Today is our official 15th birthday as a chartered club in Toastmasters. 15 years of Toastmasters in Spain, seeing how we grow in our skills by practicing in a safe environment. We asked the founder of our club, Jim Dodson, to tell us something about the beginnings of our club. Here you are his words.

It was in May of 1997, when I was invited to an initial start-up meeting. Lunch time at the Irish Rover Pub on Avenida de Brasil, 7. I had heard of Toastmasters before, when I lived in Sao Paulo. I had even attended two meetings as a guest in 1971. I could not join then, though.

This small group got together, maybe 6 or 7 of us, under the guidance of a young English Businessman. We met monthly for the lunch meeting, and having paid our fee, had manuals and a club number, 9605. Our Englishman leader left in September that year, being recalled back to the UK by his company. And he has not been heard from since! The meetings progressed, and we all advanced in this unchartered club.

Then, in early 2000, Mike Monroy and his wife Jackie came to visit from Rota and convinced us to charter. Which finally happened in May of that year. The Rota club did so a couple of months later, followed by Palma de Mallorca and Marbella. Interesting to see how the same great idea blossomed at the same time in different places in Spain.

2001 came and Mike was back with a US Navy Lt. to encourage us to join the District. We “resisted” until 2002, as we were happy doing our thing, by ourselves.

Moving on, Toastmasters clubs then started throughout Spain, but in 2009 we were still only eight clubs, The ninth club was created (Standing Ovation), which was the beginning of the Division H in District 59, that comprised the Iberian Peninsula.

The recent history of Toastmasters in Spain is a history of growth. People have realized Public Speaking and Leadership skills are both important and fun to develop and Toastmasters is the perfect environment for that. From being alone in Spain, our club is now part of a network of seven clubs in Madrid, with almost 400 members in Madrid, and roughly 1500 in Spain.

Thanks to Jim for the memories and Mike for the pictures.