12th Annual Contest
Division G, District 79
Toastmasters - History
When people hear the word “basement” they’re
more likely to picture mold and spiders than
the birth place of a global communication and
leadership training organization. But a basement in
YMCA in Santa Ana, California, is exactly where, in
1924, Ralph C. Smedley held the first meeting of
what would eventually become Toastmasters
International.
a
Smedley began working as director of education
for a Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA)
after he
graduated from college. He observed that many of
the young patrons needed “training in the art of
public
speaking and in presiding over meetings” and Smedley wanted to help them. He decided the training format would
be similar to a social club. During the early 1900s the word “toastmaster” referred to a person who proposed the
toasts and introduced the speakers at a banquet. Smedley named his group “The Toastmasters Club” because he
thought it suggested a pleasant, social atmosphere appealing to young men.
When Smedley started the Toastmasters group at the YMCA in Santa Ana, California, members practiced speaking
skills in a supportive, informal atmosphere. The seedling club blossomed. Word spread about Smedley’s YMCA
experiment and soon people in other communities and even other states began asking for permission and help
to start their own Toastmasters meetings. By 1930 the burgeoning clubs had established a federation to help
coordinate activities and provide a standard program. Toastmasters became Toastmasters International after a
speaking club in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, expressed interest in joining the organization.
A series of rented office spaces in Southern California served as Toastmasters International’s “home office” until
1962. That year the staff moved into its first World Headquarters building in Santa Ana, not far from the YMCA where
the first Toastmasters club met.
Over the next three decades the number of Toastmasters grew, and so did the need for a larger staff to service them.
World Headquarters relocated in 1990 to its new building in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, about 20 miles
south of Santa Ana. See our timeline (http://www.toastmasters.org/timeline) for a detailed account of Toastmasters'
history.
The evolution of its educational programs and resources are a big part of Toastmasters International’s success and
growth. Training has expanded from the 15-project manual Basic Training for Toastmasters, developed by Smedley,
to include other materials to help members develop skills in list [