Joint Meeting with Sunway Toastmasters

A joint meeting between Extol and one of our neighboring clubs, Sunway Toastmasters was held last night at the latter's regular meeting venue in Sunway University College. To say that the meeting was enjoyable is an understatement!


President of Sunway Toastmasters, CTM Murphy Lum

Sunway Toastmasters extended their warmest welcome to the Extol entourage (or Extourage if you may) by serving delicious curry fish and omelette (among others) free of charge! The "Extourage" consisted of President CC Marvin, Treasurer ACB Chak Ngoon, Secretary DTM Ngan Eng, DTM Patricia, TM SK Ratnam, TM YP Koh and myself.

The role players were:-
1. Toastmaster of the Evening: CC Nicholas (Sunway)
2. Invocator: ATMS/CL Dr Alvin (Sunway)
3. Table Topics Master: CTM Danny (Sunway)
4. Table Topics Evaluator: TM David (Extol)
5. Language Evaluator: DTM SK Ratnam (Extol)
6. Humor Mastear: ATMB/CL Stewart (Sunway)
7. AH Counter: TM Eveline (Sunway)
8. Time Keeper: TM Yi Jieh (Sunway)
9. Sergeant-at-Arms: Tm Yi Jieh (Sunway)
10. General Evaluator: ACB Chak Ngoon (Extol)

During the meeting we heard an excellent Ice Breaker from TM Jun Keen, whose speech was evaluated by Sunway Toastmasters' Immediate Past President CL Kenny Koay. Despite having just recovered from a bout of measles, TM Jun Keen gave an impressive performance that left the audience wanting more. Not only did the 19-year old make full use of the time allocated, he also showed little nervousness and didn't use notes!

TM Kwee Lan, who was presenting her C&L#4, taught us that if we don't know what gift to buy for person, try thinking about something that we would like to receive as a recipient. Very apt considering Christmas is just around the corner! Her speech was evaluated by DTM Patricia from Extol Toastmasters. The third and final speaking slot belonged to CC Shane, who was doing his 10th speech from the C&L Manual. His powerfully inspiring speech was evaluated by a no-less powerful man from Extol, Mr President CC Marvin Lau.

In all Toastmasters meetings, there is always something to take home for everyone. Last night was no exception. General Evaluator ACB Chak Ngoon proposed that we should consider employing open-evaluations as well, given the advantages and effectiveness we observed at Sunway Toastmasters. We wish to congratulate all members who have upped a notch in their C&L ladder last night, and thank Sunway Toastmasters, in particular Mr President CTM Murphy Lum for the warm reception and great meeting.

CTM Murphy has also indicated that Sunway Toastmasters will reciprocate by coming to Extol some time early next year. Looking forward to that one!

YC's Farewell

Dear all,

I enjoyed last Friday's event (the Recognition Dinner 2007) and especially the company that you had provided.

I have learned much from my relative short stint as the President of Extol Toastmasters. By administering club affairs and events with the wonderful mix of members in the club , I felt fortunate to have improved my understanding and appreciation of good leadership and the fruits of the Toastmasters programme. It was an eye-opening experience for me and it takes more than words to describe the exhilaration I felt and the little, little things that made me tick in my busiest moments working for the club.

Truly, my life would have been much poorer and my lot lesser without this serendipity.

The weathering trials of Extol Toastmasters made me realize the weight of the words of Winston Churchill in his inaugural speech," I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." To the all the past Presidents of Extol Toastmasters, I admire the work that you had wrought, the trials endured, and the finest moments that you had. You have been the inspiration to me and I would urge all members to learn from all that they have to share.

A Teacher can only bring you so far in your journey, the rest of it, you will have to walk yourself. Members, please take whatever advice they offer seriously and make the first step. There is nothing more depriving than to be blinkered by self-doubt and fettered by avoidance. When you have truly tried, without the fear of failure and reprimand, that will be your finest moment.

In the coming months,

I see Extol Toastmasters uniting in purpose despite their differences and personal biases.

I see Extol Toastmasters overcoming many obstacles that would have mired the meek.

I see Extol Toastmasters rising above the rest because they have told themselves,"We shall overcome."

Some say that I already see the heavens.

