THE NEWSLETTER OF MANAMA TOASTMASTERS CLUB Nov - Dec 2017
A Gain & Again WHERE LEADERS ARE MADE
From the President’s Desk Many times over the last few years I have been asked by friends what is the leadership lesson I have learnt as a Toastmaster. Ah! Tricky one that. My answer is simple “As a leader, you cannot please everyone so it’s difficult to be everyone’s friend”. Why, you ask? Simply because as leaders our responsibility lies with what is right for the organization & that may not always be popular. It’s the same in the corporate world & at our beloved club. As elected leaders, we need to take decisions after weighing in on all available options & and therein you start gambling with doing good v/s pleasing others. So, at the start of the term we drew up a solid blueprint to ensure that we would lead with both heart & soul to ensure every member had an equal voice & an equal opportunity at the club. The words ‘senior member’ found no place in our dictionary as we made meetings inclusive by giving every member a chance to hone their communication & leadership skills. With our term motto ‘Toastmasters: A gain & again’; we focused on making it a meaningful & gainful experience for all to want to come back again. It helped us to achieve almost all of the goals we had set as members attended meetings regularly, participated actively & shared their experiences openly with us. Returning after 14 years to lead the club, I realized that the modus operandi for effective management has changed. Today, leadership hinges on the unique quality known as ‘empathy & understanding’ the member; the essence of a robust club. So keeping that in mind, we directed our energy to every members’ individual needs & requirements.
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From the President’s Desk We put our heart where our mind was & approached every matter delicately and that was our winning formula for success. Our educational sessions, social events, special meetings were aimed at giving members the best possible learning experience while also making it enjoyable & memorable. All matters, big or small were addressed head-on & decisions taken only after debate & discussion. Since tough times call for tough decisions some of which were not popular yet, when we explained the rationale behind it, were accepted unanimously. Our blueprint guided us to achieve all the goals we had set for ourselves- conducting a SpeechCraft after more than 10 years, an interclub debate after eons, 1st Bowling Tournament, a Mock Trial, a Breakfast meeting off-site, a Coffee morning in our veteran member Kawther Al Taitoon’s garden & a host of such events that celebrated members’ achievements & the club’s success. My sincere thanks to my dream team of six dedicated & devoted leaders who stood rock solid behind every decision of mine & all of you, for your full support during the last six months. I am delighted that 3 members of the current executive committee have accepted leadership positions on the next excom which is validation that it was a rewarding experience. What else can one ask for? As I sign off, remember that whatever you choose to do in the New Year, make sure it is productive, profitable, peaceful & done with a purpose. Best wishes to you & your family SHEELA PAI President July- December 2017
Toastmasters: A gain & Again
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Messages from EX-Com Members The most important lesson I have leant from being the VP EDucation:If you are ready to do the hard work, everything falls into place. And what does not fall into place, never had a place in the first place. And that's ok.
Fellow toastmasters, it been a wonderful journey as a VP public Relations for the past six months and it’s my last time for this term communicating with you all through Horizon. In Toastmasters journey I lean the pathways; such as we learn, practise, correct our mistakes and teach to others, through this journey I came across many challenging and obstructing situation but what I learn from toastmasters helped me in that situations to overcome and I can’t forget the members those who helped me in the challengers. I would like to take this opportunity to Thank each one of you who helped me to do my job as VP Public Relations and serve for this prestigious club.
Happy Reading Mohamed Saleem VP Public Relations July to December 20174
Meeting No: 2635
Best Speaker
Best Evaluator
Best Table Topic Commentator
Best Role Player
Cini Joseph
Prashanth Gudibande
Claire Cosgrove
Majeed Baloch
The Aha! moment
New jewels in Manama Toastmasters Club’s Crown
From left to right: Kevinn Haris, VP Membership Bilkais, Mansoor, President Sheela Pai, Zeinab Khalil and Hussain It’s an Eureka moment for VP Membership Bilkais Khan, 4 new members shown interest to join the club and she inducted 4 new members to the club in November. 5
Meeting No: 2636 & 2637
Best Speaker
Best Evaluator
Best Table Topic Commentator
Best Role Player
Tosin Arowojolu
Ratinder Nath
Joel Indrupati
Zeinab Khalil
Best Speaker
Best Evaluator
Best Role Player
Todd Dinwiddie
Raja Chandra
Biljana Davceva
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Meeting No: 2638 – Back to back contests Manama Toastmasters tested the skills & patience of its members by hosting not one, but two contests during one evening; something that’s never been done before, as a pilot project to optimize time & resources
15 members participated in this impromptu speaking challenge
Table Topics Contest Chair Bilkais Khan Contest Chair was Tosin and 6 members participated in the Humorous Speech contest, and members made the audience laugh throughout the contest
Humorous Speech contest chair Tosin Arowojolu 7
Meeting No: 2638 – Back to back contests
Congratulations to Rashid Maymoon and Tanaji Ahmed for achieving Advance Leadership and Communication awards
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The Trail : Stolen Car – Court Room Drama
A special mock trial of a courtroom was organised by Manama Toastmasters on 2nd December. The drama was directed by Joel Indrupati The cast & crew behind the grand success of the drama
12 professionals, from different walks of life, were invited to be a part of the jury to deliver the verdict. Guess what? It was a hung jury & the defendant stands acquitted for now ď Š
The event was the brainchild of the President Sheela Pai who wanted to introduce novel ideas in the club to give members a chance to exhibit all the skills learnt as Toastmasters- acting, 9 enacting, reacting, drama, poise, grace & leadership
The Trail : Stolen Car – Court Room Drama
Token of appreciation presented to our member Ravi Jayakodi, for his support
A memento of thanks was presented to Joel Indrupati, Director
Token of appreciation for Guest of HonourFatima Fakhroo
This event was a grand success & was well received by all in attendance. Manama Toastmasters’ appreciated the support from event sponsors, the cast, crew & all who worked tirelessly to make this event a memorable one.
