2018
District 109 is relatively young! Our History begins on the 1st of July 2018, when District 59 was split into three new districts:
- District 59 – Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Monaco and the Netherlands;
- District 107 – Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Gibraltar, Tunisia, Algeria;
- District 109 – Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, FYR Macedonia, Greece, Italy, Lichtenstein, San Marino Republic, Switzerland, and Vatican City.
District Director 2018 – 2019: Francesco Fedele
During the first district year, under the leadership of Francesco Fedele, District 109 achieved the Smedley Distinguished District Award.
The Smedley Distinguished District designation is the highest recognition level that a district can achieve. Moreover, this designation serves as a testament to the district’s exceptional performance, and it is a great honour to receive it.
2019-2020
District Director 2019 – 2020: Metaxia Kritsidima
The district was realigned with Division G being split into two new divisions: Division A in Italy and Division B in Greece, Cyprus, and Bulgaria. Division I was reorganized into Division C in Switzerland, while Division J was transformed into Division D in Switzerland. Division E remained unchanged but became a part of Switzerland. Finally, Austria was moved to its own Division, Division F.
2020 – 2021
District Director 2020 – 2021: Lorenzo Gios
We have a commitment to passionately pursuing the District Mission of creating new clubs and providing support to all clubs in their pursuit of excellence. Let us join hands and work together to make our journey a memorable and enriching learning experience. In line with our 2020 District Motto “Trust, Thrive, and Together”, we aim to increase our membership to 2500.
2021 – 2022
District Director: Lilian Shaftacola
The Diversity of cultures, languages and people is the strength of our District 109, said District Director Lilian Shaftacola.
In 2021, District 109 underwent a major expansion, adding four new clubs. Malta, Israel, Slovenia, and Turkey were welcomed to the District 109 family. The District was re-divided into eight divisions. Division A comprised Italy, Malta, San Marino Republic, and Vatican City. Division B comprised Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Israel. Divisions C, D, and E, were made up of Swiss clubs, and Division F had Austria and Slovenia. Division G was allocated to Greece, and Division H to Turkey.
2022 – 2023
District Director: Turan Tanin
Today, we celebrate together as we continue our journey in the wonderful world of Toastmasters. We all agree that it is a privilege to be a part of a fantastic district that spans two continents with multiple time zones, bringing together different countries, languages, cultures, alphabets, food, and music. Moreover, we have a diverse range of everything you can think of, with numerous versions of it. From various dialects to different cuisines, we have it all. So, what do we all have in common? Our passion!
Motto for 2022 – 2023: Passion beyond borders
2023 – 2024
District Director: Margherita Brodbeck Roth, DTM
The district motto, learn together – excel together – dream together, did pave the way for a rebound after some challenging times. District 109 has achieved the prestigious Smedley Distinguished status and has been recognised with a District Club Retention and a District Club Strength Award! A Club growth of 5.17%, a membership payments growth of 8.88%, 56.9 % of our Clubs attaining Distinguished status, a Club retention of 99.14%, and an average Club size increase of 18.95% is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and outstanding leadership of many exceptional talents across the geography.
It also has been the year of firsts – the first District Conference on two continents in Istanbul, the first Leaders’ Academy, the first Officers’ Academy, the first dedicated Corporate Clubs Training, the first Contest Academy, and the first one-of-a-kind 24-hour Trainathon, the first two clubs in Albania, and so much more. Thank you to all who have contributed – together, we made it an unforgettable year.