Chor Chee Hoe visits Shaklee Dynamic Family

Report by Chor Chee Hoe, VPM

A Visit to Shaklee Dynamic Family

In our club contest last month, I was encouraged by the motivating words from our guests. One of them, Gan Ban Heng, invited me to attend his upcoming club meeting on 13 February 2011. This lead to my first visit to Shaklee Dynamic Family Toastmasters Club.

I was welcomed by the sumptuous potluck high tea buffet and the friendliness of Shaklee members. Many of the members were dressed in Chinese New Year attire and we were delighted with the cookies and the creative CNY style of Table Topics. Table Topics Master used the goodies that we come across in Chinese New Year as the topics, for instance, Mandarin oranges, fortune cookies and 'ang pow'.

Members and guests giving a toast to commemorate the occasion

I was amazed by the special ‘giving a toast’ session which uplifted our emotions. Lead by Division G Governor cum General Evaluator NJ Singam, the toasting ceremony gave the highest respect to Toastmasters founder, Dr Ralph C Smedley, and elevated the meeting.

We were also pleasantly surprised by the unexpected visit of our District Governor Thannimalai and Lieutenant Governor Marketing Ramdas Nayar. Thannimalai told us that he had just finished a Youth Leadership Program in Kuala Lumpur and rushed to attend this meeting.

Division G Governor NJ Singam giving a token of appreciation to District Governor Thannimalai

Although the meeting is on Sunday, the turnout of members is very encouraging. They are very proactive, not only in taking part in the Table Topics session, but also competing to take part in the impromptu Humour Session.

In the prepared speech segment, Mariana shared with us her exciting water rafting adventure and her friend’s embarrassing moment in her speech ‘My Water Rafting Experience’. Tee, in his well-researched speech, shared with us ‘The Origin of English’. It was full of interesting facts on the historical development of the English language.

Beside his sincere welcome and closing address, President Samuel also encouraged all members to find new members in his special presentation on membership building.

President Samuel shares his special thoughts on membership building 

As the Grammarian for this meeting, I observed that the standard of language is very high. I certainly like Julius Caesar’s quote of ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’ used by TM Tee, in his prepared speech.

GE Singam provided the climax in his general evaluation by guiding us on how to benefit from the constructive feedback. I learned a lot from this exhilarating meeting and I would like to thank Mr. Gan for his invitation.

From left: Area C6 Governor Jamilah, Division G Governor NJ Singam, District Governor Thannimalai,  President Samuel of Shaklee, Lieutenant Governor Marketing Ramdas Nayar

My fellow Toastmasters, do visit Shaklee on Sunday evenings to boost up your energy level for the week ahead. Even if you are not able to visit Shaklee, have a look at Division W website (http://divisionw.co.cc) to find out the meeting date and time of other clubs. Every club is unique and you will certainly learn new things from each club visit!

Friendship Membership Contest: Final Call

Announcement from Chor Chee Hoe, Vice President Membership

Click to enlarge image

Speech Contests_25 Jan 2011

Report by Angeline Lee, VPE

International Speech Contest (Club Level)

Table Topics Speech Contest (Club Level)

Just before Chinese New Year, we held our International Speech Contest and Table Topics Contest on 25 January 2011. It was a mixture of first-time contestants and seasoned contestants.

The contestants, members and guests at our Club Contests

After the briefings for contestants and role players had ended at 7.15 pm, we started our Club Contests as scheduled. Andy, the contest SAA, called the meeting to order.


Tan Lay Theng, Contest Chair, International Speech Contest

Contest Chair Lay Theng conducted our International Speech Contest impeccably. Contestant Freddie convinced the audience and judges that it is “Quality, Not Quantity” that matters. After that, Chee Hoe made us sit up and listen in his “Listen, please!” speech. Third contestant Sivadas spoke of being a better speaker since joining Toastmasters in his “Unchangeable Change” speech.

In the Table Topics Contest, Chief Judge Lucky selected the contest topic of “Nothing is Perfect, Nothing is Impossible”. Contestants Freddie, Alexandra, Sivadas, Ben and Vincent spoke on this topic with no hesitation. Among other things we heard about the perfect wife, the perfect job and of meeting one’s dream girl. It might not have been easy task for the judges to decide on the winners, with so many perfectly convincing answers to choose from.

It must have been a nerve-wrecking time for our first-time contestants Chee Hoe, Alexandra and Vincent. However, nervousness was not apparent when they gave their polished performances during the contests.

