20 May 2009
Message from Club President:

Dear Angeline, Would you like to come? Grace, Zaiton and I will be attending the Convention. Come, join us! Please let me know your decision.

With such a pretty invitation, how could I possibly say no? I signed up for the Convention, with one question in mind.

What will I experience at the Toastmasters Convention?

16 Sept 2009
After the regular ING Leadership Club meeting, as I was talking to our Division Governor, DTM Soh Fong Wai, the subject of Genting Convention came up. I informed him that it would be my first Toastmasters Convention and I did not know what to expect. He assured me that it would be fun.

06 Oct 2009
After our regular Friendship Club meeting, as I was talking to our GE, DTM Ho Fong Ming, the subject of Genting Convention came up. I informed her it would be my first Toastmasters Convention and I did not know what to expect. She assured me that it will be fun.

… and fun it was.

Day 1 – 23 Oct 2009
We arrived at the Genting Convention Hall and were immediately roped in to help at the registration counter. Many new faces appeared at our table and we happily registered them, knowing that everyone was looking forward to a Magical Genting Experience.

Later in the day, I attended my first District Council meeting as a proxy for my club President, Ben Fong. The District Council members made their reports and handled questions from the floor with dignity and aplomb. My admiration and respect for this group of officers went up several notches.

During the awards presentation for President’s Distinguished Club, we went on stage to collect our trophy and had our photo taken with the Immediate Past District Governor Joseph Gomez. We had to wait quite a while before our turn as there were 100+ clubs in this awards presentation ceremony. I was lost in admiration. I was lost with words. District 51 is indeed a group of high-achievers!

Friendship TMC receiving the President's Distinguished Club Award from IP District Governor Joseph Gomez

We rushed for shower and a change of clothes in preparation for the Safari Night. Dinner was followed by a hilarious presentation by our talented bilingual TMEs. We were told that it was the first time that a Toastmasters Convention Dinner was held at a disco!

Organising Chair DTM Gerald Quinten (in his genie costume) surrounded by his angels and fairies.

Not only was LGET-R Mohd Ariff a debonair Dracula, he entertained us with his impromptu strip-tease show which won him the Best Dressed Male Costume of the evening. The last item he took off was … his socks. ;)




Day 2 – 24 Oct 2009
We were in the Convention Hall early at 8 AM for the opening ceremony. Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye who delivered his keynote address had all of us laughing with his statement that the Ah-Counter was busy counting his pause fillers and his belief that his speech was being evaluated by all 500 Toastmasters in the audience.

The laughter was followed by a feast of 3 speeches by guest speakers Wong Yoon Kiong, Roger Konopasek and Sarjit Singh. The first was motivating and uplifting. The next was thought-provoking, disrupting and challenging. The last put 3 members of the audience to sleep with the power of hypnosis!

After lunch, we witnessed Run-off A for the Humourous Speech and Evaluation Contest. Our Division W champions, Lee Xi Wen and Dr. Mary Barton, were in this Run-off. Many talented speakers went on stage. Unfortunately, only 3 could be selected for the Finals the next day. It was an entertaining afternoon, time well-spent as we witnessed fine speeches and interesting evaluations.

Next we attended a Pidato meeting. It was indeed an eye-opener. The Pidato clubs had to do their own Bahasa Malaysia translation from the CC and AC manuals. Kind to think of it, we certainly had it easy by being able to use our manuals directly from TI. I certainly wished that my Bahasa is more fluent so I can participate in a Pidato meeting in the near future.


During the Gala Night, everyone was magically transformed into elegantly dressed Toastmasters. I was seated at the same table as two Indonesian delegates, Erikson and Ayu. They were so friendly and enthusiastic, that I found myself looking forward to meeting up with them again at the next Convention, to be held in Miri.

Later that evening, Erickson was awarded the Toastmaster of the Year for Division J. We also witnessed a father and son team sweeping the Division Governor of the Year (Arlan Setiawan) and Area Governor of the Year (Johan Setiawan) awards. Of course, our very own Friendship member, Grace Tan, won the Toastmaster of the Year for Division W. I am indeed surrounded by numerous talented people in District 51.


Day 3 – 25 Oct 2009
There was nary a dull moment during the finals for the Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contest. It was a splendid performance by all contestants. I was astounded when my IPP Lay Theng told me she could not wait for the day when I will be on stage, so that she could snap photos of a Friendship member at the District finals. It will probably take a long time before that happens, as I am nowhere close to the talented group that we witnessed on stage.

Forget about going to Hollywood to meet the stars! I am telling you that we have our very own stars in Toastmasters District 51 and I was able to talk to a few of them personally, without even buying an Air Asia ticket.

Unexpectedly, after the Convention, I found myself in the same group as our District Governor who was in the centre of attention. Many wanted to take pictures with him and he obligingly posed for the camera. As I was waiting to speak to him, I unexpectedly found myself face to face with DTM Adeline Leong, Past District Governor for 1998/1999. Omigosh! The District Governor who was praised by another Past DG, DTM Ho Fong Ming. I found out she is currently in KK and I can actually attend TM meetings with her when I am back in KK for the holidays. It was absolutely mind-boggling. I would definitely like her to be one of my CL manual evaluator. It would be like collecting her autograph.

Finally, I had a brief moment with our District Governor. While chatting with him, I found out that he is from KK as well. Omigosh! How could this be possible? It is a small world, after all. He encouraged me to attend KK TMC meetings whenever I am back there. How can one possibly say no to our distinguished DG?

On top of that, I managed to have a few words with LGET-P Thanni. I asked him whether he would consider visiting our club in one of his future KL visits. Although he has a busy schedule, he looked at me with a warm smile and replied that he will try to squeeze in a visit.

I was definitely seeing stars in my eyes as the third day drew to a close. Not only was it magical, I was absolutely convinced that I will continue my journey of Magical Transformation in Toastmasters! Perhaps one day I will to be on stage for the District’s finals.


Contributed by Angeline Lee