15th Club Anniversary and Installation Ceremony 2017/18 on 22nd July 2017

With the name Jam Factory Restaurant in Puchong set as a destination in my Waze, I started my journey to attend the club’s 15^th anniversary cum club officer installation ceremony.  When I entered the restaurant, I was escorted to the meeting hall by a gracious staff to the room in which ceremony was supposed to take place. There I saw the Immediate Past President Ron Yeap ACB, Past President Serena Kong ACB and Immediate Past VPPR Manish Jha CC setting up the room’s ambience by decorating the room and giving it a charismatic touch.

After signing up in the attendance register, I was presented with a photo album comprising of moments which took me to the past years of Money Mastery KL. The photo album depicted a legacy and a timeline of how this club became such a successful club in the Klang Valley.

Slowly other members and other distinguished guests started arriving.  By 7:30 PM I occupied a chair with other guests.  EK Yeo CC CL, who was the SAA of the evening, called the ceremony to order and handed the control to our charming Toastmaster of the Evening Kevin Khoo CC, who kick started the evening by handing over the stage to the Invocation speaker Ken Chan DTM. When I heard his name first, the first this came to my mind was Acronym. And I was spot on.  He inspired us about the 4Ls – Learn, Lead, Lend & Love. Oh boy! A perfect invocation speech for an inspiring night.

The ambience was set for the evening. I could hear a light background music being played in the restaurant downstairs which had a soothing effect on the atmosphere. Next, Ron Yeap ACB was in front of the audience for the welcome address, a speech which reflected the Immediate Past President’s hospitality for the guests, gratitude to the previous EXCO’s and the greetings to the new EXCO’s. After that, the Area Director Lai Yoong Hean, ACB, ALB was given the stage for his opening address.

Then we moved on to the appreciation session. First, the club expressed its gratitude to the sponsor of the event Circle International Holdings Limited. Then the club officers of the term 2016/17 were appreciated. Finally, the achievers of the previous term were appreciated.

Competent Communicator: Ron Yeap, Wendy Sim, Chang Seng San, Mathew Philippose & Ken Chan

Advanced Leader Bronze: Mathew Philippose

Advanced Communicator Bronze: Ron Yeap, Kelvin Chong

Advanced Leader Silver: Dr. Thilla

Distinguished Toastmaster: Dr. Thilla

Finally, the most awaited moments of the night has arrived, the installation ceremony. Distinguished Toastmaster Lakhmichand was the Installing Officer. He started the ceremony with discharging the previous term officers. Then he called the new officers to the stage and one-by-one they were asked to come to the front to take the oath for their respective positions by holding the gavel in the left hand and putting the right hand up with the palm facing the audience. It was an exhilarating experience for everyone sitting there. After the officer’s oath, the members of the club were asked to take the oath to support the new officers for the new term. Then, the Toastmaster Officer’s pins were given to the new officers.

The session ended with the new President Wendy Sim’s Presidential address in which she highlighted her visions for the club and how she and her team are going to achieve that.

Up next, buffet time. I was literally famished after that session. I turned around and saw an array of delicious looking dishes being put on the table. To be honest, the food was more delicious than it looked.

After the dinner, it was time for the game session “Fun & Joy” hosted by Manish Jha CC. The game was really exciting. We played two games:

Game 1: Taboo- A word guessing game in which a representative of the team has to tell something except that particular word and his/her team will guess the exact word which he was trying to convey.

Game 2: Calling friend- It was designed to make our brain attentive and sharp. In this game we call a friend’s name by looking at them and pointing finger to a different person. The participant was eliminated if they did not call out a name within 2 seconds or pointed and looked at the same person thereby calling their name. Both the games were interesting and educational in their own terms. I was happy was that I was one among the three persons standing until the end of the game.

Next was the entertaining speech session by our entertaining speaker Geoff Andrew DTM, who entertained us by taking us back to the days when Money Mastery KL TM club was being formed. For a newbie like it was exciting to hear the story of my club in such an entertaining manner. Following that, the ex-District Director Thiagarajah Nesan was given the air time in which he appreciated the contributions of the club.

The next session was to appreciate the role players for the event, followed by the Award to Best performers of 2016/17. Chitirra Amirthalingam was awarded the Outstanding Enthusiasm Award for her enthusiastic approach towards the club. Manish Jha CC was presented with the Outstanding Service & Leadership Award for his commitment and service for the club. And finally Ken Chan DTM was awarded the Toastmaster of the Year award.