(haha... ok~!)

We are not too far from making this club a grand success, what lies ahead requires a little bit more from each of you. And, I am sure you have within you this power and wisdom to make the difference.

A piece of advice that I picked up along the short way of my life,

Fear less, hope more;
Whine less, breathe more;
Talk less, say more;
Hate less, Love more;
And all the good things will be yours.

Please cooperate with your incoming President CC Marvin Lau. I have every confidence in him to carry on this great tradition of Extol Toastmasters and to bring it to greater heights.

This is my last public message as your President. The French madamoiselles and Camembert cheese are waiting for me, and I dare not tarry any longer. "Oui, madamoiselles... je vais! "

Au Revoir!

Sincerement,
Monsieur YC Lim
apres le president des Extol Toastmasters

Recognition Dinner 2007

We recognized the contribution of all members to Extol Toastmasters in this event. It was held at TGI Fridays, Subang Parade on 30 November and organized by The Pink Pimpernel and his troupe of Flying Trapeze Elephants.

The special event coincided with VEL-LAU's (brother of Marvin Loo, also VPE of Sai Masters Club) birthday, and so, he became Extol's Official Jester for the evening. Let the pictures do the talking:





Suffice to say, we had a lot of food, fun, and volume during the event and it marked a turning point for the club: the incoming President Marvin Loo is un-officially recognized.

In Extol Toastmasters, it ain't just about the speaking, it's about the fun and the camaraderie too~!

Extol Toastmasters Youth Leadership Programme 2007

Extol Toastmasters has done it again! For the fifth year now, Extol Toastmasters has been organizing the Youth Leadership Programme (YLP) to allow teenagers to develop their communication, public speaking and leadership skills. This year's YLP took place last weekend, from 23 - 25 November 2007. Given the overwhelming response we've got this year, we are almost certain that there will be a sixth YLP from Extol Toastmasters next year.

In the finals held last week, Alexander Leong emerged Champion. His speech was an excellent display of confidence, humour and skills he had picked up on the first and second days of the YLP. Yap Pei Qi was first runner-up, followed by Jitesh Menon in third.


Alexander Leong


Yap Pei Qi


Jitesh Menon

There were also awards for the Most Creative and Most Improved participants, as observed throughout the whole programme. Hetish Menon was recognized as Most Creative, while Cherish Chin was named the Most Improved participant in the YLP.


Hetish Menon


Cherish Chin

Congratulations to all winners! If we had our way, we would love to award everyone with a winner's trophy because indeed, all students who participated in the YLP were winners in their own right. By joining the YLP, they have taken the first step towards becoming an excellent communicator, influential public speaker, and a future leader.

Subang Jaya Youth Leadership Programme

Extol Toastmasters was formed in 1998 at Taipan, USJ. It is a non-profit organization under Toastmasters International. Throughout the past decade it has established itself as an exemplary Toastmasters club in promoting public speaking and leadership skills to the community of Subang Jaya and USJ. The club has won numerous awards since its founding – it has been awarded the President’s Distinguished Club, a coveted award among Toastmasters clubs, for the past 8 consecutive years.

Anne Sexton, a poet, once said,

The joy that isn’t shared dies young.

To share the experience and skills that its members have gained, the club has conducted Youth Leadership Programme in Subang Jaya for the past 5 years. The purpose of the programme is to develop speaking and leadership skills in young people. These skills help make young people better in facing the today’s challenges. A recent survey shows that communication skills ranked as one of the most highly desirable trait of an employee, and, very likely, a successful person.

This programme has 8 sessions covering meeting organization, basic public speaking, impromptu speaking, speech organization, listening, gestures in speaking, voice and vocabulary. In the final session, parents and guardians are invited to a showcase competition between the participants.

In the past years, this community event has had good responses from the students, their parents, and even the coordinating Toastmasters. It is always a new learning experience for everybody involved in the event.

Extol Toastmasters Youth Leadership Programme 2007
As Extol Toastmasters is a non-profit organization, any proceeds from the event will be used to promote activities of the club and the mission and vision of Toastmasters International. No individuals will directly profit from the event.

