Become an Exchange Park Toastmasters member!

Becoming a member is easy! You fill out a simple application, which you’ll get when you visit a meeting. Then submit it to the club Secretary/Treasurer or the VP of Membership with your membership fees. Your ongoing membership dues are just $2.5 a week (you pay $57 every 6 months). There is a one-time new member fee of $20 to pay for the materials furnished by Toastmasters International.

Once you join, you will start participating in the various speaking and meeting assignments. You start with the simple assignments first, and as you become familiar with the meetings and develop your communication skills, you move on to more challenging ones.

For more information on becoming a member, contact us at inquiries@exchangeparktm.org.

Meet Some of Our Members —

Carol Biedrzycki has been a member of Exchange Park since the founding of the club in 1986.  You may have seen her name in the news about Austin Energy’s proposed rate increase. Carol is the executive director of Texas ROSE, a nonprofit organization that advocates for affordable electricity and a healthy environment.  She received her Distinguished Toastmaster designation in 2011. She says that investing her time in Toastmasters yields a big return. You will see Carol from time to time speaking at public hearings that have been known to make the local radio and TV news. 

Juan Castañeda is originally from Juarez, Mexico. He came to the U.S. in 1997 with thousands of other computer programmers to solve the Y2K “crisis.” He has worked as a software developer since 1992. He spent over five years in three other Toastmaster’s clubs before joining Exchange Park Toastmasters. Juan’s goal is to touch people with his stories, and Toastmasters is the perfect place to practice that. Juan like reading, movies, working out and learning new things. Despite being an engineer, he says he’s an excellent dancer.

Roopa Maheshkumar grew up in India and came to the states five years ago. She describes herself as more Indian-ized among the Americans and more Americanized among the Indians. She’s a trained engineer and has been working as a programmer for eight years. This group is one shop where she’s refining her speaking, writing and leadership skills. Vocabulary, pronunciation and creativity are some of the unspecified add-ons that  go with this package. Every meeting instills new learning!

Mickey Michaels recently retired from a long and varied career that included consumer market research, banking industry research, financial management, human resources consulting and even running an old-time Western saloon in the mountains of Colorado. She has also published two parenting books: Survival Guide for Parents and Successful Divorce and Single Parenting. Publicizing these books, she made several TV appearances and was interviewed on over 40 radio shows across the country. Her Toastmasters experience greatly enhanced her effectiveness. She now speaks publicly on behalf of worthy causes and organizations.

Catherine O’Toole was born and educated in Ireland and headed for the bright city lights of New York City to pursue a career in fashion design. She spent 10 years working with some of the most famous and talented designers in New York. She then left the fashion industry to travel around the world by herself for three years. She now divides her time between Austin, Texas, and New York. She loves to dance, is a decorative painter and is passionate about Green Building. Catherine says she visited some other Toastmasters clubs around town before settling on Exchange Park because our club was “having the most fun.”