Anchorvale TMC Chapter Meeting on 28th June 2014

Wow! Would you look at that? Our term has officially ended and what a mind-blowing fiscal year it has been.

From two sensational club contests, incredible membership growth, a 5 hour joint meeting so epic, it filled the conference room to the brim, and most importantly, bonds of friendship tied so intricately, we call ourselves family, this term has been truly remarkable.

Today’s meeting had two ice breakers! Congratulations to Peiya and Zhu Song for taking the first steps to what will hopefully be a rewarding adventure into the realms of public speaking! Vijay and Prasad both displayed tremendous improvements in their speeches.

One of our most senior members, Leng Leng reminded us, of the importance of marriage and how to really appreciate one’s spouse. Finally, Thomas CC tackled one of the hardest projects from the Advance Manual as he conquered the ‘Cold Call’ very emphatically, having plenty of humor, with the charming Saleena as his partner.

We were lucky to have a great panel of evaluators, and congratulations to Chee Sian for completing his first project evaluation.

Our Table Topics Master, President Roger Yap CC/CL challenged the participants with intelligent phrases and true to Anchorvale Style, we had 12 enthusiastic volunteers.

Even better, we were treated to a scintillating Language Evaluation by Shaun Loi ACS/ALB from Tampines Changkat TMC followed by an astute general evaluation by Colin Chue CC from Braddell Heights Advanced TMC. We have much to learn from our valued guests!

I feel so blessed to be a part of this team. The energy levels displayed during chapter meetings and the progress that members have made brings joy to my heart.

I know I sound very cheesy, but that is the truth. I believe we can reach further into the stars, as we seek to improve ourselves as communicators, leaders and most importantly, people!

To everyone at Anchorvale CC Toastmasters, let us not let the success we have achieved now stagnate us, rather let us enjoy it.

Our Toastmasters journey will not end with the title of Competent Communicator or Distinguished Toastmaster. Here’s to an even better year with Anchorvale!

Do come on down for our next chapter meeting on the 12^th of July as we unveil the Exco Team for 2014/2015 and our Humorous and Evaluation Speech Contests on the 26^th of July. It will be a bumper July indeed.

We would like to thank all appointment holders!

Congratulations to Award Winners!

Best Prepared Speech: Tan Leng Leng TM
Best Project Evaluator: Salma Begum CC
Best Table Topics: Muthu, visitor

Written By: Salma Begum CC

The Birthday Babies :)

Another group shot

Leng Leng's entertaining reminiscence of her marriage persuaded the audience to be more appreciative

Anchorvale TMC Chapter Meeting on 14th June 2014

On our 54th Chapter Meeting, we have returned home to Anchorvale CC.

We had a smaller crowd this chapter meeting. Could it be the change in venue? Or was it the difference in size of the room that caused this relative perception? Nonetheless, everyone was so enthusiastic and passionate that I could barely tell the difference!

This afternoon, the audience was treated with marvelous speeches of varying topics. Alvin reminisced about his experience of taking care of mongrels. Rasu discussed the importance of branding. Riz left us in stitches by delivering a hilarious speech, entitled, ‘The Ultimate F Word’, about the differences between being Forty and being Twenty. To round it up, he even gave his own rendition of the Gangnam Style dance!

Norman then turned the atmosphere serious by describing his journey about overcoming introversion and pessimism. Salma inspired us to empathize with a group of often neglected people, our elderly parents. With that Salma successfully completed her CC manual. WOOHOO!!! Congratulations!

Next came the most exciting segment of the chapter meeting – table topics. In line with the FIFA World Cup, Table Topics Master Chee Sian gave the topics a twist by including just the year in which specific World Cups were held.

The participants had to think hard about what he/she did that specific year, and if they weren’t born then, well that became a bit more complicated for them, and more fun for us.

For this chapter meeting, Riz brought his parents along. To our pleasant surprise, his father was a professional actor in India and he gave us some useful tips as to why voice modulation in our speech is of upmost importance. Aha! Now we know where Riz got his amazing charisma and wits from!

As usual, each and every chapter meeting entertains, enriches and inspires me in one way or another. I have been a member of Anchorvale TMC for 4 months now and I have never regretted since then.

Still having any doubts? No problem, just come down for our final chapter meeting of the fiscal year on 28^th June to experience it yourself.

