AIA TMC, Chapter Meeting, 14th November 2019

On the 14^th November, AIA Toastmasters Club held its chapter meeting.

The sergeant-at-arms was Zhuo Shu Zhen.  The Toastmaster of the Day was Eric Tan Shi Wei.  The table topics master was Gerald Ong Wen Shun.  The timer was Mandy Poon Sin Man.  The ah counter was Linda Lee.  The creative director was Liang Ye.  The language evaluator was Penny Anne Radcliffe.

Zhuo Shu Zhen wowed the crowd, and explained our theme for the meeting: “Investing in Our Future”.  She invested by learning how to be a more effective communicator.

Eric Tan Shi Wei gave his take, as Toastmaster of the Day, of investing in our future.  For him, we invest in ourselves, by investing in our future, by investing in our personal development, in our networks/

Jack Sia Cheong Ghee, in his opening address, as president, spoke about our shared values at AIA Toastmasters Club.  If we aspire to be better, we have to invest in ourselves, and in our relationships.  We are in the business of relationships.

David Low Chip Hung gave his maiden speech.  He stated that he wanted to learn three things: to speak better, to lead better, and to mentor better.  H wants to improve his ability to speak off the cuff, and improve his interactions with others.  His personal motto is to aspire to inspire before he expires.

Gordon Kwok Jun Wei gave a presentation about dragonboat racing.  He gave a detailed explanation of the mechanisms of a dragonboat team, and how the team of paddlers is set up.  He also explained the values of the sport, and how it helps in team building.

Frances Goh Ching Yee expounded on her leadership style.  To her, leadership is service.  She told us the story of her ex-colleague, named Samantha.  Samantha was known to take care of her team more than simply looking at their production numbers.  She never asked for anything in return for her work.  Finally, there did come a time when she needed that number.  She spoke to her team, and requested their help.  Her team came in among the top three for the year.  They did it for her.  This is an example of servant leadership.

Cindy Gan Chia Ee told us of her time in the oncology ward.  She met her long-time friend there.  Evelyn was there as a cancer patient.  She was very ill, but she still retained her bubbly personality.  This is the epitome of courage.  Evelyn used to be a sales executive in the advertising industry.  Her treatment, fortunately, was taken care of by her insurance coverage.  However, she was already at Stage 4.  The cancer began in her lymph nodes, and then had spread to her breasts, and intestines.  This experience was the catalyst that lead to Cindy eventually becoming a financial services consultant.

Margrette Lo Foong Quan spoke about the art of communication, both personal, and online.  She emphasise on how we should be inspired by the outcome.  She gave, as an example, the recent demonstration meeting at Social Collider to charter a Toastmasters club.

The evaluators were Thomas Chen Jun Ying, Penny Anne Radcliffe, Raymond Zhang, Mohamad Saddiqi bin Mohamad Said, and Celia Jacqueline Lim.

Best Speaker: Margrette Lo Foong Quan;

Best Evaluator: Thomas Chen Jun Ying; and

Best Table Topics Speaker: Guest.