Joint Toastmasters Meeting of Bayan Baru with Singapore Toastmasters from Tampines Changkat, Tampines Changkat Advanced, Brilliant Advanced Clubs

What an extraordinary meeting on April 7, 2011 Thursday night from 8pm until past midnight as Bayan Baru Toastmasters Club of Penang island hosted a joint meeting teeming with visiting Toastmasters from Singapore, primarily Tampines Changkat, Tampines Changkat Advanced, Brilliant Advanced and other clubs from Singapore and Penang island. My apologies - photos are blur but you can still make up and sense the excitement, enthusiasm and camaraderie.

Click on photo for larger view



There were 3 Club Presidents to jointly lead the meeting - Goh Hock Hai of Bayan Baru, Coen Tan of Tampines Changkat and Julie Ng of Tampines Changkat Advanced.



There were four fearless and fearsome project speakers, starting with Terence Lee of Bayan Baru doing Project 3.



Linda Huang of Tampines Changkat doing Project 9.



Teh Ghim Hong of Bayan Baru doing Project 6.



Coen Tan of Tampines Changkat doing Project 10, completing his Competent Communicator. Congratulations.



Toastmaster of the Evening was Margaret Chan of Bayan Baru. Thought of the Day was given by Eileyn Chua, VPE of Bayan Baru. Word of the Day was Lim Seh Leng of Brilliant Advanced. Humorist was Ong Swee Keat of Bayan Baru.



There were 8 brave speakers for the Table Topics session led by Rosalind Chan of Bayan Baru. Table Topics evaluation was done by Chong Cheng Lee of Tampines Changkat. Timer was Jack Ch'ng of Bayan Baru, Ah Counter was Lim Kar Ying of Bayan Baru and Grammarian was Lim Seh Leng of Brilliant Advanced.



Project evaluators were Michael Wee of Tampines Changkat/Tampines Changkat Advanced, John Yeoh of Bayan Baru, Constance Yip of Tampines Changkat/Tampines Changkat Advanced and Michael Xavier of Bayan Baru.



Coen Tan of Tampines Changkat was voted best project speaker, TK Mah of Bayan Baru was best Table Topics speaker and Michael Xavier was best Project Evaluator.



The meeting was graced by current District 51 Governor Thannimalai of YMCA Penang Toastmasters Club and his team of District Offers as well Past District 80 Governor Michael Wee of Tampines Changkat/Tampines Changkat Advanced and Past District 51 Governor SL Liew of Bayan Baru.



Tonight was like a deja vu. Back in 1996, newly chartered Bayan Baru members assisted me to organize a joint meeting of Penang and Singapore Toastmasters hosted by Butterworth Toastmasters at the Tanjung Club, Penang island. Visiting Singapore Toastmasters included Kevin Ong, Augustine Lee, Aileen Tan, Christopher Teoh, Lilian Lau, Aziz Mustajab and many others. Last year, Bayan Baru under IPDG Jessica Teo organized a trip to Southern Thailand for a joint meeting with Hatyai Songkhla Toastmasters. Tonight, Bayan Baru under President Goh Hock Hai had successfully hosted a historic joint meeting between Bayan Baru and Singapore Toastmasters. Well done!

Postcard greetings from Australia

A nice postcard of Sleeping Koala sent from our Bayan Baru Toastmasters member Terence Lee and Jasmine, who were visiting Western Australia. Thanks - I am an avid postcard collector.

The cute koala is not unlike the equally cute panda. Both koala and panda does eat a lot and sleep a lot to maximize slow digestion eucalyptus and bamboo leaves respectively and minimize use of energy.

Are you a koala-like Toastmaster? Wake up after your nap and strive now to achieve your personal and club goals. Be cute as a sleeping koala but at same time be active like a roaring tiger.

Postcards from Toastmasters Worldwide

I started to collect and exchange postcards with Toastmasters and Toastmasters Clubs worldwide. Here are some received so far. If you can send me a postcard, let me know and I will email my address.

Postcard 1
Greetings from Best Odessa Speakers Club @Odessa, Ukraine




Postcard 2
Greetings from a Toastmasters Club @Bahamas





Postcard 3
Greetings from Aura Toastmasters Club @ Niamey, Niger





Postcard 4 
Greetings from a Toastmasters Club @Amman City, Jordan




Postcard 5 
Greetings from Everest Toastmasters Club @Kathmandu, Nepal

Bayan Baru Toastmasters Club Achieved 7th and 8th DCP Goal

I attended Bayan Baru Toastmasters Club March 3, 2011 Meeting.

Good news: The Club achieved the Distinguished Club Program 7th and 8th goals.

1) Sergeant-At-Arms Jack Ch'ng achieved a Competent Leader

2) Club inducted 4 more members, reinstatement of Ong Ching Seng and new members Faiezah, Mr and Mrs. Ho.

