Orlando Conquerors Toastmasters
Club 1066 -- "The Conquerors"
Serving Downtown Orlando
and Central Florida
Since 1953--Over 50 Years of Helping
Our Members Become Better Speakers,
Listeners, and Leaders
Become a Conqueror Today!
Visit one of The Conquerors meetings
Monday Nights at 7:00 pm in Downtown Orlando
First Presbyterian Church of Orlando
Edington Hall, Third Floor
Sterchi Conference Room
Directions:
Contact any of the following officers for more information:
(Club President Deb Piccirello)
(VP-Education Richard Dickenson)
(VP-Membership Troy Sands)
OUR HISTORY
The Orlando Conquerors Toastmasters Club 1066, referred to as "The Conquerors," was founded April 3, 1953 at the Cherry Plaza Hotel, later known as Lee’s Lakeside, where we met for over 30 years. 1066 was a spin-off of Orlando Club 28, the oldest Toastmasters club east of the Rocky Mountains! Our competitive spirit is characterized by our name, The Conquerors, which is inspired by William the Conqueror’s famous Battle of Hastings in the year 1066.
The armored knight has become the unofficial symbol of The Conquerors, standing for: (a) bravery; (b) the willingness to face difficult tasks and new challenges; and (c) a Three Musketeers spirit of "One for all and all for one," by which Conquerors members assist and encourage each other with enthusiasm, support, and positive energy.
For over five decades, we’ve been one of District 47’s most decorated clubs, finishing as the top club in the district four times, and as a President’s Distinguished Club or Select Distinguished Club the past 7 years in a row! In 1999, 1066 was the third-ranked club in the world after a brief turn at #1! Our newsletter, The Conqueror, has been published continuously for 50 years, and has been recognized as a frequent Top Ten Bulletin internationally.
The club’s strength lies in its membership! Our most senior members are Orange County Tax Collector Earl K. Wood, DTM, a member since 1956, and Past District 47 Governor Karl Righter, DTM, who joined the club in 1966. In 1973, when Toastmasters opened its membership to women, Susan Torrico, a pharmacist, became our first female member, and later became our first woman president.
Also in 1973, Hugh Burgay, DTM, now deceased, became the first Conqueror to earn Toastmasters International's highest designation for speaking and leadership merit--the Distinguished Toastmaster award ("DTM"). In 1989 Hugh became the first Conqueror to serve as an International Director for Toastmasters International.
Hugh was our only active Honorary Life Member until Earl K. Wood, DTM, was voted that honor in 2003. Karl Righter, DTM, received that honor from the Club in 2006, at a function celebrating 50 years in Toastmasters for Earl K. Wood and 40 years for Karl. To our knowledge, no other club can claim two current members each having more than 40 years of Toastmasters experience.
In 1999, Barbara Bergstrom, DTM, became the first Conquerors woman to earn a DTM designation. She later became the first Conqueror to earn a second DTM. Ed Goddard, DTM, became the first Conqueror to earn a third DTM, and Barbara has now earned her third DTM. We know of no other Club in Toastmasters that can boast of two active members having earned three DTMS.
In 2001, Karl Righter, DTM, became the only Conqueror to receive a Presidential Citation for lifetime achievement from Toastmasters International. In 2002, Paul Meunier, DTM, became our second International Director.
Five members, Hugh Burgay, DTM, Barbara Bergstrom, DTM, Paul Meunier, DTM, Terry Ingram, DTM, and Roxie Steadman, ATM have been named District 47’s Toastmaster of the Year.
Over the years, 1066 has produced many District and Regional speech contest winners. During a ten-year span from 1968 -1978, three Conquerors (Ed Wycoff, Karl Righter, and Hugh Burgay) won the Region VIII Humorous Speech Contest four times, an unprecedented feat. Similarly unprecedented was Conquerors' contest string from 2003 to 2005, when Conquerors members (including Elliott Wilcox, Andy Dooley and Jessica Schlenk) won 5 out of 12 District level speech contests, despite having to compete against 325 other clubs in the District!
1066 has also produced 21 DTMs, four District Governors, three Senior Lt. Governors, many Division and Area Governors, and two International Directors. In 2002 we had four Area Governors in office at the same time! 15 past presidents of 1066 remain on the active roster. At least 10 current members of Conquerors have served Toastmasters as an Area Governor or in a higher office. Conquerors member Barbara Bergstrom is the long-serving Protocol Officer for both Toastmasters' District 47 (Florida and the Bahamas) and its Region VIII (the Southeastern United States).
What does this all mean to you, as a incoming member of Toastmasters? It means that Conquerors is filled with members who know how Toastmasters works, how public speaking works, and how organizational leadership works; but most importantly, who also have learned over the years how to effectively impart that knowledge to other Toastmasters. Combine that with The Conquerors' positive and supportive and enthusiastic atmosphere, and you have an environment in which you may achieve rapid growth in your communications and leadership skills! We'd love to see you at The Conquerors!
