Founding of Toastmasters International
Out of the Past
Americans
firmly believe that it's possible to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
Self-improvement -- be it in the form of a face lift, motivational seminar,
morning jog, or new low-cholesterol diet regimen -- is our ticket to Valhalla.
It's not too surprising, then, to find Toastmasters International, the
world's premier self-improvement club, in Orange County, where sheep ranches
blossom into million-dollar corporations and swap meets spawn national clothing
chains. What is surprising is that the club -- which dedicates itself to
improving leadership skills, self-confidence and communication through public
speaking -- originated in Orange County 75 years ago.
Off to a Rocky Start
Toastmasters was the brainchild of a Midwesterner named Ralph C. Smedley. In
1903, after graduating from Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois,
Smedley took a job as director of education for the local Young Men's Christian
Association. Realizing that the older boys who visited the YMCA needed training
in communication, he began a public speaking club.
Smedley called his group, "The Toastmasters Club" because the
activities resembled a banquet with toasts and after-dinner speakers. The boys
enjoyed taking turns making speeches and evaluating them, as well as presiding
at the weekly meetings. Smedley's club blossomed, but soon he was promoted to
general secretary of the YMCA and transferred to Freeport, Illinois. After his
departure, the Bloomington club died.
In the following years, Smedley organized other Toastmasters clubs wherever
he was transferred. In Freeport, businessmen and other professionals who
recognized the benefits of communications skills became members. Yet these older
members did not save the organization either. The club operated successfully
while Smedley was there but disappeared when its founder moved on to Rock
Island, Illinois. Subsequent clubs in Rock Island and San Jose, California,
suffered the same fate.
Smedley must have despaired of ever seeing his creation blossom into a
self-sustaining organization. "I observed a tendency among my fellow
secretaries at the YMCA to regard The Toastmasters Club as a sort of peculiarity
-- an idiosyncrasy of mine," he later said. "Perhaps it was not
altogether orthodox as a 'Y' activity."
A New Beginning in Santa Ana
Finally, the YMCA director arrived in Santa Ana. Once more he organized a
Toastmasters club, holding the first meeting in the Santa Ana YMCA basement on
October 22, 1924. In Southern California's optimistic climate, the concept
caught on. Men from neighboring communities sought out the group and liked what
they saw. Smedley was quick to help them organize their own Toastmasters clubs.
The new clubs were united in a federation designed to coordinate their
activities and ensure uniform methods.
In 1932, the federation was incorporated as Toastmasters International,
following the establishment of a club in New Westminster, British Columbia,
Canada. Districts were created later, as the number of clubs increased.
For many years, Smedley held the position of general secretary of the Santa
Ana YMCA, handling finances, fund raising, program planning, membership matters
and the supervision of a number of YMCA employees. In addition, he served as
liaison for the local and national YMCA organizations.
Somehow Smedley managed to find time to spread the gospel about Toastmasters,
serving as its executive secretary and editor of The Toastmaster
magazine, while also maintaining his busy YMCA schedule. He corresponded
regularly with members and club officers, encouraging and guiding them in club
matters.
International Growth
By 1941, Smedley realized that Toastmasters needed his full-time attention. He
resigned from the YMCA and opened a 12-by-16-foot office in a downtown Santa Ana
bank, with a desk, typewriter, telephone and second-hand address machine. He
hired a secretary to handle the correspondence while he wrote materials for the
club's use.
The organization began with two manuals -- Basic Training and Beyond Basic
Training -- written by Smedley in the office after business hours. He also
found time to write several tomes on public speaking and parliamentary
procedure. The Voice of the Speaker, Speech Evaluation and The Amateur
Chairman found a ready audience in Toastmaster members. (Smedley also wrote The
Great Peacemaker, a biography of Henry M. Robert, author of the famed Robert's
Rules of Order.)
Toastmasters continued to grow. The single-room office expanded to four, and
past international president Ted Blanding took over the position of executive
secretary, while Smedley became educational director and concentrated on
learning processes and materials.
Smedley was involved in the educational program of Toastmasters International
until shortly before his death in 1965 at the age of 87.
New Directions
Toastmasters has continued to flourish. In 1962, Toastmasters -- by then an
organization of 80,000 members and 3,500 clubs -- built its own
27,000-square-foot office building in Santa Ana. Smedley took part in the
dedication ceremonies. A second growth spurt came following the decision to
accept women as members in 1973.
By 1985, the Santa Ana building was serving 120,000 members and 5,300 clubs
worldwide. Expansion and remodeling were necessary to provide 5,000 additional
square feet of warehouse space. But within four years, the organization had
outgrown the headquarters. In June 1990, Toastmasters International moved into a
new world headquarters in Rancho Santa Margarita.
Today, more than 170,000 members take part in 8,300 clubs in the United
States, Canada and 67 other countries. Thousands of corporations and government
agencies, including Rockwell International in Downey and Irvine's Fluor Daniel,
sponsor in house Toastmasters clubs as communication training for their
employees. Specialized clubs meet at military bases, colleges and universities,
churches and prisons. There are Toastmasters clubs for senior citizens,
professional groups, bilingual groups, singles and visually impaired.
Dr. Ralph C. Smedley
Ralph Smedley's contributions to society have not gone unnoticed. In 1950,
Wesleyan University granted him the honorary degree of doctor of humane letters,
and Santa Ana named a junior high school after him in 1955. In 1956,
Toastmasters itself honored him with the title of honorary president and
lifetime board member. The Santa Ana Toastmasters Club even renamed itself the
Smedley Number One Club in honor of its founder.
But perhaps the best tribute is one that takes place at every meeting of the
Smedley Number One Club: A photograph of Smedley and the original club charter
are placed in an empty chair near the lectern to represent his continuing
inspiration.
Reprinted with permission from Orange Coast Magazine