Special thank goes to our visiting Toastmasters and appointment holders: DTM Carolyn Street-Johns (Division A Governor), Stephanie Esther (President of Teach Me TMC) and Steven Rennie Johns (Fort Canning TMC).

Congratulations to all award winners!

Best Prepared Speech: Salma and Riz
Best Project Evaluator: Thomas Selvaraj CC
Best Table Topics: Sue Ann (visitor)

Written By: Chen Ken TM

Thomas our outstanding evaluator and captivating TMD

Riz, the consummate entertainer who can do it all!

Sue Ann's colorful reminiscence about her kindergarten got her gold

Salma, thrilled to be presented with the CC pin from the superb DvG herself.

Roger CC/CL, the stellar President receiving his CL pin from DvG Carolyn

Anchorvale TMC Chapter Meeting on 24th May 2014

Be prepared to be dazzled! Anchorvale's 53rd Chapter Meeting had all the makings of a classic!

It was yet another Chapter meeting for Anchorvale Toastmasters, however it was anything but ordinary to me. It was an oratorical feast, a sensory overload. I was undoubtedly impressed and frankly quite touched by the brilliant speeches as well as the strength and spirit demonstrated by the Anchorvale family. Everyone chipped in when we were setting up, the speakers were all top-notch and the meeting was so indelibly well-executed.

Where should I even begin... then with…

Salma, our Toastmaster of the Day (TMD)! She was like a hurricane. She came, she delivered and she blew us away with such a stirring and powerful performance, leaving in her wake - the audience, spell-bounded and yearning for more.  I’m not exaggerating: Each time she took to the lectern, she shone brightly, infecting us with her brimming energy, zest and language prowess. With a strong sense of purpose, she presided over the meeting smoothly and when the dust settled, all we could remember was how brilliant and captivating she was as the TMD. If only I had managed to record it down…

Alas, what’s a Chapter meeting without the speeches? And like a mighty clash of the titans, this segment pitted one beautifully crafted speech against another, as speakers each offered their best, ranging from gems of wisdom on IPPT and losing weight, to cautionary tales of voyages at sea and even to pre-loved furniture and the gastronomic importance of chocolate. Where else can one find such diverse topics being presented within one room? Throughout the speeches, I laughed heartily, smiled at the shared daily experiences and ached for the stories which tugged at my heartstrings. The stories were all fantastic and so were the speakers, as they turned a hot, simmering afternoon into a cool, breezy respite.

As the saying goes ‘third time’s a charm’, and this definitely rings true, thanks to our – Evaluators. And by that I meant all our different evaluators, from Speech Evaluators, to our General Evaluator ACS ALB Daniel Tran and even Language Evaluator, DTM Crispin Rodriguez. For the speech evaluations, DTM Richard with his years of veteran Toastmaster experience delivered such a precise and empowering evaluation, and it became clear we still had much to learn from our Club mentor. Crispin, our visiting Toastmaster from NTU Toastmaster Club, gave us a clinical diagnosis of our grammatical errors wowed us as we delved into the very foundations of the English language. And thankfully for Daniel, we had someone to assess the overall effectiveness of our meeting, with his insightful and important comments. We will definitely learn from our mistakes and improve from there.

What about Rachel, our intelligent Table Topics Master who provided us with wise proverbs about animals. We certainly learnt much from her, and it prompted a further discussion outside the meeting.

The list goes on and on, and there were still many praises to sing for my dear club. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, I’m just proud and delighted to be part of Anchorvale Toastmasters. As Roger CC CL mentioned in his closing address, it is easy for a club to ride the waves of success but it should not rest on its laurels. As Anchorvale continues on its voyage, there will be greater adventures and stormy weathers ahead, and we should be poised and ready to surmount them. With the camaraderie and friendship, it is always a pleasure to attend Chapter meetings and I believe, this is only a bond which can get stronger and stronger.

Don’t just take my word for it. Do come on down for our next chapter meeting on the 14^th of June to experience the joy yourself.

Three Cheers to Anchorvale Toastmasters! Hurray, Hurray, Hurray!

We would like to thank all Appointment Holders!
Congratulations to Award Winners!

