Not a Toastmaster?  No problem; we welcome guests to join our conference and see how amazing our organization is.  If you want more infomation on Toastmasters, visit our About page.

Details will be added as events are finalized so check this page often!

Keynote Speakers

Featured Talks & Speakers

Verity Price is the first speaker from Africa to ever be crowned the World Champion of Public Speaking and the sixth woman in the contest’s history.

Her talent for ‘acting out the box’ rather than merely ‘thinking out’ of it has brought international success for Verity, speaking globally on innovation and thinking differently, which includes two TEDx Talks.

As the Toastmasters 2021 World Champion, Verity captured the judges, and thousands of people’s imagination with her winning speech ‘A Great Read’ – an inspiring invitation to improve our lives by “writing a different story”.  Helping people do just that is Verity’s passion.

Verity believes passionately that change happens when teams have the confidence to create new ideas. She has crafted speeches and workshops to grow this ability with measurable, exponential success over the last decade.

Roger is an inspirational, passionate professional public speaker and coach, driven to continuously helping people find their voices and maximize their greatness. Roger has won an unprecedented 5 District 86 speech titles. In this year’s 2021 World Championships of Public Speaking Roger took home third place honours, placing him TOP 3 in the world! He is a founding member of Raising Champions Advanced Toastmasters Club, a member of the Brampton Toastmasters Club, and Sponsors two Youth Gavel Clubs. In 2021 he was awarded the District 86 Toastmaster of the Year!

Roger dedicates his time to making a difference in his community, supporting various virtual events and organizations as a keynote speaker across the world.  He approaches everything he does with hard work and positive enthusiasm, truly believing “Don’t wait for the world to recognize your greatness, LIVE IT and let the world catch up to you!”

In 2022, Arabella Bengson may be the oldest living world champion speaker, having won her championship in 1986. Though not a native speaker of English, she’s the only Canadian woman to bring home the world trophy, representing District 60. At the time, she was a Bell Canada Manager.

A lifelong learner, Arabella has 2 masters degrees: one in psychology and another in Speech from the University of Hawaii.

She has accreditations in numerous training, including Accelerated Learning. She was the first woman president of Ontario Speakers Association.

She is alive and well, demonstrating longevity, joy of life, inspiring others to strive for excellence. In part-time retirement, Arabella enjoys speaking, coaching, dancing, dragon boating, and presenting at different conferences round the globe—living her golden years to the fullest.

Craig Valentine, MBA, an award-winning speaker and trainer, has traveled the world helping speakers, executives, and salespeople turn their presentations into profits. Known as the Master Storyteller, he is a professional speaker and has spoken in the United States, Taiwan, Canada, Jamaica, Qatar (Doha), England, Bahamas, Hong Kong, China, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, South Africa, Japan, and Ireland, giving as many as 160 presentations per year. He is the 1999 World Champion of Public Speaking for Toastmasters International, winning out of more than 25,000 contestants in 14 countries.

He is also the co-author of the Amazon.com #1 Bestseller, World Class Speaking In Action.

Craig is the President of The Communication Factory, LLC, which is an award-winning company that helps people present and profit.

Melissa McGavick, DTM, of Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, is a professional speaker and trainer. She is the owner of McGavick Interactive Training, which was founded in 2004. 

Melissa earned a bachelor of arts degree in communications and media studies from Pennsylvania State University. In 2008, she was awarded Business Woman of the Year by the Women’s Business Network of Western Pennsylvania for her excellence and leadership in her profession.

A Toastmaster since 2004, she has held a number of high-profile leadership positions within Toastmasters and has attained the Distinguished Toastmaster designation—the highest level of educational achievement in the organization.

“As a business owner, Toastmasters has given me the opportunity to learn to communicate more clearly with my clients. The leadership positions in the Toastmasters program have afforded me the opportunity to develop higher level leadership skills that typically only executives of large corporate organizations have the opportunity to practice,”.

As a member of the Toastmasters International Board of Directors, Melissa works with the Board to develop, support, and modify the policies and procedures that guide Toastmasters International in fulfilling its mission.

Workshops

Agenda

Please note: As of February 24, 2022 the Covid-19 policy of Georgian College maintains that masks and proof of vaccination will be required for all in-person attendees.  Georgian College will be reviewing the policy on May 1, 2022 and will provide an update to the Conference organizers.  Attendees will be emailed updates upon changes to the policy.

Pricing &  Registration

About the Venue

Georgian College provides excellent amenities for businesses and conferences with great spaces for a variety of functions like conference rooms and workshops, connected technology and accommodations for extended stays.

Located in downtown Barrie, Georgian College is a great place for Toastmasters and guests from across southern and northern Ontario.

District 123 Conference attendees who wish to stay over night can book accommodations for only $80 per night (Friday room rates will also be discounted). Use discount code 21227.

Click the button below to book your room. The discount code and dates have already been selected.

Looking for more information about the event?  Download our FAQ page HERE.

Why should you attend the District 123 2022 Conference?  Watch this video …

Conference Chair’s Message

District 123 Director’s Message