​Diana L Wiggins, I live my life by my priorities, God, family, business. Married 42 yrs. with, 6 adult daughters & 18 grandchildren. I'm living my life by design as a stay-at-home grandmother. I'm a native Californian, who moved to Texas in September 2015.   I retired in 2011, as accountant from the University of California, at Davis. 
 
I joined Lakeline Toastmasters in June 2017, starting my Toastmasters career. As a "go-gettef" I received the triple crown this first Year.  Then being introduced to the Toastmasters Youth Development program my focus changed to my passion.
 
Currently, I'm very active with Cedar Park 4-H Gavel Club which started with YLP in summer of 2017. With the assistance of Calvin Wong, we started the Gavel club March 8th,  2018.  First, chartering  with TI,  then also with Williamson county 4-H  Jan. 2019. We are a  Toastmaster 4-H program specifically designed for middle and high school students, however, our club accepts member's from K through graduating HS.

​Betty Puckett has been a toastmaster for five years.    She says, “I joined toastmasters because I had decided to be more involved in politics and thought it could help me speak more eloquently with candidates and other constituents.”  She claims she “was slow to get started, but once I read the manual and learned what Toastmasters could do for me, I was hooked!” There has been no stopping her.  She adds she has enjoyed every step of her journey to reach DTM in four years.  
 
After she earned her DTM she thought she might slow down a bit. Was she ever wrong!  “No hanging up the DTM medal to rust for me”, she says.  She is currently in four toastmaster clubs and has held most offices. Betty has been active as an Assistant Division Director several times, assisted with numerous TLIs and contests, mentored first time contest chairs, served on several HPL committees, and co-chaired special events. She is also a member of the "New Club Demo Team".
 
Betty loves people and can find a way to “talk toastmasters” with everyone she meets.  That attitude is what led her to become the Club New Source Chair for the District under the direction of Kathy Moore, the Club Growth Director for D55.
 
Before Toastmasters (“that’s BTM”), Betty worked in finance for the Air Force as well as for a local School District.   She is a nurse and worked in ICU at Methodist Hospital. She currently works part-time at UTHSC training the medical students.  
 
Some of Betty's favorite activities include: planning parties and events with and for friends, meeting new people and learning all about them, and staying active in her other organizations which include two Red Hat groups, an Investment Club, a bridge club, and serving on the Executive board of a political club.
Betty says she still finds time to make new friends and to communicate with those she met while living in different countries around the world during her husband’s Air Force career. 
 
Betty enjoys life and people.  Her philosophy is "If it ain't fun, don’t do it".

​Don Sesler, DTM, joined Toastmasters in 2015 to overcome his persistent fear of public speaking. Don has served at the club and district levels in various leadership roles and is always looking for a challenge that is slightly outside of his current comfort zone. He enjoys being part of the larger Toastmasters community by participating in speech contests, presenting at officer training and district conferences, and serving on various committees. Don also studies improv and standup comedy to add spontaneity and humor to his speaking style, and he recently began working as a professional trainer and speaker in the areas of communication, leadership, and project management.
 
Don started his professional career as a Member of Technical Staff at Texas Instruments Central Research Laboratories. Over the course of his career at TI, Don was promoted to increasing levels of responsibility, with his final position being the key technical contact for one of the company’s largest wireless technology customers.  In 2004 after 16 years at Texas Instruments, Don left the corporate world to start Sageplan Technology Consulting to help small businesses and entrepreneurs with all things tech.
 
Don is currently serving as the Vice President of Education for Laughing Matters Toastmasters and as the Austin Club Growth Extension Chair.  In his spare time he enjoys travelling, cycling, sailing, and still plays soccer competitively. His lovely wife and fellow Toastmaster Catherine O’Toole keeps him grounded and happy.

​Darla Peek has been a Toastmaster for 10 years and says, “I am very close to achieving my DTM designation, my personal goal is to complete it soon.  I am a former Area Director (H44) and have held every officer position at my home club, Broadway Toastmasters, except President.  I am a triple Toastmaster member – active member of Broadway Toastmasters, Beyond Basics and Sunday Speakers.  Each club is different and offers something special.  It’s very rewarding to watch new Toastmasters become confident individuals as they develop their speaking and leadership skills.”
 
Darla’s sister joined a Toastmasters club in San Antonio and encouraged her to do the same; fortunately she was able to join the corporate club where she worked – Broadway Toastmasters.   After one meeting she was hooked – she has only missed one meeting in ten years and that was because she was out of town.  The meetings are fun and interesting, you get to see the creative side of colleagues; she makes attending them a priority.
 
During her year of service as an Area Director in addition to visiting her area clubs, Darla participated in several Toastmasters events: Toastmasters Leadership Institutes (TLI),  Club Contests, Christmas Storytelling II, Demonstration Meetings to present Toastmasters to prospective members and met some wonderful people.  The theme for her Area Contest was “Why I Love Toastmasters.”  (Does that tell you something?) According to Darla, “These are exciting times with Toastmasters as we adopt Pathways and watch new members grow and develop.  Our goal is to bring new clubs on board in Central & South Texas so they can experience Toastmasters, too.”
 
“On a personal level, I have been a Broadway banker for 27 years working in several different areas of the bank.  I am currently a Relationship Associate III in the Wealth Management Division where I assist a Wealth Advisor with his clients.  I’m a young grandmother, my granddaughter is only 2 ½ years old and she is so much fun!”
Darla graduated cum laude from Our Lady of the Lake University with a BBA in Marketing.

Bill Friedrich, DTM, has been a Toastmaster since February 2012 when he became a charter member of the Desert Falcons Club at a military deployment location in the Middle East.  He has served as a club officer in four different clubs and currently serves as President and Vice President Membership for the Alamo Heights Club.  Bill is the outgoing District 55 Club Extension Chair, and has been District 55 Public Relations Manager twice, Division Director, and an Area Governor.  He originally joined Toastmasters to improve his public speaking skills and has enjoyed every leadership role he has taken on. He says, “I took the current position to strengthen our coaches in greater support to help them get clubs thriving again.”
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Bill retired from the military after serving 24 years in the United States Air Force after having held several positions in military law enforcement and human resources at the installation and headquarters levels.  He is an avid traveler and Fiesta aficionado.

​Bart Loeser has been a professional educator, coach, and trainer for over 33 years.  He currently advises and trains management staff and team members in interpersonal skills (leadership, communication, team-building, productivity) through his own training events company.   A Texas native with a BA in psychology from UT, Bart has presented well over a thousand business skills seminars around the US and abroad since 2005.  Bart is passionate about helping others find solutions to achieving goals and improving life quality and satisfaction.  

​​Having been an active community volunteer and leader for over three decades, Bart has helped create and organize projects and events for dozens of service and educational organizations, including Toastmasters.  He currently serves as an officer and mentor/coach to several Toastmaster clubs and individuals at various district levels.  He says that Toastmasters has been a perfect forum to refer clients and others to practice the many skills one learns in his seminars and he enjoys spreading that knowledge exponentially.  Bart enjoys the challenge of delegating to and supporting leaders to be their best.  He was a Club Coach Chair in 2016 and is excited to reprise his role to strengthen the district's goals for success in the coming year.

Christine Neil joined Gavel Masters as a charter member in 2014.  She has served as Treasurer, Secretary, and is currently serving as her club's President, along with her duties as Area Director for G-32..  

Chris is semi-retired from her position as a paralegal for her husband's law firm.  Prior to 2000 she lived in Kansas and worked in management for United Parcel Service.