We are growing!

Hello everyone, I am 2nd Treasure of Anchorvale CC Toastmaster Club. Let me tell you the feeling after 18 months in this club.  I am very pleased to be part of the EXCO team (Executive Committee Member) since the inception of the club.  The club started in June 2010 with a total of 20 members. I would like to thank Jenny Au, DTM, Mike Woon, CTM-CL, Yeo Chai Tun, DTM for setting up this club.

As a 18 months baby, the club is in the process of learning to walk confidently. During the process of walking, we do fall but we stand up again. This is the way we learn. We are faced with problems, but we never give up.  In the process of making mistakes, we have learned and grow. I have discovered that the only thing constant in life is change. In order for the club to succeed, the club needs to learn to adapt to changes.

In conclusion, I am confident that the club will flourish. The club has a warm and positive culture. The club has a committed and dedicated Exco.  If you are looking for a toastmaster club to join, do come to our club and have a great time with us.

Image from photo bank (Supplied by Kian Keong, author of this article)

Teo Kian Keong

Deputy Treasurer 

Message from our Club President- May Lee

What is communication? Most dictionaries define it along the lines of 
"imparting and exchanging of information", which is essentially what 
humankind has had to do since the dawn of civilisation. It is so much 
a part of the universal psyche and social dynamic that we seldom pause 
to ponder the effectiveness and elegance of our speech. What thus 
results is often a crude and slipshod assembly of imprecise words 
delivered with the enthusiasm of a root canal patient. Many of you 
may argue that that's the Singaporean predisposition towards brevity 
and efficiency, but that is hardly any excuse.



Our world famous local cuisines leave a lingering impression long 
after the initial explosion of flavours in the mouth. Anyone who has 
sampled our proud culinary delights, such as laksa, rojak, chicken 
rice and chilli crab, can attest to our proud and pampered palates, 
finicky taste buds and overindulged olfactory organ that constantly 
crave for multi-sensory stimulation. We, as a nation of exacting 
eaters, demand substance and quality in the stuff we selectively pop 
into our mouths. 


Isn't it time that we apply such exacting standards to the string of 
words that tumble out of this same oral cavity? Why settle for only 
functionality without form, flavour or finesse? Make it fun! 
Incorporate all four elements to impress your audience and deliver 
your message with style.

But as with all new challenges, it takes time and loads of practice to 
make a positive change. My belief is that you can never truly undo an 
old habit without creating a new habit in its place. So if you're 
determined and motivated to improve your communication skills, you 
have to seriously arm yourself with an arsenal of language and 
presentation tools, and immerse yourself in a conducive environment 
that encourages flair in communication.
If that is your personal quest, you've stumbled upon the right place! 
Anchorvale CC Toastmasters Club offers friendly and supportive 
companionship in your journey towards better listening, better 
thinking and better speaking. This three-pronged approach is 
precisely what is needed to improve your communication skills. We 
employ a multitude of proven strategies researched, developed and 
continually fine-tuned by esteemed orators and professional trainers 
within the vast Toastmasters community. We meet regularly to sharpen 
our skills, with special attention paid to the use of vivid 
vocabulary, idea structure, accompanying body gestures, eye contact, 
and vocal variety. Our enthusiastic fellow members and expressive 
evaluators offer essential encouragement to transform you into a 
mesmerising, confident and influential speaker.
The sweetest thing of all is the fact that you don't need to pay an 
arm or a leg to receive the tremendous benefits that I've just 
described. The Toastmasters step-by-step programme is simply the best 
value-for-money communication course available to the general 
populace. There are close to 200 registered Toastmasters clubs in our 
tiny island nation and probably one within a stone's throw of your 
residence or workplace. You may contact any of the community-based 
clubs to arrange for a first-hand glimpse of a regular chapter meeting 
in progress. However, as the current president of Anchorvale CC 
Toastmasters Club, I hope that you will choose to visit and eventually 
join me at this newly chartered club. We are looking to boost our 
membership with gregarious, like-minded people who can fit into our 
close-knit community. Residents of Sengkang, Punggol, Jalan Kayu 
vicinity and their vicinity will especially find it convenient 
attending our regular meetings scheduled on 4th Saturday afternoons.
If you're convinced to check us out, please contact any representative 
of our friendly executive committee for more information on how you 
can join us. Together, we'll spur one another towards greater heights 
in both communication and leadership. I am looking forward to your 
participation in our club activities. See you soon!