This programme is open to all youths 11 – 18 years old and it will be held on 23 – 25 November, 9am – 5pm at Wisma CNS, No. 2 – 6, Jalan SS 19 / 1G, Subang Jaya. For details, please email Lim Yeong Chuan: yeongchuan@gmail.com.

Map To Extol Toastmasters

The following are maps of Subang Jaya and USJ with landmarks and directions to Extol Toastmasters.

The address of Extol Toastmasters is

No. 5 - 5
Jalan USJ 9 / 5Q,
Taipan Business Center,
47620 Subang Jaya.

Click the maps below to enlarge.

A Night of Financial Crisis and YLP Marketing

Extol Toastmasters had its First Adv. Communication Meeting last night. We had a lot of guests during the evening, including the adorable Shu May, daughter of TM LF Chan, and Shu Mei, the adorable daughter of speaker then-CTM-now-ACB Wong Piang Yow.

Time flew as ACB Wong Piang Yow got the audience rapt in a game of financial strategy. It created an interesting opening to his talk on the impending Financial Crisis.

If a Financial Crisis coming within 5 years time didn't excite the audience, the following evaluation sure did the job. Our invited evaluators CTM Arthur Lai, (in house) DTM SK(ewer) Ratnam, and ACS ALB Soh Fong Wai, as well as the audience gave salvos after salvos of Crisis evaluation to our dear speaker.







After the exciting evaluation, TME Gerard "Pastor Lim" Tan allowed ACB Chuck to spread the word and to preach to the audience the upcoming Youth Leadership Programme.

After the sales talk, Chuck weathered some questions from the audience before the dynamite dynamic evaluation team picked their way through. Chuck was evaluated by CTM Arthur, ACS ALB Soh, and ATMG David Ann(pronounced "Ahn" as in Aunt). Again, our audience also took part in the grilling.

The faces and response of the audience, evaluators, and speakers showed that our first ACM was nothing short of a success. This ACM is a workable programme that can enhance our members speaking and organization skills. I am looking forward to our next ACM already!

--

PRIDE Support Breast Cancer research.

Div B Contests this Saturday, 2pm, at Sunway College.

Sojourn: Shaklee Dynamics Toastmasters

CC Wong Piang Yow and I visited SD Toastmasters today. As their IPP B.H. Gan (a.k.a Big, Handsome Gun) had said it,"It is a small but high quality crowd." The meeting was quite energetic and well-run despite the sparse audience.

CC Wong presented the 5th assignment of his professionally speaking series project and he managed to "wow" the crowd with the prophecy of the impending economic crisis.

We're back~!

My access to Blogger.com came to some glitches 2 months ago and so the site was left without any updates. Many sorries. Thanks to the good support chaps at Blogger.com and Google.com, access was restored today.

And so, we are back~!

Very soon, I will update on the activities of the past few weeks and the upcoming weeks.

By-election Report for Extol's EGM

After a moving speech by ACB Ng Chak Ngoon, we conducted the EGM for By-Election. It was attended by 10 members meeting the quorum of Extol TMC.

The by-election was witnessed by AG CTM Gina Chan and conducted by DTM Kwa Ngan Eng.

Please welcome the following elected excos for the semester Jan - June 2008:

CC Marvin (President)
TM YP Koh (VP Public Relations)
DTM Patricia Tan (Sergeant-at-arms)

The other exco positions are maintained. When the time comes, please work with your elected representatives and offer whatever support they may require from you to make Extol Toastmasters the BEST CLUB in District 51!

Let's make this year a memorable one where all member worked together to make it the best place to learn public communication and leadership skills.

When the going gets tough the tougher gets going!

Explore, Excel, Extol!

--

The following is recorded for posterity:

Nomination for President
Marvin (1st YC, 2nd Gerard)
Francis (1st Marvin, 2nd Justin)

Closed by YP Koh (2nd Chak Ngoon)

Nomination for SAA
Patricia Tan (Volunteered, 2nd Gerard)

Closed by Nicholas (2nd YP Koh)

Nomination for VPPR
YP Koh (1st Marvin, 2nd Chak Ngoon)

Closed by YC (2nd Gerard).