At the end of this session, I saw a charming lady from the restaurant bringing a delicious looking cake to the stage. Yes, it was the cake which was about to be cut to mark the 15^th anniversary of Money mastery KL Toastmasters club. Everybody posed for a group photo and the finally the cake was cut for my relief.

That was it. That fantastic night had came to an end. The event filled my heart and the dishes filled my stomach, and the last bite of the cake did the finishing touch. Everybody left the venue putting their beliefs in the new club officers, so did the new Excos. I arrived at Jam Factory with empty hands and going back with the responsibility of VPPR on the one hand and penning down this blog on the other and hope in our new team of Excos to take this club to the next .

Like Andy Dufresne said to Red:

"Hope is a good thing, may be the best of things. And no good thing ever dies."

My appreciation to everyone for making this event a grand success. Full photos for the event can be viewed here and here. We will soon see some more thoughts and descriptive writings in the meetings to come for the new term. 

Looking forward for members' writings.

From,

Shain Anand

Role Players

Organizing Chair: Ron Yeap, ACB

Installation Officer: Lakhmichand, DTM

TME: Kevin Khoo, CC

Invocation Speaker: Ken Chan, DTM

“The Entertaining Speaker”: Geoff Andrew, DTM

Game Master: Manish Jha, CC

Sergeant-at-arms:

1) EK Yep, CC, CL

2) Lee Li Eng

3) Joel Silas

Timer: Serena Kong, ACB

Photographer: Chitirra

Blog Writer: Shain Anand

Credits: Reviewer Mather Philippose CC ALB

Special mention to Serena Kong & Ron Yeap for selecting this beautiful venue for the event.

#385 Pathway

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. – Laozi

Keeping in mind Laozi’s inspiring words, we, Money Mastery KL, started the new term’s first meeting with a bang. As Toastmasters International is on the verge of implementing Pathways, we decided to use Pathway as the Theme of the Day for our 385th meeting. As the new club officers had taken charge for the first time, the electrifying atmosphere was palpable.

The ASAA of the meeting was Mandy Chan. But, due to some work related reasons, she was unable to make it on time. Hence, Manish Kumar Jha, CC took charge of the meeting as acting ASAA and called the meeting to order at 7:15 PM.

As usual, the ASAA narrated the house rules and helped to recite the Toastmaster’s Promise. Thereafter, he invited the new President Wendy Sim CC to the dais to give her first President’s address of the term. Oh boy, everyone present there welcomed her with a thunderous applause!

Initially, she looked a little tensed but she gathered her composure and led like a pro. Then, she Invited the Grammarian, Chitirra, to introduce the Word of the Day, Palpable, which means visible or noticeable. After that, everyone present there were asked to introduce themselves using the word of the day. 

Subsequently, the President handed the meeting over to the Toastmaster of the Evening (TME), Mathew Philippose CC, ALB. Like always, he imparted his energy into the meeting and everyone present there. He started with giving a brief introduction about the History of Toastmasters International. After that, he went on to introduce the role players for the meeting

1.  Grammarian: Chitirra
2. "Ah Counter”: Shain Anand
3. Timer: Joel Silas
4. General Evaluator: Lee Meng Tze, DTM

Up next, it was the time where the Invocation Speaker Ron Yeap, ACB, our Immediate Past President, inspired the members for the meeting. 

The clock striked 7:55 PM and it was time for the impromptu session, but in a Toastmaster’s dictionary, it is termed as Table TopicsTM Session. With our Table TopicsTM Master Serena Kong ACB on stage, following guests took up the challenge to speak on the prepared topics about the theme of the day ‘Pathway’.

After that exciting session, the TME took us to the Assigned Speech session. 

Speaker 1: Ken Chan DTM. He was doing his first project from the CC manual. This was the 8th time he was doing his CC manual and we could see that perfection in his speech. He shared stories from his childhood in an inspiring way. He was given a standing ovation for the ice breaker speech as per the club culture.

Speaker 2:  Yap Ooi Yee. She was doing her 7th project from the CC manual. Her speech was all about how Google’s creations have changed the world and made our lives easier. Her research on Google gave everyone a better insight on Google. 

Speaker 3:  Foo Fung Jiun. He has reached the 9th project from the CC Manual. His speech was about handling emotions at work. The points he made during the speech would have definitely persuaded everyone present there to implement the tricks he suggested.