Best Prepared Speech: Debananda TM
Best Evaluator: DTM Richard Tay
Best Table Topics Speaker: Alice from Sengkang West Zone D RC

Written By: Norman Tan TM

Blaze of Glory

How time flies?  We are into the 11th month of the current Toastmasters' term. After the month of June, a brand new EXCO team will be taking over the rudder, under the stewardship of the next skipper. The truth is, we have already identified all the right people, with whom, we will follow to the promised land.   Lets be patient, the name-list will be unveiled very soon.  

As a newly formed club, Anchorvale has come such a long way.  Our dreams seem so close that we could hardly fail to grasp it.  But, little do we know, that the most important milestone has already been reached.  We must have been enjoying the camaraderie of friendship among the clubmates, so much that we have forgotten to keep score.   Nevertheless, the score sheet still tells the fact, showing a set of flying colours.   

What differentiates a good team from an outstanding one? Lets see... impressive headcounts? Winning speech contests? 10 out of 10 on DCP? Conducting speechcrafts?  These are all part of the answer.   However, in my humble opinion, I feel that the most important thing is the sense of unity that binds the team together. Unity is forged, not forced.  It demands strong reasons, as to why any individual wants to soldier on with Anchorvale, and not just with any other clubs out there.  When people can see the creed & values of a purpose that are above themselves, they would be willing to weave their dreams around the same rainbow.  

Rainbows are visual illusions, formed by the reflection of light, when the sun rays shine on the prism of rain drops after a pour. Alas, they endure only for a few short minutes. Likewise, while we take on the same Anchorvale journey, it is the process that counts. 

No matter how brief the blaze of glory is, lets be part of the sparks...

                                 

Yours truly,

Roger Yap

Anchorvale grabs the Golden Gavel on 24th April 2014

 A band of pirates set sail from Anchorvale with one mission. Trekking through rough seas and heavy thunderstorms via the TPE and the PIE, we finally arrived at Bedok Toastmasters Club. Full of energy, we had our sole purpose - to grab the Golden Gavel! Arrrrr

The District's truly inspiring vision that was introduced at the Div A COT in June 2013 was to promote stronger bonds of friendship between clubs. That is the purpose of the Golden Gavel! To visit a club that is holding the Golden Gavel, grab it by having appointment roles at said club's chapter meeting, and subsequently invite another club to your own meeting to grab it. 

This time, we visited Bedok TMC to grab it for the, wait for it, fourth time! The visiting band of pirates were Suresh Reddy (Ah Counter), Thomas Selvaraj CC (Project Evaluator), Sathyamoorthi CC and Salma Begum (General Evaluator). Suresh performed his role to perfection while Thomas gave such a motivating speech evaluation! Sathya, the ever-present awesome VPE was our club's strongest supporter.

We had such an enjoyable and enriching time at Bedok and hope to visit them again! Their hospitality was so heart warming. I believe the purpose of the Golden Gavel was certainly met. 

Thank you once again to Bedok TMC for having us!

Come on down to Anchorvale's next chapter meeting on the 10th of May to witness another club grab the Golden Gavel from us! 

Written by: Salma Begum, TM

Anchorvale TMC - 51st Chapter Meeting on 19th April 2014

Hey there folks!

It was a scorching hot afternoon as I made my way down to Anchorvale TMC’s 51^st Chapter Meeting. It was held at Sengkang West Zone 'D' RC Centre instead of the usual venue at Anchorvale CC, which was undergoing renovations. Being unfamiliar with the new venue, I made a few wrong turns before finally arriving at the RC Centre. My fellow club members were milling around outside, sweating in the sultry heat, as we eagerly awaited our turn to use the room.

Club President Roger, CC CL opened with an intriguing story of a boy who chose to feed imaginary fishes in a hotel’s swimming pool instead of feeding real koi in a pond outside the hotel. This was because his parents forbade him to venture too far, and so he decided to pretend there were fishes in the pool that he could feed. The next story was about a man who lost his phone in a dark field, but decided to search for it in the well-lit street next to the field. Roger then posed a stimulating question, “in our quest to improve ourselves, are we focusing on the right areas?”

With that in mind, it was time for the prepared speeches. As always, a wide range of topics were covered, showing the diversity of members’ backgrounds and interests. Ken spoke about the recent mystery of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 and the different ways we could contribute to disaster relief efforts. I spoke about the fear of public speaking and how it might be due to the imposter effect. Rizal discussed the idea of success and what it might mean. DD Daruvala DTM presented lessons we can learn from the fall of the once-mighty hand phone maker, Blackberry. Hareesh bravely described the differences between men and women.

