Central Otago branch president Sarah Fairbairn said she was pleased to finally see the club chartered as it had been a long time coming.
Alexandra had previously had a Toastmasters club but due to a lack of members it closed down a few years ago, meaning people in Central Otago who wanted to attend the meetings had to travel to Queenstown or Wānaka, she said.
The idea of re-establishing a Central Otago club came from posts on social media noticeboards from people interested in accessing the programmes.
"So we created a speech craft course. So kind of like a very fast-paced trial period of what Toastmasters is about with a few local people."
The club had only chartered in late October after continuing the momentum from February when the club began holding meetings.
The main benefit to being chartered was the fact the club had access to more resources, allowing each member’s requirements and goals to be catered to, she said.
Toastmasters was best known for teaching people how to speak in public, but nowadays people can learn about leadership, as well as how to speak in other situations.
"Nowadays, people use it [to learn] how to speak in podcasts or social media and how to present yourself"
People could also take part in a more humorous version of Toastmasters, where speeches would get more points if they were more funny, she said.
The club meets every fortnight at Alexandra’s Elim Church from 5.30pm. People could come if they were interested in joining and learn about the processes involved, she said.
