SATAC 2020 Magazine by Dinesh Deckker

Saudi Arabian Toastmasters Annual Conference

2020 DISTRICT 79

Saudi Arabian Toastmasters Annual Conference 2020

DISTRICT 79 2

SATAC 2020

Table Of Contents Editors Messege PAGE 07

Chairmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Messege PAGE 08

International Directors District Team PAGE 09 - 16

PAGE 17 - 23

Past District Directors Division Directors PAGE 24 - 29

PAGE 30 - 45

Members Articles PAGE 46 - 54

SATAC 2020

SATAC 2020, Magazine Committee Director

TM Sabal S. Almadi

With a major in Journalism and a job in Public Relations, I have always wanted to inspire others through words. The words we share whether through speech or text can have an enormous impact on someone, not to be dramatic, but your words could quit literally change someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life. Seeing all the amazing magazines from previous years inspired me to take on the SATAC 2020 magazine.

Once we formed the magazine committee with members who are dedicated, passionate, and have a love for words, we concluded that this year we wanted to add contributing articles from members from all over the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. District 79 has some of the most talented people on a global scale, we have continually produced champions, exceeded global expectations, and established sub programs for the youth. If that does not embody what it means to be as a toastmaster, I do not know what does. This global pandemic, Covid-19, has made the past couple of months a volatile time, things have been uncertain, and many changes have been made that have affected each and every one of us. Yet, through even the darkest of tunnels, there is a light at the end. Together we have shown time and time again, that we are a group of passionate, dedicated, reliable, and resilient individuals who continue to spread positivity even when going through the darkest of tunnels. To the SATAC 2020 Magazine Committee, I would like to extend my immense gratitude and appreciation for your continuous time and efforts. To the SATAC 2020 Organization Committee, I commend each and every one of you for your ability to put together the event smoothly despite the current climate. To District 79 members, I encourage you to continue to be the light that you are! Thank you to everyone for this opportunity and I hope that this magazine gives you the joy of being inspired and motivated.

SATAC 2020

MAGAZINE COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Sabal Almadi Committee Director

Sameena Mahmood, DTM Assistant Director

SATAC 2020

Dr. Rose George, DTM Advisor

Fareedul Safiyullah Assistant Director

Aravind Sethuraman Assistant Director

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Nayaz Kaiser, DTM Conference Chair

Minuri W, TM Secretary

Palaniraj P. R, DTM Vice Chairman English Contest

Advisors

Sadia Khan, DTM Contest Operations Director

Abdul Razzak Al Turki, DTM

Narasimharao R, DTM Program Director

Dr. Soleman Almadi, DTM

Safare, DTM Awards & Recognition Director

Abdulwahab N, DTM Vice Chairman Finance & Arabic Events

Albin Joseph, TM Vice Chairman General Operations

Farheen Sait, DTM Vice Chairman Technical Team

Naif Al Hajri, DTM Arabic Contest Director

M Nooman, TM Media & Marketing Director

Sadia Khan, DTM Technical Director Arabic

Jameela, DTM Arabic Ladies Forum Director

Sabal Almadi, TM Magazine Director

Mohan A, TM Technical Director English

Jon D Conocer, TM Finance Director

Adil Ayoub, TM Sponsorship Director

Johnson Samuel, DTM Reception Director

James Edward Taruc, DTM Umamaheshwar R,DTM Registration Director

Peri M, DTM

Shakib Ahmed, DTM Logistic Director

Ladies Forum Technical Director

Nazeer Al Qassem, DTM

SATAC 2020

SATAC 2020,Chairman

DTM Nayaz Kaiser

Fellow Toastmasters in District 79, Tough times don’t last, tough people do. My father, a great motivator that I always admired growing up and still admire to this day taught me this. I saw how life took turns and sides on him but he never faltered. He was an entrepreneur who lead a successful company. But as the saying goes, “nothing is permanent in life, not even your happiness or sorrows”, the leading transportation business my father owned also went through some very trying times. The thing that inspired me the most though was the way he continued during the most difficult times. I watched keenly and learnt valuable lessons that When I was chosen to be the chairman of SATAC 2020, I was delighted to lead a team of people - both young and experienced. One thing in common with every single Director on my team was the thirst, the determination to achieve greatness. As our journey began, we all joined hands together with one purpose in mind that was to deliver THE BEST SATAC EVER for the members of District 79. However, destiny had different plans. As we were marching strongly towards achieving our goal, the Covid19 hit the world and all our dreams were shattered overnight. In this little journey, the beautiful lesson I learnt was to accept change and move on no matter what it takes.It was now time to apply all the lessons I had learnt from my father. The golden rule was, no matter what, just be calm in every situationbecause nothing lasts too long.Let’s look at it this way, this SATAC will definitely not be like any other SATAC in the past. We will create history by becoming the first ever team to conduct the contest virtually. This day will be remembered, this team will be remembered, this SATAC will be remembered. We will still make it happen together. As for me, I will cherish the team and their unity. We all stand together with the same enthusiasm and objective to provide the best experience for the members to remember alltheir life. Even after the pandemic, even after all the challenges, even after the complete change, we will still be stars in the sky. I take this opportunity to thank the PQD MadhushaNanayakkara, DTM for believing in me and my ability to lead SATAC. I also thank the District Director Samer Kamal, DTM and CGD Rami Jawad, DTM for all the support and encouragement. A million thanks to the three Vice Chairmen and the marvelous team of Directors and advisors who stood by my side during all the stages of the most stimulating journey. For you my team, even sky is not the limit.

SATAC 2020

TOASTMASTERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S INTERNATIONAL LEADERS

SATAC 2020

Chief Executive Officer

Daniel Rex

To the members and guests of District 79, On behalf of the World Headquarters team and Toastmasters throughout the world, I extend our best wishes for your 2020 Annual Conference! In this unprecedented and unusual time Conferences are a unique opportunity to enjoy in a different way the camaraderie of other Toastmasters, learn from the presenters and take those lessons to your club. I anticipate that you will find your districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conference enriching and enlightening, and I hope that you take this opportunity to evaluate the status of your Toastmasters journey and to seek out occasions to develop that journey. What knowledge and practices can you put to use in your life and share with your fellow Toastmasters? Toastmasters offers many leadership development opportunities and this year is not an exception. I challenge you to look for those who are currently serving in this exceptionally rare time, speak with them, ask them to share their stories with you, and talk to them about how you can contribute. The objective? To develop leadership skills that help you, your club and therefore each of its members to achieve more, not only in this extraordinary time but going forward into the future! I wish you success during this year and in the future.

SATAC 2020

International President

DTM Deepak Menon

Fellow Toastmasters in District 79, Spring is the time to rejoice when nature displays its full splendor; when trees and flowers blossom; when there is a spirit of rejuvenation all around. The annual conference of District 79, with its theme ‘Starring in The Sky’, provides a happy occasion to celebrate this wonderful season in all its glory. Just as spring provides a new beginning, Toastmasters helps us discover ourselves anew. We find courage and confidence to express our feelings and sentiments. We let go of our inhibitions and attain freedom from fear. We learn to find the leader in ourselves. Toastmasters transforms us from being local leaders to become global leaders. The path that we follow in Toastmasters springs from its vast repository of experience and knowledge derived over the last ninety-five years. The transformation that we see in ourselves is nothing short of magical. Think back to the time you attended the first Toastmasters meeting as a guest and feeling bewildered, wondering if you would ever be able to speak coherently, competently and confidently. Remember your first tentative step as an ‘ice-breaker’ speaker. Recall the euphoria of becoming a competent communicator with a newfound spring in your footsteps! It is like a colorful butterfly emerging from its drab chrysalis! Let us spread this wondrous experience to as many people as we can whether they be friends, family or colleagues. Let this conference be the occasion for you to become stars in the sky and dazzle the world! Let the fire of passion for Toastmasters make you the flame that leads the world from darkness to light. Your District leaders have the passion burning in them brightly as they lead District 79 to achieve great heights in 2020. I wish them and their conference team all the best for a fantastic conference! I wish each one of you an experience that will help you exude renewed energy and assurance.

Let

the fire of passion for Toastmasters make you the flame that leads the world from darkness to light.

SATAC 2020

International President Elect

DTM Richard E. Peck

Fellow Toastmasters in District 79, Welcome to the 2019 district conference Starring in The Sky! Throughout this conference you will have the opportunity immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of the numerous activities the conference team has assembled for you. Take time through out the conference to network with your fellow Toastmasters, make new friends, and build lasting relationships. I challenge each one of you to meet someone new and learn something about them. The educational sessions will provide you with the opportunity to learn from others. You will gain new skills that you can use both in and out of Toastmasters. In addition to the educational sessions will hear from keynote speakers who will inspire and entertain you. Share what you learn with others, remember, knowledge is only worth something when you share it with others. The conference provides more than just educational sessions, keynote speakers, and networking opportunities, it also provides the thrill of competition! The best speakers in the district will take the stage competing in various speech contests vying for the title of District Champion. Who will be the leaders responsible for leading the district towards continued success in the upcoming year? For developing the strategies and innovative programs to increase the reach of Toastmasters throughout the district and help members achieve their goals? During the annual business meeting the voting members will be responsible for electing these leaders, this is a tremendous responsibility. Meet with these leaders and get to know them prior to the business meeting and then select those who will best serve the members, the district, and Toastmasters International. Use your conference experience to make an impact on others and be the Star that guides them to success. Working together you will form the constellation that is District 79!

Make an

impact on others and be the star that guides them to success

SATAC 2020

Immediate Past International President DTM Lark Doley The Year of Courage As the 2018-2019 Toastmasters International President, I thought that last year was the year of change for our organization. How little did I know then? Last year’s changes were generated from within our organization, like the implementation of Pathways and the move of our World Headquarters’ location. The 2019-2020 changes have come from the outside in the form of a global pandemic. Who could have predicted what our world would suffer from this year, how our planet of over 7 billion people would be impacted, and how companies and organizations around the world would have to adapt to survive, including our own Toastmasters International. On March 8th, I flew to Denver, Colorado, for my last board meeting as an officer of Toastmasters International. The plane was full of passengers. I arrived in Denver to a beautiful, sunny, crisp day. The Executive Committee met for dinner that evening, and then, on March 9th, the Executive Committee’s work began with Strategic Planning. As the Immediate Past President, I am the Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee. I was excited to consider the strategic goals of our organization. We spent the day brainstorming the future of our organization, and then, within that week, our whole world changed. The Board was scheduled to arrive on Friday, March 13th, and to begin the full board meeting on March 14th in-person in Denver. We did start our board meeting as scheduled on March 14th, but the meeting was held as a “hybrid” meeting of in-person Board and staff members and online Board and staff members. Our transition to online sessions began with the March Toastmasters International Board of Directors meeting. We adapted quickly to this new online world for our organization. World Headquarters staff began working from home, and our organization began conducting our Toastmasters meetings online. I returned home to Texas after our March board meeting on March 17th in a plane with only 10 passengers. As I leave the Board of Directors in August of this year, I will always remember the year of courage that the President of Courage Deepak Menon and the Stalwart CEO Daniel Rex led. It has been a Golden honor to serve all of you during these five years of change – from an in-print educational program to our online Pathways, from World Headquarters residing in California to our new home in Colorado, from in-house logistics to outsourced logistics, from an in-person organization to one that can flourish in-person or online or as a blended version of both. We have survived the global pandemic, and we have the opportunity to thrive in the future, as we adapt to our new world. District 79, I see golden opportunities for your district and for our global organization. Step up this year to encourage your fellow members and leaders to thrive in our new online environment and grow our members and clubs. The golden benefits of Toastmasters are even more powerful today than before the pandemic. Communicating and leading online is more challenging than in-person. We are teaching our world how to effectively communicate and influence with online tools. We are teaching the world how to succeed in the “new normal.” It has been a year of courage, and it has also been a year of the golden light of hope.

SATAC 2020

First Vice President

DTM Margaret Page

The Alchemy of a Great Leader What makes a great leader? The answer is as varied as leaders themselves: A quick Google search of the term “leadership” turns up more than two billion articles. Amazon alone lists more than 60,000 tomes on the subject. Great leaders have been classified as stern, empowering, intimidating, pioneering — in other words, all over the map. Is leadership a case of knowing it when you see it? I’d argue that you know a true leader when you feel it. Leaders make us aspire for something currently out of our reach, yet also make us feel certainwe’re capable of reaching it. They don’t force us to strive; they inspire us.To be a Star in the leadership sky, you must serve with your head, heart, and hands. The head: Great leaders are clear in their purpose. They cut away clutter and disorder until everyone can see the path forward and are directin their decision making. Great also leaders have the strength of character to understand — and do — what’s best. These traits are especially important for Toastmasters leaders. As a Toastmasters leader, you are tasked with leaving our organization in better shape than you found it. That takes an organized mind, an ability to prioritize what’s important, and the wisdom to shift gears and course correct when necessary. Those organizational skills extend to working with our membership. As a leader, one of your most important goals is to motivate others. Our members join us on a learn-and-serve basis, and it is crucial to consider the time and energy they can offer. When you’re choosing a goal for your club, area, or division to work toward, make it a SMART goal: specific, measurable, aspirational enough that it stretches capabilities, realistic, and with a pre-determined end time. SMART goals help everyone involved stay enthusiastic within the amount of time they can give. SMART goals are also the key to working efficiently and quickly — everyone understands their roles and responsibilities and has a deadline to look forward to. The heart: Great leaders are authentic in their interest in people and their problems — their ability to emotionally connect is a superpower. They listen deeply and are intent on learning and supporting others.Their willingness to find solutions flows from their empathy for those around them. All of us become leaders by helping other people achievesuccess. As Toastmasters, we spend hours learning how to connect with audiences. We need to do the same for those we lead and serve. Ask yourself: Am I really listening to what others need and want? How can I address their concerns? How can I paint a better picture of what needs to be accomplished? How do I support others in finding effective solutions to problems? We must all inspire those we hope to lead to believe in themselves and their abilities. We must be present for them through their doubts, fears, and growth. And we must inspire them to raise the bar for themselves and others. By working together and supporting each other, we all reach new heights. The hands: Great leaders do everything embracing their values. They are invested in creating success and accept responsibility if they fail; they understand that both outcomes can be a source of wisdom. Take time to cherish your successes and to analyze your missteps. Think about the lessons each opportunity offers you. What would you have done differently? How did the situation contribute to your growth and to the growth of the people around you? How can you integrate what you have learned into your life? How can you share what you have learned with others? Always take the time to reflect before you move forward. If you integrate what you have learned and continue to approach every opportunity and interaction with the four Toastmasters core values of integrity, respect, service and commitment to excellence, you’ll be seen as a leader of character. My advice to you, as leaders, is to serve your fellow Toastmasters by communicating with your heads, your hearts, and your hands. Together, we transform ourselves, each other, and ourbeloved organization.

