Newsmaker
Monday, September 27, 1999
Name: Timothy Keck
Age: 55
Education: Ph.D in history, University of Wisconsin
Occupation: Command historian
Hobbies: Hiking
When Timothy Keck first joined Toastmaster's International 20 years ago, he wasn't so much afraid of public speaking. "I was just really lousy at it," he said. Leading speaker
Keck was a historian for the Air Force and part-time history and philosophy professor in Germany at the time. During lectures, he would pace back and forth and pause with "uh's" and "um's" between sentences.
He couldn't break his bad habits until he joined Toastmaster's, an organization that helps people strengthen their public speaking and leadership skills. Keck soon discovered how comfortable he felt speaking in front of a supportive group. Otherwise, he said, he wouldn't have hung around for five minutes.
He is the new international president of Toastmaster's International, which has 175,000 members. Keck, a command historian with the Pacific Air Forces, was elected to the one-year position at a convention last month in Chicago.
Keck will lead the group with the theme "Building a Better World," as Toastmaster's celebrates its 75th "Diamond Jubilee" anniversary next month. One of his goals is to bring diversity by attracting more people who speak English as a second language.
Whether someone wants to articulate their ideas to their children or serve on a neighborhood board, "somehow you keep coming around to this idea that to be successful, you've got to communicate with people effectively," he said.
Aside from Toastmaster's, Keck serves on the board for Hawaii's Habitat for Humanity and was among a delegation who built a house on Kauai after Hurricane Iniki hit in 1992. The project, he said, was the most gratifying experience of his life.
He also sings in a church choir and frequently goes hiking with his wife, Laura Crites, head of the nonprofit Women's Business Center in Honolulu. They have one daughter, Krista, and a granddaughter in Kansas City, Mo.
"Tim is such a quiet, humble person," said his friend, Bea Elyot, Toastmaster's district governor for the state of Hawaii. "He's also got a very unique sense of humor.
"Sometimes you want to throttle him, because he's very witty and easily makes puns out of things. He has quite a personality."
Keck said public speaking is a continual learning process. "Giving speeches is the least important thing people learn in Toastmaster's," he said.
"More important, they become empowered to live better, more successful lives."
Shirley Iida, Star-Bulletin