Visiting Toastmaster from Down Under

An email from a visiting Toastmaster from Australia:
"It was truly a delight to attend the meeting of Bayan Baru Toastmasters Club. One of the members John set the scene, when he asked me whether I came on a kangaroo when he found out I came from Australia.

As I was given the role of Humorist, I siezed on this opportunity and began with, John asked me whether I came on a kangaroo, when he found out I came from Australia. "So sorry lah," I said to BBTMC, "I rode in on a lion," and they roared with laughter. I had concerns when I was preparing my act, about sprinkling in Bahasia Malaysia and my own dialect, Hokkien and mentioned it in the beginning. "May I use words like 'si kui kia' and 'orang puteh'? The response was positively yes. Not having spoken in a toastmasters club outside Australia before, I was cautious about the rules. And also Penang was my hometown and I grew up in this lovely island until I moved to Australia. Can one forget the unique lingo spoken locally? Naturally not. I thought it would be fun to be able to transform into my old way of speaking, which is a mix of English, and other local languages and I asked for permission first, which to me was the obvious thing to do. The members were very warm and agreeable and made me feel very welcome that the concerns I had went whoosh out the window as swiftly as they appeared in my thoughts.

Overall I am extremely glad that I visited the club. BBTMC is a very dynamic club and I will definitely have a speech about my experience, the warmth of the club members and also amazingly public holidays including the first day of Chinese New Year, are of no hindrance to club meetings. This situation is rare if none at all in Sydney. If anyone can let me know that there are clubs in Australia which meet on public holidays, I'd be interested to know.

I am very grateful to Eilyen for giving me the Humorist role and all the club members for giving me such a warm reception. You've made my trip back to Penang memorable.

Gong Xi Fa Cai to everyone.

Shirley Childs"

Last Thursday, January 20, 2011 was Thaipusam -a state public holiday. The usual club meeting venue, Penang Skills Development Center, is closed during public holidays. But Bayan Baru Toastmasters, in keeping with the tradition of never cancelling or postponing a club meeting even on public holidays, held the club meeting at a different venue at Krystal Point II, Bayan Baru. Long live BBTMC.

On holiday in Penang, Shirley Childs, a Penang-born Toastmaster from Sydney, Australia joined the meeting as a visiting Toastmaster and even played the role of humorist. Shirley took part in the Table Topics session and won the best table topic speaker award. Bravo.

As Toastmasters International is an international organization, visiting a local Toastmasters club when travelling in a foreign county is a rewarding experience. For Shirley, it was the first time, she had spoken in a Toastmasters club outside of Australia.

Personally, I have attended Toastmasters club meeting in various countries, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, USA, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and different states in Malaysia. It is a great way to meet local Toastmasters and to enjoy an evening of sharing, laughter and fellowship.

So the next time you travel, check the club directory in Toastmasters International homepage and visit a local Toastmasters club if you can . Toastmasters is truly international.

Breaking News: Bayan Baru 2011 International Speech and Table Topic Contests Results

Both contests were held together on Thurday night, January 6, 2011 at Penang Skills Development Center the usual club meeting venue on the first club meet of the new year.

The Chief Judge was N2 Area Governor Seah Yeow Ngee. I was one of the judges with the rest of the judges from other clubs. There is no contest rule that judges will be anonymous - anyway, it was easy to know who were the judges when voting ballots were collected.

Lee Sze Kuang was the International Speech Contest Chair with Goh Hock Hai as his last minute stand in while Jack Ch'ng was the Table Topics Contest Chair. Jessica Teo was the Toastmaster of the Evening. Timers were Lim Kar Ying and Lau Choon Mei. Tally Counters were Wong Wai Leng and Lim Wei Sheng, Table Topics Contest Sergeant-At-Arm was Kenny Ngoh and registration was Teh Ghim Hong.

The contestants for International Speech contestants, in speaking order, were Jack Ch'ng, Margaret Chan, Eileyn Chua, Terence Lee and John Yeoh. Unfortunately, one contestant was disqualified on time.

The topic for the Table Topics contest was "Women spends more money than men in their lives. Do you agree?". The contestants in speaking order were Terence Lee, Eileyn Chua, Margaret Chan, Chew Yoon Seng, Ong Swee Keat, John Yeoh and Au Wai Yin. Great news - there was no time disqualification.

Congratulations to all. All contestants are already winners.

Here are the top three winners. Drum rolls. The top two will represent Bayan Baru Toastmasters at the N2 Area Contests in February, 2011.

Bayan Baru Toastmasters Club International Speech Contest 2011
1st - Terence Lee
2nd - Eileyn Chua
3rd - John Yeoh




Bayan Baru Toastmasters Club Table Topics Contest 2011
1st - Terence Lee
2nd - Ong Swee Keat
3rd - Au Wai Yin

The Toastmaster Magazine - Do you read? Do you write?