SATAC 2020

Second Vice President

DTM Matt Kinsey

Greetings to members of District 79, Welcome to your District Conference. I am honored to greet you from my home in Florida as you gather with fellow Toastmasters from across Saudi Arabia. Toastmasters is a remarkable organization that has brought together members from more than 140 countries with one goal – to develop communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster genuine self-confidence. Toastmasters began as a series of speaking clubs organized by Ralph C. Smedley during his time working for the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) in Bloomington, Illinois, United States. As director of education at the YMCA, Smedley saw a need for the men in the community to learn how to speak, conduct meetings, plan programs and work on committees, and he wanted to help them.As he later said,“Ours is the only organization I know dedicated to the individual, we work together to bring out the best in each of us and then we apply these skills to help others.” One of my favorite events in Toastmasters is the District Conference. The District Conference brings you together from all corners to learn, celebrate and select your future leaders. There will be many opportunities for you to expand your knowledge through the educational sessions. You will celebrate the achievements of your members and clubs, culminating with the celebration of your International Speech champion. At the Business Meeting, you have the weighty responsibility of selecting those who are best prepared to serve you in the following year. Please take the time to learn more about each of the candidates so you can make an informed decision. I am taken by your conference theme – Starting in the Sky. This is true on many levels. Not only are the stars the source of energy and light, they have also been the source of dreams and inspiration for millennia.Throughout history the stars have pointed to our future.Thousands of generations have gazed into the night sky seeking wisdom, telling stories, and dreaming of the future. These dreams are not idle fancy – these dreams have brought us the greatest discoveries known to mankind – from the earliest use of fire and the wheel, to the development of agriculture, to man landing on the moon in 1969. Each of these accomplishments started with a simple question – what if? What if I could find a way to control fire?What if I could find an easier way to move heavy objects? What if man could reach into space and land on the moon? Perhaps “what if” brought you to Toastmasters. I know it did for me. When I first visited a Toastmasters club nearly 16 years ago, I asked “what if?”It was Office Depot Toastmasters Club 9086. They were hosting an event at the corporation to attract new members. When I visited, I had been speaking for many years. It was an evaluation that impressed me. It would have been very easy to be overly critical and to focus on what the speaker had not done well. Instead, I saw a member encourage, advise and lift up another individual who was seeking to get better as a speaker. I said to myself “these are the type of people that I choose to spend my time with. Those who lift others up and are seeking to get better themselves.I asked “what if I could become a part of this organization.” Toastmasters was the answer for me – starting in the stars. That decision led in stages to where I currently sit, being given the tremendous honor of addressing you as a member of your International Board of Directors What is your “what if?” Why did you join Toastmasters? Has your “what if” changed since you joined? As youmeet and speak with your fellow Toastmasters this conference, I encourage you to share your “what if” and listen to those around you. You may find you have more in common than you realize.

SATAC 2020

International Director, Region 11 DTM Aletta Rochat I am honoured to be part of SATAC 2020! Your District leaders have served you well this year. You can be proud of your achievements. D79 has a proud history and a talented pool of leaders and members. We look forward to celebrating every step of your success this year and in the years to come. One of the things I most treasure about being a Toastmaster is the fact that we are able connect in a unique way. Our membership transcends cultures and nationalities. As a member of Toastmasters International, you have opportunities to meet people from all walks of life. Even more exciting is the fact that we are able to learn from one another. I often say that if I had to describe my Toastmasters experience in one word, it would be ‘enriching’. So how do you measure the value of your Toastmasters experience? Speaking from a personal perspective, I am now more confident in my abilities, and therefore more able to take advantage of opportunities that come my way. Toastmasters has taught me the value of listening and of receiving feedback. Working in teams has shown me that people approach challenges in many different ways. When I strive to understand where someone else is coming from, I’m better able to learn from them. Teamwork has also taught me so much about myself. I’ve become more aware of both my strengths and the areas I want to improve. As much as we grow and develop inside of Toastmasters, the real value comes along when we take that learning to the other facets of our life. I firmly believe that we become better partners, parents and colleagues as we progress through our programme. Here are some of the most important lessons I have learned: Opportunity often shows up after you raise your hand No doubt your life is already busy. The thought of taking on more responsibility is a daunting one. I’ve learned that we need to expand our capacity. I constantly look for ways to work smarter and to be more productive. The benefits I’ve received from taking on a role are often not obvious at the beginning. Once I’ve committed myself to a role and have taken action, opportunity inevitably comes my way. The opportunity may not be directly related to the role. Taking on that leadership role better equipped me to be ready for any opportunity that comes my way. It’s not about the badge In Toastmasters we continually rotate our leadership roles. We take on a role, usually for only one year. Then, we step down to allow someone else the opportunity to learn from that role. Any title or badge you have is only with you for a short time. After that, you join the ranks of those who have successfully completed their role. Our aim always to serve not only our members, but also to support our current leadership. Past leaders should be a source of wisdom and encouragement – positive voices that celebrate the strengths of the new leadership team. We are there to provide guidance and to celebrate success. The power of validation If you want to be a leader who inspires others, you need to make it a habit to validate those around you. We all thrive on validation. When someone else acknowledges your contribution and efforts, it motivates you to do more. Teams thrive on validation. Catching someone doing something right is a wonderful habit to develop. Technology makes it so easy. Record a voice note, send a message, make a call and thank someone for their insights, hard work or support. I’ve also learned to validate even those who disagree with me. People who ask the hard questions can often contribute significantly to the successful outcome of a project. So as we experience all that SATAC 2020 has to offer, we have choices to make. What can you raise your hand to do? What role can you take on that will contribute to the success of District 79? How can you support your club and your fellow members? What contribution can you make? Your contribution is important, irrespective of whether or not you have a badge. Your ideas, energy and commitment will deliver results even after you have handed your badge over to someone else.

SATAC 2020

Region 11 Advisor

DTM Ali Shabaz Ali

District 79 Greetings! Where does your link connects? Where does it begin, where does it stop? In one of my self-realization moments, after continuous pondering on having more quality-oriented clubs, I only reached to one conclusion “LINK”. When we assume a life of a Theatre, we see many have their roles to play and each role is linked to another. People play Producer, Director, Script writer, Camera man, actors, actresses and more. If any Link is broken, this will disturb the functioning of the whole set, the film or the act might be delayed, it won’t have a big finish or even, at times the whole concept dies. An Outcome doesn’t affect just one role player, but many or all. When we say, a Club is not functionally well, A President or a Coach with an analytical mind, must first evaluate the Link-Chain one by one. It’s a hard job, but it depends if how many come forward and accept their accountability. Usually, that’s not the case always, So, such evaluation only begins from Zero. Greatness follows when we accept our shortcomings and offer to accept a broken link and ask for support. All such weak points in a chain could be fixed, only if we become more accountable. Its not about the “I” always. It’s the Link, how much our actions could influence others, our club or the whole organization. A Producer should worry about the Director’s role, but shouldn’t become the Director, we must excel, in our own role, While we try to excel in our roles, only to find out the whole link is getting better, chain is getting stronger and we grow collectively, towards the main mission. Let’s have that Self Realization moment, to understand where my link connects, am I being helpful? Should I ask for support? And take the opportunity to learn more, eventually to serve even more. Saudi Arabia is one of the early countries to embrace the Toastmasters Program. The learning and serving Link have been very strong over the years, be part of the chain, challenge yourself to grow in a great environment!!

Challenge your self to grow in

a great enviroment.

SATAC 2020

DISTRICT 79 TEAM

SATAC 2020

District 79 Director

DTM Samer Kamal

Greetings District 79, It is with great pleasure and pride that I serve as your District Director. Toastmasters program grants us the unique opportunity to keep developing our interpersonal skills and contribute in uplifting the surrounding community. Therefore, we need to continue putting our efforts and getting out of our comfort zone to keep learning and growing. Since we cannot live independently, we need to ensure that our families, friends, and colleagues have the same chance to excel and develop their skills as well. This will happen by inviting them to the best place, where they can achieve that, your Toastmasters club. In addition, I believe that the real value of anyone is by what he gives and not by what he gets. Being the source of eminence and confidence for many, bringing the best version of yourself, and helping them to establish their House of Hope (Toastmasters club), will return with limitless benefits to you. Check around you, if someone needs a newclub, and guide them to creating their own club. By learning, giving and guiding, we will grow individually and collectively to make our clubs the home that GUIDEs every member on the right PATH to RISE, GROW and GIVE back. This is the Districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision this year. The District is aspiring to achieve the highest Toastmasters international award this year, which is Smedley Distinguished District (#D79Smedley). Not for the sake of titles or awards, but to inspire each member and leader to aspire for the highest award which will encourage them to go beyond their expectation zone and discover their hidden potentials, because they deserve it. Our legacy as a leader is to illuminate our path to success and create masterpieces along our journey. We want to leave a good footmark that most of our members will always remember. Whether our leadership, our words, our actions or our personality. It will be embedded in their hearts forever. So let us GUIDEs each other to the right PATH to RISE, GROW and GIVE back. This year, District 79 is distinguished by strengthening the connection between the leaders through creating multiple communications channels through a new District website, popular social media platforms and 7 District Executive Committee meetings as of today. In addition, we continued raising the quality of training in all the organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s levels. Not to mention, we focused on improving the administering procedure and documenting it to be as a benchmark for the future leaders. Lastly but not the least, enjoy every moment in your learning experience, either a speech you are delivering, or an event you are organizing, or the leadership role you are performing in your Club, Area, Division or District.

Rise, Grow

and give back

SATAC 2020

Program Quality Director

DTM Madhusha Nanayakkara

Dear Toastmaster / Future Toastmaster, “Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity, not a threat “ ~ Steve Jobs Change is inevitable, for change is the only universal element that is not subject to change. Some changes are minute and gradual, while some are radical and transformational. How we respond to all types of change determines one side of exercising servant leadership. As a global, not-for-profit and service-oriented organization that is dedicated to personal and professional development of its members, Toastmasters International consistently promotes this notion. As the Program Quality Director of District 79, it was my promise to enable the sustainability of this prodigious district amidst the Saudi Arabia’s current political, social and economic changes. Yet the challenge became far greater when the world ran into an inevitable lockdown since March 2020. District 79’s“Saudi Arabian Toastmasters Annual Conference” (SATAC 2020) initially aimed to offer its members and guests from outside of the district the experience of a lifetime. Plans were laid and actions were taken to enact an innovative agenda, reflect on the district’s cultural diversity, conduct unconventional workshops, present a well organized business meeting and, importantly, enable a world-class speech contest experience. SATAC 2020was to be the benchmark of quality and standard for a futuristic District 79. Yet, on March 14, 202O, responding to the proactive measures taken by Toastmasters International to safeguard the members from a pandemic, SATAC 2020 took a whole new turn. Change enables Innovation. SATAC 2020 shall now go down in history as District 79’s first, and probably only, ONLINE SATAC. This revolutionary change was possible thanks to District 79’s greatest asset, an experienced pool of leaders who work tirelessly to progress with the world while honoring the core-values of Toastmasters International. With a new program, a virtual speech contest and a virtual business meeting, SATAC 2020 will offer District 79 a novel experience, which is not far from our initial promise. While showing my sincere gratitude to SATAC 2020 team led by DTM Nayaz Kaiser as the chairman, the members of District 79 and citizens/residents of Saudi Arabia as the Program Quality Director of District 79, I welcome all of you to SATAC 2020 ONLINE to open the gates of a sophisticated future for District 79. You and I are one team, and this team will be glorious!

Change leads to

Innovation

SATAC 2020

Club Growth Director

DTM Rami M. Aljawad

Dear Toastmasters members, First and foremost, I want to express my sincere thanks to organizing and leadership team for making the time and effort to execute this speech contest. I want to send my regards to all contestants who are competing today with each other not against each other to RISE as members in order to develop themselves and their clubs a. I want to salute winners who will be moving to compete at next level and wish them all the best wishes. Starting for this service term, it has my delighted honour to serve as your Club Growth Director for 2019-2020. This year’sclub growth theme is RISE is to “RISE” in Toastmasters Quality Clubs, Membership Growth, and Outreach Programs. The theme RISE resembles the first letter for each of the fours Toastmasters Core Values (Respect, Integrity, Service & Excellence). They are the pillars for all programs rolled out and the development journey. Through the inspiring theme “RISE”, District is marching towards achieving distinguished recognition for its ability to develop and enhance the quality of its members, reach out to the community as well as developing and attracting top talents. As 2019/2020 Club Growth Director, I call uponevery member to support us and continue promoting the pillars inspiring by “RISE”. Through best-in-class communication and leadership program, we shall enhance the evaluation process to elevate the skill set, facilitating inter-club speakers and evaluation and ensuring a fair, quality and competitive contest. Next is knowledge creation and sharing via developing the speakers to trainers’ program, utilizing digital media and webinar more effectively, and holding cross-divisions training to build bridgesand break barriers. Last, more focus on operations excellence and support by utilizing community and cooperate support to fund and facilitate Toastmasters Quality Clubs, Membership Growth, and Outreach Programs. Lastly, I enlist your support as the cornerstone of this district to continue to work with us to help RISE our members, clubs and community to contribute in development of human being and making this world a better place for future generations and us. Lastly but not the least, enjoy every moment in your learning experience, either a speech you are delivering, or an event you are organizing, or the leadership role you are performing in your Club, Area, Division or District.

Rise in Toastmasters...

SATAC 2020

Public Relations Manager

DTM Jolly Kollamparambil

Greetings to all my fellow toastmasters! “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” – Warren Buffett Like any other facets of human endeavor, this quote is equally true for toastmaster’s life. It reminds us to produce the best results from our actions as toastmasters and protect it from rust and dust. In order to strive as a great Toastmaster, we want to intimately understand Toastmasters Brand. Brand identity is vital for any organization. It is highly imperative for every toastmaster to understand our brand, how it evolved this level of brand appreciation all around the world and how to protect it and instill a high level of brand awareness for them. Not only that, as individual members of this organization, we must take responsibility to use the brand always in the best possible manner as per the guidelines. Brand Identity is vital for any worthy entities in this world, in fact we strive to be the brand of Toastmasters International as a responsible member of the organization. Are we beingaware of ToastmastersLogo?Of course, the logo is an important itemamongthe Toastmasters Brands. However, there are more items that encompass toastmasters’ brand. We can call it as Brand Elements. The VPPR, PROs in Area, Division, District, Region and World Head Quarter of Toastmasters International are the stewards of Toastmasters Brand. As District 79 PR Manager for year 2019-2020, I cannot stress it more for a greater awareness of our Brand in all levels of our hierarchy in the district. Let me list out some common brand violations as below • Printing Toastmasters Logo, Word Marks, Tagline on trophies and certificates that not accordance with Brand Manual. • Modifying the Toastmasters Logo, Word Mark and Tagline • Mixing the above brand items with non-relevant items like along with animals, or out of context situations. • Creating your own logo borrowing toastmasters brand items. • Creating contest or other event banners with brand elements on it that are not part of toastmasters International.