Club Humourous Speech and Evaluation Contest 2007

I thought last evening was great! Whether the contestants had won or lost or somewhere in between, I saw that all seem to perform better in the contests. A contest is a personal challenge and an engine for self-realization. By knowing where we stand, we can better prepare the journey ahead of us. A little bit of wisdom goes a long way.

By being God's Gift to Women, SK Ratnam nabbed the Humourous Speech Contest Championship. This is followed by our alway-young-at-heart Master Wong with his leech(erous) adventures in Mount Mulu.

Among 6 astute evaluators, we have the champion Michael Chong and 1st Runner-up Marvin Lau. 2nd Runner-up goes to our double contender SK Ratnam. At this point, I'd like to mention our test speaker Nicholas Chu did a good job by daring to take up the challenge and he had made a confident speech.

The Area C5 contests will be on 12 September. Champions and 1st Runner-up please prepare for them. The 1st Runner-ups will be the stand-by area contestants.

Thanks to Div C Gov DTM Parames, Chief Judge CTM CL Kenny Koay, and all other fellow toastmasters for their help and support to make this event successful and well-run.

Meeting #233

In Meeting #233, our Area C5 Governor Gina Chan visited our club and
we witnessed many pleasant surprises.

We saw all our 3 promising new members performed their speeches.

Nicholas Chu made his enthusiastic Icebreaker (standing ovation, please...).

LF Chan gave us an entertaining course in strategic problem solving
for roof leaks, chocolate vs. vanilla, break the printer but don't
tell anybody (... and I suppose I missed the point).

Our good-looking (according to comments by our AG Gina Chan) YP Koh
recounted his escapades: getting scolded while doing a "full monty"
(a.k.a "being stark naked") and being chased by a fierce dog. Of
course, before our imaginations run wild, I'd like to mention that it
all happened in his earlier days when he wasn't as young as he is
today.

All of them gave strong and encouraging performances.

Best Table Topics Speaker: LF Chan
Best Project Speaker: YP Koh
Best Evaluator: Patricia Tan (it pays to evaluate 2 people in a meeting!)

We had 3 guests:

Ivy, who has been our plaque and badge supplier for N years, and her
daughter Wendy, who is an accountant with Marcus Evans, an
event-organizing company from U.K.

SAA's Daydream: Having a plaque supplier in Extol TMC would be a very
valuable "asset" to our club because it definitely could cut down
to-and-fro hassle of ordering and retrieving the plaques!

Also, we had Satchit Anantha from KPMG TMC and Sunway TMC (and
hopefully Extol TMC soon). He has pledged a project speech in our next
meeting.


--

Our next meeting date will be on 1st of August. Be there~!

Toastmasters Leadership Institute 7 July.

Just before the 070707 Joint Installation Dinner, 5 Extol officers (VPM Daniel, Treasure Chak Ngoon, Secretary Ngan Eng, and VPPR Marvin) had a fine time rubbing shoulders with other club officers at the semi-annual TLI event. This time, the event is held at SEGi College in Subang Jaya.

Just before the main event, these hungry Extol Toastmasters were caught hanging around the cafeteria posing for photos.

Joint Installation 2007

Click to enlarge.

Extol is proudly organizing a Joint Installation with our sister clubs in the Area: Subang, DiGi, and IEM Toastmasters.

Venue: Kota Permai Golf and Country Club, Kota Kemuning.
Date: 7 / 7 / 2007
Time: 7:07 pm (cocktail reception 6:07 pm)

Guest of Honour: Incoming District 51 Governor KK Chee.

Apart from installing the incoming officers and recognizing members' achievements, this event is also the perfect avenue for socializing with members from our sister clubs. Indeed, there will be performances, games, singing, and other activities associated with an evening of merriment.

We welcome all who are interested to attend this event. This annual event is the best way to bring out the camaraderie and spirit of Toastmasters!

Please contact yeongchuan@gmail.com or dwjshun@gmail.com for further enquiries.

Meeting #230

We have a new furniture arrangement in our usual meeting place today.

I am impressed with DTM Ngan Eng's innovative table topics approach: weave a story that had each speaker continue where the previous speaker stopped. This idea should be integrated into one of our repertoire of table topics.

The story itself was convoluted and Steven Spielberg himself wouldn't have thought of the ending. It started with a homicidal Uncle knocking the back door then continuing on to Alien-mimicking, homicidal Kindergarteners who abducted an adult and put him/her into a cell.