Yours truly,

May Lee - Competent Communicator 
President of Anchorvale Toastmasters Club

Speech Craft for Anchorvale Toastmasters Club- 3 Dec & 10 Dec

The first part of our club's SpeechCraft program had a kick-start at 9.30am on Saturday, 10 November 2011. We have invited Sanjeev Gathani to help spearhead the 2 parts course. 

Sanjeev is an experienced public speaker and trainer. He has been conducting workshops across Asia and always delivers them with great pride, passion, energy and dynamism. Throughout more than 10 years of active involvement in the Toastmasters movement, Sanjeev has participated and won many speech contests in both the International Prepared Speech and Impromptu Speech categories.
A brilliant communicator with a heart of gold, Sanjeev volunteers his time at schools and religious organisations. He believes in the power of effective communication and seeks to empower more people to speak better.  


As a community effort in engaging the residents of our neighborhood, we have decided to absorb all costs and offer the workshop to our participants on a complimentary basis.  


Here are some feedback we received from the randomly chosen participants; 
Merlin Su, Sanjeev's colleague,  "I never knew Sanjeev is so talented. His toastmaster's journey must have helped him leaps and bounds."   (Merlin joined us as member shortly afterwards. Bravo!)
Yvonne Ang (our new member), "I like it here, the club can help me to improve on my communication skill."  
Jason Chung, an expatriate from Hong Kong, "I really enjoyed myself.  The training program is so well-planned and executed, it surprised me that it wasn't charged at market rate."  
Wee Kiat, a resident from Pasir Ris, "The learning opportunity here is unlimited, I will join Anchorvale Toastmasters Club as a member after my work schedule let-up a little, in January."  
We are glad to announce that 2 more members had hopped on our club's bandwagon;  Tan Leng Leng and Sanjay Das.   A warm welcome to all our new members!  Lets look forward to having lots of fun and friendships ahead! 

May Lee (Club President) awarding a certificate of appreciation to our 

Speech Craft trainer, Sanjeev Gathani

Roger Yap
VPPR

18th Chapter Meeting- 26th November 2011

On Saturday 26 November, it is our 18th chapter meeting for Anchorvale Toastmaster Club.
We had the pleasure to have the company of several visitors with us; Mike Woon (Cairnhill TMC), Chee Yong Wei (Hong Kah TMC), Jean Ng (Eloquentia TMC) and Yan Lin (ACE TMC)

The winner for the Table topic segment is Chee Yong Wei.  He shared with us his experience as the first ever coupier with the Marina Bay Sand's casino, and won the support of his listeners.

The best evaluator ribbon went to Jean Ng, and the blue ribbon for best prepared speech was won by Venkatachalam Ekambaram.  

15th Chapter Meeting- 24 September 2011

Snippet of the our club members in action.

14th Chapter Meeting on Saturday, 27th August 2011

27 August, Saturday was the first-ever election day in our national history to vote for the President of Singapore.  While most of us had to visit the respective designated polling stations in the morning to cast our votes,  we still managed to get a near 100% attendance during our chapter meeting. 

All thanks to John Sih and May Lee who reacted promptly when they realised that our defacto conference room at Anchorvale Community Centre will not be available.  May approached DTM Fernando Young, who generously offered us with the use of his meeting room at AIA Changi absolutely on a free. 

It was a great pleasure to have the company of the following friends and guests;
DTM Fernando Young, DTM Lee Jin Hwui, DTM Patricia Lum, ACS/CL John Liew, ACS Wong Kok Wah, ACB/CL Coen Tan, CC Wong Foong Yin, CC Shaun Li, CC Ted Chong and other guests who had graciously shown us their relentless support.