How can we become a better ambassador of our brand? I urge you to read at least two important guides that are available free in our toastmasters’ website. 1) Brand Manual, www.toastmasters.org/BrandPortal 2)The PR Guide for VPPR and PRO/PRMs of Toastmasters at all level of its organizational hagiarchies. Also, it is always a good thing to visit the Brand Portal. Brand Portal is a sub section in our toastmaster’s website, where you will get the collection of brands that we can use for correspondences, templates for press releases, business cards, footer and heeders for letterheads, email and webpage webparts etc. You will find stationaries, their color codes, Business Cards, downloadable logos, web parts, banners for emails, web pages. If we read the above two items (The Brand Manual and VPPR’s Guide), we will certainly get a better grounding about the importance of our brand compliances. If we want to use toastmasters’ brand in our printed or design for an event, we must get permission from toastmasters international. Otherwise please avoid using it. As members of toastmasters international, it is our responsibility to protect our brand and refrain brand violations of all sorts. Our Brand is our identity, let us protect it like the apple of our eye. Wish you all a wonderful toastmasters experience.

SATAC 2020

Finance Manager

DTM Mufid Mustafa Around the world

You sacrifice your family time or give up a social activity, in hot summer, or a freezing winter to attend a meeting. Why? “To be a better communicator”. “Mufid, we wish you a happy retirement. It is time to enjoy your life”. A statement that meant to end my 37 years career in banking. I became obsolete because of: Age.I looked to the full half of the cup: Enjoy my life. Travel would give me exposure to other cultures. Learning one new thing fromeach visit, I would gain a lot.A journey around the world was not a bad idea. I started planning. My inspiration was Mr. Fogg the main character of the famous novel “Around the World in Eighty Days”. He made it in 79 days. For more excitement, I decided to beat his record.Of course, to be fair, I took in consideration thefacilities that were not available to Mr. Fogg. He used carriages, trains, boats, ships and sometimes he had to walk. He did not have the luxury of flying over the seas. I selected a tourist consultant. In return, of good pay, theyselectedthe cities on my route, the airlines,and the hotels I would spend my nights, according to my specifications of course.I started from Riyadh airport heading east.I passed through more than a dozen airports. Used several airlines and different aircraft models. Met many airhostesses with great variety ofcolorful uniforms. I returned in 12 days. I was proud of the thousand plus selfie photos and the beautifully designed page, by a special designer,where I recorded my observations on my laptop. Publicity is important! Hence,I hinted to TV reporter. He took the bait andarranged for a TV interview. Showing some hesitation, I accepted.Publicity is important! Hence,I hinted to TV reporter. He took the bait andarranged for a TV interview. Showing some hesitation, I accepted. During the interview, with confidence, I answered all questions related to names of cities and airports. I described the seats in airport lounges. The leather ones, the metal ones and those with reclining facility. I talked about special facilities: shower rooms, barbershops and franchise food corners like McDonalds, KFC and Fuddruckers. However, I was unable to answer immaterial questions about: - Dances in Jakarta, - Wedding ceremonies in India, - The industrial areas in China. Only then, I realized that I came back with nothing buta list of expenses. What did I do? The answer is simple. I did not go deep. I did not observe the objectives. I limited my learning to seats, shower rooms and the uniform of airhostesses. I focused on the record and ignored the real purpose: learning about cultures. Passing-by quickly does not help to achieve targets. When we come to the stage, without digestingthe project objectives. Without sufficient practice, projects become like those airports. Where we land in and take off without taking the chance to learn about the culture. If you want to be a better communicator, study your project objectives; consult with your mentor and others. Write, edit and enhance, then practice, practice and if you have extra time, practice again. No matter the time, but the result. If your trip does not add value to your skills, knowledge and experience, do not waste your time and money.At the end, you bear the cost, what to get in return is your choice.

SATAC 2020

Administration Manager

TM Cecille Llanos

Greetings to all my fellow toastmasters! It is my great honor and privilege to write my short message for SATAC. I am so grateful to continue to serve our fellow toastmasters community. It was 2014 when I began my journey. I said, I don’t need this public speaking because I am a theater actress during my college years. But I was wrong. I became timid for a quite period of time. I realized there’s a big difference between Toastmasters and theater actress. As a theater actress, they will give you a script to memorize and portray the character but in Toastmasters you need to deliver your own speech, practice impromptu, serve and lead etc. As I continue my journey, I enjoy it. Day by day I saw changes within myself. True transformation entails perseverance, hard work, commitment, engagement and passion. When I become a leader, it’s not easy to sustain all the changes and it takes a lot of processes and strategies to success on what you are aiming for. Leaders and members have a peak level of motivation and morality. Everyone wants to share and impart what they have learned and what they have knew in terms of leadership and communication. The process of listening and supporting each other offers a great value to strengthen our goals and success.And for the past five years, I clearly identified the great attitude and abilities of the leaders. The passion to serve, to inspire, to influence, and to challenge oneself are the day to day commitment of a leader. You should have strong perseverance to get things done and above all to fulfill the mission and vision of Toastmasters International. Being a leader is being you. It is the revelations of “who you are?” and “what you are?”. Who you are? is your characteristics as a leader and What you are? is your capabilities as a leader. In this journey, I learned and continuously learning the high value of communication, coordination, cooperation, commitment, delegation and determination to succeed.The beauty of being strong leaders they never give up. They will do everything to survive, bear the challenges and make things work. Because leaders never think of themselves, they always think of what is best for others. “If there’s a will, there’s a way.” I am so lucky to meet a group of leaders and members who have the same passion like me. Whatever storms that comes, we stand tall, we face it with pride and we work together to overcome it.

Lastly, in Toastmasters, we build relationship of one family. My family asked me one time, who are those people in the pictures when they saw my post in Facebook. And I said those are the people who made me laugh, who made cry, who made me feel that I’m not alone in Saudi Arabia. They are my “family”. Toastmasters will bring a lot of magnificent talents within you and it will cultivate you until you become more comfortable and more confident. Just focus in what you are doing and you will succeed. When you join in Toastmasters, know first what is your goal. What do you want to achieve? It maybe for ourselves, for our club or for our community. Do you want to become a better speaker? Do the project. Do you want to be a role model? Carry the values of toastmasters. Do you want to serve?Then be a leader that inspire, empower and influence others. Then stay focus in your goal. Challenges are everywhere but don’t give up. There’s a lot of resources that you can use. You have the toastmasters website, you have a mentor, you have great leaders and toastmasters community that I’m pretty sure willing to extend their hands and their hearts to help you growing. Toastmasters program is a continue journey that will bring the best in you, whether being a servant leader, a great speaker, an amazing person that everyone is looking at. We benefited from Toastmasters and let us share it with our own family, with friends, colleagues and in our community. Let us keep learning… keep growing and keep shining…We are in the right path of discovering the best in part of OURSELVES. Be a Toastmaster!

SATAC 2020

Logistics Manager

Richard Sinamban

Getting the Most Outof What You are Paying They say that “It’s not what you have; it’s what you do with what you have.” As toastmasters, one of the things we receive aside from communication and leadership manuals is the Toastmaster magazine, E magazine from District, Division and Club.But, let me ask you a question: What do we normally do with those magazines? Allow me to share with you three ways the Toastmaster magazine maybe utilized to contribute to a toastmaster and his/her Division, Area and Club: Read it Compared to lengthy textbooks or manuals, our magazines provide reasonable size of information making it very easy to absorb and learn. In addition, the Toastmaster magazines cover a range of topics that aims to meet various interests of its readers; I am sure you will always find appropriate and fascinating topics inside. Apply it There is no point reading it without the intention of applying what you just learned from it. You may apply it in your next speech project, in your mentoring, or you can share it with the club. The idea is being able to “learn by doing” what you just learned from the magazines. Share it This is a good way to market your club. Once you are finished with the magazine, you may consider sharing it with friends whom you want to invite to be part of your club. You may also consider donating it to the lobby of your office and then attach club contact details for those readers who will find Toastmasters interesting. Don’t worry about losing the hard copies of the magazines.You still have access to those issues as soft copies for active members are available through the Toastmasters International website.

Read it, Apply it, and Share it: three simple yet useful ways on how we can make the most out of our magazines. I encourage you to consider these three habits as a toastmaster. After all, it’s not going to be about what you have but what you do with what you have. Note: With the current situation that we are facing, the opportunity to Read it online, Apply it in online meetings, and Share it with friends online is at its best. Give it a try.

SATAC 2020

PAST

DISTRICT DIRECTORS

SATAC 2020

Immediate Past District 79 Director DTM Hassan Maghazel Dear fellow District 79 Members, In our lives, we used to pass with some obstacles and problems; some people could pass them with no effect, while other results are adverse. We learned in the Toastmaster organization to spend our time positively in whatever situation we are in.

We used to have face to face meetings and contests, but during this pandemic, we could not. This was the real-life exam for us because we (via zoom) proceeded with club meetings and District contests. Moreover, we were able to attend more meetings inside District 79 and outside. I can say that the toastmasters could live with the situation positively. Every day I have more than two toastmasterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s events, I joined (as a judge) some contests inside and outside our District, I attended meetings worldwide, and I invited toastmasters from Fareast/Western countries to attend club meetings at our city, so the network became more significant range. Fellow Leaders the life lesson we learned this year is how to cope with any situation positively. As the Past International President, DTM Baralaj ArunaSalam said: Utilize the skills you are learning from toastmasters outside toastmasters. In SATAC 2020, I wish to District 79 a successful event, and all of us will benefit from attending all sections.

SATAC 2020

Past District Director

DTM Nazeer Alqasem

Dear fellow District 79 Members, I’d like to reminisce for a moment looking back at memory lane when we were just a small group of pioneers trying to spread the Toastmasters’ way of self development and personal growth. I can assure you that the learning journey is never ending. The great news today is we see young generation that are setting higher benchmark and surpassing our past achievements and most probably will leave greater legacy. Together, veterans and new comers are standing tall and proud of our

achievements. We have become a large formidable multinational district with more than 230 clubs in the Eastern, Central and Northern Provinces. Saudi Arabia has now two districts compared to only two clubs in 1970’s. Toastmasters International considers this region as the fastest growing among the whole world. We have a home grown world champion and despite not being distinguished the last two years, however, our long history of being President Distinguished will never fade away. We have conducted annual conferences that are masterpieces of organization which equals the International Level. We will continue our success story by testing new grounds and moving forward with steady steps. However, I believe there is always great benefit to benchmark by looking back and review lessons learned and build on past experience. I recall when we were un-districted clubs; and just being approved by the Toastmasters International Organization as Territorial Council of the Gulf Region, we had very little money, fewer members and not enough sponsors. We carried on regardless and performed our tasks with dedication and hard work. We had leaders who envisioned that our fraternity would become a district in the Gulf before 2003. The dream became a resounding reality. Those pioneers have left their footsteps to guide us to have another vision; Saudi Arabia has grown to become a strong district before 2003. They have shared their knowledge and experience and although most of them are gone, we should never forget their contributions. Those who are still around are always willing to help when we ask of them. Let us all meet in SATAC20 and witness how the young generation will excel by starring to the sky and glitter as stars. God bless you all and see you on April 16 at Habitat Hotel.

Looking back before moving foward

SATAC 2020

Past District Director

DTM Saif Sheikh

Dear fellow District 79 Members, As per Howard University USA Journal,less than 3% are writing their goals and less than 1% review & rewrite their goals. The success rate in the entire world is shockingly less than 1% very few are lucky ones are fortunate enough to succeed. Common attitudes in successful people are: 1.They believe in themselves. 2.They make simple and achievable goals. 3.They are focused toward their target. 4.They are determined to convert their dream into reality. A known management consultant Mr. Brain Tracy says there are 5 types of people who donot set their goals: 1.Simply not serious – this group of people, spend their life moment by moment. They don’t have any vision and mission in their life. 2.Don’t understand the importance of goals - this group of people,are least interested in goal setting and they believe this activity can’t make any difference in their life. 3.Don’t know how to do it – this group of people, know the importance of goal setting in their life but they don’t know how to develop the goals for them. 4. Don’t set goals – is fear of rejection – this group of people, are in this state of mind “What will peoplethink about them?” 5.Don’t set goals – is the fear of failure. This group of people, know the importance of goals but are afraid what might happen if they can’t achieve it. Let me ask you a question? How many of you travel by air? All most every one of us travel by air for vacation& business assignments. Do you know at takeoff aircraft burnsapproximately 70% of its fuelout of total required to reach to the destination? Similarly,the first step is always difficult to take and the rest is easy. All successful people in the world which are less than 1%, they are focusedtoward their goal. Are you among 1% of the world population?

Believe in Yourself...

SATAC 2020

Past District Director

DTM Joey Villanueva

Dear fellow District 79 Leaders, I wish you the best of educational and learning activities, treasured memories and lots of fun as we celebrate the success of SATAC 2020-Al Khobar. As a member of Toastmasters in the Kingdom for 25 years, annual District Conference is the activities I enjoyed the most. In the early days we had to travel to countries in GCC to attend the Conference. And because of travel and financial restrictions only few leader-members from the Kingdom participated in conferences, missing not only the networking and learning opportunities but the celebration of District success. Our dream - to a have our District in Saudi Arabia. If we could not bring our leader-members to attend the District Conference then, we bring the conference to the leader-members, and we did with the reformation of District 79-KSA. Toastmasters is learning by doing. We believe that experience is still best teacher, the most ecstatic experience that is. For in the words of our Founder Dr. Ralph C. Smedley, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We learn best in moments of enjoymentâ&#x20AC;?. SATA2020 is our moment of enjoyment, the greatest, I would say. It is the celebration of our greatest learning experiences, the end result of our labor and services to our members. SATAC2020 experience will also inspire our leaders do more and achieve the goals of the district before the end of the term in June 30, 2020. While SATAC2020 is the showcase of our District 79 Speech Champions, let us not only aspire to be winners but to be creator of bigger dreams, encouragement of their achievements. Let SATAC2020 awaken us and bring us back to the WHY we joined the Toastmasters. Is that WHY the reason we remain active and continue promoting by living according to our core values of Integrity, Respect, Service and Excellence at all times? If we do, this call for a celebration indeed. Finally, I commend the leadership of our District Director DTM SAMER FAKER KAMAL fully supported by the District Excom and Council Members for the great success of SATAC 2020. I also feel proud for the accomplishment of our SATAC 2020 Chairman Nayaz Kaiser, with the help of powerhouse Committee Chairpersons and members. Gratitude too, to our SATAC2020 Magazine Committee Director Sabal Almadi, and her team for committing to print the memory of SATAC 2020.

