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Des Plaines resident achieves highest Toastmasters award

Des Plaines Toastmasters Club #1645 announced that Des Plaines resident Rich Ludwig earned the coveted Distinguished Toastmaster award on Friday, Dec. 9, the highest award any Toastmaster can achieve.

Less than one percent of all Toastmasters in the world achieve the Distinguished Toastmaster designation. Ludwig is the first member of Des Plaines to do so since 1994.

Ludwig joined the Des Plaines Toastmasters in 2007, after being a member of several other community or employer-sponsored Toastmasters Clubs in the Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago areas since 1986.

Toastmasters, who have persisted in achieving every educational and leadership award; who have served their clubs and district as dedicated officers; who have started or mentored new Toastmasters Clubs or coached a struggling club; who have conducted speech craft or Youth Leadership programs to share the Toastmasters program with adults as well as children; and who achieve Distinguished Toastmaster are a "rare breed" of achievers.

Toastmasters International honored Ludwig with a wooden plaque while one of his mentees, Teresa Powell, presented Ludwig with a Distinguished Toastmaster membership badge on Tuesday, Jan. 3. District 30 will honor him at the April 28-29 Toastmasters International District 30 Conference in Skokie.

Beginning 2017, Des Plaines Toastmasters # 1645 will again meet at Des Plaines Public Library, 1501 Ellinwood. While most meetings are held on the first and third Mondays, a few are on a first Tuesday instead. Visit 1645.toastmastersclubs.org/directions.html for a list of January-April dates. May-August meeting dates will be added as soon as room reservations are final in late April. Also visit the club's new Meetup page www.meetup.com/Des-Plaines-Toastmasters-Meetup and soon the club will be on Facebook too.

Drop-in guests are welcome to visit any meeting to observe the Toastmasters program or speech contests. Come and meet Ludwig and the other ethnically diverse, friendly members. New members are always assigned an experienced member as mentors to help them through their first three-10 speeches and to prepare them for club meeting leadership roles. Ludwig is one of the club's most popular mentors.

For information about the club, visit 1645.toastmastersclubs.org or contact Rich Ludwig at vpm-1645@toastmastersclubs.org.

To learn more about the Toastmasters communication and leadership skill development program, visit the Toastmasters International website, www.toastmasters.org.

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