AIA TMC, NFNF, 28th July 2022

On the 28^th July 2022, AIA Toastmasters held its first NFNF meeting for the term.  The appointment holders were as follows: 

Toastmaster of the Day

Linda Lee, MS1 

Table Topics Master

Sandra Phua Siang Kiang, PM1 

Language Evaluator

Gerald Yong Kim Heong, DTM 

Ah Counter

Amos Yio Zhi Yan 

Timer

Gordon Liew Wan Kong 

Creative Director of the Day

Rominia Leonard Sarte, PI1 

Photographer

Ariel Wu Xiao Fang 

Speakers

Eric Tan Kar Liong

Maria Tricia Abraham, DL1

Eileen Chan Hui Li 

Project Evaluators

Frances Goh Ching Yee, PI4

Terence Kenneth John Nunis, DTM

Landly Sudjana

Margrette Lo Foong Quan, SR5, PI1 

Workshop Speaker

Eric Tan Shi Wei, DTM 

We had three speakers, who coincidentally shared about family.  Eric Tan spoke about his struggles with gambling, when he was much younger, and how, with the support of family and friends, he overcame it.  It was heart wrenching tale of emotional and psychological turmoil, and the triumph of family.  Maria Abraham, DL1 shared an amusing take on negotiating with her father about getting married, when she was still young.  It was a paradigm shift on the project, Negotiate the Best Outcome.  Eileen Chan gave us another take on the theme of dealing with addiction, but this time as the spouse.  She spoke of the values of co-parenting, and how to do it right. 

Part of speaking is having the courage to share pieces of ourselves, to that we can connect to the audience.  We are all part of that river of humanity, making its way through the canyons of time, until we meet that ocean of humanity.  It is our celebration of triumph, our commemoration of loss, and our understanding that we are all part of something greater than ourselves. 

Eric Tan, DTM, gave a short workshop on evaluation, because the next club meeting is our Speech Evaluation and Table Topics contests, to be held on the 11^th August.  His workshop, “Evaluate to Elevate”, touched on the intent of an evaluation, and its use, both within a Toastmasters context, and a professional context.  It was 20 minutes of tips, concepts, and advise.  Eric Tan, DTM, is a serial contest winner for speech evaluation, at club, Area, and Division level, and has represented the club at District level as well. 

The attendance was over 20 despite it being an afternoon lunch events.  We had three non-Toastmasters in attendance.  One has since joined the club, and the other two are in process.  Overall, it was a good meeting, and well attended. 

The club also had a birthday celebration for members born this month.  They are:

Cindy Gan Chia Ee, DL5, PI2

Gerald Yong, DTM

Heny Chen Wan Ching, MS1

Shirley Faith Chia Xue Li, DL2 

Best Project Speaker: Maria Abraham, DL1

Best Project Evaluator: Terence Nunis, DTM

Best Table Topics Speaker: Reuel Sim Siang Boon 

The next meeting, on the 11^th August 2022, is our Table Topics & Speech Evaluation Contest. This will be at AIA Tampines, Level 6, Premier 2, from 1900h.

AIA Toastmasters Club’s 19th Executive Committee Installation: Leadership Changes Hands, Standards Do Not

On the 14^th July 2022, AIA Toastmasters Club held its 19^th Executive Committee Installation, drawing 120 attendees, including Chief Executive Officer Wong Sze Keed and Head, Centre of Business Excellence, Tied Distribution, Edwin Cheng.  An installation of this scale, with senior AIA leadership physically present rather than sending a token video message, signals something most clubs never achieve: genuine corporate recognition that a Toastmasters programme is contributing to the business, not merely occupying a lunch hour once a month.