SATEC 2020 The Celebration

SATAC 2020

Past District Director

Dr. Soloman Almadi, DTM

Dear fellow Toastmasters members of District. Initially, many of us joined Toastmasters to improve ourselves, but soon realized the value of Toastmasters in transforming the lives of the people around us. We rapidly developed from being a recipient of influence to an actual influential agent! Look around, and you will see those who are diehard Toastmasters members exerting every effort to spread this learning model. They all started as Toastmasters with their first entry point, visiting a Toastmasters club.

Toastmasters clubs and members are astonishing phenomena of success and worldwide leadership. What makes this learning model unique is us; the members! We are part of creating an environment that is welcoming, positive, and provides the content to make us better today than yesterday. The result of this is translated into a beautiful “Members’ Experience.” Each club has its flavor of Members’ Experience, which is pivotal in attracting new members and developing one another. In this particular event of SATAC 2020, it is an excellent opportunity to extend our Members Experience through listening, learning, exchanging, and inspiring one another. Let us all celebrate this special occasion by continuing extending our hands to each other, and reflect on the true meaning of what it means to be a Toastmaster member. Let us also reflect on the meaning of leadership, communication, core values, perseverance, and the kind of mindset that can take on challenges, embrace teamwork, and pursue excellence. Let us lead the transformation into pathways for success. Let us celebrate our core values (Integrity, Respect, Service, and Excellence). Let us win the world championship again for The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Let us be the number one District in the world in quality and growth. And let us support our District leadership and deliver on our 2019/2020 goals. But most importantly, let us all continue to strive to be the best that we can be! I wish all Toastmasters members’ enormous success and hope that all of you continue to enjoy this journey together, for many years to come.

Members Experience

SATAC 2020

Past District Director

DTM Abdullah Al Sharif Good Enough

“Make Life Easier on Yourself by Accepting “Good Enough.” Don’t Pursue Perfection, Pursue Progress” Thomas Oppong Voltaire once said, “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” In other words, instead of pushing yourself to an impossible “perfect,” and therefore getting nowhere, accept “good.” Done is better than perfect The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists. It rewards people who get things done. Give yourself time in your life to wonder what’s possible and to make even the slightest moves in that direction.

The following steps to shifting your mindset and freeing yourself from the fear of mistakes: Step 1: Begin a new project by explicitly acknowledging what is difficult and unfamiliar, and accepting that you will need some time to really get a handle on it. You may make some mistakes, and that’s ok. That’s how the ability works — it develops. Step 2: Reach out to others when you run into trouble. Too often, we hide our mistakes, rather than sharing them with those who could guide us. Mistakes don’t make you look foolish — but acting like you are a born expert on everything certainly, will. Step 3: Try not to compare your own performance to other people’s. Instead, compare your performance today to your performance last week, last month, or last year. You may make mistakes, you may not be perfect, but are you improving? That’s the only question that matters. Step 4: Don’t wait until your work is perfect. It’s one of the biggest reasons most people can’t ship or launch anything meaningful. Creative professionals put so much pressure on themselves to create something that is 100% perfect. Step 5: Creativity flourishes when you don’t seek perfection. Focus on getting stuff done. Just do. Start. Move, make, create, ship, do. Step 6: Stop telling yourself your work is not good enough. “One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn’t do.” — Henry Ford Step 7: Ship and don’t look back. When you ship, momentum happens. You evolve. Your creative processes get better. Iwish you all the best.

SATAC 2020

Past District Director

DTM James Taruc

Dear fellow District 79 Members, I am not this person a decade ago. A lot has changed – perspectives, plans, relationships, priorities and even attitude. In the gargantuan arena of the fittest, change becomes the saving rope to win over weaknesses and triumph over failures. Changes which gave me chances to further better myself after repurposing my existence and redirecting my energies to more fruitful outcomes. Changes that led to enormous opportunities seeking growth for a man has to learn and embrace progress. Change which also wrecked me at times when the impossible looms and uncertainty consumes your inner core.

An organization that commits to empowerment of people like me as all of us has a voice to express, thoughts to guide, passion to motivate and stories to inspire cause you are braver, stronger and smarter than you think. On the auspicious occasion of the most awaited event in District 79 – the Saudi Arabia Toastmasters Annual Conference, I offer my greatest felicitation to the selfless leaders who made this event possible. With the theme “Starring in the Sky!”, I salute all the outstanding men & women behind the staging of this momentous event here in the warm city of Al Khobar. I earnestly appreciate the Conference Chair DTM Nayaz Kaiser & his magnificent team who went beyond boundaries to make this gathering something remarkable and unique – a conference where everyone shines & sparkles! Allow me to thank also the District Officers, the Division, Area Directors, club officers and committee members in staging this once-in-a-year coming together of all toastmasters from Central, Eastern & Northeastern Regions of Saudi Arabia. My perpetual quote of “Greatness comes from within” always live up with me. We have all greatness in our hearts and minds. The only challenge is how to unleash it and how will you make use of it to champion the betterment of others. Noting great has started from being great already, it is a result of minute ideas transformed into thoughts and performed as actions. Our hearts store all emotions while our brain executes. All these originates from within. The power to change the place your living in and the chance to influence others lie in your inner core. As you examine what you take in the same manner you watch what comes out from you. May you all carry this simple message in your toastmasters’ journey. Again, thank you all. Mabuhay kayong lahat! #MembersAboveAll

You are braver, stonger & smarter

than you think.

SATAC 2020

DIVISION DIRECTORS

SATAC 2020

DIVISION A About 5 years ago when I suggested to one of my friends to join Toastmasters, he refused. He felt he was too old to join Toastmasters at 50 plus and none of my public relationship skills could convince him. Today when he looks at the confidence I have gained due to Toastmasters he repents. He is unable to believe that Toastmasters can make such incredible improvements. One day he reminded me of how shy and nervous I was called to the stage in a public function to give a short speech. I was so perturbed that I forgot whatever I prepared. As we preach in Toastmasters, “we learn by doing”. We don’t realise how much we improve with every appearance on the stage in Toastmasters. Over a period of time we become so confident in front of unknown people that we start wondering how this magic happens. Once I was in a public cultural function attempting a song in a language in which I have never sung. Though I was not very fluent in that language I wanted to sing in that language because majority of the audience spoke that language. After my performance many people congratulated me for a flawless performance. That time I realised that I didn’t feel any stress or nervousness on the stage though I was singing in a language in which I was not fluent. It was the magic of Toastmasters. Toastmasters not only makes us better communicators and leaders but also brings a positive difference in anything we do in life. Before joining Toastmasters one of my friends told me that he has benefitted significantly from Toastmasters in personal life. I didn’t take it seriously then; however, now I experience the same. We encounter several conflicts in our personal life and at professional level. The experience we get by evaluating others and receiving evaluation from others helps us to deal with conflicts harmoniously. The benefits I have gained from Toastmasters is incredible and therefore whenever I come across someone who is yet to experience toastmasters I sincerely persuade them to join Toastmasters. When I have benefitted so much from Toastmasters, how can I be selfish and not persuade others to get benefitted. If all of us think about doing good to others, and only good to others, we will definitely see a better tomorrow.

DIVISION TEAM

SATAC 2020

DIVISION B 2019 - 2020 years have been very important & a memorable year for me as a Toastmaster. I started my toastmasters journey a decade ago. But the bigger responsibility of Div B Director under District 79 has taken me through challenges & Obstacles & this experience has taught me several positive lessons which has become useful in my Professional , Personal & Public life. During this 10 years journey in Toastmastering, I have learned so much ,which has taught me to differentiate between a leader and a manager. This is the platform where I have learned so many skills such as Listening, perseverance , leadership, motivation, encourage without limits etc. this has been made possible by associating with different professionals from various back grounds. My passion for public speaking has brought me this far to achieve the recognition of DTM, I enjoyed this journey where I have met so many leaders who had been an inspiration for me to serve the society. Life is continuous journey of learning, a process which makes you humble & strong. It has been a real challenge to handle members from different clubs / areas who were experienced & inexperienced speakers & leaders. But working & moving along with them has, made me a better leader. Inorder to be a successful leader one must follow & practice these 5 important objectives in leadership. 1) Direction 2) Values 3) Planning 4) Organizing 5) Execution I am sure that District 79 will continue to grow & will keep on moulding better speakers which will add value to their personal life, professional life & to the society.SATAC is round the corner, I wish all the contestants the very best. I am sure that all will witness an outstanding performance in all categories. Wishing the 2020 SATAC team great success.

DIVISION TEAM

SATAC 2020

‫‪DIVISION C‬‬ ‫التجرب ُة املتف ّرد ُة‬ ‫ات الحياة ‪ ،‬ويستيقظ من ِ‬ ‫لكم أن تتخيلوا ‪ ..‬أن يأيت أحدا ً يف املساء أثناء نوم اإلنسان العميق ‪ ،‬ويحقن رأسه بحقن ٍة تكسبه مهار ًة من مهار ِ‬ ‫الغد ُيارس هذه املهارة بكل ثق ٍة واقتدار !!! ‪ ،‬ليس هذا‬ ‫إال رضباً من الخيال ؛ فاملهارات أياً كانت ال تأيت هكذا ؛ إمنا تأيت بالتعلّم والتدريب واملامرسة ‪ ،‬ولكن كيف إذا متت هذه املامرسة يف بيئ ٍة مختلف ٍة متلؤها اإليجابية بكل ما تحمله هذه الكلمة من‬ ‫‪ .‬معنى ‪ ،‬فكثرية هي املهارات التي نحتاج أن نتعلّمها يف حياتنا ونكتسبها بكل احرتاف ّية ‪ ،‬ومن أه ّمها مهارة القيادة إلعتبار ٍ‬ ‫ات مهم ٍة ج ّدا ً‬ ‫مؤلفات عديد ٍة ‪ ،‬وحرضت دور ٍ‬ ‫ٍ‬ ‫ات تدريبي ٍة كثري ٍة فيها من التعلّم الج ّيد لهذه املهارة الكثري والكثري ‪ ،‬إضاف ًة أنني مارست القيادة يف ع ّد ِة أعام ٍل وظيفي ٍة وتطوعي ٍة‬ ‫فعن تجربتي الشخصية قرأت‬ ‫رس َمت يل هذه البيئة صورة ذهني ٍة مختلف ٍة عن القيادة قبل أن أمارسها ‪ ،‬فالقيادة يف‬ ‫وبرام ٍج متنوع ٍة ‪ ،‬حتى قيّّض الله يل أن مارست القيادة يف بيئة التوستامسرتز ‪ ،‬البيئة املختلفة ح ّقاً ؛ حيث َ‬

‫التوستامسرتز أشبه بأن تكون ؛ كيف نقو ُد من نشاء وقت ما نشاء نحو األهداف التي نُري ُد تحقيقها كيفام نشاء ‪ ،‬فاملواقف املتكررة مبا فيها من ُمعطيات أتاحت يل تعلي ٌم مستم ٌّر للقياد ِة املتف ّرد ِة‬ ‫رشفت بالعمل معه ‪ ،‬فأحسست‬ ‫ومامرستها من خال ِل التأثريِ واإللهامِ ‪ ،‬حقاً إنها تجرب ًة فريد ًة استفدت منها كثريا ً ‪ ،‬جعلتني اعتاد أن أرس ُم ‪ -‬كخطو ٍة أوىل ‪ -‬رؤي ًة مستقبلي ًة مرشد ًة للفريق الذي ت ّ‬

‫‪ .‬كأنني القائد العارف الذي يرى النهاية يف البداية‬

‫أفضل املهار ِ‬ ‫ات القيادي ِة ‪ ،‬لكن مث َّ َة اختالف يك ّمن يف املامرسة املستم ّرة دو َن انقطا ٍع للتفكريِ‬ ‫مهارة القيادة يف برنامج التوستامسرتز منهجي ٌة تعليمي ٌة تدريبي ٌة تأخذ من نظريات القياد ِة الحديث ِة ُ‬ ‫العاطفي ‪ ،‬فالقيادة يف‬ ‫وأيا ذكا ٍء ؛ إنه الذكاء‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫ُرص البحث واالطّالع يف هذا املجال الواسع ‪ ،‬ففي التعاملِ مع الفريقِ واألعضا ِء عموماً ؛‬ ‫اإلبداعي يف القيادة ‪ ،‬حيثُ تتيح ف َ‬ ‫يتعامل القائ ُد بذكا ٍء ّ‬ ‫ّ‬

‫‪ .‬التوستامسرتز ؛ ت ُذك ّرين بقول الحكيم الروماين بثيوس ‪ “ :‬من يرد أن يكون ذا سلطان فليبسط سلطانه أوالً عىل نفسه” ‪ ،‬فقياد ُة الذ ِ‬ ‫ووعي خطو ًة عن ألف خطو ٍة نحو قيادة اآلخرين‬ ‫ّات بحكم ٍة‬ ‫ٍ‬

‫‪DIVISION TEAM‬‬

‫‪SATAC 2020‬‬

‫‪36‬‬

DIVISION D As the proverb says Aim at the star and shoot at the sky, we toastmasters always aim at the stars and become a star ourselves. From the day you enroll yourself as a member of this vast global community, your journey begins. The journey of self-discovery. It is a continuous process of self-development, self-analyzing and self-discovering. With the help of mentors and leaders we embark the journey of this amazing transformation from a Doctor/ Engineer/ Analyst/ Teacheretcâ&#x20AC;Ś to be a Toastmaster. A journey that empowers us to become the best version of ourselves. Saudi Arabian Toastmasters Annual Conference (SATAC 2020) is a stage that glories the journey and it is the culmination of this journey. The journey doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t end here, it is a place where the transformation happens, an event where every single club, leaders from different part of the communities and nations set aside their differences, embrace each other, work, sweat and toil to give the best experience for the participants and our leaders. It is a privilege to take part in this prestigious event and to represent Division D, is a phenomenal occasion. I wish all the contestants and leaders a wonderful time. It is a place where we get inspired and motivated to do the best and be the best. Let us all unite hands and make a difference, turn a leaf and inspire the world.

