I participated to a Virtual Support Session!

I am "only" an Ambassador. Not a Guide. They have to hold minimum 15 "Virtual Support Sessions" with VPE of the clubs visited. Yesterday, I decided to discover how the VSS works, asking permission to attend to one of them. 

Carole McCulloch is from Australia. Their clubs are usually closed un the summer. Summer in Australia is December and January, when it is winter in the other part of the world. Pathways "rolled out" in the region 3rd December, but the activity really begins only now. She did visit all her clubs alone, so it is not a surprise that she speaks only of Guides. 

Very organized, here is the Agenda with a great slide (rule of three) and pictures and in a corner we could see her speaking through Zoom. She went through this three questions, after introducing all to each other. Even I had my say! After all I am also VPE or in my other club Base camp manager as Secretary. All VPE present had great tips and stories to share already! 

On another picture, she suggested different ways to offer support from the cloud, that would be useful for all the pathways champion VPE or BCM, early adapters, Guides, and even Ambassadors as me. Three again.

• One by one. Through email, and instead of phone of Skype I would add Zooming together. 
• For the committee again, collective emails: they did teach me how I could do it!  Also creating specific Facebook groups for the Area, for the Clubs. The problem it seems of course, how to entice the Toastmasters concerned to go there. 
• For the "membership" through mass mail - but that is available only to the club. A club website: I already got into two of them I visited. And a blog!

Some are pull others push methods. Combining them is best of course. For example going to the Tunbridge Wells blog as well as our own Lewisham Speakers blog, I have observed that only a fraction of the club members go to visit it. Becoming Pathways Champions, make us realise how important to learn the best use of different Social Media available is.

Then, come the surprise, as we arrived to "blog" in the agenda! 

Carole was proud to have gotten a post in this blog and showed the picture of her blogpost here, a few days ago. This blog was used as an example of a blog! It was now me the one surprised and happy to see Pathways Experience in a VTT. Bounce back from each other, all the way from Summer to Winter, from London UK to Australia and back, now many times. 

After our meeting she told me they learned from me and I did learn from them. And from now on, I experienced a live zoom VSS meeting! Really impressed how well prepared, how much work goes in some of them! I imagined it just opening, waiting. Oh,no! 

This is just one example and three shots from a whole hour meeting! 

Now, I have a clearer view how it can go, how useful it can be, and can plot my own Ambassador interventions. One times at least connecting every month to "my clubs" for at least six month. As I hear from discussions in other regions, the good champions do not stop of course after just a few month. 

Here is how Carole describes it in another meeting or blogpost of hers, and thinking only of Guides alas again. Some of it can be adapted to all of us.

Her blog is in my links, go and read : so many interesting posts! And already more then 3000 hits and growing. 

Here is my version of the Oath : not a Pathways Warrior, one of the Pathways Champions

I went to Pathways, discovered its light and my work begun then to contribute to the Transition

I shall not end till the path is smoothed for all Toastmasters, veterans and new

I shall share my story and my love of pathways ways for days and days to come

I pledge my time, energy and skill to the Toastmasters all over the world 

Pathways Champions, Early adapters, and all embracing it with joy and some trepidation, all those illuminating the path and leveling the sometimes bumpy ground, helping to cross fences and hurdles to go out and shine till able to help others. We are in it together.