FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- Toastmasters International celebrated its 90th birthday last year and, for the first time in recent history, Airmen at Fairchild Air Force Base can celebrate with them.

Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization founded in 1924 that operates for the purpose of helping members improve their communication, public speaking, and leadership skills. Last summer the organization recognized the new Fairchild Toastmasters as a valid local chapter of the club.

Tech. Sgt. Michael Huggins, 42, a bioenvironmental engineer with the 92nd Aerospace Medicine Squadron, directs the Fairchild chapter as president. Huggins has been in the Air Force since 2000 after beginning his military career as a medical laboratory specialist in the Army Reserve. He joined the Air Force as a satellite communications technician and cross-trained into bioenvironmental engineering. Part of his job requires him to give briefings regarding bioenvironmental hazards or concerns, as well as informational seminars covering a number of bioenvironmental topics.  Being comfortable speaking to a crowd is a valuable skill in this job - and one Huggins hones through Toastmasters.

Huggins didn't set out to become the Fairchild Toastmasters presiding officer. He says it was a coworker, Staff Sgt. Michael Herrington, who started the process of founding a local club. Herrington was encouraged by his college instructors to look into an organization like the Toastmasters in order to improve his public speaking. Herrington learned there was no Toastmaster club on base and began researching how to start one. Another co-worker, Senior Airman Ariella Lewis, became interested and started helping Herrington found the local chapter. Huggins says Herrington invited him to their first meetings.

"In my mind I'd pictured kind of a big banquet hall with somebody in a black tie -- a suit and black tie event -- with people sitting around tables and you'd go there and make your speech. That to me was so intimidating," Huggins said. "But I came and it was not this stuffy elitist cult-like situation -- it was people honestly wanting to develop professionally and overcome some of these fears."

Drawn in by the welcoming environment, Huggins became a regular attendee.

When Herrington left the club due to his separation from the military, he suggested Huggins, who had never presided over a club before, take over as president. Huggins agreed.

"Going through the Air Force I started to recognize at certain times, especially as you move up in the ranks, you are expected to communicate certain training topics or as an NCO maybe leading a group exercise or leading a commander's call," Huggins said.

However, speaking in public unnerves the majority of people. According to one study 75 percent of people reported speech anxiety, or glossophobia, and many of those listed it as their greatest fear.

Huggins and the Fairchild Toastmasters understand that fear because many of them have felt it. By fostering an environment of acceptance and minimizing the pressure to perform, the Fairchild Toastmasters hope to help members overcome this nervousness.

The group encourages guests to attend meetings, even those who are not yet sure they want to become dues-paying members. Huggins says guests to the weekly meetings are given the opportunity to speak, but they are not forced into it. The club isn't trying to scare anyone away. He says most guests do choose to speak during their first meetings -- a testament to the friendly environment the Toastmasters provide.

Huggins says the relaxed environment is important in helping attendees feel comfortable. Fairchild Toastmaster members include officers, enlisted and civilians, yet once in the clubhouse members address each other by their first names and focus on the individual, not the rank. The Toastmasters recognize every member is trying to improve, and they strive to provide constructive feedback with each other.

Operating a club on an Air Force base does have its challenges: members permanent change of station, schedules change, and operations tempos fluctuate. During base exercises attendance drops as many members are called to duty. This doesn't deter Huggins, however. Instead, he focuses on learning from these experiences.

"It presents an opportunity for each of us to work on our leadership skills, step out of our comfort zones and maybe fill a position we wouldn't normally see ourselves doing ... and I think sometimes the greatest challenges are our best opportunities for success," he said.

Since the Fairchild Toastmasters is a relatively new chapter of Toastmasters International - they were chartered just last summer once they had signed their 20th dues-paying member - there's still a lot of work to be done. Huggins says right now he is focused on maintaining the progress they've already made, growing their membership numbers and maturing as a club. He hopes in the future they will be able to "not only do our weekly meetings but step out into the community and provide a great resource for people to grow." The club has already secured a recurring appointment to speak with Airmen Leadership School students and hopes to present leadership classes for Fairchild Airmen in the near future.

The Fairchild Toastmasters meet every Wednesday, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at the Red Morgan Event Center. For more information, call Tech. Sgt. Michael Huggins at (509) 247-2391.