DIVISION TEAM

SATAC 2020

DIVISION E It is my honor and privilege to send my best wishes for yet another successful and inspiring Saudi Arabian Annual Conference; SATAC2020. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the leaders of District 79 for their trust, hard work, relentless support given to all Toastmasters of Division “E” in making Division “E” Toastmasters Year a very glamorous and amazing one. What makes the Division “E” distinguished is its diversity of talents through different cultures which every cub brings out. We are fortunate to have clubs of members with different languages and nationalities along with the concepts of corporate and community clubs. Through such diversity, all leaders have the platform to inspire our communities to contribute in the development of the country and the world around us and beyond

DIVISION TEAM

SATAC 2020

DIVISION F Peace and tranquility can never prevail in a society wherefallaciousness and dishonesty become a common practice.Morality is the backbone for the life of any nation, irrespective of any religion. Ethics are the common thread of all religions of the world, on which no one can disagree. The main thing that distinguishes humans from animals is morality. Existence, stability, and survival of nations depends on Good Qualities of Moral Character of their societies. The society is directly affected by the structure and deterioration of one’s character. If society develops positive morals, it creates a strong, healthy, and capable nation; and If a society is corrupted, then its corruption devours the nation like a loathsome thing.Where morality is extinct, a society can never be civilized.Collective tolerance, equality, and brotherhood can never flourish. A nation with good morals prosperswhile a nation with bad morals declines.You can observe this in the world in your East and West. It is morality that separates humans from other creatures. As long as man’s intellect works according to his moral attitude, everything goes well, and when his sublime passions overpower him, they not only deprive him of the spiritual energy that comes from a moral being, but also ultimately blunts his intellectual capacity.As a result, society takes the form of brutality and begins to look like human-like beasts, not human beings. All this is the result of moral indifference.Man’s moral sense enlightens him of his rights and duties. The essence of collective life is born of kindness, courtesy, brotherhood, tolerance, and sacrifice.As long as the moral sense remains in the people, they perform their duties responsibly and cheerfully.And when there is a lack of these characteristics, the oppression becomes common in this society. What are morals or ethics? “Morals are that if someone insults you, speaks ill of you or offends you, then do not react adversely. Instead forgive him, show kindness in your words and actions. If someone offends you and you forgive him, then your respect and sincerity in his heart will increase. If someone violates your rights and you become a protector of his rights, then surely one day he will be ashamed too and thus the society will automatically improve. Let us follow these golden principles, then all moral evils can be eliminated from our society automatically and the society can become the garden of peace, brotherhood, and fraternity.

DIVISION TEAM

SATAC 2020

‫‪DIVISION G‬‬ ‫جل وقتي‬ ‫يل كلامت العتاب الشديد من أصدقايئ ‪ ,‬إلختفايئ عنهم وعن جلساتهم الحميمية ‪< ,‬ال أنكر فأنا مقلة جدا ً يف ذلك >حتى أنهم أسمونني املتقوقعة ‪ ,‬فكان ردي دامئاً التوستامسرتز أخذ َّ‬ ‫!! يف كثري من التجمعات العائلية وتجمعات األصدقاء تنهال ع َّ‬ ‫‪ .‬هنا تبدأ التساؤالت ‪ ..‬ماهي اإلستفادة التي تجنينها من هذا اليشء ؟!! هل يعطونك املال ؟! هل يفيدك يف عملك وترقياتك ؟!! وتطول التساؤالت‬ ‫يل بالكلامت الغاضبة عندما أذكر أن كل هذا تطوعياً بدون مقابل مايل ‪ ,‬بل أنني من حبي له أرصف الكثري من املال ألحرض املؤمترات وأشارك باألندية و بخدمة اآلخرين‬ ‫‪ .‬ثم تتسمر الوجوه وتعلوها الدهشة لرتمي ع ّ‬ ‫‪ ..‬ثم بكل حب أبدأ برسد كل املنافع وامليزات التي قد جنيتها من دخويل إىل عامل التوستامسرتز ‪ ,‬قلت ‪ :‬يكفيني بأين قد وجدت نفيس وروحي يف هذا العامل بعد أن كانت متخبطة ضائعة يف مسارات عدة‬ ‫فهنا تعلمت ‪:‬‬ ‫تعلمت الصرب الذي كنت أفتقده يف حيايت‬ ‫تعلمت كيف أكون قائدا ً حقيقياً ميلك معايري القيادة الصحيحة‬ ‫إستطعت تطبيق قيمة تربيت عليها منذ صغري وهي خدمة اآلخرين بحب وبدون مقابل‬ ‫هنا وقفت وتعلمت كيف أوصل كلاميت بوضوح وبثقة دون أن يرجف يل صوت أو ترتعش يل يد‬ ‫وهنا وجدت ‪:‬‬ ‫وجدت الحب الصادق من زمالء تحولوا ألصدقاء مقربني فكانوا رفقة صالحة‬ ‫وجدت الخربة واملعرفة الغزيرة فطفقت أرشب من نهر ال ينضب‬ ‫وجدت التقدير واإلحرتام وتقدير العمل والجهد‬ ‫وجدت قلمي الذي فاض وفاض حتى خرج كتايب األول للنور بعد إنتظار سنوات كثرية‬ ‫وجدت الشغف الذي كنت أبحث عنه‬ ‫!ثم إستطردت قائلة ‪ :‬أبعد هذا كله وال تريدون يل التقوقع داخل التوستامسرتز ؟‬ ‫حينها فقط إبتسموا وقالوا يل ‪ :‬لك كل الحق يف ذلك ‪ ,‬وكم نحن فخورون بك‬ ‫!وأنت يا من مل تتذوق طعم هذا الجامل بعد‪ ,‬ماذا تنتظر ؟‬ ‫عامل التوستامسرتز ُمشَّ ِ ٌع أبوابه لك لتكتشف نفسك‬ ‫فهنا ‪ ..‬ستتعلم وستجد ‪ ,‬مامل تتعلمه و ما مل تجده يف مكان آخر‬

‫‪DIVISION TEAM‬‬

‫‪SATAC 2020‬‬

‫‪40‬‬

DIVISION J I take this opportunity to appreciateall our District 79 Toastmaster members for their resilience to remain focussed and move forward during present uncertain times prevailing in the market. Also, my special appreciation to our SATAC2020 organizing committee for their preparation, determination & continuous hard work to make the Saudi Arabia Toastmasters Annual Conference 2020 a grand success. As Toastmasters we are continuously improving our leadership skills this leads us to be innovative & perform better during challenging situations. The present global pandemic has taught us difficult lessons. Many of us are experiencing this crisis for the first time in our whole life. The need of the hour is “Patience”. Kindly keep in mind, “We don’t eat the fruit, the day we sow the seed”. As Toastmasters we need to persuade and motivate our members, friends, colleagues and families to patiently listen to the authorities, follow the instructions and take the necessary precautionary measures to stay safe and healthy. We believe “Cleanliness is Godliness”. In toastmasters, we have efficacious leaders like shinning stars in the sky. They have been mentoring our members in their talent development. We have eminent leaders who are working as mentors by sharing their valuable experience, knowledge and wisdom in order to develop each member. I am one of the big beneficiaries from the Mentorship program. I am always grateful to my mentors. Urge everyone to make use of this great opportunity to closely interact with your mentors to achieve growth. In Toastmasters, our shared vision is to achieve member development & satisfaction.We need to continue our ongoing efforts to conduct online club meetings, pay the due membership renewal fees on time and continue enjoy your learning experience. Together we will go through this difficult time and emerge fully ready to build a brighter future.

DIVISION TEAM

SATAC 2020

DIVISION L It is important to set your goal. Your goal can be short term or long term, but what is most essential is the plan to achieve it. We will get a lot of excuses and convincing reasons to quit, but those reasons should only allow us to alter/modify our goal but not to quit from the race. Recently I came upon a nice quote ‘run with your mind, not just your legs’. A young army officer started his morning exercise of running 10 kilometres. He had started the run in an enthusiastic manner, but found himself tiring by 5th kilometre. He felt as if his legs would fold up and that he would collapse on the spot. He heard his commanding officer shouting ‘Come on until now you have been running with your legs. Now run with your mind.” These magical words made him continue running instead of quitting until he had successfully covered 10 kilometres. Success in life is not defined by talent and physical ability, but by the mental strength to stay in the course and run the extra mile. Take an example of Soichiro Honda the famous founder of Honda Motor Co Ltd, who struggled from childhood with his great ambition in automotive invention. When he was a child, he was literally mesmerized when he first saw a car. In his bio he recalls, “Forgetting about everything in the world, I was running after the car…I was deeply moved…I think it was then, although I was very young, I had the idea that someday I will construct a car myself.”At the age of 15 in 1922 as an apprentice in a garage, he started his journey towards his goal. He then opened his own auto repair shop. In spite of the World War II destructions and 1945 Milkawa earthquake from which he could only salvage ¥450,000 from his business, he continued in pursuit of his dream. He persisted until he launched the very first model in the Dream series of motorcycles. His dedication and Honda’s superior engineering and marketing skills resulted in Honda motorcycles outselling Triumph and Harley-Davidson in their respective home markets. In the conquest of the automotive market Honda made a bet on his favorite race cars. The first one was debuted in 1962. While Japanese officials tried to convince him in the futility of the project, arguing that the country did not need another car manufacturer, but energetic entrepreneur did not listen their arguments. In 1970 Soichiro Honda was the winner in the highly competitive automotive industry. In spite of many obstacles and Soichiro Honda san, continue his childhood dream and produced one of the best cars in the world. There are many such stories like Colonel Sanders of KFC to add few. We can also create such history of pursuing our dream with our mind stay focused until we achieve our goal.

DIVISION TEAM

SATAC 2020

DIVISION M First of all, it is the immense opportunity to thank the entire Division M team for serving our members to strive to achieve a higher level of excellence at Division M. Special thanks to assistant directors for quality and club growth in addition to the set of elite area directors supported by amazing advisors . For another year, Saudi Arabian Toastmasters Annual Conference; SATAC 2020 is approaching us with another opportunity to witness another great competition for the glorious title of district champion and great show to passionate leader who serve the community to bring to the scene the most waited conference every year. This year conference is difference because it is for the first in history being conducted online which requires from the organizing committee to go beyond all limits and they really did great job to strive to bring this unique opportunity. Therefore, I must express my thanks to every member of them for their extradentary efforts for making us proud leaders across the world. Let us all take this unique opportunity as one of its kind to leverage the online platform to build more bridges between members and participate in the success of this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s SATAC2020 before it is gone forever.

DIVISION TEAM

SATAC 2020

DIVISION N It has been great privilege to serve as division N director this year. It is great opportunity to thank every member, club officer, area director and assistant division director and advisor for their support throughout this year. This year SATAC2020, the competition will give everyone to listen, learn and be inspired as members for its uniqueness of being first ever time online. Let us celebrate this special occasion by extending our hands to each other and reflecting on the true meaning what it means to be a Toastmasters member. Let us also reflect in the meaning of leadership and communication to foster the kind of mindset that can take on challenges, embrace teamwork and reach out for excellence. I thank the organizing team of SATAC2020 and wish all the participants my best wishes and May the best win to proceed to compete on the world championship of public speaking.

DIVISION TEAM

SATAC 2020

DIVISION O Every one of us are born with special quality and it’s unique to us, but we failed to identify it and ignore nurture to be our strength. We never appreciate our distinctive ability but always look at others through comparison. Then try to imitate them and lose our own identity. When I joined toastmasters 7 years ago, for the first time I thought I was a special human with special capability which others don’t possess in them, even people around me are skeptical about it. I tried to develop my communication skill by attempting speeches to complete my manual and competed in speech contests to build my confidence. I didn’t win any trophies but made progress to be competent communicator by inspiring people with my story and people smiled for my humor. What I learned in my journey,it is vital to move forward with small steps than delay to attain perfection in doing things. Putting efforts on regular basis to achieve the goal, as the quality can be perfected by doing the task repeatedly. My leadership track enable me to climb different steps of leadership ladder and today I have the privilege to be the Division Director of District 79. This leadership made me to overcome fear and help to build my self-confidence. This leadership journey made me to accomplish which once I was never deemed to achieve. The greatest lesson in my life which I have learned is, “there is nothing called impossible, if you are ready to put the efforts on a regular basis. Then you can be ”Staring in the Sky”

DIVISION TEAM

SATAC 2020

DIVISION Q John C. Maxwell explained leadership into five levels: Position, Relationships, Production, Developing Others and Pinnacle. Pinnacle happen when people will follow you because of who you are and what you represent. who seeks reaching the fifth level of leadership, know that the path is long and risky but also worth it. In order to reach this great success, you will undoubtedly go through many turns that test you, and try to show you the worst in you during the driving trip and affect your personal and practical life, especially if your trip is in a voluntary field such as Toastmasters. On this journey, as long as you are honest and sincere, you will find a different happiness you couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have imagined. When you give with love, clear goals and sincerity, you will see how much you are a wonderful person. When you take up an executive position or a member in any committee in the club, you will go through different experiences and someone will tell you that you become better, then your heart will smile. When toastmaster achieves an ambition that you contributed directly - as a mentor or coach who opened the horizons with sincerity and love or indirectly as an active member who contributed to the continuation of the club to which this person joined, even as area or division director or having role in contest, then you will draw inside your entity Smiles Wondering and ask yourself did my simple job really do this? After that you will know that frustration, anger, and sadness are just test stages of life to make sure that you want to develop yourself and reach to Pinnacle of leadership. So dear leaders in this journey, please continue with integrity, sincerity and a generous spirit, and enjoy the journey.

DIVISION TEAM

SATAC 2020

‫‪DIVISION R‬‬ ‫! القيادة ‪ :‬علم‪ ..‬وفن ‪ ..‬وعطاء‬ ‫‪ .‬وقودها التواصل الفعال مع األخرين‬ ‫حينام يستثمر القائد طاقات األفراد العاملني معه ويوظفها لتحقيق األهداق والوصول للتطلعات فإن ذلك يعد حنكة قيادية يتم من خاللها توحيد الجهود وتحقيق اإلنجاز‪ .‬وتقود متابعة القائد الفعالة لجميع أعضاء الفريقنحو األداء املثايل الرائد‪ .‬ويعد واالستامع‬ ‫‪.‬لهمحس ذيك ميكنه من رسعة االستجابة والترصف السليم الفعال‬ ‫‪.‬كام أن اإللتزام بتعليامت القائد ‪ -‬بدقة ‪ -‬من قبل األفراد يساعد وبشكل كبري يف نجاح املهام القيادية ويجنب الوقوع يف األخطاء الفردية‬ ‫إن عمل القائد وفق منظور اسرتاتيجي وامتالكه لرؤية اسرتاتيجية واضحة ومحددة األهداف مهارة عمالقة – نادرة – تسهم يف عمليات اإلنقاذ من األزمات‪ .‬وتزرع يف أفراد فريق العمل الثقة وتحفزهم لبذل الجهود املضاعفة‪ .‬والجميل جدا ً أن يرشك القائد أفراد‬ ‫‪.‬مجموعته يف صنع القرارات حيث يقوم بدعوتهم ومناقشتهم واتخاذ املناسب منها‪ ،‬مام يخلق روح جامعية تحرر نفسية القائد من االستبداد بالرأي‬ ‫‪.‬ومن املهم أن يتمتع القائد مبيزة الذكاء االجتامعي حيث تقوده هذه امليزة باتجاه اإللهام والتأثري وتتضح هذه امليزه يف مدى حرص القائد عىل شؤون أفراد مجموعته وبذله كافه الجهود لنفعهم وتوفري سبل الراحة لهم‬ ‫‪.‬واألهم أن يكون القائد قدوة صالحة ملن حوله ويلتزم بقراراته ولوائحه ويتجنب مخالفتها واإلبتعاد عن االستثناءات الخاصة – الكثرية – أمام أفراد الفريق ويكون امنوذجاً رائعاً للقيادة بالقدوة‬ ‫! أخريا ً ‪ ..‬القيادة ليست احتكار وال تهميش‬ ‫‪.‬فالقادة الحقيقيون هم من يهيئون مساحة شاسعة بال قيود للمبدعني ويسهمون بفعالية يف صناعة قادة جدد‬ ‫محمد بن عامر العتيبي‬ ‫بكالوريوس إدارة أعامل ا إدارة مشاريع‬ ‫خبري ومستشار معتمد يف اإلدارة اإلسرتاتيجية‬ ‫مدرب دويل معتمد ا مدير دويل معتمد‬ ‫رتبة القائد املتمكن والقيادة عالية األداء من منظمة التوستامسرتز العاملية‬ ‫ألندية القيادة والتواصل ( توستامسرتز ) مبنطقة الرياض ) ‪ ( R‬رئيس القسم‬

‫‪DIVISION TEAM‬‬

‫‪47‬‬

‫‪SATAC 2020‬‬

DIVISION S “The True Nature of Leadership is influence, nothing more nothing less” John C. Maxwell. When I first joined toastmasters, my goal was to improve my communication skills and deliver speeches. However, leadership was calling. I was honored to serve as the club secretary one month after I joined. This moment helped me realized that the more service I give to people, the better leader I become. Serving more led me to accept my first big challenge of serving as an Area Director twice. Until the day duty called me to take on an even more challenging role of serving as a Division Director. I accepted the trust put on my shoulder focusing on one thing, to provide members with an experience for a life time and do my best to maintain excellence in my service. The easiest thing someone can say to himself “I am a Leader”, ARE YOU? What makes leadership in toastmasters unique is influence, we as district leaders have to keep motivating clubs’ leaders and influence them to give their best for members. True leaders share the knowledge and there is no better place to give back than your club. Toastmasters, remember that being a leader is not about the title, it is about giving your heart, time and effort. It is about going the extra mile for members and what comes from the heart will touch every heart. If you touch someone heart you will be in their minds for the rest of their lives. We must all remember that leadership is not for serving personal agendas which could have a negative influence that could destroy members, clubs & the district. Instead we must be role models and strive to serve the toastmasters mission which results in more members interested to take leadership roles. Let’s all be a positive influence.

