THE 500th MEETING MILESTONE – KERALA TOASTMASTERS

Published on : Tuesday, 29 September 2020

THE 500th MEETING MILESTONE – KERALA TOASTMASTERS

By Balachandran Das, Secretary, KTM

This special event on 3rd September, 2020, dedicated to the much-awaited celebration of Onam and our milestone 500th meeting, was carried out in real pomp and style by the avid members of Kerala Toastmasters (KTM) and our esteemed guests, who spared their time to grace the occasion. 

The Master of Ceremonies (MC), TM Maria Gigi, called the session to order at 7 pm, by greeting everyone with her signature smile. The prayer song with the lines, ‘Lokam muzhuvan sugham pakaraanayi, sneha dheepame mizhi thurakkoo,’ was beautifully rendered by our Charter President and current District Director (DD), DTM Nirmala Lilly. The President of KTM, DTM Rajan Philips, formally opened the meeting and went on to warmly  welcome all the members, toastmasters from other clubs, dignitaries and other guests. Following this, a video presentation took the audience through glimpses of some of the landmark events of Kerala Toastmasters. 

Then it was time for the much awaited Keynote Address and the speaker was none other than Past International President, Toastmasters International, DTM Mohammed Murad, who had graciously accepted the invitation from DTM Nirmala Lilly. She introduced the esteemed speaker and also spoke about her acquaintance and association with him as a fellow Toastmaster – describing him as a Marvellous Motivator.

In his address, DTM Mohammed Murad, touched upon two important aspects: the first was about Toastmasters, and he urged everyone to get the larger picture of the Leadership Track in Toastmasters and the Communication Track as the precursor to becoming a good leader. Then the speaker asked the audience two questions: “Who are you?” followed by “Who would you like to be?” and explained the gap between the two in our never-ending pursuit of improving and bettering our lives. The punch-line of the speech was, “You are the owner of your leadership journey”. 

Next DTM Nirmala Lilly introduced the Guest of Honour, Past District Governor Rtn. Sunil K Zachariah. Rtn. Zachariah spoke about the complementary nature of and the connection between Rotary Clubs and Toastmasters Clubs, and how the synergy between the two could be used for creating a positive difference in this world. 

In the felicitation addresses that followed, DTM Nirmala Lilly shared her fond memories of founding Kerala Toastmasters. Other District Officers who offered felicitations were PQD, DTM Vanitha Rangarajan, CGD, DTM Savita Salian, DPRM TM Neil Gonsalves and Division Director, DTM Tiju Cunjeria. They wished the club and its members greater success in the coming days. 

The next program was an entertaining one – the Pookkalam video prepared in the form of a dance by the members of KTM. The efforts of the participating members and the PR team consisting of DTM Beena Vas, TM Joan Rocha and TM Maria Gigi, in collating and compiling the videos and making the presentation seamless,  were highly appreciated by everybody.   

A milestone session like this would never be complete without a few words by veteran members about their Toastmasters journey and this session titled, “Reminiscence” was conducted in a special Table Topics style. All the four speakers – DTM Nagarajan, TM Shawn Jeff Christopher, DTM George Johnson and TM Sreenivasan spoke eloquently about their memorable association with KTM. 

Being Toastmasters, we hone our skills and appreciate each one’s efforts. Recognizing and rewarding the outstanding contributions of club members, the President presented various categories of awards and honours. 

Before the curtain was drawn Vice President Education, Neelakantan PC, proposed the Vote of Thanks. He thanked the Keynote Speaker, Guest of Honour and all present on the occasion for taking time to attend the milestone session. He also gratefully acknowledged the services of all the members who had worked hard, on and off the virtual stage, to make the milestone meeting such a wonderful and memorable one. 

TM Maria Gigi, the MC, adjourned the session at 9 pm exactly as planned, successfully demonstrating our commitment to laudable Time Management. It was delightful to note that we had a packed audience of up to 64 attendees with almost all our members attending. The fact that our Keynote Speaker, DTM Mohammed Murad, stayed with us till the end of the program is indeed a gratifying gesture.

Finally, it may be added that the program turned out to be a wonderful one due to the WOW factor – Wonder of Women! Kudos to the special efforts put in by the club trio –DTM Beena Vas, TM Joan Rocha and TM Maria Gigi.