Judge Larry Gist
Chairman Texas Board of Criminal Justice Judicial Advisory Council
This program has done wonders to improve the self-esteem and personal pride of those offenders who volunteered to participate, To describe their efforts as impressive would be a gross understatement. This is exactly the type of program that should be in every TDCJ unit and made available to those interested in replacing their negative lifestyle with a positive self-image.

District Judge Robert Downing
Louisiana
Better speaking skills not only helps former inmates get jobs, but they also help them stay out of trouble. Part of Toastmasters training is learning to accept criticism without resorting to violence. In its first five years at the C. Paul Phelps Correctional Center, only one of 80 inmates released after participating in a Toastmasters program was re-arrested.

Warden Burl Cain
Angola Prison, Louisiana
Toastmasters has given those interested in our maximum security population an organization to join that promotes positive goals such as improving self-worth, self-esteem, basic life skills, and friendly competition.

Warden Garland Flakes
LeBlanc Prison, Texas
The opportunity to share in this organization has made such an impact on their character and self-confidence, which will make a difference in how society sees them.

Warden Lensing
Elayn Hunt Correctional Center, Louisiana
I recommend and support club involvement within correctional facilities and would certainly recommend Toastmasters International to other correctional facilities.

Alice Tippit, Education Specialist
Hilltop Unit, Texas
You are the first group of volunteers who have offered any kind of encouragement to the inmates. They are just not accustomed to receiving compliments, only criticisms. From the very first time they enter the world of incarceration they are given orders, what they can and can't do. You have offered them a way to grow in personal leadership, better speaking, better listening, and better thinking. They are all taking their roles very seriously and having a lot of fun doing it.

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