DIVISION TEAM

SATAC 2020

DISTRICT 79

TOASTMASTERS MEMBERS ARTICLES

SATAC 2020

Odyssey of a Youth Leader in 2020 TM Anam Asrar Paragons worth of knowledge and experience Beguiled leaders, emerge flourishingly, leave behind an everlasting tarriance! As an eighth-grader, I perceived EYLP, like any other speech practice program, but little did I know, the utter joy and bliss of discovering the very essence of powerful speaking skills, how my thoughts evolved and were better formed through the power of the voice, authentically and passionately. I found two aspects of public speaking i.e., techniques and practice, and I reminisce standing mesmerized by the DTM’s and TM’s speeches. How that inner zing coursed through my veins as I heard them encourage and galvanize us to unleash our real potential. EYLP has trained me to express my perspectives in a sophisticated manner that people are convinced with what I stand for, and it has allowed me to sit on my steps contemplate, reflect, and accept. From the thrilling experience, as I stepped on stage for the first time, ready to deliver my impromptu speech to this day as I get ready for my international speech, each stride of the journey has its astounding epiphanies, which I thoroughly enjoy. Coming to this point in EYLP, habited to a successful meeting each week, it feels out of habitude, as the world is held frozen in consternation in the reigns of a deadly pandemic, but this didn’t halt our gaits, from having held the torches of learning high, and provided warmth, we all conducted for the first time in the history of EYLP, Virtual Practice Meetings. The people I’ve come across are incredible. The whole experience of relentless hard-work all week to deliver mere perfection at the weekends is terrific. The zest you feel after performing on stage, inspired by everyone, and ready to do way better the next time. The abode of motivation never sinks. I will be ever grateful for all the DTM’s and TM’s constant support. Their endless guidance and especially to each of our mentors who inculcated a sense of group victory and the democratic way of reaching a consensus, in us which enabled us to come out as better speakers, their inextinguishable support and patience, with all their other commitments, still ready at ten pm to guide you through any obstacles we faced. Indeed, they are shaping us to join the paths of glory while paving the way for others. I feel incredibly fortunate to be a part of this beautiful legacy, which I firmly believe each one of us will carry forth.

SATAC 2020

The Perfect Blend TM Mark Villena SATAC possesses the perfect blend of culture, talent, and people bonded together by leadership. The competition provides learning leadership through impactful communication. Its ultimate goal is to create more leaders by honing their communication skills publicly and professionally. The wide array of people attending from different countries provides fertile soil for future leaders to exercise their leadership. The free and fruitful program creates an ambiance of learning conducive to mold individuals on proper communication and leadership skills. Keynote speakers deliver great messages on leadership, which is the “crème’ de la crème’” of the event. The conference also serves as a venuefor public speakers to calibrate their potentials as influencers in inspiring other people. It never fails to amaze its audience by its program and its program content. There is genuine education during & after the conference, which is beneficial to all toastmasters and especially to the youth leaders. A salute and congratulate all the organizers and the people behind this conference. The conference serves as an emblem of leadership education, lobbying communication as a tool to achieve self-improvement. I wish and pray that the people behind the conference live a healthier and longer life to continue its advocacy of creating more leaders. May the legacy of its teachings and learnings live long to inspire more people in believing that they can do more through communication and leadership.

SATAC 2020

My Journey to Abundance TM Melba Jephil A good friend recently reminded me, “the journey is always more fun than the destination itself.” I Could not agree more to those words. The whole process of crafting a magazine, like always, allowed me to get in touch with new leaders and to construe their wonderful thoughts. All of that takes me back to the day I started my journey as a Toastmaster. I have had the most exceptional opportunity of being with the most diligent leaders. They are the ones who have helped me unleash the best in me. They are the ones who supported me and lifted me when I doubted myself. When I think of my journey, I hope it never ends. “Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life.” I feel fortunate to be surrounded by people who have the same mindset. It is the mindset of the people we work with that counts and helps us make this journey more memorable. We, as Toastmasters, have made use of this time to connect with all our leaders around the globe. Yet again, nothing stops the zeal and determination of a toastmaster. That is what we have displayed in the past couple of months. There has been numerous amount of club meetings, area contests, and division conferences that have taken place on the virtual platform. It is overwhelming to see how we are supported not just by our division but also by our district officials. In this whole process, I have learned three valuable lessons. First, that you need someone who can push you and isn’t pulling you back, second, it is so important to empower those who are working with you because you are nothing without a good team. It is crucial to surround yourself with a team whose opinions that you trust, who are not in any way frightened of disagreeing with you. The third and the most important one, you have to listen. The common theme that flows through in most of the writings is HOPE. Something that we all hook on to after being hit by this global pandemic, which has brought the entire world to a standstill. We are left with this hope that things will get back to “normal,” and the world will become a better place to live in for all of us. However, something precious that this pandemic has gifted us is “our time,” which most of us complain that we do not have. Let us use this time to make up for all the lost things. Let us learn to appreciate where we are in our journey, even if it is not where you want to be. In the end, we might become more than what we expected. We might become the journey ourselves that never ends but only keeps changing its directions and keep going.

SATAC 2020

Be yourself, because everyone else is taken TM Murali Krishnan Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Those were the golden words of Apple Inc. CoFounder Mr. Steve Jobs. Many times in our life, we have felt that we are in a wrong career, or what we currently do is not what we have aspired for or is not the one which gives us a sense of satisfaction. Look at some of the most celebrated personalities such as Cristiano Ronaldo, A. R. Rahman, Kalpana Chawla, Dhirubhai Ambani, and you will understand that they have one thing in common; they all live their passion. Yes, they get to carry on with their dedication throughout their life. The most vital ingredient for success is passion, and what if our life itself revolves around our passion. No doubt that we are going to lead a successful life throughout. We all wish to have a passionate career, aspire to lead a life around our passion, but the hard reality is those lucky few are just a small minority. Why is it so? Is it that difficult we get a career that we are passionate about? How many of us think that it is a herculean task? It is not a mammoth task at all. It’s all about finding who we are. Each one of us is unique in our way. Many times we don’t dig deep inside ourselves to discover who we are and since we don’t bother to find who we are; what happens is that others around us portray a picture of what they think about who we are and we fall victim to what they say, and from thereon we begin to live a life of what others feel about us. But how do we find who we are? It is quite simple. We need to ask specific questions to ourselves. However, there is one condition, we will have to be genuinely genuine to ourselves in answering them. Here we go. Question # 1: What fascinates us? If something attracts us, inspires us, ignites our inner energy, or creates a deep desire within, do not leave it behind because these are some of the traits that help us to know who we are. Pick those fascinating signals and dig deep; they have much more in detail to tell us about who we are. Picking those signals is the first step to understanding who we are. Question # 2: What awakens our inquisitiveness? If we feel that we want to know more, curious to know more. Hungry to know more about something. Capitalize on it and recognize that our passion lies there, our desire to know more about it lies there. We don’t feel that inquisitiveness for anything and everything. If we feel that spark, that curiosity, then don’t leave that, go deep, and it will help us to learn rapidly about our interests. Question # 3: What activity makes our flow of actions natural? When we are engaged in a particular event, we sometimes get to experience the natural flow of actions, and we tend to accomplish the task with great ease. This goes on to prove that we have that personal flair for achieving the task where the flow of actions comes naturally to us. Hold on to it; it helps us to identify the areas where we can focus on discovering our hidden potential. Question # 4: What brings Glimpses of Excellence, and we feel the term “Wow,” was it me who did it? Yes, indeed, at times, we feel that the “Wow” element after accomplishing something. When we do specific tasks, we outdo our expectations and feel awestruck and ask ourselves, was it me who accomplished it? If we get to see those glimpses of excellence when we do something, grab on to it and analyze those activities, because they have much more in store for you. They offer you the most exceptional insight into “who we are? And what makes us excel in what we do.” Question # 5: What gives us a sense of fulfillment? “Sense of Fulfilment” or “Sense of Satisfaction” is what we all aspire for, in whatever we do. We all get to taste these lovely moments of fulfillment when we accomplish specific tasks. Hang on to those moments, and we will be able to see who we are and what we stand for. If we can genuinely answer each one of them and dig deep to explore more, I am sure that it helps us to open up doors of our inner self, and we will be able to explore more about us and find out who we are and how unique we are from others. Let me take you through those five questions once again # 1: What fascinates us? # 2: What awakens our inquisitiveness? # 3: What activity makes our flow of actions Natural? # 4: What brings Glimpses of Excellence, and we feel like “Wow,” was it me who did it? # 5: What gives us a sense of fulfillment? And once we start asking more and more of these questions repeatedly to ourselves, it helps us to get more and more apparent and logical answers about who we are, how unique we are, and how to enhance your uniqueness. We all are unique in our way, and if we can find out how unique we are and enrich our uniqueness, it enhances our uniqueness, which is when we stand out from others and be able to project the refined version of ourselves. What happens when we become ourselves, we have that fascinating spark within us that drives us, we have that awakening thirst for rapid learning that enhances our wisdom, our flow of actions are natural. Even our subconscious mind starts taking steps, we feel that “wow” element in all that we do, and we have that sense of ultimate fulfillment not just once but throughout our lives, and our life now revolves around our passion, and this is when we become truly ourselves. Be yourself and believe in yourself, because as Mahatma Gandhi said, “Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, and your values become your destiny.” So “Be yourself” because when we become ourselves, our destination becomes just a result of the most enjoyable roller coaster ride called life. So, believe in yourself and be yourself, because everyone else is taken.

SATAC 2020

Don’t know why Dad is always lagging behind TM Mohammed Abdul Khader 1. Mom carries for nine months, and dad carries for 25 years, both are equal yet we do not know why Dad is lagging behind. 2. The mother works without pay for the family; however, the father spends all his salary for the family. Both give equal efforts, yet we do not know why Dad is lagging behind. 3. Mom cooks whatever you want, Dad buys whatever you want, both their love is equal, but Mom’s love is shown as superior. We still do not know why Dad is lagging behind. 4. When you talk over the phone, you want to talk to Mom first, and if you get hurt, you cry ‘Mom.’ You will only remember dad when you need him financially, but did dad never feels terrible that you don’t remember him the other times? When it comes to receiving love from children, we see that dad is always lagging. 5. Cupboards will be filled with colorful sarees and many clothes for the mom and kids, but dad’s clothes are very few; he doesn’t care about his own needs, still do not know why dad is lagging behind. 6. Mom has many gold ornaments, but dad has only one ring that was given during his wedding. Still, mom complains of less jewelry, and dad doesn’t, yet we do not know why dad lagging behind. 7. Dad works very hard all his life to take care of the family, but when it comes to getting recognition, he is always lagging behind. 8. Mom says we need to pay college tuition this month, please don’t buy a saree for me for the festival, whereas dad has not even thought of new clothes. Both their love is equal, yet we still do not know why dad is lagging behind. Dad is behind or “at the back” because he is the backbone of the family. Because of him, we can stand firm as he is binding the family-like glue.

SATAC 2020

Personal Branding TM Shamsher Khan In the age of text and social media, businesses are concerned that individuals are losing the ability to speak professionally. It has become rare to find someone with excellent technical skills and professional verbal communication skills. You will illustrate a competitive edge if you can do both. I have found it nearly impossible to talk about public speaking without talking about personal credibility, integrity, and authenticity, in short, about personal branding. When it comes to speaking to an audience, it matters who you are and how you come across. Speaking quite literally delivers your brand. When you speak, your audience is quite literally introduced to your brand â&#x20AC;&#x201D; your voice, authority, presence, and expertise. How you deliver that speech and the impression you leave with others in the process communicates much about your brand. When you speak, your audience is introduced to your personal brand. For example, public speaking gives you a chance to tell your story and share your expertise with an interested audience. Besides, when you speak with confidence and enthusiasm, when you inject life into your work and let your personality reveal itself in your presentation, you exhibit your brand. It comes through in the way you express yourself and determines how you choose to interact, engage, and connect with your audience. Public speaking and personal branding are inextricably tied. Public speaking can both dramatically increase and communicate your credibility and value. An essential principle in the process of building your personal brand is marketability: establishing your brand based on your best assets and showing it to the world, more specifically to the public you wish to target. Public speaking is a superb opportunity to gain publicity, increase exposure for your brand and your business as well as drive sales. In other words, your ability to establish yourself as a speaker will win your business. Speaking engagements are the first excellent networking opportunities. From my experience, after a speaking gig, several excellent prospects are usually eager to meet you. In summary, public speaking is essential for building and mobilizing your brand. It establishes your authority as an expert in your field, increases your credibility, and opens opportunities. If you are serious about building your personal brand, public speaking ought to be a central part of your branding strategy.

