Page 44 - May 2020

FIELD NOTES

club as they charge forward to grow and mature BurnsMasters Toastmasters club is well on their
professionally in the months and years to come. way to greatness. Their professionalism, attention

In closing, many of the ideas and activities to detail, quality leadership, and motivation to
noted in this 4-part article were crafted to pursue excellence in all that they do will surely
address the establishment of a District 7 sustain their success long into the future.
corporate club. However, please note that the On behalf of my teammates: Patrick Locke,

same project-management approach, using tasks, DTM, Bob Hall, EH5, and Greg Hawkins, MS3,
milestones, and deliverables, can be applied to well done, BurnsMasters! Thank you for the
any new club initiative - community clubs as opportunity!
well. Again, not all clubs require or may have Marv Serhan, Captain, U.S. Navy (Retired) has

an interest in this level of detail as they strive been a member of Toastmasters since 1999. He earned
to make improvements in club functioning. DTMs in 2007 and in 2020. He is the founder and
Nonetheless, knowledge is power, and as such, the past-president of Professionally Speaking TM-3091 in
BurnsMasters’ success story offers a real-world Vancouver, WA. As Area 81 Director within Division

example of how an organization with virtually G, Marv was selected as the District 7 Area Director of
no experience in Toastmasters was able to the Year for the 2018-2019 cycle. If you have questions,
integrate people, process and technology to reach Marv can be reached at marv@marvserhan.com. His
charter designation in a 90-day period. The website is www.marvserhan.com

L to R: Emilie Taylor, DTM, District Director, Jeff Bourgeois, President BurnsMasters. PJ Kleffner, DTM, Program
Quality Director, Eldred Brown, DTM, Club Growth Director

It was a fun meeting on Thursday and an honor to have all the area leadership at our office. I’m
glad we were able to put on another solid meeting for them. Hearing their remarks and compliments
for our club was a proud moment for all of us and will motivate us to continue learning and

improving as a club. I’m glad we can serve as that outlier that smaller offices can establish a strong
Toastmasters club. It’s a real testament to the quality employee-owners in our office and the overall
culture of Burns & McDonnell. —Jeff Bourgeois, PE - BurnsMasters Club President

44 ONE COMMUNITY