awarded outgoing Distinguished President Marva Senior for her sterling service over the past year.
The Western Toastmasters Club has received the President’s Distinguished Award for nine consecutive years and is open to anyone who is desirous of improving his/her communication and leadership skills. – CWP