SATAC 2020

SATAC Members Messege TM Lloyd L. Lecetivo Greetings to SATAC Committee and its Members! Being part of TMI, an international club with a wide range of presence in the entire world is one of the excellent platform for an individual like me in becoming part of this one of a kind privilege that enhance my communication and leadership skills. I started my journey two (2) years ago and an active member of SPICER TMC up to this present time. In just a short span of my membership, I learned a lot not only in enhancing my personality development, but gaining such experiences is worth to treasure in my life. With its mission to empower an individual to become more effective communicators and leaders, I believe I have proven it to myself. And I thank SPICER TMC for stretching and strengthening one’s individual capability to showcase its potentials until I become one of the better in mastering the art of listening, thinking, and speaking by learning to discover what I can give more doing the best in me. Thanks to my mentor TM Cris Vincent Ranque for sharing your skills to become who I am right now, and because of you, you made a protégé that you’ll be proud of for today. And in return, by sharing that experience I am in greater confidence to share that personal growth to others. Thinking out of the box and expanding my horizon out of my comfort zone helped me become a better one, who is not anxious to face the reality, who can manage to express the thoughts within my heart and mind that I want to deliver to my audience, and to overcome that feeling of being in front of different personalities with different point of views. And I have gained that confidence in me. And I wish to commend all the various clubs I have encountered with for the warmth welcome every time we are attending their club activities and club meetings by treating us well and everyone a family. And for me, Toastmasters is not just about the communication and leadership; it is about the camaraderie among members and how to present yourself as an individual with your purpose on earth to empower everyone, to let your voice be heard, and take your actions be followed in a manner that you are making a difference to make it worth to the organization, the community, and the society. Congratulations, SATAC!

SATAC 2020

Toastmasters in Constellations TM Abdulhadi Alqahtani “Have you tried the orange juice?” Talal Taisan went around the clubhouse, engaging guests and members. I was one of those guests, and my first time in Dhahran Toastmasters Club was unforgettable. A warm sense of community, an inspiring display of speeches, stories, and motivating evaluations. Looking back at why we join Toastmasters, what we find can help propel us forward. Like the stars arranged in so many constellations in the sky, we each have our reasons. Being a guest at Toastmasters can be intimidating. There are protocols and sessions and projects which you do not fully understand, underlined by your fear of public speaking. A warm “welcome” is what grounds this experience. The feeling of unease vanishes as a friendly member invites you to have a snack, as Talal did to me. You see friends laughing. You get an idea of the community that gathers here. A community of leaders, speakers, and, most importantly, friends. In the audience you are dazzled. Humor, emotion, performance all in one as the people you just chatted with take the stage and speak. Hamoud Khaldi told of his struggle fitting into the culture as a child, and he made us cry with laughter. Stories that touch on important truths, yet still entertain. The impromptu Table Topics session never ceases to amaze. Tricky and funny questions met with wittier and funnier answers. The smiles on everyone’s faces say enough. Toastmasters is entertaining, inspiring, and just fun. The tone changes in the evaluation session. Toastmasters is the gym of public speaking, and evaluation is the heavy lifting session. When the members offer feedback, you find yourself agreeing with their suggestions, although you thought the speech was flawless at the time! During evaluation you learn more than just public speaking. You learn about feedback itself. How to best structure and deliver it. When Sabal Almadi motivates a first timer to speak again, to keep trying, it becomes apparent why evaluation is a cornerstone of Toastmasters. We are champions and feedback is our breakfast. There are as many reasons to come to Toastmasters as there are stars, and each of us are our own constellations. The commitment of our officers and members is the foundation on which we create this environment. Let’s remember the diversity of our reasons and do our best to accommodate all. After all, when asked why, our World Champion said, “to reach the first result in Google.”

SATAC 2020

Renovate or Perish DTM Syed Faizulla The 21st century is drastically different from all the previous centuries. It is so much different from even the 20th century that the skills and knowledge of the 20th century are utterly useless when it comes to even survival, let alone thriving. None other than the Father of Leadership, Peter Drucker, aptly summarizes the challenges of the 21st century as 3 Cs: “Accelerated Changes, Overwhelming Complexities and Tremendous Competition.” The domestic socialist economy is gone, and the global entrepreneurial economy is here. This requires a considerable shift In mindset from the ordinary to extraordinary. Gone are the days of 8-40-40 in which our fathers were working for 8 hours/day and 40 Hours/week for about 40 years and retiring with a ‘Golden Handshake’ receiving a handsome pension for the rest of their lives. In the 21st century you have to be creative. In companies like Google, if you wait for your boss to give you tasks, you will be let go. It is said that the Greek King Daedalus advised his son Icarus not to fly too high as the sun would burn his wings and, at the same time, not to fly too low as the water in the seas would drench the wings, and he may fall into the sea. In both cases, he would not survive. The industrial economy was designed to produce compliant workers who had only to execute the orders. They were not allowed to think and be creative, as this could cause disturbances to the factory system. They used the first part of the advice of Daedalus and did not allow the people to aim high in life. The industrial economy is dead. This is a highly competitive economy where you have to be outstanding. Knowledge, skills, and mindset will be the new economy. We are aware that due to artificial intelligence, big data, the internet, and machine learning, a massive number of jobs will be lost. 3/4 of cars will be without drivers by 2040. In FOXCONN, 1.2 million jobs and WALMART 2.1 million jobs will be replaced by ROBOTS. To meet the lofty challenges of the 21st century you must expand your skillset, knowledge set, and, most importantly, your mindset. You must be self-motivated and reinvent yourself. You must grant death to who you are now and give birth to which you must become. You must be a risk-taker and aim high. It would help if you surrounded yourself with people who can empower your growth. You will grow only through struggles and not through comfort. They say that the comfort zone is the enemy of growth and progress. You must discover the five “Ps” of extraordinary success: purpose, persistence, passion, people, and perseverance. This growth and development process must be relentless, and it should not end until you win. “The greatest crime in the world is not developing your potential. When you do what you do best, you are helping not only yourself but the world.” - Roger Williams The biggest enemy you have to deal with is yourself. You have to force yourself to change your mindset and learn the skills and knowledge sets for the 21st century and build your extraordinary life. The choice is yours - Renovate or Perish.

SATAC 2020

UP UNTIL YOU JUMP IN TM Ehetesham Baig. M There are moments, and there are opportunities. Moments stay as memories, and opportunities grow as revolutions. Moments can be cautiously transformed into possibilities. Only a few don’t draw an opportunity perking from the moment, or more seriously something we as Toastmasters are meant to learn as leaders. When the office bearing President of Zamil Toastmasters Club had left this country for good, I was elected as an immediate replacement. I was upset that they had left; however, that was “The Moment”! It was a happy moment to rejoice and feel motivated. On the other hand, it is now the opportunity to do the work, the real work. The moment I became the elected ‘one,’ I had then been rejected by the Admin management for the renewal of the club membership. I was set out to convince and showcase the advantages of Toastmasters, especially ‘Pathways,’ and further to be able to uplift the momentum of the club was all to be cherished. It was a short and quick journey of “Learning by Doing” as a leader by taking the team along and convincing not only for the renewals but also integrating the Toastmasters Club as one of the Integral Organizational Growth Programs. I am excited, energized, and enthusiastic about delivering what I learn and learn from what I provide. Moments to opportunities, problems to results are set to grow only “Up until You Jump In”!

SATAC 2020

Pulse of Change DTM Irfan Iqbal Khan As Toastmaster and citizens of this dynamic planet, we need to remember that, what got us here won’t get us there. If you want to reach a new level of success, then you need to put in a new level of effort. This does not mean that you should start by doing as much work as possible, but it does mean that when you start small, you can’t expect one small change to work forever. The change should be ongoing. You have to continually graduate to the next level, and test your abilities with newer challenges. That’s what takes you to higher levels of growth and success. Different results need different efforts. The same action, again and again, can bring in stagnation. Many a time, change is the only thing that can bring about improvement. “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” When Division O came under my wings in 2016-17, as Division Director, I took upon myself to raise the bar higher, bring about positive changes in terms of quality and number of clubs and members’ growth. I have also learned over the period of time that while setting goals, personal and professional, one thing needs to be remembered. When we set goals, we think of success and have the result in mind. Even the overpaid consultant, when asked for help in goal setting, starts with the question, “What does success mean to you? Or what does success look like to you?” It may be losing ten pounds or earning more money or even writing a book. Setting goals is instead an easy job because it is gratifying to think of what we want or what we like. We all want a gold medal, but are we willing to work that hard, like a champion, for that gold medal? Life is like sitting in a boat. The goal is like a rudder (helps to steer the ship); it determines where we need to go. But to move forward in the determined direction, you need oars to propel you further. The paddles of our goals are the processes to attain the goals—the pain, sacrifice, hard work, and perseverance that we are ready to go through. Otherwise, the goals remain on paper, year after year. Give your goals a direction by working out the strategy to achieve them. You may have as many goals as you want with the timeline and deadline of your choice, but they all need a road map to achieve them.

SATAC 2020

Education is Key DTM Jonathan Tarbox As a college instructor, I consider myself an educated and intelligent person. This is not meant to brag; I know many educated and intelligent people, especially in the Toastmasters world. Still, as I approach my sixtieth birthday, I can’t help but look back at my education and consider the strengths and weaknesses, and I am saddened by how many weaknesses there were. I realize now that the biggest weakness in my education were almost all things that should have been teachable. I have learned a great many teachable skills that have now made me a good scholar, educator and communicator. But almost all of those skills I acquired after the age of 50, when I should have been taught them in high school. The two sources of these skills were English as a Second Language teacher training, and (of course) Toastmasters. It was only when I was trained in these two programs that I learned that the key to being intelligent is not what to think, but how to think. As all Toastmasters know, there is a structure to a good speech. And using good structure does much more than simply make the message easier for the audience to understand. It makes the speaker think better. It makes the message itself a better message. It makes any argument or idea stronger. These are exactly the same skills and techniques I teach university students in critical thinking, essay composition and argumentation. Understanding “Introduction-Body-Conclusion”; understanding the rhetorical structures of narrative, cause-and-effect, problem-solution, compare-and-contrast; understanding how to argue, debate, and refute; understanding how to give reasons, details, examples; all of these are teachable patterns that will make anyone not only a better communicator, but more importantly a better thinker. In fact, I’ve realized that they are the same thing. The ability to think and construct an idea and the ability to communicate that idea are intrinsically linked. And they can both be learned at the same time. I am grateful to have learned these skills. But looking back at my education, I am very disappointed that I was not taught them in my youth. As I see education both in my own country and here in the Middle East, it seems that not much has changed since I was in school. Teachers spend the majority of class flooding the students was facts and information, with very little (if any) time spent on how to structure ideas. If students were taught these skills and methods earlier, they would perform much better as students in university, and as communicators and leaders in their adult lives. This realization has led me to two conclusions. First, the Toastmasters work with the Gavel Program is absolutely essential, and should be expanded as much as possible. Toastmasters training is a great benefit that should be started from a young. Second, in my own teaching and in leading my Toastmasters club at Prince Sultan University, I will strengthen the emphasis on not just presentation style (vocal variety, body language, eye contact) but rather on structure and rhetorical style. I want to make sure my students think well and critically as this will benefit them in their futures. If they are going to be communicators, then they need to have ideas that are worth communicating. It will be a lot of work, but it’s work that is worth doing. I hope my own Toastmasters training has made me both a thinker and communicator enough to complete the task, I encourage everyone to take the proper steps in order for us to make the world a better place.

SATAC 2020

Let the world awake DTM Narasimharao Rampalli Rabindranath Tagore had written, “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high … into that heaven of freedom. … Let my country awake.” If I could replace the last phrase and say, “Let the world awake!” then this famous quote would perfectly fit into the Toastmasters’ book. If I were asked about the key ingredients of the toastmasters’ recipe, I would say Motivation, Inspiration, and Self-confidence. Today’s youngsters are tomorrow’s leaders. Keeping this in mind, the Gavel Clubs, specially designed for young leaders, are being carried out, giving every young speaker a chance to express himself/herself. Dear fellow toastmasters, please remember that being a member of a toastmaster’s club is not the end. You are learning the ‘art of better communication.’ Whenever and wherever you get a chance to speak in your office, social gathering, or anywhere, grab the opportunity to talk, and you will be successful. Also, attend any workshops, webinars, and training sessions organized for your benefit. District 79 is doing its best to support the Toastmasters Fraternity. A very hearty welcome to all to the Saudi Arabian Annual Toastmasters Conference (SATAC 2020).

SATAC 2020

Serve to Lead TM Nouf Abdulrahman AlMuhanna As the first meeting started, my legs shivered, and my heart palpitated. I could almost swear it stopped beating for a minute when the previous president declared me as her successor. I had been given an opportunity to lead, and as the president of the club, I must assume responsibility for all of the members’ and officers’ actions, which makes my role the most important. I always try to step up as a leader to develop my communication and delegation skills, in addition to managing multiple tasks. Following the president’s announcement, I introduced myself to the audience as they gazed at me with pride and smiling faces. My heart warmed with joy. I was intrigued by the members and anticipated getting to know them better with every meeting. I couldn’t wait to start my semester as an official office in the Toastmasters club. I consider my independence and ability to multitask to be two of my most valuable assets, especially when it comes to physical work since I’m majoring in architecture and also have a part-time job as a video editor. I’ve always found myself in leadership roles, which is why I decided to accept the position of president. Although I did experience some difficult situations, thankfully, I wasable to overcome them while also managing my time between my studies and the club. One of my goals as president was to bring more excitement to the club by having more activities that are similar to the speaking game known as table topics. I also wanted to encourage members to speak up freely and to increase meetings and interactions between them. The first game I decided to introduce during meetings was one where players describe random pictures. It was a two-person game because I wanted the members to communicate with each other. Another goal of mine was to help the members feel more comfortable around each other and less nervous. That’s when I came up with the idea of holding a debate, where I bring up random topics, and the members would agree or disagree, then we would discuss the topic and gain insight on each member’s point of view. These activities helped me achieve my goals and led to an increase in members and the growth of the club. However, I faced difficulty keeping up with the officers as each had specific duties that I was responsible for altogether. Initially, it was challenging to check up on every officer and also guide the members. Over time, each officer was able to excel and commit to their job. The dedication and stress that my major entails proved to be another obstacle in my way. Some weeks, in particular, wereextremely hectic. I struggled to maintain some semblance of balance without feeling too overworked. I am not only referring to achieving goals around the clock; the quality of my personal life is equally important. A person’s full potential cannot be attained without time management. In addition to improving my leadership ability, time management skills, and boosting my confidence, I also encountered the most incredible people. This includes those who inspired me to become a better speaker and others that I pushed out of their comfort zones and encouraged them to speak up! It is a blessing to be part of Toastmasters, and I will continue to improve my community’s leadership and communication skills.