I was spring cleaning for the new year 2011 and found this old magazine dated January 1996. It caught my attention because it had a picture of a white rabbit as 2011 being the Year of the Rabbit in the lunar calendar.

The International President then was Ian Edwards and the theme was "Live, Learn, Lead". I would like to add a twist by asking can you live well, learn well and lead well if you do not read well.

Do you read The Toastmaster Magazine? Do you read your manuals of Club Officer, Club Constitution and By-Laws, Area Governor or District Handbook? Do you read your project manual a few times before you do your projects?

As Toastmasters, while we emphasize listening, thinking and speaking skills, we realize that much of the information and wisdom can be found if we read more.

For leadership and service, writing skill is important too. The articles written in The Toastmaster Magazine are living proofs of sharing and learning through writing. They can be read in 2011 even though they were written in 1996.

Writing whether by email, sms, fb, twitter or traditional printed material is one of the best and fastest way to share information and wisdom to more readers faster, easier and more cost effectively.

So never underestimate the power of your club blog or club newsletter. It has to be written before it can be read.

As Toastmasters, we emphasize on making effective oral communication a worldwide reality. Reading more and writing more, reading better and writing better will help towards achieving this noble goal.

Well, I have already written my first post for 2011 and hope you have read it too.

Toastmasters New Year Resolutions for 2011 Year of the Rabbit

Above are New Year postcards from China and Taiwan. The Year 2011 of the Metal Rabbit is just around the corner and time for new year resolutions to be made. Here is a possible list for Toastmasters at 3 different levels.

I make a resolution to

1.1 Attend club meetings more regularly.
1.2 Try to speak at Table Topics session instead of declining with excuses
1.3 Remember to turn off my mobile and pay attention to the speaker instead of chit chatting with my neighbor.
1.4 Willing to play different roles assigned by Vice President of Education
1.5 Do at least 1 project speech every six months

2.1 Bring a guest to the meeting
2.2 Take part in a speech contest
2.3 Achieve 1 educational award for the term
2.4 Visit another Toastmasters Club
2.5 Attend a District Convention

3.1 Sponsor a new Toastmasters Club
3.2 Campaign to be the next Club President
3.3 Win at the Division level speech contest
3.4 Achieve my Distinguished Toastmaster
3.5 Conduct a Youth Leadership Program

Visiting Shanghai People's Square Toastmasters Club, China on October 26, 2010

This is my third visit to Shanghai People's Square Toastmaster Club. Their current venue is at Finance Square on Jiujiang Road. In my last visit, their club meeting venue was at YMCA at People's Square.

It was October 26, 2010 #347 Club meeting with theme "Online Shopping". The Club meets every Tuesday and Club President is Jolie Hu. Toastmaster of the Evening was Emily Zhu. There were 3 project speakers and an educational session on "Evaluation Tips". The Ah counter also watch out for "gender confusion" as in the Chinese language, "he" or "her" sounds the same and often native Chinese speakers used the wrong gender when speaking in English. There were many walk-in guests including myself. I sat next to a Toastmaster from California who brought his son from Venezuala to attend the meeting. Overall, it was a fantastic meeting, friendly and high educational value. Keep it up PSTMC.

Information: Shanghai People's Square Toastmasters Club
Mobile: 1592 1440 816
Email: secretary@pstmc.org
Website: http://pstmc.org
Blog: http://tmc585.blog.sohu.com
Douban: http://www.douban.com/group/Toastmasters/

Time: 19:10-21:10 Every Tuesday (except public holiday)
Venue: Conference room, 4/F Finance Square, 333 Jiujiang Road
九江路333号金融广场4楼会议室
Metro No.2, East Nanjing Road Station, Exit No.4, turn left side, on the
opposite of the road
地铁二号线，南京东路站4号口，左转，马路对面，进入大厅左面边门电梯上来4楼

District 51 Humorous Speech Contest Winners and Evaluation Contest Winners 2010

In the recent District 51 (Toastmasters Clubs in Peninsular Malaysia) Semi-Annual Convention held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the District 51 Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contests were held. Here are the winners and their photos. Source: District 51 Official Website.


District 51 Humorous Speech Contest 2010
Champion: Ooi Ing Chyuan (Seberang Jaya Toastmasters Club - Division S)
1st Runner Up: Zarina Mustafa (USM Toastmasters Club - Division N)
2nd Runner Up: Lee Xi Wen (TTDI Toastmasters Club - Division W)





District 51 Evaluation Contest 2010
Champion: Muthukumaran Kodiappen (Renesas Semiconductor Toastmasters Club - Division S)
1st Runner Up: Bernard Louis (D'Utama Advanced Toastmasters Club - Division B)
2nd Runner Up: Seetho Whye Kit (TTDI Toastmasters Club - Division W)