Karner Blue Toastmasters (Club #983146) is a fun, safe environment to practice public speaking and leadership skills. KARNER BLUE TOASTMASTERS CLUB HISTORY
How did Karner Blue Toastmasters Club come to be? In a way, it began when Sue Francesco and Sharon (Nall) Rivard presented a Speechcraft program between January and March of 2006 for 10 New Hampshire state employees through the Certified Publ
ic Managers program. Six of the ten participants later joined together and began gathering members for a club. They called the first meeting in November of 2006; and on March 31, 2007, Karner Blue was chartered as a Toastmasters International Club. In order for a club to be chartered by the Toastmasters International, it had to have 20 new members and had to pay a new-club fee. The NH Bureau of Education paid the new-club fee so that the Karner Blue Toastmasters Club would be housed at the NHDES/DHHS building on Hazen Drive and be open to both state employees and members of the public. Sue Francesco was instrumental in making sure the club was open to both groups as she felt that these were public buildings and thus should be available to the general public. “I also felt that the club would benefit greatly by the diversity of members if it was an open club,” Sue added. Sue and Jessica Morton are the only two charter members of Karner Blue Toastmasters Club who remain on the roster. Sue is a constant guiding light for the club and has served Toastmasters beyond the local level. “I was the Area 12 Governor at the time Karner Blue started and also served as its sponsor, along with Marcia Sprague, the Division A Governor,” Sue explained. Sharon Hoyle was elected the new club’s first president in 2007. During that year, mentors Kathy Anderson and Dale Randall from the Concord Toastmaster Club came to every meeting to help Karner Blue get started and keep on track. Since that first year Susan Goodness, Alicia Carlson, Richard Arcand, and Richard Huntley, Jr. (for two years) have served as presidents while Bonnie Hurley is the current president. In addition, Richard Huntley, Jr., has also gone beyond the local level as a Toastmaster leader, for he was chosen as the present Division A Governor (2013-2014).Since being chartered, Karner Blue has changed meeting times to accommodate members from outside DES/DHHS and added the Tuesday lunch time twice a month—mainly to accommodate those members within the building.In January of 2011, the Department of Environmental Services began a series of Speechcraft sessions for its employees, sponsored by Commissioner Tom Burack and supported by Karner Blue. These sessions have continued, thanks to experienced speakers who volunteer their time by leading the program and mentoring the students. Sessions now take place quarterly, helping with Karner Blue’s mission of providing an opportunity for more and more people to experience the Toastmasters programs. After the employees graduated from the Speechcraft program over the years, many have become members of Karner Blue Toastmasters Club. Information gathered by Sheila Mable, Vice President of Membership, 2013