After the refreshment break, our evaluators gave many insightful comments and useful tips on how to improve in public speaking and livening up a speech. We moved on to table topics, helmed by Saleena. To our surprise and excitement, instead of the usual “pick a topic and deliver a short speech” style of table topics, we had a “story-telling session”. Saleena started off with a scenario and each speaker was to continue the story. The last speaker was to end with, “and I was glad to finally be home.”

Despite the sometimes confusing twists and turns that the storyline took, most of the participants spiritedly volunteered and spoke enthusiastically. It was heart-warming to see everyone enjoying themselves, especially our youngest guest Likitesh, who made everyone roar with laughter when he endearingly declared himself "the CEO of Panasonic" during his turn. Well done for a refreshing form of Table Topics Saleena! We certainly look forward to seeing more creativity from our members.

Perhaps it is not surprising that Anchorvale did take home the Star Award for recruiting more than 20 new members in the 3rd quarter of the fiscal year, as announced by Roger in his closing address. As a first-time visitor commented, the club has a warm and welcoming vibe and it was easy for her to feel at ease. I have the same sentiments as a “three-month-old” member myself, which is why I signed up in the first place. 

Anchorvale CC Toastmasters Club is indeed focusing on the key aspect of what a toastmasters club should have; providing a supportive environment for its members to learn and grow together. 

But don’t simply take my word for it, come on down for our next chapter meeting on the 10^th of May 2014 and experience the hospitality yourself.

Thank you to all appointment holders and visitors! 

Congratulations to Award Winners!

Best Prepared Speech: Hareesh, TM

Best Project Evaluator: Jenny Au DTM

Best Table Topics Speaker: Likhitesh

Article contributed by: Rachel Heng, TM

Suresh the proud daddy watching his son claim yet another Best Table Topics Speaker Ribbon

Hareesh, as usual impressing us like a pro

DTM Jenny, our beloved Club Mentor never fails to impart priceless words of wisdom

Division A International Speech and Table Topics Contests

The day for the Area Champions to battle for glory was upon us.

The Substation, founded in 1990 is Singapore's first independent contemporary Arts Center. On 12th April, it was our pleasure to have it as the venue for the Division A International Speech and Table Topics contest.

The opening address was delivered by our bubbly Div A Governor DTM Carolyn Street and Area A6 Governor R. Sabapathy ACS/ALB, our witty TMD from the Tamil Toastmasters club.

First up, was the Table Topics contest, and the all-important quote was "The show must go on!" 

After the break, it was time for the International Speech contest where our very own Salma was the 3rd speaker. Salma began with confidence and assertiveness. She demonstrated with vigor, how she brutally killed the ants in her kitchen. Moving on to her dream where she turned into an ant, and lived its life. When she woke up, what she experienced as an ant came crashing upon her. She concluded by rousing the audience to work hard as a team, which in her opinion, is the most valuable lesson ants can teach us.

Soon it was time for the results to be announced. The winners of both contests will proceed to Bangkok to compete in the District 80 contests. The Table Topics Champion was Melvyn Goh.

It was time for the results of the International Speech contests. The winner was Saint Yi Htet. Surprisingly, Salma was not placed among the top 3. Her supporters, filled with consternation and dismay couldn’t understand why. Despite the upsetting news Salma showed no signs of disappointment. She knew she did her best and remained poised and confident, the hallmark of a true champion.

Our District 80 Governor DTM Pradeep Kumar ended the day by describing a book he read. He questioned the audience about what makes a leader. A thought provoking question that clearly piqued the audiences’ interest.

An unexpected development that day, was Anchorvale CC TMC receiving the Star Award for recruiting more than 20 new members in the 3^rd quarter of the fiscal year. It was a delightful surprise and a fantastic team achievement. Hopefully, this propels Anchorvale to even greater heights.

Why don’t you come on down for our next chapter meeting on the 19^th of April 2014 at  Sengkang West Zone 'D' RC Centre, Blk 307D, Anchorvale Road from 2pm-5pm. Apologies for the change in venue, as our usual spot is undergoing renovation.

Hope to see you there!

Written by:Thomas Selvaraj CC