Foremost Insurance Remembers Contributions During 20-Year Toastmaster Sponsorship

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- With the recent Sponsor Award Toastmasters International presented to Foremost®, a member of the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies®, on January 8, 2010, examples of employee collaboration and support of Toastmasters were celebrated.

The Foremost Toastmasters Club came to the aid of a special group of Toastmasters, called In Utter Words, in September 2005. In Utter Words is a group of dynamic, committed individuals determined to improve their speaking skills and complete Toastmaster achievements – and to overcome the disabilities (such as cerebral palsy, being visually- or hearing-impaired, wheelchair-bound or cognitive challenges) that could prevent them from it.

"Foremost lead by example – they saw a need and they met it," adds Margaret Sieh, Lt. Gov. of Education and Training for Toastmasters District 62. "They gave their time and gathered money to purchase the supplies and created an audio tape library of the manuals for In Utter Words. Visually-impaired members were finally able to listen to the manuals and complete them.  Someone with the use of only one hand didn't have to worry about turning pages while trying to hold the book steady and those who needed a little extra time to process things could simply rewind the tape and listen to certain parts again. You have no idea what a gift Foremost members gave to these Toastmasters. Foremost helped them to be abled…no longer disabled."

"Our members stepped up to help another club succeed and I think that was just a natural response, as this is part of the corporate culture here at our company," says Rich Dryer, president of the Foremost Toastmasters Club at the time and current staff underwriting specialist.  "We all try to help others in the community when a need is identified.  I know their club members inspired us with their courage and determination and we ultimately benefited from the experience as much as they did."

Toastmasters International is a large, non-profit educational organization devoted to communication and leadership development. Since its founding in 1924, more than three million people have discovered the benefits of a Toastmasters membership. Today, there are more than 250,000 active members in 106 countries.

Farmers Insurance Group® is the third largest property and casualty insurance group in the country. Foremost Insurance Group, a member of the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies, is a single source for personal property and casualty and commercial insurance and has been a leader in the insurance industry since 1952. Foremost is headquartered in Caledonia, Michigan. To learn more, visit Foremost.com.

SOURCE Foremost Insurance Group