YP Koh first role in Extol was as a Grammarian. He will be the incoming Ah Counter and I believe he will make our club rich with the "Ah Count Donation".

Talking about Ah Counting, our Ah Counter LF Chan also took on his first role in Extol. In his words, "I am lenient (because a few members had zero count), but when I give ONE Ah Count, it means that was a disaster." (or something to that effect).

We had Jennifer Lee as our guest. She enjoyed the meeting and she looks forward to visiting our next meeting.

President's Distinguished Club 2006/2007

This is a belated photo post for the Toastmasters District 51 Convention. I was reminded of this by DTM Azmi during today's meeting. So thar' she goes:



The award was handed over by DTM Azmi to President ATMG Shirl today.

--

ACME (ack-mee) peak. highest degree. e.g., "His business flourished during his 40's because he was at the acme of his performance."

The past year has been Extol's anno mirabilis and acme (ding!) of the club's glorious history so far.

--

Despite the crowded room somewhere in USJ, the lack of oxygen and, not to mention, red is light a couple of benighted sentences, the meeting today was raucous. We had 5 guests including 2 little 'uns -- eloquent Sophia and her adorable sister.

The acme (ding!) of today's meeting, in my opinion, was the Mother's Day table topics session hosted by DTM Patricia. LF Chan, one of our newly inducted members, gave us a touching tale of his mother who had recently received a bouquet of flowers sent to her by her daughter-in-law.

We were reminded that a man (or woman or child) can be hanged and a picture can be hung. But a man (or woman or child) cannot be hung.

But, interestingly, can heads be hung? Make your choice:

a) We hung our heads in amazement when we had heard that.

b) We hanged our heads in amazement when we had heard that.

In any case, CTM Wong PY keynote address was to remind us to chop our heads off (metaphorically speaking).

--

In another note, we welcome

Extol Toastmasters Club Joint Installation Dinner Organizing Chair incoming VPM TM Daniel Wong

and...

Extol Toastmasters Club Humour Workshop Organizing Chair CC incoming VPPR Marvin Lau.

to lead the charges into the first 2 major events as we move on into the new term.

Please give them your full support!

Upcoming Meeting notice: 16 May 2007.

Firstly, let me say these:

Workers, UNITE! Labour Day greetings to all proletariats! (And everybody else who needed a day off.)

Also, a holy Wesak Day to all Buddhists and may all beings be free from pain and suffering!

--

Recognizing the above holidays, Extol Toastmasters Club, USJ, Subang Jaya will hold its next meeting on 16 May 2007.

IPP DTM Azmi Shahrin will be presenting awards recognized by the District to the deserving members.

As usual, we'll need role players to play the playful play!

District 51 Annual Convention at Johor Bahru (2007)

This just in from Extol's historian-at-large and Immediate Past President DTM Azmi Shahrin who attended the Annual Convention:

Dear Extol,

We just came back from the District 51 Annual Convention in JB which was held at the Hyatt JB, 27-29 April. The following is a record of mentions for our club Extol TMC.

1. Patricia stood for the office of Lieutenant Governor Marketing of District 51 (2007/2008) and was unsuccessful despite Extol and Pidato Perdana club members running a spirited campaign for her.

2. Azmi Shahrin stood for the office of Division W Governor (2007/2008) and was successful.

2. Danny Lim was awarded the DTM medalion by the District 51 Governor, Sivanganam.

3. Extol was recognized as a President's Distinguished Club, one of the 16 clubs in District 51 who achieved PDC on 1 April 2007. I have collected a trophy on behalf of President Shirl Cheah.

4. Veloo and Marvin won the Star Education Award for completing the CC durng the promo period. I have the award in my safekeeping.

5. Our 5 members who attended the Annual Convention were Patricia Tan, SK Ratnam, Danny Lim, Jayakumar and Azmi.

I will present the awards in our club meeting on 16 May, 2007 and I would like President Shirl, Veloo and Marvin to be present to receive them. I would be grateful if the Exco could please reimburse the 5 convention delegates from our club with the usual RM100 subsidy per delegate.

