August 6, 2018
Hodgleigh resident Marietta Wetzig has earned Toastmasters International’s highest award – the Distinguished Toastmaster Medal – the first member of the South Burnett club to achieve this honour.
Marietta was presented with a certificate to mark her achievement at last Thursday night’s club meeting in Kingaroy, but the main award ceremony will be held on October 13 at the Toastmasters Area 28 conference in Nanango.
To achieve her award, Marietta had to make at least 40 speeches, five educational presentations, serve on the Club and District executive, organise a conference, mentor a struggling club and coach a new member.
She has been a member of Toastmasters for 20 years, joining at Stafford Heights in Brisbane.
Six years later she transferred to the South Burnett Club after moving to the region.
Last year she served as Director for Area 28, which consists of three clubs in Maryborough plus the clubs in Gympie, the Cooloola Coast and South Burnett.
This involved a lot of travelling, especially while coaching one of the Maryborough clubs to help it become stronger.
“I love how, with practice, I first gained confidence to speak with my peers, and then developed skills to help lead and motivate people,” Marietta said.
“The journey never ends. There are always new goals that I wish to achieve.”
She said Toastmasters has a new Pathways program which she has now begun to explore.
The 10 “pathways” in the program include leadership development, effective coaching, motivational strategies and team collaboration.
South Burnett Toastmasters meets from 6:50pm on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Thursday of every month in the Anzac Room at the Kingaroy RSL Club.
