KOTA KINABALU TOASTMASTERS CLUB: 20th Meeting (23rd April 2013)

Dear Fellow Toastmasters and Friends,

"Toastmasters does not make you who you want to be, it reveals who you are meant to be."

Last meeting, was one of those meetings that would bring my thumbs up so fast even before I could mouth "Whoah! SO GOOD LAH!" :)

Besides the fact that we had not one, not two but THREE graduation speeches that evening (which I will divulge on later), every single role player did their part exceptionally well, there were some who actually went the extra mile with there roles...

Let's see, we were led by Miss Bubbly and Vivacious herself, Sylvia Maten who came prepared with stars and balloons to decorate the room, made sure we got a "special achievements cake", then led us onto one of those lively evenings and left us reeling with excitement! And there was Dean Ching Yee, who actually prepared some candid power point slides related to his Table Topics questions as he asked them! I thought it was a very subtle, yet creative approach to his Table Topics Session! Good Job Dean!

Then comes the highlight of the evening:

Darvis Chong (CC2 "Anything free is worth what you pay") finally came out of his shell and shared with us how he won an Air Asia flight to Melbourne and he had to quit his unreasonably demanding job just so he could take a break! Amanda Chung, a first timer evaluator did very well too in pointing out his areas for improvement! :)

Vijay Panickar (CC6 "The Power of One") took a different turn in moving the audience to success. Instead of the normal "you should.." approach, he led usVijay's speech!

Nantha Kumar (ACB2 "How to make your dream girl") entertained us thoroughly with his chef-like opening as he picked up herbs and spices, and "chilli padi" for fiesty-ness in his attempt to "bake" the perfect dream girls! In the words of his evaluator, Louis Tham, DTM, it was like we were watching a live cooking show!

Eilvane Chieng (CC10 "My Journey of a Thousand Mile") inspired us with her story, her journey of when she was an obese little girl to how she led herself to fitness with the first step. Few years later, 30 kgs down from her previous weight, she took off her blazer and reveal her slimmer version! To which our dear mama Christine Yap commented "Sexy!" in the most endearing way!

Nora Ridzwan (ACB10 "Finding Love") sent us all roaring with laughter when she declared that she'll be married in May...... but the year to declare later! Charming smile and all, brought all women in the room to agreement as she claimed "women nowadays are independent"

Jasmine Leong (ACG10 "The Journey Never Ends") warmed our hearts as she related to us of how she was first introduced to Toastmasters, of how Toastmasters had helped her discover her true passion and uncovered her hidden talents, and of how her humbling journey in Toastmasters that led her to become a better leader.

"Toastmasters does not make you who you want to be, it reveals who you are meant to be."

And those were the resounding words of from our Jasmine Leong, DTM as she concluded her speech, earning her Distinguished Toastmaster title. The highest award in the Toastmasters Journey! Congratulations!!

As soon as we declared the achievers for the term, our burst the confetti and cakes brought out for a full blast celebration!!

It was the tireless efforts from the members, the EXCO that led us to 9 / 10 DCP goals, officially moving KKTMC to President's Distinguished Club status, all in one night!

We ended our meeting close to 11pm! But with such high and positive energy charge that evening, time was no longer the a concern!

And the only way we know how to wind down from all the excitement was another round of fellowship at Old Town Cafe!

(Honestly hope the waiters there are being paid extra just to serve our boisterous crowd!)

With that, my friends, I hope this was an enjoyable read, and till we meet again on 14 May 2013!

Yours in Toastmasters,

Jamie