District 10 Member Spotlight:
Molly Ketcham
Member since May, 2017
Currently the President of Parker SpeakEasies Club in Mayfield Hts, Ohio
Working in Level 3 of the Presentation Mastery path in Pathways
Benefits of Serving as the Club President:
Molly has a passion to motivate others, and by serving as the club President, she has the opportunity to share an inspirational message with members at the beginning of each meeting. She encourages them to make the most of each meeting.
Molly benefits by having more opportunities to practice her speaking skills since she opens and closes each meeting. She has noticed an improvement with her comfort level by serving as a leader in the club.
Notable Toastmasters Accomplishments:
Molly served as the 2017-2018 District 10 Public Relations Manager (after 2 months of becoming a Toastmasters member!)
Molly placed 3rd in the 2019 Region Quarterfinals of the International Speech Contest with her winning speech “Try Everything Once.”
Motivation for Entering the International Speech Contest:
#1 Molly enjoys new experiences and learning new things
#2 She didn’t have a response to the question “Molly, why aren’t you participating in the speech contest?”
Diving into the Speech Contest:
Molly generated stories and the message for her contest speech by completing an assignment for her John Maxwell Team Member Certification. She listed out interesting events in her life, picked the top three stories and expanded on them. As she worked through this exercise she came up with the theme “Try Everything Once”, words of wisdom from her mom (a “mom-ism”), and the story of her skydiving stunt.
Molly had fun sharing her stories and delivering her message with humor. She enjoyed making the audience laugh at each contest level.
Molly encourages anyone preparing for the International Speech contest to stimulate ideas by writing down exciting, different or noteworthy things that have happened in your life. Consider places you’ve lived, people you’ve met, and of course, “mom-isms”.
Advancing to the District Contest:
Molly was motivated to advance to the District Contest because her family lives in Canton, near Walsh University, the venue for the 2019 District Conference. She saw this as an opportunity to expose her family to Toastmasters. Molly’s parents, aunts and uncles and her 92-year-old grandmother were at the District Contest to support her, along with her husband, Tim, and son, Adam.
What’s Next for Molly?
Molly is currently exploring the business side of professional speaking. Her end goal is to become a keynote speaker to reach a larger audience and make a difference with her message.
Hopefully we’ll see Molly as a breakout speaker at an upcoming conference or event and as a future Accredited Speaker!
All the Best to Molly in achieving her dreams!
