Photos @ 04 Oct 2011

Report by VPPR Susan Lim

VPPR Susan Lim

Photos by VPE Chee Chor and TARC Toastmasters Club

VPE Chee Hoe

EMBRACE THE PAST

Sinage outside the meeting venue

WOD

It was definitely a night for us to reminisce (word of the day) about during our “Embrace The Past” meeting. 

In the run-up to the meeting, VPE Chee Hoe encouraged all members to dress up as historical figures or simply put on costumes from the 50s, 60s, 70s or 80s. It explained why some of our Friendship members looked rather different on this special night. Some even borrowed clothes from their parents. 

Hippies from the 70s - Grace Tan and VPE Chee Hoe

Our first-time TME Daphne Au, donning a sexy off-shoulder dress, started the meeting with her smooth introduction of the meeting theme. 

For VPE Chee Hoe’s invocation, he spoke of the past, present and future. The past may be good or bad but we should take advantage of the valuable experiences and lessons. The past groomed us to be what we are today. Therefore, we should “Embrace the past, envision the future”. 

The Table Topics Session led by Sivadas saw 4 speakers in action. They were Area G3 Governor Victor Ong, Mid Valley VPE Moses Wong, AFC President Lorna Leong and Friendship PP Freddie Yap. They were asked to reminisce and embrace their past. 

Best Table Topics Speakers, Victor and Lorna

For the prepared speech session, our newest member Hann Gan delivered his Ice Breaker speech. He shared with us how he moved from different parts of the world but came back home to Malaysia where he finally found happiness. The wisdom of his “Coming Home” speech was strong and stimulating – “If you are not happy at home, you won’t be happy anywhere else.” He concluded, “I must be home because I’m happy”. 

Hann presenting his Ice Breaker speech

VPPR Susan Lim delivered her fifth speech project: Your Body Speaks. She chose a topic that left the audience guessing “Who are the Scorpions?” in their lives. She shared her stories about how she got stung by different types of "scorpions" - people who hurt or manipulate other people. 

Beware of "scorpions", warned Susan

Our third speaker, the Amazing Grace Tan, a seasoned Toastmaster, delivered an amazing performance with her speech “Stay Single, Fun Double” from the Entertaining Speaker Manual. She revealed to us the benefits of staying single: "A single lady is able to enjoy the attention, adoration and admiration of guys without any obligation".

"Stay Single, Fun Double" says Grace

 

Our fourth speaker is another seasoned Toastmaster. Past President Ben Fong delivered his Public Relations Speech – “The Goodwill Speech”. He related how Past President Tony introduced him to Toastmasters and how it had benefited him. In his opinion, Toastmasters was more valuable than an MBA degree. 

During the short break before the Evaluation session began, we quickly took the opportunity to take some photos. 

From left: VPE Chee Hoe, Jon Lim (TARC), TME Daphne, Sylvia,
President Angeline and TARC President Eric Low

AFC President with her members, Grace and Jocelyn

 

Our Table Topics Evaluator, Area W3 Governor Kimmy Foo, had the challenging task of evaluating speeches made by an Area Governor, a President, a Past President and a VPE. But she performed splendidly and delivered a balanced evaluation. 

Past President Tony Lim praised Hann for his splendid performance in his first speech. He said Hann’s voice was his asset and his stage presence made him Hann the Hunk. 

Jocelyn Lim from AFC Club and the Area G4 Evaluation Champion evaluated Susan's speech and gave useful recommendations. 

Victor Ong gave an incredibale evaluation of Grace's performance which was very well-deserved. 

Freddie Yap evaluated Ben's speech and commended Ben for delivering a message that served as a good example for new Toastmasters.

Freddie evaluating Ben's speech

 

We certainly learnt a lot from our Grammarian tonight who was none other than our PP Kim Chow. Kim gave her comments on pronunciation as well as a report on the good phrases used during the meeting.

Kim delivering the grammarian's report

 

Sylvia, the Ah-counter for the meeting, wore her mother’s dress from the 80s. Kudos to Sylvia for taking the effort to dress up according to the theme! 

Our Timer was Lee Tong Fong, from Puchong Mandarin Toastmasters Club. He performed his duties diligently. 

Our gracious General Evaluator Zaharah Ibrahim, DTM, who is also known as “The Mother of East Coast Clubs”, gave interesting and enlightening feedback on the proceedings. She commended the members for their respectful and grateful attitude. Thank you, GE Zaharah, for your invaluable contributions. 

President Angeline presenting a thank-you card to GE Zaharah

The awards given out during the “Embrace the Past” meeting were

Best Table Topic Speakers - Victor Ong and Lorna Leong

Best Prepared Speech - Grace Tan

Best Speech Evaluator – Victor Ong

Ice Breaker Ribbon – Hann Gan 

½ CC Ribbon – VPPR Susan Lim

A big thank-you to the visiting Toastmasters from Kelab Pidato Kuala Lumpur, AFC, Puchong Mandarin, Taman Indrahana, Universiti Malaya, TARC and Mid Valley Toastmasters Clubs for helping us to achieve a very successful meeting.

Group photo

After this “Embrace the Past” meeting, let us “Envision the Future” at our next meeting on 18 Oct !