On the 20th November 2019, I was at Leng
Kee Advanced Toastmasters Club, as language evaluator. This was my 122nd club visit on
the 144th day of the Toastmaster year.
The Toastmaster of the Day was Honey Yee. The sergeant-at-arms was Steven Yap. The timer was Kirby Lim Aik Boon. The ah counter was Rina Tay Sim Seck. There was no table topics section. In lieu of that, there was a workshop by
Abigail Chay.
The president, Julie Ong P. S., spoke about the need for the
club to give back to the wider community, not just Toastmasters, by having more
of such workshops.
The guest of honour, Member of Parliament, Dr. Chia Shi Lu spoke about the challenges of giving a humorous speech, and made it humorous.
Mitsuru Ichigo introduced himself as “Russel Mitsuru”. The reason is because most people, even some
Japanese, cannot pronounce his family name.
He named himself after Bertrand Arthur William Russell, the celebrated
British polymath. He recalled the
Singapore of 1990, and how he fell in love with that city, and that is why he
is here.
Edmund Chew recounted his 18-year journey in
Toastmasters. He spoke about his childhood
adventures. His father served in the
British Army. He would disappear for
days, hitching rides on lorries to Malacca and back as a ten-year-old. He spoke about the values that shaped him,
and how they served him well as a Toastmaster.
He calls himself a “retyred” Toastmaster, back with a second wind.
Anubhav Sharma spoke about how laughing together makes
us more human. This is how we develop
deeper connections. It is this creation
of community that makes us truly human.
In this current age of social media, our greatest societal challenge is
maintaining those connections.
Abigail Chay gave us a masterclass on commanding the
stage, and the use of body language and vocal variety in giving great speeches.
The evaluators were Rinoa Tsai, Patricia Lum, Celine
Goh, and Steven Chua.
Best Speaker: Edmund Chew; and
Best Evaluator: Patricia Lum.
There was no table topics session.
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