Toastmasters Dist 51 Division P: July 2009

We are all aware of the desire to run a successful club. Indeed, it takes time, selfless effort and dedication to achieve the Presidents Distinguished Club Status. Even though it is not an easy task, but it can be accomplished because you are not alone. We, the District Officers of Division P are twenty four-seven (24 hours and seven days in a week) ready to lend you our hands, to work with you as a team to embark on this challenging journey…….

The first round of Division P TLI Club Officer Training (COT) was held on Saturday, July 4, 2009 at the Stamford College, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. The objective was to provide the incoming club officers with a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. I must congratulate DTM Bernard Louis, the Organizing Chair, for making this COT a well organized event. Bernard delivered his role as emcee and Toastmaster of the Day impeccably throughout the entire programme. The COT started and finished on time.

The Invocation and Opening Address by Division P Governor, CTM ALS Dr Caren Lee was truly inspiring. She made us realize that all of us have within us the potential to become a leader and our leadership journey begins from our club, the same place where she grew and today has transformed her into the leader of Division P.

Our Lieutenant Governor Education & Training (LGET), ACB CL Thannimalai inspired the participants by sharing his journey in Toastmasters, beginning from the humble Sergeant-at-Arms (SAA) to where he is today. He is such a motivational speaker where his presentation on the ‘Five Steps to Success’ encouraged us to focus more on the Distinguished Club Program.

After the enlightening speech, we had the breakout sessions where officers were assigned to groups according to their portfolio. On each respective group, besides a brief rundown on the officer’s roles and responsibilities, the facilitators also highlighted the upcoming challenges while performing the tasks.

Moving on to the second part of the COT, there was an elective session where club officers could choose to attend either of these 3 presentations - ‘Motivating Achievement’, ‘Competent Leader’ & ‘High Performance Leadership’ , which was conducted by ACS NK Valli, DTM Tang Sum Chee & PDG DTM Dr. Arul respectively.

Right after the elective section, the training continued with another important session on ‘Attracting New Member’ by our Lieutenant Governor Marketing, DTM Francis Ng. He enlightened us on the importance of maintaining the standard of our club meetings consistently because it is the ‘Product’ that attracts new members to come and join the club.

I personally liked the dialogue session conducted by the LGET & LGM, where we all learned a lot through experience sharing. Of course, not forgetting the promotion of KL Semi Annual Convention in Genting Highland by DTM Azmi Shahrin, and he really attracted many Toastmasters to sign up because the convention package was unbelievably affordable.

In conclusion, the COT was conducted successfully with a total attendance of 112 club officers. Many of us came out of the training room with higher morale, greater enthusiasm, better knowledge and a renewed focus.

With our new strength, we look forward to a successful term ahead!

Reported by,
Eu Choi San, CC
Area P3 Governor 2009/2010
08.07.09