October 22 Is Toastmasters' 87th Birthday! The first official Toastmasters meeting was held on Santa Ana, California, on October 22, 1924.
When people hear the word “basement,” they’re not likely to picture the home of a global communication and leadership-development organization. But a basement in the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), in Santa Ana, California, is exactly where Ralph C. Smedley held the first meeting of what would eventually become Toastmasters International.
At that first Toastmasters meeting, members practiced speaking skills in a supportive, informal atmosphere. The seedling club blossomed. Then another sprung up in nearby Anaheim. Word spread about Smedley’s experiment and soon people in other communities, and even other states, began to request permission and help to start their own Toastmasters meetings.