From the desk of VPPR

22 May 2006 is not another ordinary club meeting but it is the 9th Annual General Meeting for Speakers’ Dream Toastmasters Club. Most of the Past Presidents were present to support this important event. Who else was there??

New members like Mohd Nor, King Thim and Alfred came to support the 9th Annual General Meeting. Our committee member Sabapathy wanted so much to come and support the AGM and to present his 8th speech but due to unforeseen circumstances at the last minute. Then we have our long lost member Mohd Ariff who finally made it to the AGM despite his busy schedule for meetings at the office. Celine T eh, DTM, despite her busy schedule also came to support the AGM by volunteering to take up the role as Parliamentarian. Our Treasurer took leave to attend the AGM cos it is impossible for her to attend the AGM after work. There are also other members who were quietly managing their stress level at work but gave their dedication and commitment to the club by showing support this evening.

Speakers’ Dream Toastmasters Club is indeed a fortunate club, well endowed with committed members and with full support by Past Presidents.

It was a smooth sailing AGM with the election of the new Executive Committee Members and they were :-

President - Gwendoline Gwee, CL
VP Education - Robert Hue, CTM
VP Membership - Chow Mun Yuen, CTM
VP Public Relations - Mohd Ariff, CTM
Secretary - Mohd Nor, TM
Treasurer - Ismail Fahmy, CTM
SAA - Choo Yew Fai, TM
Committee Members - Alfred Koh, CTM
Ong Siew Chien, DTM

Incoming President Gwendoline gave an impressive speech and acknowledged the dedication of mentors, Past Presidents plus seek the support of all members to make Speakers Dream Toastmasters Club, a stronger club for the betterment of community.

Before the AGM, we had the club meeting where our Club President Kam Peng presented the Best Speakers Series entitled “Take the terror out of the talk”. She shared with us, the breathing techniques and exercises for relaxation. The next speaker was Siew Chien, DTM who attempted assignment number 2 from the C&L manual with her title “Georgia” where she spoke of her sister’s pampered dog imported from Australia and lead a life where a small percentage of the dogs in the world were enjoying life on planet earth.

The next club meeting is on 12 June 2006, the EXCO would certainly urge all members to attend and share plus network.

From Ong Siew Chien, DTM.

Annual General Meeting - 22 May 2006

Below is the inaugural and inspiring speech presented by the in-coming President, Gwen Gwee, CTM.

Good Evening Fellow Toastmasters, I am very honoured today to be elected the President of Speakers Dream Toastmasters Club for 2006/2007. Let me share with you a bit of my Toastmasters History.

After having surveyed a few clubs, I joined IBBM TM club in Jan 2000. Unlike some of our fellow members who took Toastmastering like duck in the water the minute they signed up, it was definitely a love / hate affair for me. Love because I knew Toastmasters program offers the best value for money in self-development especially in the Communication and Leadership skills. But hate because speaking had never been my forte. I always have butterflies in my stomach every time I turn up for a meeting but I assure you after much practice the butterflies are flying in formation. That is because we have such a fantastic and supportive club environment.

I started as a Committee member, A Treasurer, a Secretary, Vice President Membership and with much encouragement/support from our DTM Ong Siew Chien I took up the post of Vice President Education.

To be or not to be – This is a question we had encountered very often in the course of our life. It had been said –To be Ordinary is easy but to be a little bit Extraordinary requires commitment and lots of insider’s job. Sometimes we cannot afford not to be, if we astay put, we atrophied. That is what Life is meant to be, creating a better you so that we can find Our Voice and Serve Our world. In the club, changes often does not occur instantly, it is through a series of invisible actions like:-

A word of encouragement
A comment that something said is interesting, meaningful, inspiring etc.
A push to next assignment / to come out of your comfort zone
A push to take up new roles.
People who rally you on.
Giving feedbacks for improvement.

With this I would like to acknowledge the contributions of the mentors / advisers for the club, DTM K.Loghandran, DTM Celine Teh, DTM Ong Siew Chien, all the Past Presidents, and also the Past VPEs. A big thank you to all of you for your contribution, advice, expertise ,encouragement and support. And to all club members, you do make a difference, without you there will be no club.

By functional default as a VPE, I am now President of the Club and I look forward to build a strong club with all your continuous support. Together as a Team we shape a better world , a better Speakers Dream Toastmasters Club and more important a better US.

With that, I hand over the control back to the President.