Speaker 4: CP Lau ACB, ALB. He was doing his 2nd speech from the Advanced Communication Manual. His speech was about his travelling buddy who helped him to plan his trip in an effective way. The travelling buddy was none other than Google Maps. He shared about the different options that Google Maps provides.

After the assigned speech session, a short break was taken for everyone to have some refreshments. After ten minutes, ASAA of the meeting, Mandy Chan called the meeting to order and handed over the control to General Evaluator Lee, Meng Tze, DTM. She invited a string of evaluators and role players for the evaluation session.

Ron Yeap, ACB was the first to present his evaluation on the Table TopicsTM speeches. Like his invocation speech, his evaluation was also inspiring to the speakers as he pointed out their strong points and the areas of improvement.

Next, the assigned speech evaluators Manish Jha CC, EK Yeo CC, CL, Hj. Hashim DTM and Tan Ben Hoe CTM, CL were invited to present their evaluation on the assigned speeches. Their constructive evaluations not only motivated the speakers, but also helped other members present there.

Then, the role players of the meeting, i.e. Grammarian, Ah Counter and Timer, presented their respective reports. The General Evaluator then summarized the meeting as a whole and gave her feedback about the meeting. With that, she handed over the control to the TME for the remaining sessions. 

TME invited the President Wendy Sim to give away the awards for the best performers. 

Best Table Topics Speaker: Mary

Best Speaker: Ken Chan, DTM

Best Evaluator: Hj. Hashim, DTM

A token of appreciation for our General Evaluator, Lee Meng Tze, DTM

Finally, the President gave her closing address and the meeting was adjourned.

A group photo to capture the 385th Meeting on frames.

By the way, it was Foo Fung Jiun's Birthday as well.

Important Dates:

New Club Officer’s installation and 15th Club Anniversary: July 22nd 2017

Humorous Speech & Evaluation Contests: July 25th 2017

Special Mentions: Chitirra (Reviewer)

Meeting #384 All's Well that Ends Well

Money Mastery-KL Toastmasters has completed 384 meetings since inception. This day 29^th June 2017 is very special to the club because it is the end of term.  As usual members starts streaming into the meeting as early as 6.30pm.  The Assistant Sergeant At Arms(SAA) Chong Ji Sheng struck gavel at 7.15pm and the meeting was called to order.

As usual the SAA spelled out the house rules and led the group to recite the Toastmasters Promise. He then invited the President Ron Yeap for the opening address to the sound of applause.

This was a very emotional and historical meeting not only for our President Ron Yeap but also for our club as give farewell to our 15^th President since inception. The President welcomed our General Evaluator Advance Communicator Silver, Advance Leader Bronze(ACS, ALB) Alan Wong. The President drew the attention of the club of its achievements of the club for the term. He thanked all who contributed to help the term session to end well.  The President announced that the theme of the day was  “All's Well that Ends Well”.  Surely he says the club did well and it will end well.   He said this meeting is going to be the climax of term.  He then invited the Grammarian Shain Anand to introduce the word of the day. As the Grammarian introduced Moxie as the Word of the Day with its meaning energy, courage and determination. The word charged and ignited the club to use the word, Moxie. The President than extended the invitation to all those seated at the meeting to introduce themselves using the theme and the Word of the Day.

Which such a charged atmosphere the President handed the meeting over to the ToastMaster of the Evening (TME) Mathew Philippose who welcomed the club members. Normally in our meetings the TME introduce the history of Toastmasters, however as there was no non-toastmaster guests, he went on straight to introduce the role-players for the meeting. These role-players give an essence to the meeting, the Grammarian, Toastmaster Shain Anand, the Ah Counter, Toastmaster Yap Ooi Yee, The Timer, Competent Communicator Wendy Sim and the General Evaluator Alan Wong ACS, ALB.

The TME took the liberty also to facilitate the role of Humour Master. Distinguished Toastmaster Haji Hashim Adnan volunteered to share some humorous stories that brought the club to laughter.  The TME added a few humorous moments he encountered in the club.

With an uplifting atmosphere, the TME invited the table topics master FooFung Jiun.  The Table topics Master invited members for this impromptu session. There was an overwhelming response with the following members Mathew, Chong Ji Sheng, Ron Yeap and Yap Ooi Yee. Each captured the audience with their unique impromptu speeches. The table topics were related to love experiences blended with the theme of the day.