Jin Hwui began his highly-anticipated workshop on the Table Topics.  Having won the contest on Table Topics last year, he has a wealth of experience and knowledge to impart to us, his secrets to succeeding in speaking off the cuffs.  When Jin Hwui threw down the gauntlet, 6 members of the audience accepted his challenge;  Zulkifri, Ted Chong, May Lee, Clarissa Sih, Roger Yap and John Liew volunteered to brave the spotlight on the stage.  And the winner is....... drums rolling.... Clarissa Sih! The protege of our Club President. 

The prepared speech segment started on time right after our refreshment break.  Sathiya, Bernard, Steven and Roger delivered their individual masterpiece.  In the end, everyone was a winner. The mastery over self-doubts, stage-fright and shyness is reason enough to call each of them a champion. Listening to the speech evaluations after that, further helped to sharpen our linguistic blades. The Best Evaluator award went to DTM Patricia Lum.

Folks, celebrating members' birthday is a well-liked practice in Anchorvale Toastmasters Club.

Happy birthday to Clarissa (in blue shirt) and Mark!

Next up.  Language Evaluation by a learned gentleman. This guy is a good speaker.  This guy is a highly-cultured individual.  This guy is humble as the morning sun right before dawn.  
He is..... the one and only... Coen Tan!   It is really beyond me to try documenting his evaluation. Geez, I better not stain his meticulous work.  All I can comment is that, rarely do we get the good fortune to meet a spellbinder who holds our attention while addressing issues relevant to us.  Well, the wizard came!  (In a black suit)

Towards the end of our chapter meeting, our club president presented a special award to our beloved VPE, May Lee.  May had been, still is and always will be the backbone of our club.  Hmm... to paint a more definitive picture to those who have yet to meet her.  To the members of Anchorvale Toastmasters Club, she is like Arsene Wenger of Arsenal FC.  Full of wisdom, vision and clever maneuvers for the benefits of our team. 

May Lee receiving her Competent Communicator ribbon from Club President, John Sih.

2 new members joined us at the chapter meeting.  Let us welcome onboard our bandwagon;  Rajesh Mathew and Venkatachalam Ekambaram.  Cheers!

Few things in life are more satisfying and confidence building than to experience like-minded people intently listening to you as you deliver your speech.  If you wish to grab the opportunity to improve your speaking ability or to meet new friends, do join us at our next event on Saturday 2pm, 10th September.


Roger Yap
VPPR

Message from our President (former)

Making Bandung

Bandung – a local drink, is a mixture of Water, Rose Syrup and Milk. Just like a Toastmasters Club – Some members are like Life-Giving water. They provide basic support like turning up early for meetings and helping out with setting up the room for a conducive meeting, buying refreshments, making sure our conference room is booked and reserved for our monthly meetings, filling in by holding appointments (at the 11th hour), during meetings when some members cannot turn up due to unforseen circumstances.

Some members are just like Rose Syrup. They add colour and flavour to our meetings. They are the Life of The Party types! They are entertaining speakers, adding humour and fun to our meetings. Some are sweet – adding their Smiles, Warmth and Friendliness! While others are like Milk! They add Nutrition to our meetings! Knowledgeable Intellectuals, Experienced, Professionals and Well Educated, they add depth and width to our understanding about a wide variety of topics! They are open and willing to share their wealth of knowledge and experience. They add Substance and Quality to our meetings!

As the President of the club, my job is like a Stirrer. As I stir, I am able to mix all these 3 elements; Integrating, Gelling and Uniting all our members, to become a Cohesive Force – A Formidable Team - Like Sweet, Nutritious, Delicious, Thirst - Quenching Bandung!

John Sih

President

Club Officers Training- Division A (16th July 2011)

It is so typical of people to expect their organization or government to provide for everything they need. But how often do we ask ourselves what could we have done for them instead.  Only with a grateful attitude, would we be able to fully appreciate the things that we have been freely given.

On the 16th July 2011, the Division and Area Governors of District 80, Division A, organized a highly effective training programme for the newly elected officers.  Every attending officer was given a set of guidebook that was meticulously put together by the dedicated volunteers. The 46-pages thick guidebook contains essential information and articles that are important to every toastmaster.  Having gone through the entire guidebook, I have tagged several pages for quick reference in the future.  Kudos to the organizing committee. And when it comes to our turn to serve, we should all give our best to ensure this good practise never ceases.