Regards
Azmi Shahrin
Immediate Past President

That just shows how well Extol Toastmasters Club did in the past year.

With another affirmation of the proud tradition of Extol TMC, I hope that every member will continue to work hard to support the Vision and Mission of Extol TMC, that every member will remain united despite the diversity of opinions and personalities, and that every member will continue to demostrate strong abilities in communication and leadership.

Explore, Excel, Extol!

Division C Contests

Extol members DTM Patricia Tan was the Chief Judge, DTM SK Ratnam was the presiding Division C Governor and I was the impromptu fill-in for the Sergeant-at-Arms :)

Champions, their supporters, and guests poured into the USJ Summit auditorium around 2pm. Organizing Chair Area C1 Governor DTM Ganesh led the programmes and the Toastmaster of the Day DTM Bernard Louis carried the floor.

Our club champion TM Jayakumar gave a touching presentation that brought sniffles to the audience. Nevertheless, the contenders too were champions as well and they too gave powerful performances.

The champion of the International Speech Contests was Dharshini and the champion of the Table Topics Contests was Fabian Fidellis.

Results of AGM

DTM Azmi Shahrin chaired the Annual General Meeting of 2007.

This is the result of Extol's 2006/2007 Annual General Meeting:

The Pussycat Team prevailed with this position: Women are NOT better generals than men.

OK. That was not in the AGM actually... Here's the real result:

The Executive Committee Members for term 2007/2008 are:

President: TM Lim Yeong Chuan
Vice President of Education: TM Gerard Tan
Vice President of Membership: CTM Daniel Wong
Vice President of Public Relations: CC Marvin Lau
Treasurer: CC Ng Chak Ngoon
Secretary: DTM Kwa Ngan Eng

I would like to thank all club members for having their faith in me and I will carry on the proud tradition of Extol TMC and fulfill my obligations to the club.

Thinking back on how much I have learn and progressed from the person whom I was 1 year ago, I have much to be thankful for, especially for all the help and advice that the members of Extol have accorded me. They have shared in my progress and by giving them my best effort in shaping the club I hope to repay the gratitude that I had owed them.

In my term, I hope to bring us a little closer to the vision of the Extol and let all know, whether they wish us well or ill, Extol's vision is to be the exemplary club of District 51!

Division C International Speech Contest and Table Topics Contest 2007

Our club champion for International Speech Contest TM Jayakumar will be representing Area C5 in the Division Contests.

The Division Contests are going to be held at

Venue: The Summit Auditorium, USJ, Subang Jaya
Time: 1.30 pm

An event not to be missed!

As some seasoned oastmasters may suggest, Toastmasters public speaking contests can be much, much hotter than the political speeches for the upcoming Machap by-election.

Annual General Meeting

The year 2007 committee will be voted in the upcoming meeting on 4th April 2007.

In the second half of the meeting, DTM Azmi Shahrin will be hosting a Political Debate! Club members are already fired up by the mere suggestion of a political debate.

This is going to be an interesting night.

International Speech and Table Topics Club Level Contest

Extol Toastmasters Club will be having a Club Level contests for Speech and Table Topics. The contests are open to all members of the club. The winners of these contests will represent the club at the Area Level.

We welcome guests to visit our club during the contests.

The details are given below:

Venue: Extol Club
Date: 7 Feb 07
Time: 6.59 pm
Door fees : RM 5

Food will be provided.

Table Topics Speeches are impromptu speeches in which the topics are given after the speaker comes on stage and the speaker will speak immediately.

International Speech are prepared speeches.

Youth Leadership Programme 2006

Extol Toastmasters Club organizes a Youth Leadership Programme for teenagers every year. This is our way of contributing our skills to the community. This year, it was held in the dates 24 - 26 November. We got 21 participants attending the programme.

From shy teenagers, these avid and active participants developed into confident public speakers after 3 DAYS of intensive and practical public speaking coaching and leadership skills training.

On the afternoon of the last day, the parents of the participants were invited to see a public speech competition. It was a moment of triumph and pride for all of us -- the participants, their parents, and the Extollian coordinators.



We are grateful to the Subang Jaya and USJ community for giving us the opportunity to impart what we have gained through Extol Toastmasters to the young leaders of tomorrow.