As the TME took over we saw a string of young buddy speakers take the stage. The first speaker was Mandy Chan, she may be shy, but she captured the audience with description of various types of beauty. Her speech was titled, "Lover of beauty”.

It is her third attempt from the Competent Communication Manual.  Mandy surely had improved much from the first speech she delivered at our club. Her speech began to flow like water from her mouth equipped with quotations, humour and examples with vivid description.

The second Speaker Chittira Amirthalingam well used the stage through her body movements expressing her story she was speaking.  She displayed body movements as she attempted her fifth speech on the topic “Body Speaks”. As she appeared on the stage she echoed the screams and facial expression in her speech titled “Poach the Roach”.

She was talking about cockroaches and her experiences. It was an interesting speech. In fact she had the privilege to have her father who came just before  her speech was due. It is very rare to have a family member to witness our speech.

Our final speaker was toastmaster Joel Silas, who had a captivating title “What the world looks for” I should say he is a fluent speaker. This speech is his sixth speech on the topic, “Vocal Variety”.  Joel Silas has a cheerful countenance as he speaks.

During his speech he caught the attention of the audience by asking some simple questions that can make the audience respond easily. Joel with a glowing smile gave a challenging speech “what the world looks for” as he created awareness through his speech.

The meeting was adjourned for a break. There was an array of food to experience during the break. The meeting was soon convened with the ASAA Ji Sheng calling the meeting to order. Toastmaster Ji Sheng handed over the meeting to the Toastmaster of the Evening Mathew. The TME welcomed everyone back to second part of the meeting. It is time for evaluation and feedback, it is valuable time as we learn how to improve ourselves.  To help in this session we invited our General Evaluator Alan Wong to preside over this session. 

The Table Topics Master Advanced Communicator Bronze Serena Kong was the first to be called to present her evaluation, she gave a very uplifting evaluation for each speaker pointing their strength and areas of improvements.  This evaluation helps us to know how to speak in any situation when we are called upon to say something for a few minutes in any event.

Soon we moved on to our next session in evaluation for prepared speeches. The evaluators Competent Communicator Manish Ja , Distinguished Toastmaster Haji Hashim Adnan and Distinguished Toastmaster Dr Thilla Chelliah came up to give their respective evaluations as they were called upon to the stage.  The general evaluator gave encouraging remarks to add value to the evaluations.

The next phase of the evaluations was to hear how well the club did  in our usage of language and grammar, was there any speech crutches and did we keep up to the time in each section.  In Toastmasters it is not sufficient to do well in activities in our club but we learn how to be a master of time also.  Our role players Grammarian Shain Anand, Ah Counter  Ooi Yee and Timer Wendy Sim all spelled out how well we did.

Finally the General evaluator summed up the meeting giving us valuable thoughts to lead the club to a greater height for the future. Has he handed over the meeting to the TME Mathew the club applauded for invaluable advise by the General Evaluator.

The TME invited  President Ron Yeap to give away the Awards for the best performers. The club voted for each session and now is the time to witness who won the awards. The Best Table Topics performance fell on none other but the President himself. So the TME Mathew presented it to the President. It is such a befitting honour that the President was voted the Best Table topics Award on his last day in office. The Best Speech Evaluator award went to Distinguished Toastmaster Haji Hashim who had been a the best evaluator many times before. The Best Speech Award was given to the smiling face Chittira Amirthalingam.

The awards of the day were given away and the TME handed the meeting over to the President for the closing address.  After the President gave the announcements he gave an excellent outstanding speech. The speech was such a splendour, and all the members stood up to give the President a standing ovation.

In the history of the club each person stands for the president only once in his life time. Thus we have witnessed the 15^th President of the club who led the club to President Distinguished Status.

It is truly glamorous as we seeing him stepping down. Our next meeting on 11^th July will be presided by our President Elect Wendy Sim.  There will be an installation meeting of the new Office bearers 22^nd July 2017.  Money Mastery-KL Toastmasters club has shaped many people to be effective communicators, speakers and leaders. The club is proud to continue its legacy in the years to come as an outstanding club.

Sincerely,

Thanks to the Team,
Manish Jha, CC
Money Mastery –KL Toastmasters Club
Vice President Public Relations 2016/2017

P/S: 

Thank you so much to the whole team including writer -Mathew P. CC ALB, editor, reviewer and critics to provide your timely sincere support and feedback to keep up the good work.