The Secretary - an Executive Committee role

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For most part of my life I worked as a Secretary hence it was obvious I chose to accept the Secretary role at Kuwait Challengers Club as my first Executive Committee role.  

You should get to know me, the sooner the better. I am a stickler for rules, and therefore I go by the books. Downloading the role and responsibilities from the Toastmasters International website was my first step.  



Presenting the minutes of meeting at the club meeting.

2018-2019 I was the club secretary of Kuwait Challengers Club. Preparing the minutes of the meeting and presenting them at the subsequent meeting was something I always looked forward to.  It gave me the opportunity to take notes, compile them, and to confidently present them at the subsequent meeting. 


That is not all that a secretary does.  


As a secretary: 

  1. I took notes and prepared the minutes of the meeting. 
  2. I distributed the minutes of meeting to members via our club WhatsApp group. 
  3. I made changes, if any, to the minutes of meeting and circulated once again. 
  4. I read a summary of the minutes of the meeting if time was allocated for the same during the meeting.
  5. I maintained a record of the minutes of meeting.
  6. I maintained documents and assets of the club. 
  7. I reminded the President or Vice President Education about actions to be taken. 
  8. I performed as Base Camp Manager in the absence of the Vice President Education and President. 
  9. I corresponded with Toastmaster International on behalf of the club. 
  10. I updated the Club Officers List on the Toastmaster International website as soon as the new executive committee for the following term was elected. Doing this I ensured I earn the first DCP goal for my club. 
  11. I attended executive committee meetings of the club and maintain the minutes of the meetings. 
  12. I attended the Club Officers Training twice during the term. 



Conducting the Club Officers Training 
for secretaries - June 2018

That reminds me, at the Club Officers Training (COT) in June 2018, I was the Trainer for the Secretaries. It was a wonderful experience training fellow secretaries in our role and responsibilities. In the process, I learned what other secretaries were doing in their clubs. Most secretaries realized it was not their responsibility to prepare the agenda, while some got to know that they had to prepare and maintain the minutes of the meetings.  I highly recommend attending the Club Officers Training, which proves beneficial to performing any executive committee role, besides earning points for your club. 


You ask, "what is in it for me?"  This leadership role in toastmasters is a valuable role that developed my:

1. Listening skill.
2. Critical thinking skill. 
3. Writing skill.
4. Organizing skill 
5. Communication skill and of course 
6. Leadership skills. 

What are you waiting for? If you have never taken a leadership role in toastmasters, consider taking the Secretary role for all the above-mentioned reasons. The Secretary role is a humbling one and it is the steppingstone in leadership.  President, Vice President Education, Vice President Membership, Vice President Public Relations, Treasurer and Sergeant at Arms are other executive committee roles that you can assume and build various skills. 


If you want to learn more about what Toastmasters has to offer you, join me at Kuwait Challengers Club. We meet on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month from 6 pm to 8 pm (GMT+3) at Al Mulla Exchange Head Office, 2nd Floor, Kuwait City and via Zoom through our hybrid setup. Contact me for more details. 


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