Education Features continue to be uploaded to the POWERtalk Website. One of the most recent features is called Duties of the Club Speech Contest Chairmen and is full of helpful tips on how to run a successful speech contest. This feature is to be used along side the POWERtalk Speech Contest Rules which can be found in Resource Centre ► Speech Contest. Other items uploaded in November are:

The 2007 International Speech Contest winner Greg Jones is the latest Member Spotlight. You can read how Greg attributes his speaking skills to POWERtalk. To find his testimonial click on Member Spotlight in the public section.

The POWERtalk International Website shows in the Roster a list of POWERtalk Committee Chairmen and Region Officers, as well as a list of Council and Club Presidents. All officers are requested to check their details and supply any corrections to the Website Chairman Bronwyn Ritchie bronwynr@powerup.com.au.

Membership report from IMS as of November 2007

All members who have not paid their dues for 2007-2008 and who are not in contact with IMS regarding dues, are now according to the ITC Bylaws not in good standing, and will be denied access to the POWERtalk Website until payment is made.

Likewise all clubs which have not paid Dues and or Convention Fee are according to the Bylaws not in good standing. Consequences are that the club will be removed from the "Find a Club" page on the POWERtalk Website and future aspects of club activities may also be affected such as participation in Speech and Writing Contests and Accreditation.

Please pay dues immediately and restore your rights.

The unique Renew and Revive pins for Presidents of clubs, councils and regions who have chosen Renew and Revive for their theme have all been posted out. If you have not received yours yet or have not notified President Mary Marshall that this is your theme then please let Mary know at mary.marshall@paradise.net.nz

POWERtalk Short Course Train the Trainer classes have been held throughout the POWERtalk International world. It’s not too late for your Region or Council or even a Club at Large to schedule a session. Applications for a Fellow of ITC must be made to the Fellows of ITC Coordinator Carol Preiss email CPreiss@aol.com.

An application form is available on the POWERtalk Website www.powertalkinternational.com in Resource Centre ► POWERtalk Course.

What’s next – schedule the members who have been certified as POWERtalk Short Course instructors to practice the modules at club meetings. Establish a committee to plan presentation of a Short Course for the public this winter or spring. An article outlining the steps to take in planning a Short Course is in the next issue of POWERtalking e-magazine. If you need a copy of this article right now, email CPreiss@aol.com.

Come Catch the Wave on the Serenade of the Seas for a once in a life time 7 day Convention Cruise from Vancouver to Alaska and back.

Don’t delay as bookings on this beautiful ship are now open to the public. The booking form can be found on the POWERtalk Website. Go to www.powertalkinternational.com Resource Centre ► Convention ► Convention 2009. Also to be found there are recent editions of Convention Newsletters which are full of information and answer many of the questions posed by members.

If you haven’t visited the cruise website and taken a virtual tour of your dream cabin then go now to: www.royalcaribbean.com

Feedback is telling us that there are still a lot of questions being asked about our new POWERtalk International brand and the new marketing strategies. To answer all these queries the Webmaster has set up an interactive online forum where you can pose questions to the International Board. Answers can then be for the benefit of everyone. The link to the PowerForum Blog can be found in Members’ Home.

Holidays are coming up and it’s a good time to relax and bring out those creative skills by writing a piece to enter into the Writing Contest. As usual categories are Fiction, non-Fiction and Poetry.

The rules are easy and can be found on the POWERtalk Website in Resource Centre ► Writing Contest. Deadline for submitting articles to your Region Writing Contest Chairman is March 1, 2008.

The first four sections of the POWERtalk Master Manual along with a cover page are now posted out to clubs when they recruit a new member. We have had some difficulty printing these in US size as well as A4 but should have this remedied by the end of January 2008.

POWERtalk International Training Weekend (formally known as President’s Training Weekend)

October 10-12, 2008, Westin Hotel, San Francisco Airport.

Convention 2009 Vancouver - Alaska - Vancouver

July 18-25, 2009 a 7-day cruise on Serenade of the Seas from Vancouver Canada to Alaska USA.