Montana | North Dakota
South Dakota | NW Minnesota
DISTRICT 78 TOASTMASTERS
District Officers 2017-2018
Diana Ripplinger, DTM
District Director
Diana has been involved in Toastmasters since December of 2009. She is a member of an early morning club (6:30 AM), Cass County Toastmasters, and a member of the Skills Club. She has been an active member of Toastmasters in her club, serving numerous club officer roles. In the district, she has also served as an Area Governor and Assistant Division Director.
For the past 8 years Diana has worked as a CADD Technician in an architectural firm. Prior to that, she worked in engineering firms producing structural, electrical, and mechanical drawings. Over the past couple of years, Diana has also been taking classes and doing an internship. She received her associate degree as a Health and Fitness Specialist, with an emphasis in the older population and children.
She lives in West Fargo with her husband, Clyde. During her spare time Diana enjoys scrapbooking as well as outdoor activities including bicycling, hunting, scrapbooking, and siting by the campfire.
Bonnie Dowhaniuk, ACS, ALB
Club Growth Director
When Bonnie joined Toastmasters in 2011, she was one of those who thought it was simply a speech club. Fortunately, she was wrong! Bonnie thoroughly enjoys both communication and leadership projects within her club, district, and outside of Toastmasters. She has held several club officer positions, been an Area Governor and Division Governor, and was recently elected to the position of District 78 Club Growth Director.
Bonnie has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND. Bonnie has worked for the State of ND as a Safety Consultant for the past nine years. Her job working with ND employers provides many opportunities to put her Toastmasters skills to work. She may be speaking to one person, a group of managers, or a crowd of 250 people. The skills she has learned from Toastmasters have helped her with unfamiliar situations and challenging circumstances.
Bonnie truly believes that Toastmasters skills are beneficial in both professional and personal experiences. For example, building and leading an effective team is equally important whether leading a team at work or a team of volunteers. Additionally, having good communication skills is imperative in the workplace and even more important in family and real-life situations. Bonnie is looking forward to how the CGD role will enhance her skills in both communication and leadership.
Bonnie has lived in ND all her life and loves the diversity of the four seasons. Her hobbies include DIY home improvement projects, volunteer work, football, and spending time with her niece and nephews.
Denis Ouellette, ACS, ALB
District Public Relations Manager
Denis is an editor, publisher, author, seminar leader and teacher, who lives in Livingston, Montana, north of Yellowstone Park, with his wife, Jill. He has twin college-age daughters.
A holistic-health practitioner since 1978, he publishes the bi-monthly healthy-lifestyle magazine, Natural Life News & Directory, distributed throughout the West.
Denis has been a Toastmaster since 1999, and has been instrumental in bringing his current club, Livingston’s Last Word Toastmasters, to President's Distinguished for five years in a row. Having completed his DTM, he looks forward to doing it again via Pathways.
This is Denis’ third year of service as District 78’s Public Relations Manager.
Michele Blumhagen, DTM
Program Quality Director
Michele joined Toastmasters in January 2004 when she became a charter member of the Centurion Club. Her main reasons for joining Toastmasters were to improve her impromptu speaking skills and for the networking opportunities Toastmasters had to offer. She quickly learned that Toastmasters is also extremely helpful in honing one’s leadership skills.
In her years with Toastmasters, Michele has held all club officer positions and most district leadership positions including Lieutenant Governor Marketing, Lieutenant Governor Education and Training, and District Governor. In 2006-2007 she received the Division Governor of the Year award for D78.
Michele lives in Bismarck, ND and is the Quality Assurance Director for ND Workforce Safety & Insurance, the workers’ compensation carrier for North Dakota. She is also actively involved in the BisMan Stiletto Group, a group of women dedicated to serving the community by providing volunteer service and support to local non-profit organizations.
Karl Merbach, DTM
Immediate Past District Director
Karl has been involved with Toastmasters since 2000, earned his DTM in March of 2016, and is the presently serving as the Immediate Past District Director for District 78. He is currently a member three clubs, Noontime Thunder (VPE), Mt. Rushmore, and Prairie Whisperers (President) Toastmaster clubs.
His work in the environmental field has given him the opportunity to relocate to various locales over the past 20 years, where Toastmasters has been the opportunity to meet new friends in each new community.
Karl and his wife Carol are finally setting down roots in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota and enjoying the wonderful adventures this area has to offer.
Billie Sutherland, ACS, ALB
Administration Manager
Billie joined Great Plains Toastmasters in October of 2010 after visiting at least eight times. After a couple of years of learning what Toastmasters was all about, she started taking on leadership roles.
She has served as club President, Vice President of Education, Vice President of Membership, and Sergeant-at-Arms. In 2014, Billie took on a district position as one of the last Area Governors and became one of the first Area Directors the following year. Now she looks forward to working closely with the top three district leaders.
For the past 14 years Billie has worked at Microsoft. Most of that time was spent in HR data management maintaining the electronic records of the employees across the globe. In the last few years, she has been a systems manager in the US payroll department.
Billie lives in Fargo, ND with her husband (Adam), son (Jace), daughter (Shayne) and two dogs (Clyde & Zander). She enjoys passing the time by reading and going to the lake to fish, relax on the beach or sit by the fire.
Kirsten C. Tynan, CC
Webmaster
Kirsten joined Bitterroot Toastmasters in the spring of 2017 with the goal of developing her speaking skills to be a better advocate for the mission of the educational non-profit she leads.
In her time with Toastmasters, Kirsten has served as both Secretary and Vice President of Membership. Her fellow members honored her with the club's Rising Star Award for 2018.
She has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Arizona. After working for over a decade as a reliability engineer working on missile systems, she quit her job and moved to Montana. Although she intended to resume her engineering career once settled in, unforeseen circumstances took her career path in a very different direction.
Starting off as a volunteer, Kirsten's role progressed to part-time and then full-time staff for an educational non-profit called the Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA). She is currently serving as Executive Director of FIJA, a position she has held for nearly five years. Kirsten has found Toastmasters to be an excellent proving ground for the speeches she gives, a laboratory for perfecting skills that contribute to successful interviews, and other communication competencies.