Do you like being a part of Park City Toastmasters? If so, you have Jon Henry to thank. He’s the Founder of our Club and has been deeply involved with all aspects of it for the past ten years.
In 2000, Jon was looking to get involved in the community somehow. A friend of his, Joel Mitchell, who started the Hope Alliance, suggested that Jon start a Toastmasters club. Jon was a preacher at the time and thought this might be a good idea.
While he felt very comfortable speaking in front of large groups, he said his greatest fear at the time was, “…public speaking to a small group of people that I don’t know, like the first day of class in public school. Terrifying.”
He started looking for information online and discovered that there was another person in the community who was also trying to start a TM club. This person was Allen Stockbridge, a real estate agent with a lot of connections.
The two met with some Toastmasters from Salt Lake to discuss how to start a club and and then got busy making contacts, recruiting members, and advertising on KPCW, PCTV and the Park Record.
Within a month they had a commitment from twenty people, the minimum number of participants required to start a club.
Jon’s been attending Toastmasters meetings and doing behind the scenes work for a solid ten years now.
He’s been President, Vice President Education, and Vice President Membership. He’s been asked to be an Area Representative and can see himself as Area Governor or Division Governor in the future.
For now, he’s happy working on his speeches, competing whenever he gets the chance, and acting as our Club Treasurer.
He’s the guy who collects dues, submits new member applications and their fees to TM International, manages the bank account, check book, and credit card, and is responsible for buying supplies, resources, and breakfast once a month.
When I asked him what keeps him going, considering Toastmasters can be a very transient organization – people come for a period of time, achieve their goals (or not) and move on – he told me this, “It took me about two seconds to fall in love with Toastmasters. One, it’s a very hands on way to practice and improve not only communication but leadership skills. Two, people share themselves on a deeper level than any other setting and you develop another family of close friends.”
This “second family” really gelled on the morning of September 11, 2001. “We were at the Hampton Inn when 9/11 went down. Our second family was processing this, watching on a tv, and we just hung out there for a couple of hours. That was a hard thing to go through together.” But he’s happy to have had such a great group of people to process it with.
There have been many more good times as well. Jon appreciates that in Toastmasters, he’s able to creatively express who he is. “It’s also a lot of fun,” he says, “to see the group respond and accept me and enjoy my style… There’s a quirky side of me that loves to be strange and fun.”
Jon has also been mentor to countless members through the years. He’s always willing to share his knowledge and he has an understated style that keeps his mentees accountable and motivates them to do their best.
We thank Jon for always doing his best!
