Bo Bennett, PhD, DTM, Founder, Developer

Bo joined Toastmasters in 2003, after a painfully embarrassing speech given to a room full of his contractors.  Desperate to improve his speaking skills in the least time possible, he devoted full-time to being a Toastmaster and completed all 40 speeches in a record 6 months.  He served the required leadership roles to achieve his DTM in a record time of just over one year.

In 2004, Bo created the FreeToastHost website hosting platform for all Toastmasters clubs.  Today, FreeToastHost hosts over 10,000 clubs -- around the world.

In 2008, Bo started the Toastmasters Podcast, which began as a district podcast, then in 2010 transferred ownership to Toastmasters International, to become the organization's first official podcast.  Today, Bo, with his friend and business partner, Ryan Levesque, continues to host the podcast that serves as the voice to over a quarter of a million members worldwide.

Bo received his Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Master's degree in general psychology, and holds a Ph.D. in social psychology.

Brian McDonald, DTM, PDD, Lead Technical Advisor

With 40+ years in the IT industry, Brian currently spends his time as an Internet Consultant, supporting web servers. Brian is an active Toastmaster and the lead for the FreeToastHost support team. Brian is a Past District Director for Toastmasters District 61 (2016-2017) serving Eastern Ontario, Quebec, and Northern New York.

As a Project Manager on contract with GreenTreeHosting, he supports their web hosting customers and servers. Brian is also one of the people behind the scenes for eBookIt.com, DoWellWebTools.com, and yourwebempire.com

Jane Atkinson, DTM, Ambassador

Jane is a member of a club in Auckland, New Zealand, and has been a member of Toastmasters since 2006. She's still trying to figure out how come she was asked to be an Ambassador.

Pam Holley, DTM, Ambassador

Pam Holley, DTM has been a Toastmaster since 2012. She took on the role of Club Webmaster soon after joining and spends too much of her free time tinkering with her club’s FTH site. She has served as VPE and President of her club based near Brisbane in Queensland, Australia.

Pam has lived on 4 continents and is hoping that by being an FTH Ambassador she might be on her way to reaching her life-long ambition of becoming an armchair adventurer. Somehow she always seems to end up in real-life dramas - she has found herself gasping for air at the top of Mt Kinabalu; weathering 75-knot winds on a sinking trimaran; coming up from a night dive to be confronted by bandits wielding rusty sawn-off rifles; cartwheeling down ski-slopes at Whistler; falling out of a hot air balloon; sailing backward up parts of the Inside Passage in Alaska; rescuing a buddy on a 42m dive and has stepped on a night-adder and been held up on her way to school by a herd of buffalo.

Richard Taylor

A US Navy veteran who joined Toastmasters in 2017. A late-night maintenance project in 1985 on an aircraft carrier inadvertently led to a civilian career as a journeyman tool & die maker. A shift to design and engineering led to his current focus in project and engineering management in the metal stamping industry. Richard’s interests include reading (especially SciFi and WWII history), hiking, tennis, astronomy, sailing, music, soccer, language, genealogy, and an overly zealous addiction to making accent and decorative lighting do fascinating things. Richard’s work on his club’s website brought his attention to the support forums where he learned about many great FTH features and tips for using them. He is grateful for the opportunity to give back to the community by serving as an FTH Ambassador.

Marc Richards

Marc has been using FTH since he joined Toastmasters in 2011. He maintains two sites and trains clubs all around the world on how to use the site. His love of public speaking extends to the community in his volunteerism at the local schools and hospitals. He has hosted three Youth Leadership Programs believing that the art of communication should be taught from an early age.

Arthur Farnsworth, DTM, Ambassador

Art, as an embedded firmware engineer and musician who started speaking in public while running for political office, joined Toastmasters in 2003 to get even better.  He serves as the District 38 FreeToastHost technical support person and in 2021 had the honor of becoming a FreeToastHost ambassador.

He is currently serving as an officer (and FTH administrator) of two clubs and as area director, and has served in all officers positions at some point in the past.  Past leadership: 2015-2016 Area 73 director, 2016-2017 President's Distinguished Division G director.  Triple Crown award winner for ACB, CL, and ALB in 2016; for CL, ACS and ALS in 2017; for ACG, DTM, and CC in 2019.

Art enjoys hand coding Web sites (like his entry here!) and hopes to someday be as talented as Steve James in that capacity.

Lukas Calafell, Ambassador

While serving as his club’s VPPR during 2020-2021, Lukas took a deep dive into FTH and how it can be used as an effective communication tool and a way to empower clubs to operate effectively. Since then, Lukas has remained passionate about helping and training Toastmasters on how to better use their club websites. Lukas has been a Toastmasters since 2019 and has served as his club’s VPPR, Treasurer and President throughout his time in Toastmasters. He successfully served as a club coach and an Area Director. His goal is to become a DTM in the near future. He is from Miami, Florida but currently lives in Fort Lauderdale.

