Photo: First PDG Council at Vistana Hotel, Penang @ March 7, 2007
I just received an email about a PDG Council meeting in Bali this November.
Not sure if many Toastmaters in District 51 know what is the PDG Council or its role in District 51. So here goes ... my 2 cents.
In Toastmasters International District Administrative Bylaws, Article XI Committees,
"g) Other Committees.
Other Committees may be appointed from time to time as may be deemed advisable by the District Governor or the District Council. Such Committees may include, among others, the following special Committees: Youth Leadership Program, Speechcraft, Administrative Policies and Procedures, Awards, Speaker Burau, District Newsletter, and Past District Governors Advisory Committee"
In short, for District 51, PDG Council = Past District Governors Advisory Committee.
I googled and found this online posting by District 19 which mirrors quite closely our current District 51 setup for PDG Council.
"STANDING RULE #4
FUNCTION OF THE PAST DISTRICT GOVERNOR’S ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The functions of the PDG Advisory Committee will be as follows:
- Serve as the District 19 Long Range Planning Committee.
- Serve as a resource group to address certain tasks at the request of the District Governor and the District Advisory Committee.
- Make recommendations to the District Governor on items pertinent to the "Mission of the District".
- Review the District 19 Standing Rules (See Rule #13).
- All Past District Governors who are active members in good standing, in a District 19 Club in good standing, are eligible to serve on the PDG Advisory Committee.
- The Immediate Past District Governor, or most immediate Past District Governor available to serve becomes Chairman of the PDG Advisory Committee on July 1 of every year."
The first "official" PDG Council meeting was held at Vistana Hotel, Penang on March 7, 2007. Before that, Past District Governors often sit together to greet VIP or during Installation Dinners or Farewell Lunches at District Conventions and have informal sharing of current District issues.
The second PDG Council meeting was held at Sunway Club in Subang Jaya on September 2007 and the last PDG get-t0-together that I attended was a breakfast at the Medan Semi-Annual Convention on November 2007. So District 51 PDG Council is still very much at its infancy.
It was decided that the PDG Council will include all Past District 51 Governors and Past Territory Council Chairperson residing with District 51.
In other words, the Past District 51 Governors and Past Territory Council Chairperson who are now residing in Singapore in District 80 will not be included in this PDG Council... ouch.
The Immediate Past District Governor will serve as the Chairperson of the PDG Council.
My humble opinion is that the PDG Council is another resource at the service of the District Governor and District Council. It should not morphed into a self-directing committee but one that works on issues which are requested by the current District Governor and District Council.
I feel that each Past District Governor has a vast personal Toastmasters experience to share, own leadership style and view points. What comes out from the PDG Council should therefore be more a collection of ideas rather than a unanimous voice or vote. Just my 2 cents.
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