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acious Orators Toastmasters: Setting the Example
Erik Bergman, DTM, Willamette Division Governor
At first glance it looks like any other Toastmasters meeting: a lectern, a speaker, an audience listening
and laughing. But on closer look, the members wear dark blue with orange stencils that say
“inmate.”
Welcome to Audacious Orators Toastmasters at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility for women
in Wilsonville, Ore. The club is thriving with 27 members and eight Distinguished Club
Program goals achieved so far. Members express genuine thanks for their Toastmasters
experience:
“I believe we can be an example for all of the
women here.”
“Every six months I know it’s a good
investment.”
“I use Toastmasters training all the time
teaching students in cosmetology class.”
"You never know how good it is until you try
it.”
Prison-based clubs depend on volunteer
Toastmasters from the community to visit,
mentor and act as treasurer, although inmates hold all other offices. Assisting Audacious
Orators is Merilee Krebs, CC, CL, who helped the club charter in March 2013. She had heard a
speech at Toastmasters Leadership Institute about Toastmasters in prisons and signed up to
be part of it. She notes: “Most felons will leave prison and move back to communities. I could
worry that they are coming out hardened and more unsafe or I could participate in some
coming out better than they went in and have them be contributing members of society.”
Regular volunteer Ginger Killion, ACS, CL, calls her involvement “a personal mission.” She
attended the demo meeting that launched the club and “right away, I saw the appreciation
in the eyes of the inmates and knew I was in the right place. They deserve Toastmasters just
like I do.” Members benefit “in so many ways,” Ginger says. “The sense of belonging to
something big and special outside the walls of Coffee Creek generates a sense of dedication
and cohesiveness.”
As one inmate says, “We can see what Toastmasters does for us. Just think what it can do
when more people get involved.”
Audacious Orators meets on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 7 p.m.
Toastmasters are welcome to visit, but must undergo a background check and schedule
visits well in advance. The Department of Corrections offers free training to those who want
to commit to become regular volunteers.
To learn more about Audacious Orators, email me at dge@d7toastmasters.org.
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Erik Bergman, DTM, Willamette Division Governor
At first glance it looks like any other Toastmasters meeting: a lectern, a speaker, an audience listening
and laughing. But on closer look, the members wear dark blue with orange stencils that say
“inmate.”
Welcome to Audacious Orators Toastmasters at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility for women
in Wilsonville, Ore. The club is thriving with 27 members and eight Distinguished Club
Program goals achieved so far. Members express genuine thanks for their Toastmasters
experience:
“I believe we can be an example for all of the
women here.”
“Every six months I know it’s a good
investment.”
“I use Toastmasters training all the time
teaching students in cosmetology class.”
"You never know how good it is until you try
it.”
Prison-based clubs depend on volunteer
Toastmasters from the community to visit,
mentor and act as treasurer, although inmates hold all other offices. Assisting Audacious
Orators is Merilee Krebs, CC, CL, who helped the club charter in March 2013. She had heard a
speech at Toastmasters Leadership Institute about Toastmasters in prisons and signed up to
be part of it. She notes: “Most felons will leave prison and move back to communities. I could
worry that they are coming out hardened and more unsafe or I could participate in some
coming out better than they went in and have them be contributing members of society.”
Regular volunteer Ginger Killion, ACS, CL, calls her involvement “a personal mission.” She
attended the demo meeting that launched the club and “right away, I saw the appreciation
in the eyes of the inmates and knew I was in the right place. They deserve Toastmasters just
like I do.” Members benefit “in so many ways,” Ginger says. “The sense of belonging to
something big and special outside the walls of Coffee Creek generates a sense of dedication
and cohesiveness.”
As one inmate says, “We can see what Toastmasters does for us. Just think what it can do
when more people get involved.”
Audacious Orators meets on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 7 p.m.
Toastmasters are welcome to visit, but must undergo a background check and schedule
visits well in advance. The Department of Corrections offers free training to those who want
to commit to become regular volunteers.
To learn more about Audacious Orators, email me at dge@d7toastmasters.org.
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