The Appointment Holders

Adeline Ng, VC5, of the Toastmasters Club of Singapore, served as Guest Speaker.  John Sih, DTM, of Breakthrough Toastmasters Club, served as Language Evaluator.  Mach Dayrit, PI3, of AIA Toastmasters Club, and Regine Sim Lee Ching, DL2, of Pasir Ris Elias Toastmasters Club, served jointly as Toastmasters of the Day.  Iris Lim served as Table Topics Master.  Zhuo Shu Zhen served as Sergeant-at-Arms.  Ariel Wu served as Timer.  Eileen Chan, Linda Lee, MS1, Rominia Sarte, PI1, Shirley ChiaLi, DL1, and Zhuo Shu Zhen, DTM, served jointly as Creative Directors of the Day, a five-person creative team that says something about how seriously this club treats an installation ceremony's production value.  Jeffrey Lim served as Photographer.

The Awards

Linda Lee, MS1, received Club Toastmaster of the Year.  Mach Dayrit, PI3, received Recruiter of the Year.  Rominia Sarte, PI1, received Newcomer Toastmaster of the Year.  Special recognition went to the club’s mentors and advisors: Eric Tan, DTM; Linda Lee, MS1; Terence Nunis, DTM; and Zhuo Shu Zhen, DTM.

The Transition

Frances Goh, PI4, President for 2021 to 2022, was discharged alongside Vice-President, Education, Kiki Tai, MS3; Vice-President, Membership, Mach Dayrit, PI3; Vice-President, Public Relations, Shirley Chia, DL2; Secretary Sandra Phua, PM1; Treasurer Maria Abraham, DL1; Sergeant-at-Arms Chng Pia Kim, EC2; and Immediate Past President Terence Nunis, DTM.

The 2022 to 2023 Executive Committee was installed in their place.  Sandra Phua, PM1, moved from Secretary to President.  Kevin Lim, MS1, took Vice-President Education.  Eric Tan took Vice-President Membership.  Rominia Sarte, PI1, moved from Newcomer Toastmaster of the Year to Vice-President, Public Relations within the same ceremony, a genuinely fast trajectory from new member to committee officer.  Chng Pia Kim, EC2, moved from Sergeant-at-Arms to Secretary.  Amos Yio took Sergeant-at-Arms.  Frances Goh, PI4, remained on as Immediate Past President, ensuring institutional continuity rather than a clean break, severing the incoming committee from the outgoing one’s accumulated judgement.

The CEO’s Remarks

Wong Sze Keed spoke of her pride in club membership, and set the committee a specific, unambiguous challenge: increase membership exponentially.  A CEO who sets a Toastmasters club a growth target with the same directness she would apply to a sales division is not treating the club as a soft perk.  She is treating it as a pipeline for the communication capability the wider organisation actually needs.

The Word of the Day, & a Winning Speech Previewed

John Sih, DTM, set the word of the day as “valiant,” delivered with the kind of entertaining precision that has cemented his reputation as one of the strongest language evaluators in the District.  Adeline Ng, VC5, District International Speech Champion for 2021 to 2022, gave the room an early preview of her winning speech, a story of confronting fear personified as a bear, and conquering what holds a person back.  Toastmasters International’s own World Championship of Public Speaking draws over 30,000 entrants annually across more than 100 countries, narrowed through club, area, division, and district rounds to a mere handful of finalists.  A District Champion standing in this room, rehearsing the exact speech that will carry her toward that global stage, was not a courtesy appearance.  It was a preview of genuine competitive credibility, on display before the club that will be able to say, years from now, that it watched the speech first.

The Table Topics

Wekie Tay, DTM, of NUS Toastmasters Club and Telok Blangah Toastmasters Club; Julie Ong, DTM, of Leng Kee Advanced Toastmasters Club; Hyder Taufik, PM2, of Tampines Changkat Toastmasters Club; and Zeph Teo, PM2, also of Tampines Changkat Toastmasters Club, took the floor for Table Topics.  Hyder Taufik, PM2, won the segment.

Closing

AIA Toastmasters Club recorded its gratitude to AIA Singapore and to Toastmasters District 80 for their continued support.  A 19^th installation is not a milestone many clubs reach with this much institutional weight still standing behind it.  Executive committees change every year by design.  What should not change, and evidently has not, is a club capable of drawing its own CEO into the room to set the next committee’s target in person.

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Terence Nunis | Executive Chairman, Equinox Zenith | Author, The 1% Playbook: The Billionaire Cheat Code