AIA TMC ExCo Installation (2020-2021) President’s Inaugural Address

The following is the text of my inaugural speech, given as the President of AIA Toastmasters Club, on the 09^th July 2020.  I am also, concurrently, the Division Director, District 80 Division G.

Good Evening Everybody,

Wong Sze Keed, our CEO; Colin Ly; our Head of Agency Distribution; our management team at AIA Corporate; DTM Ng Cher Khim, our District Director; Past International Director Patrick Oei Kian Seng; past and present senior District officers; past and present District officers; my fellow Toastmasters; distinguished guests; eminent colleagues.  Lend me your ears.  Give me your hearts.  Grant me this opportunity to be your voice.

I stand here humbled.  I stand here exalted.  I stand here as one of you.  We stand here unbowed, unbroken, unshaken.  We have crossed a dark divide, we have navigated a great challenge; we stand here in a post-pandemic lockdown, a new world, a new challenge, a new normal.  We stand here triumphant.

I undertake this challenge, with my team, with our club, our District, our company, knowing that we stand on the precipice of epic failure, or unprecedented greatness.  The lockdown affected production, morale, participation.  But we are still here.  It affected club renewals, attendance, survival.  But we are still here.  We faced an economic contraction, uncertain revenue, a health scare.  But we are still here.  And that is because we are a people who thrive in adversity, who walk in the footsteps of giants, and stand on the shoulders of the accomplished that came before us.  We are cognisant that we are a part of something greater than ourselves.

The senior Toastmasters of AIA, past presidents all, and myself, spent the last few weeks speaking to stakeholders, at club level, at District level, and with our management team at AIA.  Wong Sze Keed, our CEO, kindly allowed us face time.  Mr. Ly, our Head of Agency Distribution, likewise.  We have a new club constitution, a written strategic plan, and a tactical plan to achieve great things this term, and to build the foundation for sustained greatness and continued success.

We are not just a corporate Toastmasters club.  We are AIA Toastmasters Club.  We are the best corporate club in District 80, perhaps Region 13, and by the end of this term, we aim to be the best in the world.  We are AIA Toastmasters Club.  We set the standard, not follow it.  We deliver the best executive training and leadership programme, and we intend to share that with the rest of Division G, and District 80, because greatness is only cemented when it is shared and passed on.

AIA Toastmasters is involved in corporate club charters in several Divisions, not just ours, because we are great together, as District 80.  AIA Toastmasters willingly share our knowledge as corporate trainers, as executive leaders, as sales specialists, with any club, because we want all clubs to grow, and be strong.  This is a call to unity, and growth.  We are strong together.

We are facing a new normal.  A new global economy.  A changed world.  We stand on the precipice of epic failure, or unprecedented greatness.  We can, as District 80, stand together, and reach for that new standard, that unprecedented greatness, that culture of excellence.  I want you to believe as I do, because I believe in my team, I believe in our company, I believe in you.  We will succeed, and we will thrive.  Whatever we had, we will get back.  Our renewals, our numbers of clubs, our standards.  Now one step back.  Ever.  This is our vision resilience.

Over to you, Toastmaster of the Day.