Meet Your 2022-23 District 33 Director, Debbie Allmon, DTM

 

D33 Director, Debbie Allmon, DTM

What do Toastmasters and bicycling have in common? Debbie will tell you that following both passions in her life has given her the opportunity to become stronger through facing and overcoming her fears. Luckily, as the new Director for District 33, Debbie doesn’t have as many fears as she did when she first joined Toastmasters.

Born and raised in Bakersfield, Debbie was working as a real estate appraiser when she joined Toastmasters in 2012. Like many people, she joined because she was tired of the fear and trauma she experienced having to get up and give presentations in front of people at work.  Debbie simply wanted to be comfortable presenting and certainly never saw herself in any leadership positions.

Overcoming her fear of public speaking in the early days led to some unexpected benefits of joining Toastmasters: meeting the many inspirational people who helped and motivated her within her club. But the help didn’t stop at club-level, and it didn’t stop at a certain leadership level, either.

Debbie said that she credits one of her most impactful mentors, DTM and past District Director Flora Turner, with helping her the most on her successful path to District Director, adding “You have support all through and you’re surrounded by your club members, who are your support system.”

Just like her journey with Toastmasters, Debbie found that she had challenges with long-distance bicycling as well.  Her longest ride to date is a 525-mile bike ride called the California Coast Classic, which doubles as a fundraiser for the Arthritis Foundation. And just as with Toastmasters, she finds that with cycling she is surrounded by amazing and supportive people.

With hundreds of speeches and 3 Distinguished Toastmaster awards under her belt, Debbie now seeks out speaking opportunities instead of fearing them. She has proudly sponsored over 100 new members and earned many awards in Toastmasters, observing that “You get lots of opportunities when you say ‘yes.’”

Nowadays, Toastmasters and bicycling have other things in common: the chance for Debbie to help other people achieve their goals and gain confidence. As this year’s District 33 Director, she is most excited to share her focus of Thinking and Achieving Big with everyone.