After much anticipated planning, Toastmasters of Exact ADC and Friendship recently had a joint meeting at G Tower on 30 November 2010. Visiting Toastmasters started arriving around 6.30 p.m. and enjoyed their dinner in the casual set up. The aroma of nasi lemak and chicken rendang was soon lingering in the air.

The joint meeting kicked off with the opening address by host club’s President Andrew, welcoming the visiting Toastmasters. TME Angeline took over and introduced the evening’s theme of “Infinite Possibilities”. It was an honour to have Division W Club Mentor Chair 2009/2010, Lee Wei Seong, to be our General Evaluator. Grammarian Lay Theng shared the usage of the word “Leverage”, while resident Ah-Counter Ai Shiang, forewarned that she was out to catch all the uhms and ahs.

The table topic session, with a series of “What if” question, set our imagination running wild. Brenda would not mind being Rachel Green on “Friends” and if possible, she would like to be trapped in the famous TV show for more than just one month. Susan then shared her thoughts on money, if it really grew on trees. It was a topic that delighted her, as she talked about having a tree which grows gold instead. Ian was next, showing us what a big David Beckham fan he was. He would not aspire to be David for one day, but for life. Freddie comically entertained us on his topic and almost had us believing that he could indeed fly! It was without a doubt that he would win the Best Table Topics Speaker award. Our guests, friends of Ian, enthusiastically joined in the impromptu speaking session too. Scott would like to have more than one superpower, while Jim shared what he would do if he could go back in time.

Moving on to the prepared speeches, Ian broke ice in his “It’s my life!” speech. With a caning rod in his hand, he looked ready to whip just about anyone into shape; only to reveal that this was his Chinese school teacher’s tool for discipline. He told the story of how taekwondo changed him and improved his self esteem. He holds a black belt in taekwondo. The delivery of his speech was so smooth, it was apparent that he was a natural and could have passed off as a black belt in Toastmasters. He definitely deserved the Best Project Speaker award.


Brenda’s opening story in “Zip up and Move up” hilariously reminded us to zip up before you are out of the house. As usual, she never failed to humor the crowd and left everyone looking forward to her next speech. Freddie’s entertaining speech on “If money is not a problem” was full of wit. He would bring philanthropy to the next level by practically giving out money daily. By the end of his speech, half the audience would not have minded being his cabbie! Last assignment speaker for the evening, Andrew, an avid runner, shared the fun part of his recent marathon in Penang - the food! Not forgetting to remind us that running is a great sport to keep you fit.

Wei Seong’s general evaluation was detailed and constructive for every session of the meeting. He also noted that keeping to the schedule was a challenge, as the meeting was running late. His panel of evaluators, Grace, Soo Loon, Michelle, Yuen Kai and Kim were as engaging as the speakers they evaluated respectively. Kim’s amusing evaluation of “Lazy
Runner does Penang” won her best evaluator, as she described how Andrew’s poker-faced humor delivery was like Astro’s intermittent transmission on a rainy day.


Wei Seong also shared with us the importance of mentoring in Toastmasters and the significance of encouraging a new member to select their own mentor, someone they feel at ease with and are able to turn to for guidance.

Tan Lay Theng, Area Governor 2009/2010 presented the following awards to Exact ADC members

District 51 Distinguished Club 2009/2010 – Yeow Yuen Kai
Division W Toastmaster of the Year for Exact ADC – Lai Chee Yoong


It was definitely a memorable evening for both clubs and we look forward to having more joint meetings in the future.

Contributed by Caroline Yap, Exact ADC Toastmasters Club