AIA TMC as Project Speaker, 08th August 2019

On the 08^th August 2019, AIA Toastmasters Club held its chapter meeting, with the theme, “Home of the Heart”.  It was a challenging event to put together, since due to an unforeseen series of events, several external appointment holders, and even some of our internal speakers had to pull out, so I had to put in a lot of work getting replacements just a week before it.  Needless to say, I was not impressed.

We had an induction for Michelle Tan Sze Miang.  She was also a first-time appointment holder, as timer.  The induction was conducted by our Vice-President, Membership, Ivan Lee Kuan Seng.  Soh Yi Kai was a first-time appointment holder as sergeant-at-arms.  Cindy Gan Chia Ee was the creative director, for the first time as well.  Our Toastmaster of the Day was my mentor, Gerald Yong Kim Heong.

Jack Sia Cheong Ghee gave his opening address, and spoke about maintaining the standards and legacy of AIA Toastmasters Club, and the weight of responsibility we all bear to maintain excellence.

The first speech was by Linda Lee, who was doing her first Pathway speech, after nine years as a Toastmaster.  It was an impressive speech, which is a testament to her quality and experience as a speaker.  She said:

“Good, better, best;

Never let them rest.

Make the good, better;

And the better, best.”

Her speech was full of memorable sound bites, and I have always enjoyed listening to her.  I still recall her hilarious speech about struggling with dyslexia, with the final twist: It was self-diagnosed.

Eric Tan Shi Wei gave his speech about Jiro Ono, Japanese chef and owner of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a three-Michelin-starred Japanese sushi restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo.  He talked about the time he visited the restaurant, and how Ono is regarded as the greatest sushi craftsman alive, by his peers, and his contemporaries.  He then segued into the story of Lee Kuan Yew, and drew the parallel of how they both strove for excellence in their own way.  It was a technically adept speech, that also took in the theme of National Day, and how we need to emulate that thirst for success.  He said that people are afraid of excellence, and how that fear holds us back.

Ivan Lee Kuan Seng gave a speech about his challenges in his previous company, getting his co-workers to adopt a healthy lifestyle.  He gave an engaging and humorous account of how he utilised all forms of advertising and motivation, from social media to even roping in management support.  This is a man of many talents.

I gave my final speech of the Visionary Communication Pathway.  This is the second time I am doing a reflection of the path, but the speech was very different.  This time, I spoke a bit about who I am personally.  I have been in AIA for seven years, but in that time, no one really knows me or much about me.  All my speeches tended to be about events and facts.

Our language evaluator was Jeannie Kwara.  Our project evaluators were Celine Goh, Penny Anne Radcliffe, Wiwiek Najihah binte Hairudin, and Muhammad Nurhakim bin Mohamed Yusop.  We got the best of the best.  The table topics masters was Gerald Ong Wen Shun.  He brought along a bottle of wine as a prize.

Best Speaker: Eric Tan Shi Wei;

Best Evaluator: Wiwiek Najihah binte Hairudin; and

Best Table Topics Speaker: Heny Chen Wan Ching.