Six of the ten Distinguished Club Program goals are about education awards. But when a VP Education asks "who is close to a level?", the answer usually lives in a dozen separate accounts. Here's how to see your whole club at once, and turn that into a plan, with Toastmanagers.
Why it's hard to see the whole club
Base Camp is where members work through their projects, and it's the official place where progress and completions are recorded. It's built around each individual member's journey. A VP Education planning next month's schedule needs a view of everybody, right beside the meetings being planned.
Clubs usually try one of three things:
- Ask around. Slow, and only as good as people's memories
- A spreadsheet. It goes out of date the moment someone finishes a project
- The tool the club already has. Easy-Speak tracks speeches and projects, but your club has to run on Easy-Speak. FreeToastHost 4 adds Pathways progress, but it's rolling out in phases, so your club may not have it yet
What to track
- Each member's path and current level
- Their next project
- Speech dates booked against that project
- Meeting-role requirements still needed
- Members who've gone a long time without a speech
Tracking it in Toastmanagers
Toastmanagers follows the current Pathways guidelines, with six active paths, plus vintage paths for members still working on them.
- Start My Path. Every member can begin a path, preview its levels, and browse role and presentation checklists.
- Project on every speech. A speaker's project is attached to their slot on the schedule, and is included automatically when a member requests a speaker role.
- Meeting roles tracked from the schedule. Role requirements are tracked automatically, so nobody has to tick off "served as Timer" by hand.
- Education Series presentations for Levels 3 to 5 are included.
- The Members tab puts Pathways progress beside attendance and role history.
Turn progress into a plan
Once a month, take 20 minutes.
- List members closest to completing a level
- Check whether each has a speech booked
- Book the speeches they need
- Check who's missing a role requirement, and assign it
- Send a personal note to anybody who has stalled
Members can request roles and speeches themselves, and pending requests are applied when you generate the next schedule. So the plan doesn't all fall on you.
Don't forget the official step
A level only counts for the Distinguished Club Program once the award is recorded by Toastmasters International. Members must complete the level in Base Camp, and it needs to be approved by an authorized officer. Check Base Camp regularly for pending approvals, and remind members to submit. A tracked project that has never been submitted doesn't help the club.
Celebrate every level
Read out each completed level at a meeting. It costs nothing, and it's one of the best reasons for others to keep going.
Put Pathways Next to the Schedule
Each member's path, level, and projects, in the same place you plan your meetings.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many projects are in a path?
Path completion in Toastmanagers follows the 2025 guidelines and uses 15 projects. Check Base Camp for your own path's details.
Do members need to enter their progress twice?
Base Camp remains the official record. Toastmanagers is the planning view that lets officers see the whole club.
Can a member switch paths?
Yes, and Toastmanagers lets you change a member's path. Check the current rules in Base Camp for how the official path is affected.