Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through ... a worldwide network of clubs. The first club in Northern California was formed in 1934 when Redwood City Toastmasters Club #27 (renamed Donald L. Bogie in 1980, in honor of the 1943-1944 District 4 Governor and a charter member) was formed. That club soon sponsored a second club, Lee Emerson Bassett Toastmasters Club #33. Clubs Forty Niner Toastmasters Club #49 (now Sierra 49ers) and Downtown Toastmasters Club #56 followed quickly. In the fall of 1937, these four clubs petitioned Toastmasters International to become a District. The petition was approved and District 4 became the fourth district in Toastmasters International and included all of California north of the Tehachapi Mountains. read more