Lets' recognise and express our sincere thanks to the following Toastmasters;

1)   Michael J Rodrigues, DTM : District Governor
2)   Patrick Oei, DTM : District Governor, Education and Training 
3)   Pradeep Kumar, DTM: District Governor Marketing
4)   Yeo Chai Tun, DTM: Advisor to Div A
5)   Fernando Young, DTM: Advisor to Div A
6)   Albert Lim, DTM: Advisor to Div A
7)   M. Harikrishnan, ACS/ ALS: Div A Governor
8)   Goh Sor Hoon, ACG/ ALB: District Secretary
9)   Jessica Lee, CC/ CL: Chairperson- COT
10) Morrthiappan Bharathi, ACB/ ALS: Co-organising Chair
11) Rose Ho, ACB/ ALS: Registration & Reception Committee
12) Vasandam Raju, ACB/ CL: Co-ordination & Publication works
13) T.Porchelvi, CC: Co-ordination & Publication works
14) Dakshayani D/O Dhayalan: Design & Publication
15) May Lee, CC:  Time-keeper- COT

7 members of our EXCO team turned up for the training.  John Sih (President), May Lee (VPE), Sathya (VPM), Roger (VPPR), Jenny (Treasurer), Kian Keong (Assistant Treasurer) and Thomas (SAA).

We had a rallying get-together after the event. We really do have a special team this term.  Action speaks louder than words... let us show our fellow toastmasters and our communities, what we could accomplish in a year's time, if we set our mind to it. Whole-heartedly.


Roger Yap
VPPR

Anchorvale Toastmasters Club- 12th Chapter Meeting, 25th June 2011

It has been quite a while since we last gathered at our home turf.  As a team, we visited the Braddell Heights II Toastmasters Club on the 28th May, for a joint meeting.  The last time our members met up at the Anchorvale Boardroom was Saturday 21th May 2011.  That place had certainly lost its shines, without the bunch of linguistic warriors and oral ambassadors holding the fort.

Hey, we are back!   Trust me, we are not the same team as before.  Have you watched 'Kungfu Panda" ?  Well, we have had the 'PO' experience ~ we have been enlightened!  Ready to make some intellectual noise and to rock the Toastmasters' world.  In a month's time, we are going to announce and commission our new EXCO team. We have got 2 "ShiFu" veterans to spearhead us for the next 12 months.  It is really exciting to have John Sih and Jenny Au in our team!

Our 12th Chapter meeting was both a social bonanza and a sold-out performance.  We had the pleasure having distinguished guests, DTM Ng Cher Kim, CC Biman Roy, ACB/ CL Manoj Vasudevan and CC Kevin Tan gracing our event.

We began the meeting with the table topics segment.  A total of 8 courageous speakers took on their individual impromptu challenge.  It was so interesting to hear the quick-wits and eloquence of some good speakers.  We were especially impressed by the sporting spirit shown by our guest, Vereen. Though, it was her first time visiting a Toastmaster club, she took on the challenge and spoke about her belief on "Punctuality".

Our VPE, May Lee, started the prepared speech segment with her spell-binding project 10 topic, "I am not prepared".   Right after her mesmerising performance, Teo Kian Keong and Sathyamoorthi both displayed their oral excellence.

The evaluations on prepared speeches, Language Evaluation (by Kevin Tan) and General Evaluation (by Ng Cher Kim) kept all of us rooted to our chairs.  Time flew by.  It was time to annouce who our winners were;   Competent Communicator, May Lee, won the prepared speech ribbon.  John Sih was the best evaluator of the day, while we have a scenario of joint-winners for the table topics segment.  Distinguished Toastmaster, Ng Cher Kim and our VPM2, Steven Lee both emerged as the crowd's favourites.

We could envision our Anchorvale Toastmasters Club becoming successful.  Apart from having important qualities such as team cohesiveness, work efficacy, setting of clear goals, consistently achieving our milestones and increasing the strength & depth of our members.  We need PASSION to help us navigate through our uncharted territory.   Rome wasn't built in a day.  Likewise, we should set our sights further.  We believe!


Roger Yap
VPPR