Event Powered by
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Seasons within me How I wish to go back to the day, When my heart was as clear as crystal Pure emotion rained forth from its depths like the shot of a pistol Every beam that entered my prismatic heart refracted into a gleam of immense colours, Like the bloom of a sun kissed flower, Its steady rhythm shattered by the sounds of my unabated joyous laughter, At times by feelings – love, loss, sorrow, nostalgia creeping in thereafter, Swirling like a pool, one overpowers the other in a dashing display, As simple as could be a transient relay, Like the gentle flickering flash of a flitting firefly, Oh how I wish this were true, for tis not to be, Fuelled by the harsh realities of life, Their reign of terror has held my feeble heart hostage, By the sea of uneasy emotion entrapped in my thoughts, Now my heart pounds heavily in deafening thunderous moans, Like a conga going boom boom boom, Thoughts run amok like mischievous knaves A cold spell has seized my heart in a death like grip, I call out to the heavens “balm, balance, breath” for my aching heart and broken soul, A small voice whispers steadfast resolve amidst the din, Hope that the heart will bask in the glory of warmth, And radiate brightness that is eternal purpose, Like a cool splash the determined drops seize my heart In a well-timed coup d’état I’m restored, For a short while I relax, oblivious as another storm approaches. And the cycle continues like earth in the cradle of ever changing seasons. 11 -Shruthi Premanand
Members – Community Outreach Club members engaged with judging for Al Mahd School at their inter school debate contest. Toastmasters Jeena John, Bilkais Khan, Claire Cosgrove and Rashid Maymoon contributed their time & expertise
With school officials and winners
School Management appreciated the assistance of our club members & all participants were presented with gifts & mementos. TM Bilkais receiving a token of appreciation
Speech Craft Manama Toastmasters club conducted a SpeechCraft program for the Indian Ladies Association The lead coordinator was Kishan Kumar supported by members
Clicks from the SpeechCraft meeting
Engaging in a bit of light-hearted fun during one of the sessions
Manama Runners Manama Toastmasters club actively participated in Bahrain Marathon Relay this year, a big team of members worked day and night for this marathon, few of them took the responsibilities of logistics, transport, etc.
Manama Toastmasters members actively doing the practise season under the captainship of Prashanth Renghe
President Sheela Pai celebrating the team’s success with the coveted ‘Certificate of Participation’ awarded to the club
Bahrain Marathon Relay team was honoured by the club with a big Indian breakfast to celebrate their successful run in the sun (or was there no sun?) 14
In the Media
The Stolen Car – A Courtroom drama covered in the Gulf Daily News
Valedictory Program of the SpeechCraft conducted for the Indian Ladies Association. All participants & club officials in the picture
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Koffee with Kawther Excom arranged for a fun, social morning with one of our long standing members Kawther Al Taitoon at her home, who graciously welcomed us into her beautiful garden
A lovely time was enjoyed by all. The food, fun, laughter, discussions about the past, present. future of the club and lots more
Our sincere thanks to Kawther for her hospitality. A huge spread of cakes, baklava, sandwiches, etc. was laid out for us. Steaming hot Karak Chai on a cold morning came from the home of our Area Director Rashid & falafel sandwiches, samboosa & Zinjabari from Café Muharraq (or some such place of goodies). Again, it was the first time the club had an ‘Open House Breakfast’ for members at a members’ home
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About Us Manama Toastmasters Club was founded in the year 1964 & prides itself as the ‘mother’ of all Toastmaster clubs in Bahrain & the Middle East region. We have a vast & diverse membership of over 58 members representing more than 13 different countries making it a truly multinational, multiracial & multicultural club of men & women of all age groups, with eclectic interests & backgrounds Executive Committee July – December 2017 Sitting from left to right: VP Membership Bilkais Khan, President Sheela Pai, VP Education Roshan Vaghjee Treasurer Prashanth Gudibande Standing from left to right: Sergeant at Arms Bharath Iyengar Secretary Raja Chandra, VP Public Relations Mohamed Saleem
We meet every Saturday at 7:00 p.m. for 2 hours at the Crowne Plaza, Bahrain Conference Center. Guests are welcome to attend & discover for themselves the benefits of being a Toastmaster. Please visit our website www.manamatoastmasters.org or our Facebook page www.facebook.com/manama.toastmasters/ to get updates about our club & its many activities. 17