Club History
The Dye Hard Toastmasters club began as a corporate club at Sandoz Corporation at the Sodyeco manufacturing plant near Mount Holly. The idea for the club came from Personal Director, Bob Cathcart. The club was charted on May 26, 1986.
Jim Morris, a seasoned Toastmaster from Salisbury and a member of the plant engineering department, became a charter member and helped guide the club to a solid beginning. During its first few years of existence, Sandoz Toastmasters was rated in the top 20% of all clubs in District 37 – North Carolina.
Many of the club members were recognized by company management as effective communicators and leaders. These members became participants in company-wide quality improvement programs, ISO 9000 certification, media team members and numerous other high visibility projects.
In 1993 Sandoz became Clariant Corp. Since the manufacturing site was a producer textile dyes, the club name was changed to Dye Hard Toastmasters.
The Sandoz / Dye Hard club has produced (4) District contest winners, (3) area governors and (2) division governors. Dye Hard was also instrumental in the formation of the Quality Quoters and Morehead Morning Clubs in Charlotte. The Dye Hard Toastmasters have produced three Area Governors: Jim Price, Ron Crews (2 terms), and Ken Levra. It has also produced two Division Governors: Jim Price and Ron Crews. It has also produced four (4) District Contest Winners including Jim Price (Tall Tales), Bob Karicka (Humorous), and Ron Crews (Humorous – Twice).
In 2005, the Clariant Site closed. The Dye Hard Banner was released to the members and Dye Hard became an “open” community club, which now meets at Catawba Heights Baptist Church in Belmont.
