Ralph C. Smedley
Encyclopedia
Ralph C. Smedley was the founder of Toastmasters International
, an international speaking organization with more than 235,000 members in 106 countries and more than individual 12,000 clubs.
, a city twenty miles southwest of Springfield
. He remained in Illinois
most of his youth. After high school, he taught schools in the countryside before enrolling at Illinois Wesleyan University
at Bloomington, Illinois
. After his graduation in 1903, he started working at the local YMCA
.
At each club meeting, there was a rotation of duties with members taking turns at presiding and speaking. Short speeches were evaluated by Ralph and the other older men, and the boys were invited to join in the evaluation to learn more. The club performed its intended purpose as leadership and speech improved in the other educational groups with which these young men were associated.
The club only lasted a year after Ralph Smedley moved to the YMCA at Rock Island, Illinois
as General Secretary in 1910. He organized a Toastmasters Club at the Rock Island "Y" which soon reached a membership of 75. When Ralph Smedley left the Rock Island "Y", the Toastmasters Club there also soon perished.
After he spent over two years with an architect working on YMCA architecture he accepted the post of YMCA Secretary at San Jose, California
in September 1919, and soon had a Toastmasters Club flourishing at his new YMCA. Again the club lasted only a short time after he moved to Santa Ana, California
in 1922.
visited the Toastmasters Club and the following winter, Ralph Smedley helped a group in Anaheim to form a Toastmasters Club. It is still labeled as Club Number 2 in Toastmasters International. The Toastmasters Club idea spread to Los Angeles
, Long Beach
, and other southern California
cities. Representatives of these clubs met and organized an association.
The new association needed a name and because of one club in British Columbia, Canada, they chose to call it Toastmasters International. There were about 30 clubs when the association was formed in 1930, and in 1932 Toastmasters International was incorporated as a California Non-profit corporation.
In addition to his job as Secretary of the YMCA, Smedley was the Secretary and Bulletin Editor of the Santa Ana Rotary Club and undertook the dual role of Editor and Secretary of the new Toastmasters International. In 1936, he published his first article to give special recognition to General Henry Martyn Robert
, the author of Robert's Rules of Order
. His interest in General Robert continued for the rest of his life and culminated in the book The Great Peacemaker by Ralph C. Smedley published in 1955.
He resigned as YMCA Secretary in 1941 to devote more time to Toastmasters International. Through the war years he operated the organization out of a small office. When the war ended, a new Secretary, Ted Blanding, replaced Smedley, who remained active as Educational Director for the rest of his life and a permanent member of the Board of Directors
. In 1950, Smedley wrote "Beyond Basic Training". At the Toastmasters International Convention at Atlanta, Georgia
, August 18–20, 1960, Ralph C. Smedley showed the model of the new Toastmasters International Headquarters, 2200 North Grand, Santa Ana, California, (which was so occupied until June 1990) to the District 19 delegation.
recognized Smedley's service to mankind by conferring the honorary degree of L.H.D. -- Litter arum Humaniorum or Doctor of Humane Letters. Santa Ana named a junior high school after him in 1955.
In 1956, Toastmasters itself gave Smedley the title of honorary president and lifetime board member. The Santa Ana Toastmasters Club renamed itself the Smedley Number One Club in honor of its founder. A photograph of Ralph Smedley and the original club charter are placed in an empty chair near the lectern to represent his continuing inspiration. This started at Club Number One and several other clubs around the world also chose to honor Ralph Smedley in this way.
Toastmasters International
Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of helping members improve their communication, public speaking and leadership skills...
, an international speaking organization with more than 235,000 members in 106 countries and more than individual 12,000 clubs.
Youth
Smedley was born in Waverly, IllinoisWaverly, Illinois
Waverly is a small city in Morgan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,346 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Jacksonville Micropolitan Statistical Area....
, a city twenty miles southwest of Springfield
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
. He remained in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
most of his youth. After high school, he taught schools in the countryside before enrolling at Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois Wesleyan University is an independent undergraduate university located in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1850, the central portion of the present campus was acquired in 1854 with the first building erected in 1856...
at Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States and the county seat. It is adjacent to Normal, Illinois, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area...
. After his graduation in 1903, he started working at the local YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
.
The Beginnings of Toastmasters
As Educational Director of the "Y" he discovered there was a need for training in speech. He began to design a club and struggled for a name. The General Secretary of the "Y", George Sutton, suggested calling it a Toastmasters club. The boys liked the name and the club was a success.At each club meeting, there was a rotation of duties with members taking turns at presiding and speaking. Short speeches were evaluated by Ralph and the other older men, and the boys were invited to join in the evaluation to learn more. The club performed its intended purpose as leadership and speech improved in the other educational groups with which these young men were associated.