It was a family night for the Chor family as Chee Hoe and Wai Yee invited their parents to the contests. Although the senior Mr Chor does not speak English, he was seen listening intently to his son’s winning speech. During the contestants' interview session, Chee Hoe enlightened us that his grandfather was also present he mentioned his grandfather in his speech “Listen, please!”


The Chor family.

From left: Mr Chor, Mrs Chor, Chor Wai Yee, Club Treasurer & Chor Chee Hoe, VPM

While waiting for our Chief Judge to tabulate the results, President Zaiton presented certificates of participation to all the contestants. She also presented certificates of appreciation to the following role players:

International Speech Contest Chair – Tan Lay Theng
Table Topics Contest Chair – Angeline Lee
Timers – Chor Wai Yee, Vincent Chow (Speakers Dream TMC)
Ballot-counters – Emily Kok, Ruth Ting (D’Utama TMC)
SAA – Andy Supramaniam, Teoh Chun Ming (D’Utama TMC)
Chief Judge – Lakhmichand aka Lucky (Bangsar TMC)



Lakhmichand aka Lucky, Chief Judge, receiving the certificate of appreciation from President Zaiton


Tan Lay Theng, Contest Chair, International Speech Contest, receiving the certificate of appreciation from President Zaiton

Finally, the moment that we had been waiting for arrived. The Contest Chairs for the two contests announced the happy news that there was no time disqualification for all our contestants. The contest results are as follows:

International Speech Contest
Champion - Freddie Yap
First runner-up - Chor Chee Hoe

International Speech Contest winners

From left: Chor Chee Hoe and Freddie Yap

Table Topics Contest
Champion - Freddie Yap
First runner-up - Vincent Wong
Second runner-up - Ben Fong


Table Topics Contest winners

From left: Vincent Wong, Freddie Yap and Ben Fong

We wish Freddie all the best in the next level competition. He is representing our club at Area W3 International Speech Contest and Table Topics Contest that will be held on Thursday 3 March 2011 at Level 8, G Tower, Jalan Ampang. With “Quality” speeches, he will surely win more trophies from the Area Contests.

After the contests, we mingled and chatted with our guests. Joining us in our after-contest chat session was Division B Governor 2009/2010, DTM Leong Oi Wah. She generously provided suggestions for our upcoming Speechcraft program. She also spontaneously offered to attend our next meeting on 8 February with the meeting theme “Dedication to Excellence”. In my opinion, she exemplifies the meeting theme because she walks the talk. While we were discussing VPPR Alexandra's upcoming graduating CC speech on 8 February, DTM Leong Oi Wah offered useful tips to Alexandra. Thank you, Oi Wah!


From left: VPE Angeline, DTM Leong Oi Wah (MAICSA TMC), President Zaiton, VPPR Alexandra

With such a good start, I believe we are destined to have an excellent meeting on 8 February. Join us as we kick-start the Rabbit Year in a RED-dress-code meeting as we continue on our journey towards excellence!

Announcement_Speech Contests

Angeline Lee, VPE

Dear Friendship Members,

Our International Speech and Table Topics Contests will be held on 25 Jan 2011, one week after our regular club meeting on 18 Jan.

Who will be our next International Speech Contest Champion ?
Who will be our next Table Topics Contest Champion ?

The answer is YOU !

All you have to do is sign up to be a contestant and prepare your 5-7 minute speech for the International Speech Contest. You may speak on any topic, as long as it is in good taste. The minimum qualification is that you have completed the first six speeches in the Competent Communication manual

For the Table Topics Contest, you will have 2 practice sessions at our Jan 4 and 18 meetings to prepare for your winning 1-2 minutes impromptu speech on 25 Jan. The minimum qualification is that you are a Toastmasters member.

You may be thinking, "But I don’t like to take part in contests".

Why don’t you think of it as another opportunity to practice and polish your speaking and thinking skills ? Instead of a U-shape table arrangement, you will be facing an audience seated in a theatre style arrangement. There will be a slightly larger crowd and you will see new faces (visitors from other Toastmasters clubs). All of us want you to win !

The winners will proceed to our Area W3 Contest to be held on Thursday 3 March 2011 at 7 PM. The winners from Area W3 Contest will then proceed to Division W Contest to be held at Great Eastern Hall on Sat 13 March 2011 1.30 PM.

The trophy for the Friendship International Speech & Table Topics Contests awaits the rightful owner – YOU. Take the first step and sign up for the contest. If you are new and need help/guidance on what to do as a contestant, just ask and you shall receive (the answers).

Looking forward to hearing from you, the future Friendship International Speech and Table Topics Champion.

Best regards,
Angeline, VPE