News and Events

Andy Craig Wins Second Place in Division T Speech Contest

Congratulations go to Andy Craig who won second place in the Division T speech contest held on March 15, 2025. The competition was strong with Kimberly Manning winning first place and Ernie Raynor winning third place. Well done, Andy.

David Emery, DTM, Division T Director presents 2nd place trophy to Andy Craig, DTM

Christmas Party

Our annual Christmas Party was held on December 10, 2024 at the home of Ray Poudrier. The food was superb and everyone had a good time. Appreciation goes to the Poudriers for hosting this annual event.

Joe Charleston Places Second in Speech Contest

Joe Charleston recently placed second in an international speech contest held in December 2024. This was the first-ever “100 Speakers Tournament” held in a zoom format. The event originated from Australia. The event started with 200+ applications, 74 outstanding speakers in round one, 36 speakers in round 2, and 10 speakers in the final round. The Will Rogers Club is proud of Joe’s amazing accomplishment.

Gwen Latus Wins First Place in Division T Contest

Congratulations go to Gwen Latus, DTM, for winning first place in the Division T contest held on November 16, 2024. She will now compete in the District Contest to be held next Spring. Lisa DeSpain placed second in the contest and Ernie Raynor placed third.

Congratulations also go to Joe Charleston who placed second in the Table Topics contest held at the same event. The first place winner was Ernie Raynor, who visits our club frequently.

Andy Craig in the News

We learned at our meeting on September 3, 2024 that Andy Craig was honored to receive the 5 Figure Speaking Award from Jacob Salem. Congratulations to Andy for his continued success as a professional speaker.

President’s Distinguished for 16 Straight Years!

The Will Rogers Club celebrated 16 straight years of achieving President’s Distinguished at a party held at the Golden Corral on July 9, 2024. This is a great honor, achieved by only a very few clubs in the world. Will Rogers is one of the top three clubs in District 16 having achieved a comparable level of success.

Ron Mixer, District 16 Director, delivers a keynote address to those attending the event.

Group photo taken at the event.

Andy Craig Receives Ziglar Master Coach Certification

Andy Craig was one of four persons that was recently honored for receiving the “Ziglar Master Coach Certification”. Will Rogers is honored to have a professional public speaker in its ranks. Congratulations to Andy!

The Will Rogers Club is also proud of our own member Andy Craig for placing 3rd at the Oklahoma Toastmasters District Conference held on April 20, 2024. He did the very best he has ever done…& now is more than ever ready to continue winning with more competitions and speeches and events…international is still in his sight!

Easter at the Piano

Sandy Knox, professional pianist, and 18-year member of Will Rogers Toastmasters performed her “Easter at the Piano” program 17 places this year. She performs regularly at various venues around the Tulsa area. Toastmasters has helped her tremendously when speaking with her audiences. Attending weekly Toastmasters meeting has also increased her confidence in all aspects of her life, including performance.

International Speech Contest

A special meeting was held on October 3, 2023 to listen to the finalists from the Toastmasters International Speech Contest. Members were invited to listen and to judge each of the six finalists and to compare with the ultimate announced winners. We also celebrated the occasion by bringing food from the various countries from our ancestral background. The food was excellent and everyone enjoyed the occasion. A number of our members have recent ancestral connections to Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Germany, India, Mexico, Nepal, Taiwan, and Viet Nam. We cherish the diversity of our club members!

75th Anniversary Party a Huge Success!

Around 50 people met at Golden Corral on August 22, 2023 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Will Rogers Toastmasters Club on August 20, 1948. The event was attended by current members, past members, District 16 officials and Channel 6 news. The party was an epic event, and a considerable amount of credit goes to Sandy Knox who was the principal organizer of the event. There were many photos taken and a few will be shared below.

Past President Sandy Bach, DTM, presents a special gift to Sandy Knox who organized the event.

Attendees meeting in a decorated room with a patriotic theme.

District Director Ray Willis, DTM, congratulates The Will Rogers Club for its success.

Congratulations to Chandra Nandikolla

Congratulations to Chandra Nandikolla, DTM, for recently receiving an MBA degree from the University of Oklahoma. He has worked hard over the past four years and his dream for receiving an MBA has been achieved. Chandra credits Will Rogers members for their encouragement and for the high standards promoted by the club. Chandra is the past Program Quality Director for District 16.

Meet the Most Patriotic and Enthusiastic Member!

President Andy Craig said it so well at our July 6 meeting when introducing Jon Danh as the Toastmaster for the evening. Jon is an immigrant to this country from Viet Nam and has become a proud citizen of the United States.

Andy Craig Joins Professional Speakers Bureau International

The Will Rogers Club is proud to announce that Andy Craig has joined Professional Speakers Bureau International as one of its elite speakers. Andy is an international keynote speaker and trainer. This is indeed a true honor for Andy and our congratulations! The link below provides additional details.

Www.TerrificSpeakers.com/andy-craig

Andy Craig’s New Book

Andy Craig has written a new book that is available on Amazon. His book is entitled Passion Power: Discover the 3 Indispensable Keys to Your Success! Andy Craig walks you through the three key areas in creating the success you seek in life. He starts with the question: “Are you settling?” He shares his own journey in the pursuit of his desires in life. He continues and discusses the 3 keys to empowering your success. (1) Your Past. Break through the bondage that has held you captive in your past. (2) Your Provision. Uncover the hidden resources you have in your provision. (3) Your Purpose. Unleash what you were created for with your purpose. Follow these three keys to wield your Passion Power and fuel the achievement of your hidden desires.

Early reviews of the book were very positive.

New Members

The Will Rogers Club welcomes several new members to the club. These include: Tracy Vogt, Anthony Ingram, Isabel Perozo, Nathan and Megane Suarez, Amelia Baskin, Darryl Baskin, and Jared Mullings.

Darryl Baskin and daughter Amelia Baskin. Darryl is a former member of Will Rogers and ran a program on KRMG called “The Future of Real Estate”. He wishes to polish up his skills as a speaker and perhaps return back to radio. We look forward to Amelia’s icebreaker speech to learn more about her goals in Toastmasters.

Jared Mullings. Jared is a former Toastmaster from another club and joins Will Rogers with a goal of developing his speaking skills.

Tracy Vogt. Tracy came to Tulsa from Austin, Texas under the Tulsa Remote program.This program offers a grant with additional benefits to workers who move to and work from Tulsa. She is originally from Florida. Tracy joins Toastmasters with a goal of improving her skills in the marketing field in which she is employed.

Anthony Ingram. Anthony comes to Toastmasters with a goal of improving self-confidence and speaking skills as he prepares to enter law school. We were reminded that he already possesses good speaking skills when he won the best table topics award for the evening as a new member.

Isabel Perozo. Isabel comes from Caracas Venezuela. She is a journalist, broadcaster, actress, and playwright. She is a founder and instructor at Soy Mas, a TV host and producer at Teletlul Estrellatv Tulsa. Isabel is coming to Toastmasters with a goal of acquiring additional speaking skills that will enhance her professional career.

Nathan and Megane Suarez. Nathan and Megane joined as a couple, coming from Canada. They were high school sweethearts and are recent graduates from Rhema Bible School. They are hoping to utilize Toastmasters as a tool to help achieve their goals in the ministry.