You had a question?

Some of you have known me for a long time, either from my over two decades in Toastmasters or from my long time research and management activities in business, or even as a Sunday School child put it when my name came up: “Is he the man with the nice smile?”

But then again, many of you I have not met and you may be asking: “who is Dietmar Wagenknecht?” Here is a brief biography about myself:

Dietmar and his wife Heidi, a registered nurse and also a toastmaster, were both born in Stuttgart/Germany. Dietmar’s family came from The Netherlands and Heidi’s from Switzerland. After immigrating to the United States Dietmar & Heidi got married and had three children who now live in California, Arizona & Illinois.

Not long after arriving in the United States, Dietmar was drafted into the Army and after basic training in Fort Dix, NJ received a direct assignment to the Medical Service Corps at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC. Following his active duty, he served in the active reserve in Newark, NJ as part of a 1,000 bed Reserve Hospital.

Dietmar’s education includes a Druggist degree, and AB degree and several related certifications in Germany. Following military service Dietmar returned to college at an advanced standing and obtained separate bachelor degrees in Science and in Industrial Pharmacy from Rutgers University as well as certification in Microbiology from the Medical Laboratory School. Later he added a Masters degree in Business Administration and Management at the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, where he also is a charter member of the LFGSM Toastmasters Club.

Professionally, Dietmar worked in pharmaceutical research, development and management for international companies such as Warner Lambert, Sandoz, DuPont, American Critical Care (Div. of AHSC), DuPont-Merck, Fujisawa Japan/USA, Astellas, Boehringer Ingelheim, and others. Starting out as a Laboratory Chemist, he moved up through various positions to Senior Director Technical Services and Vice President of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Several patents and major technological/medical achievements are to his credit, as well as numerous publications and scientific presentations and workshops.

Toastmasters started for Dietmar in 1981 as a Charter Member of McGaw Park Toastmasters in Illinois, D-30. After a job transfer East he was active in DuPont Toastmasters in D-18 and was  awarded the DuPont Toastmaster of the Year Award. He also served in a variety of District offices and sponsored/mentored many clubs in the Delaware area.

After another job transfer back to Illinois, Dietmar served as AG again and as Division Gov. twice, before serving as Treasurer, District Secretary and then as LGM, LGET & DG. He received the excellence in marketing, Excellence in education and Distinguished District awards during those years. As LGM he facilitated the formation of 24 new clubs in the Chicagoland area, an all time annual record, which made D-30 #3 in the world and #1 in the US that year. Along the way Dietmar D-30 Toastmaster of the Year and his employer, a large international pharmaceutical firm, named him “Mr. Toastmaster”.

One of Dietmar’s passions is the youth. He and his wife Heidi conducted over 25 TM Youth Leadership programs and are counseling a Teenage TM Gavel Club, now in its 11th year. Besides Toastmasters Dietmar has been and is involved in many community and civic organizations too numerous to mention here, serving as president, coordinator, committee chair and facilitator for many of them.

Dietmar now is retired, but keeps active as a professional consultant and speaker on a part time basis to allow plenty time to serve Toastmasters, having in the past visited clubs around the world. With your vote for Third VP I will continue to serve you, the individual Toastmaster to build an even better, stronger, and expanding organization.