The club only lasted a year after Ralph Smedley moved to the YMCA at Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island is the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,884 at the 2010 census. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities...
as General Secretary in 1910. He organized a Toastmasters Club at the Rock Island "Y" which soon reached a membership of 75. When Ralph Smedley left the Rock Island "Y", the Toastmasters Club there also soon perished.
After he spent over two years with an architect working on YMCA architecture he accepted the post of YMCA Secretary at San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
in September 1919, and soon had a Toastmasters Club flourishing at his new YMCA. Again the club lasted only a short time after he moved to Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana is the county seat and second most populous city in Orange County, California, and with a population of 324,528 at the 2010 census, Santa Ana is the 57th-most populous city in the United States....
in 1922.
The Apex
A club was immediately organized and still exists as Club No. 1 of Toastmasters International. He introduced the Toastmasters Club idea and the first meeting was held at the YMCA Building on October 22, 1924. Until then, the Toastmasters Club was an educational arm of the YMCA. In the autumn of 1925, J. Clark Chamberlain of Anaheim, CaliforniaAnaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
visited the Toastmasters Club and the following winter, Ralph Smedley helped a group in Anaheim to form a Toastmasters Club. It is still labeled as Club Number 2 in Toastmasters International. The Toastmasters Club idea spread to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, and other southern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
cities. Representatives of these clubs met and organized an association.
Birth of Manuals
In order to save the time consumed in replying to many letters and inquiries, Ralph prepared a "Manual of Instructions" and "Ten Lessons In Public Speaking" which he mimeographed and bound in paper covers. On October 25, 1928, Ralph obtained copyrights on his publications and copyrighted the name Toastmasters Club all of which he later assigned to Toastmasters International.The new association needed a name and because of one club in British Columbia, Canada, they chose to call it Toastmasters International. There were about 30 clubs when the association was formed in 1930, and in 1932 Toastmasters International was incorporated as a California Non-profit corporation.
In addition to his job as Secretary of the YMCA, Smedley was the Secretary and Bulletin Editor of the Santa Ana Rotary Club and undertook the dual role of Editor and Secretary of the new Toastmasters International. In 1936, he published his first article to give special recognition to General Henry Martyn Robert
Henry Martyn Robert
Henry Martyn Robert was the author of Robert's Rules of Order, which became the most widely used manual of parliamentary procedure and remains today the most common parliamentary authority in the United States....
, the author of Robert's Rules of Order
Robert's Rules of Order
Robert's Rules of Order is the short title of a book containing rules of order intended to be adopted as a parliamentary authority for use by a deliberative assembly written by Brig. Gen...
. His interest in General Robert continued for the rest of his life and culminated in the book The Great Peacemaker by Ralph C. Smedley published in 1955.
He resigned as YMCA Secretary in 1941 to devote more time to Toastmasters International. Through the war years he operated the organization out of a small office. When the war ended, a new Secretary, Ted Blanding, replaced Smedley, who remained active as Educational Director for the rest of his life and a permanent member of the Board of Directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
. In 1950, Smedley wrote "Beyond Basic Training". At the Toastmasters International Convention at Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, August 18–20, 1960, Ralph C. Smedley showed the model of the new Toastmasters International Headquarters, 2200 North Grand, Santa Ana, California, (which was so occupied until June 1990) to the District 19 delegation.
Awards and honors
In 1950, Illinois Wesleyan UniversityIllinois Wesleyan University
Illinois Wesleyan University is an independent undergraduate university located in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1850, the central portion of the present campus was acquired in 1854 with the first building erected in 1856...
recognized Smedley's service to mankind by conferring the honorary degree of L.H.D. -- Litter arum Humaniorum or Doctor of Humane Letters. Santa Ana named a junior high school after him in 1955.
In 1956, Toastmasters itself gave Smedley the title of honorary president and lifetime board member. The Santa Ana Toastmasters Club renamed itself the Smedley Number One Club in honor of its founder. A photograph of Ralph Smedley and the original club charter are placed in an empty chair near the lectern to represent his continuing inspiration. This started at Club Number One and several other clubs around the world also chose to honor Ralph Smedley in this way.
Declining years
In the summer of 1964, Smedley's health began to decline. He was confined to a medical facility and died on September 11, 1965.Works
- The Voice of the Speaker (1949)
- Speech engineering: 25 ways to build a speech (1952)
- The Great Peacemaker (1955)
- Basic training for toastmasters (1956)
- Speech evaluation: The art of constructive criticism (1940)
- The Amateur Chairman (Fourth Edition, Revised 1939)
- The story of Toastmasters: Reminiscences of the founder (1959)
- Beyond basic training (1961)
- The Advanced Speaker (1963)
- Personally speaking: Selections from the writings of Ralph C. Smedley (1966)