Nancy Bateman, DTM 
Ambassador

Nancy joined Toastmaster in 1993 to learn how to give a eulogy.  In the process she worked with a fabulous team at her work place and helped build the club back to charter strength and it’s still going strong.  Long retired from a career in telecom engineering, she’s now an award-winning fused-glass artist and enjoys being a member of two President’s Distinguished clubs.  In both clubs she handles the FTH website and is enjoying being able to help as ambassador for FTH.  

Debbie Thompson, DTM
Ambassador

Debbie joined Toastmasters in 2002, as a part of her corporate club, because she was terrified to speak in front of more than about 5 people. Debbie worked at Coca-Cola Enterprises for over 23 years in IT Systems support. She has turned in her "beeper" and is happily retired. It didn't happen over night but now she can speak with confidence.

She achieved the Distinguished Toastmaster award (DTM) 6 times and is working on her 7th to have one in her new district - District 213. She is passionate about education and loves the VP Education role (she has been VPE 30 times). She says she could NOT have been VPE that many times without relying on Free Toast Host. It has so many features and supports the VPE role so well. It was and is such a critical tool to her club officer success.

Debbie was a Pathways Ambassador and Guide and has been on the District Pathways Training team each year since its beginning. She also loves the VP Public Relations role (she has been VPPR 13 times). That's where Debbie learned FTH. She held the role of District Public Relations Manager in 2018-2019.  She conducts District FTH training each month and looks forward to contributing as a FTH ambassador.

Joe Gavin, Ambassador

Joe Gavin is a former IT professional with a strong background in database administration. Throughout his career, he worked extensively with SQL Server environments, focusing on performance, reliability, and operational support. He is also a former contributor and author of practical insights and solutions for the SQL Server community, sharing knowledge aimed at helping other professionals solve real-world database challenges.

In addition to his technical background, Joe has built experience in communication and leadership through his involvement in Toastmasters since 2019. He originally joined to improve his public speaking skills, but over time expanded his role to include supporting club operations, encouraging member participation, and contributing to overall club growth and engagement. His blend of technical expertise and communication development reflects a transition from hands-on IT operations to a broader focus on mentoring, knowledge sharing, and community involvement. 

Peter Baumgarten, Ambassador

Peter Baumgarten is a technical writer, copywriter, and user interface consultant with experience in quality control and software development.

He joined Toastmasters in 2014 and quickly assumed responsibility for managing his club’s website. After wrestling with WordPress for two years—building ad hoc tools to manage agendas and track member involvement—he was delighted to discover FreeToastHost, a free and capable platform designed specifically for Toastmasters clubs.

Since 2024, Peter has led FreeToastHost virtual training sessions, focusing on creating clean, attractive, low-maintenance websites that meet member needs while appealing to prospective guests.

He joined the FreeToastHost Ambassador team in 2025 and continues to advocate for practical, efficient approaches to help clubs make the most of FreeToastHost. 

Emeritus

Steve James, DTM, Ambassador, Developer

Steve James, DTM resides in the Los Angeles area and has been participating in Toastmasters off and on since 2003.  Steve is a big believer in ongoing learning, growth, and development throughout his life and strives to encourage those commitments in others. Steve enjoys a variety of outdoor activities, listening to music, and personal growth seminars. An avid technology enthusiast, Steve is trained as a Chemical Engineer and works in the process automation industry. Steve has regularly dabbled in various software technologies throughout his career and occasionally won awards for the results of his labor. Steve strongly believes that technology should work for people (easy to use and understand), not the other way around. Steve is honored to be able to support the website needs of Toastmasters worldwide as a FreeToastHost Ambassador and Developer, and looks forward to discussing how implementing a FreeToastHost website can contribute to the ongoing success of Toastmasters Clubs.

In Memoriam

Roger Morehouse, DTM, Ambassador

Roger Morehouse (1954-2021) was an enthusiastic Toastmaster and club coach, District leader, and webmaster.

He was a member of Crown City Toastmasters in Cortland, NY.

In addition to being involved in Toastmasters, he was a keen supporter of Relay for Life Cortland.

Roger was a FreeToastHost Ambassador from the beginning. He will be missed by the FTH community.

Linda Mann, DTM, Ambassador

Linda Mann (1963-2022) was a Toastmaster from 2004 and was a member of 4 clubs (3 in District 33 and one in District 52). She was also on the District Leadership team of District 33 for many years and latterly was the District's Administration Manager and Marketing Manager.

Linda was an enthusiastic promoter of FreeToastHost in District 33. She became a FreeToastHost Ambassador in 2015 and played a constant part in helping others on these forums.

Outside of Toastmasters, she was involved in her community and was a fundraiser for the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

She will be missed by the FreeToastHost community.