SATAC 2020

Set the Oven to the Maximum DTM OmarAlhusseini When I graduated as an Electronic Engineer several years ago, I worked in South Africa with a man named Japie Engelbrecht. When we built a particular electronic device, he decided to test it in a testing oven at a high temperature. He set the oven to 70 degrees Celsius. I asked him, “Why? In reality, the maximum temperature this device will ever face is only 50 degrees, so why did you set it to 70 degrees?” He put his glasses on the tip of his nose and his hand on his big belly, and said something I will never forget. “In testing, we need to push these devices to the maximum so if they can survive in this oven then they will definitely survive anywhere else.” Then he said, “This is the reason electronic devices nowadays are very powerful and can survive under the most difficult situations.” You now know why Japie is still my friend. Several years later, I realized that what makes a successful Toastmaster is the same thing. We need to push ourselves to our maximum potential. If you are aiming to be a great public speaker, then you are like these electronic devices and the stage is your oven. When you go to the stage, you should not play it safe. You should set it to the maximum. You should pour all of your passion into your practices to the point where your friends have to tell you that it’s too much. For example, when you need to use a pause, hold it as long as you can until it makes you uncomfortable. Push yourself to the maximum while practicing, in order to strengthen your public speaking skills. On the other hand, if you want to be a great leader, then again push yourself to the maximum. If you are a Vice-President of Membership, for example, and your goal is to get four new members to the club, then do your best to double that number. Sell Toastmasters to others desperately that some people would tell you they do not feel comfortable being pushed to that limit. You are going to learn a lot from Toastmasters if you can push yourself beyond what you are comfortable with. Therefore, go ahead and set the oven to the maximum.

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Serve to Lead – Concrete and Indestructible? TM Omar Khan This year’s Division A Conference theme ‘Serve to Lead’ took me back to the life and times of Britain’s and perhaps the first half of 20th century’s most prominent hero, ‘Winston Churchill’. A man who served more than 60 years in British politics, became a Member of Parliament at the age of 26, Cabinet member at 34 years of age and continued to lead until he became the Prime Minister of Britain after that. Someone who reinvented himself each time and times always changed for him especially after World War I where he was completely secluded from his party and people after his failureagainst the Ottoman Empire at the Dardanelles strait. His courage and determination to lead his nationshook the enemy lines and brought in great confidence within the allied powers during the World War. A master orator who through his fiery speeches (“nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat”, “We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender”) inspired an entire nation even at the face of defeat. His leadership and style of service has since been referred in several leadership books and lessons. History shall remember him as a statesman who always chose to serve his nations interests and his people before himself. The true embodiment of Serving comes from the opportunity to lead at least once in everybody’s life. In today’s world there is actual teaching or prescription of what true leadership means. The constant pursuit to associate ourselves in an environment with the tools to develop our own understanding of leadership exists only when we chose to explore and develop leadership within us. Promotion of Self-awareness, Self-Regulation, Motivation, Empathy and Social Skills all summarize the theme ‘Serve toLead’. Emotional Intelligence is yet another important factor as defined - gives a leader the ability tounderstand complex ideas, to adapt effectively to the environment, to learn from experience, to engagein various forms of reasoning, and to overcome obstacles by taking thought. One may argue that there is an entire concept of behavioral science behind leadership and that it should be dissected into simpler terms for someone who possesses leadership traits and perhaps does not understand the complexity which I have mentioned above. This statement also holds true and as I have mentioned in my earlier lines the pursuit to benefit from an environment helps in learning and practical understanding to place oneself onto the lines of leadership. Empathy can be one of the most integral constituents of the motto ‘Serve to Lead’ which is an inherent quality in every human being. The first step to reach out helps begin the journey of what true service in leadership means and develops a mold that lasts forever. My best wishes and hearty congratulations to Division A leadership team for yet another exciting year in their endeavor to facilitate and benefit a large number of Toastmasters, Leaders and Champions. This is your ‘Mindora’ to the Toastmasters family.

SATAC 2020

Struggle to Succeed TM Rida Khan The judging stares of the audience were blinding, and it made me want to go into hiding. My knees were trembling and palms sweating, with a shaky breath, experiencing living death, I suppressed an urge to screech, and then I began my first ever speech. The outcome was pleasant – if fainting on the stage is considered so – at least I completed my speech. At this point, I believe everyone reading understands that young me had a severe case of stage fright and can safely predict my (prior) introverted nature. That disastrous experience in middle school had conditioned my mind to avoid all such situations in the future actively, and I was determined to follow this new protocol. Nevertheless, just one year before joining university - my resolution crumbled. What changed my mind? As cliché as the next line may sound – a book series about a boy named Percy Jackson (It’s a great read) altered my perspective, and so I tried again – this time around, thank goodness I did not faint! My last year of high school involved me developing a love for public speaking through repeated trials whenever possible, and I made it my quest to overcome my fear. However, I did not have many opportunities. This new development had a significant impact on my personality as well, making me the extrovert I am today. A semester into university, I heard about Toastmasters and even attended a contest to observe how everything worked out. At that moment, I knew that this platform was the key- it was my golden opportunity to accomplish my goals. Without wasting any more time, I registered as a member and began my journey. This was the best decision I made (I am immensely grateful to my past self), and it has benefitted me greatly. Enrolling into Toastmasters enabled me to improve my public speaking skills at a rapid rate highly. Surprisingly, after the first few mishaps, and with guidance from the evaluators, I was able to learn about my mistakes and work on them. Of course, I was still trembling as if there were an earthquake, but I learned to hide it, I realized my hidden potential and did the unthinkable – I willingly started to take part in the table topics. It was a step by step process, yes- it was slow, but it got me to where I wanted to be! I am now a better and more influential speaker, and being appointed the Vice president of Public Relations is most definitely a cherry on top. Leadership roles were another major fear from the past that Toastmasters helped me overcome. The idea of responsibility and management was not my forte but, the new and improved me believes I’m a Spiderwoman that believes “With great power comes great responsibility.” Who do I have to thank for this newfound me? The answer is Toastmasters and the people I met through this remarkable program. Indeed, I face challenges in a leadership position, especially being involved with public relations (since I was introverted). Still, I am proud to say that I emerge victorious because I have an amazing team of leaders who work alongside me, and because I never give up! I am a Software Engineer in the making and a workaholic, which generally means countless sleepless nights (and a bad work posture). Nevertheless, my major and Toastmasters fit together perfectly, imparting a sense of the art of time management, and making me more efficient in the PR department as well! I am on my path to achieving success, and it is time for you to start too!

SATAC 2020

Youth Leadership Program Transforms Youngsters DTM Johnson Samuel Congratulations, District 79 Team, for the online SATAC 2020 Conference! Various Clubs under District 79 always go the extra mile to transform our youngsters and to demonstrate the commitment to the community. Several clubs embarked on YLP during this term and successfully conducted the sessions with a fun-filled Finale. As part of the community outreach program, Youth Leadership Program (YLP) is designed for transforming the youngsters as future leaders with effective communication and leadership skills. Every young person has the potential to become an excellent communicator and leader, but this potential needs to be developed. Teenagers are often comfortable communicating through modern digital devices than speaking face to face in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world. They need structured guidance in developing their interpersonal communication skills. To alleviate these concerns, YLP offers through the eight structured workshop-style sessions, enables participants to develop their potential through practical experience. Teenagers need YLP, so they can grow to meet the challenges of adulthood and leadership successfully. YLP helps young people build their communication and leadership skills to become tomorrowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s convivial leaders in business, industry, and the community as a successful individual with values. What participants learn: How to overcome nervousness when speaking before an audience. The basics of preparing a speech. The techniques of leadership skills and how to listen carefully to others. Requirements to start a YLP: Chief YLP Coordinator and supported by two or more Asst. Coordinators, Sponsoring Toastmasters Club/ Area /Division. What does the sponsoring club /Area provide: Provide the YLP Workbook (Item 805) issued by TMI for participants, Conduct the workshop sessions as per YLP Workbook and YLP Coordinators Guide (Item 802) by TMI. Who can participate: Students under the age of 18. (preferably Grade 7th-12th), Limit Maximum participants to no more than 25. What is offered in various Sessions in a YLP: Each session follows the format of a Toastmaster Club Meeting and lasts for 1.5 hours to two hours. The topics include public speaking, organizing your speech, impromptu speaking, listening, gestures in speaking, and evaluation. YLP concludes with a Grand Finale where Youth leaders will have an opportunity to showcase their skills through a speech contest, and each participant is awarded a YLP completion certificate by TMI. Let us conduct more YLP sessions across various clubs / Areas to build our future leaders.

SATAC 2020

NEVER QUIT Dr. M.Karthika “A quitter never wins and a winner never quits”-Vince Lombardi Never quit is the demeanor that one ought to carry and live his/her life with, no matter what the circumstance is. Failure isn’t an alternative for anyone. Even in spite of the fact that you have got fizzled in any process, you should stand up and do it once more, but in any case, you ought to never give up on your dreams. Success isn’t everyone’s glass of tea. It requires parcels of restless day and evenings, parts of sweat, and an incredible sum of challenging work, and it can only be accomplished in case you never allow up on the small failures that you will confront within the process. Here are some inspirational stories that will motivate you to keep pushing on never to quit. -Thomas Alva Edison Thomas Alva Edison was an innovator and a businessperson. During his time, he invented the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a durable electric light as it impacted the whole world. Edison failed 10,000 times before perfecting the bright electric light bulb. Edison was an immense believer in trying sincerely and certainly a motivation to the individuals who do. Edison was famous for never giving up in his search for the construction of the electric light bulb. His famous words, “I have not failed, I have just found 10000 things that do not works”. -Colonel Harland Sanders Colonel Harland Sanders, founder of KFC. Colonel Sanders didn’t have a very good start. At the age of 10, he took his first job at a local farm. Throughout the following 28 years, Sanders would take on various jobs over the American south. He became a cook and dishwasher in a small cafe. At the age of 65, he retired. On the first day of retirement, he got a cheque from the Government for $105. He decided to commit suicide, and it wasn’t worth living anymore; he had failed so much. He sat under a tree composing his will, however instead; he wrote what he would have achieved with is life. He understood that there was one thing he could do better than anyone he knew. Furthermore, that was the means of how to cook. So he withdraws $87 against his cheque and purchased ingredients needed to prepare chicken utilizing his formula and went door to door to sell them in Kentucky. At the age of 65, he was ready to commit suicide. But at the age of 88, Colonel Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Empire, was a wealthy person. If you quit, you will never get what you need, but if you keep attempting, you will discover a way to get what you need. Being slower is much better than a quitter. If you are overwhelmed by rejection or discouraged by setbacks, remember the above motivational stories. Simple Tips for Achieving Goals

Be clear and specific on your goal

Focus on the process

Change your habits and create a new routine

Set a deadline

Commit to your goal and Never give up

SATAC 2020

Cuttings that propagate hopes and love TM Rosalba Riolo The recent lockdown has encouraged me to enjoy the pleasure of those passions and hobbies that I usually neglect (pretending to be too busy with more important tasks), one of which is gardening. Being outside, spending time in my garden is an effective way for me to relax and de-stress. Experts would say that gardening has shown to help reduce the risk of depression. Without going too far in this unknown territory, I can undoubtedly say that gardening helps me regain my usual positive energy and smile when for any circumstance, those are lost in the fog. And it worked recently too! A few days ago surfing the web, I came across an advertisement that captured my attention: “Easy ways to propagate your snake plant” the headline of the article said. The related images kept me reading with even more interest since I recognized the plant as a succulent ornamental plant, widespread in Dhahran camp and my garden too! My curiosity was up, and I needed to know more. What I learned is this: it is relatively easy to propagate.

Native to Africa and Asia the dracaena trifasciata, most commonly known as snake plant, Saint George’s sword, and viper’s bowstring hemp, is an easy-to-care-for plant that cleans and purifies the air better than most other indoor plants as it can absorb excessive amounts of carbon monoxide, it emits oxygen and filters other toxins from the air. Your brain also benefits from time spent in the garden. Being outside in the fresh air and sunshine is an effective way to boost your mood and de-stress. During this global pandemic, I think it is safe to say that it is essential to take time to nurture yourself with self-care. Whether that be through gardening, exercising, cooking healthy foods, etc. Planting is a great way of multiplying the plants you have and sharing plant love with friends. I will say, it is kind of hard to give away a plant that you’ve been nursing from its beginning. However, it’s so rewarding and so refreshing to get results! I just gave two Chain of Hearts cuttings away today to super awesome homes. I can’t wait to check in on their progress. If each of us put effort into nurturing our minds, bodies, and souls as though we are nurturing a plant, could you imagine how much light and positivity we would spread? That light and positivity shared between us all are what will help us defeat the global pandemic.

SATAC 2020

Raising the Bar of Excellence DTM Nazeer GazaqAlqasem The biggest regret is when arriving atthe end of our life and then looking back, realizing all opportunities that we missed when we were afraid to step out of our comfort zone, answering the door when opportunities have knocked. Les Brown, the world-leading motivational speaker, said: “The richest place on earth is the graveyard, because it is there where you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, and the inventions that were never shared; all because someone was too scared to take that first step.” If we look back at the early history of our great District-79, we can see the footsteps of our pioneers who were very successful in spreading the Toastmaster’s way of self-development and personal growth. They were never afraid to take that first step and to venture into the unknown territory of self-discovery. They have envisioned an expanding growth that will culminate in creating several districts in the Gulf Region. The learning journey is never-ending, and we will continue to raise the bar of excellence. The great news today is that we see the young generation setting a higher benchmark and surpassing our past achievements and most probably will leave a more significant legacy. Together, veterans and newcomers are standing tall and proud of our accomplishments. We have become a large formidable multinational district with more than 230 clubs in the Eastern, Central, and Northern Provinces. Toastmasters International considers this region as the fastest-growing amongst the whole world. We have a homegrown world champion, and despite not being distinguished the last two years, our long history of being President Distinguished will never fade away. We have conducted annual conferences that are masterpieces of organization, which is equal to the international level. We will continue our success story by testing new grounds and moving forward with steady steps. However, I believe there is always a great benefit to benchmarking by looking back and reviewing lessons learned and building on past experiences. Those pioneers have left their footsteps to guide us to have another vision; Saudi Arabia has grown to become a strong district before 2003. They have shared their knowledge and experience, and although most of them are gone, we should never forget their contributions. Those who are still around are always willing to help when we ask of them. They are our veterans who say I am behind you and ready to guide you. You may wonder what made us The bond together. Could it be the fellowship and the sense of belonging despite our great diversity? Our Founder, Dr. Ralph C. Smedley, said: “The deepest joy of belonging comes as one learns to cooperate, contribute and share knowledge.” However, I added to this statement, please proceed to move forward and never lose track of history. I will besharing my stories with you, a past leader of this great group. I will always be there to help and mentor all my new young colleagues who I am sure have all the skills to raise the bar of excellence and keeping our District – 79 the best in the world as it has always been.

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Find your role model DTM Abdulwhab AlNuwaider The journey of finding a real role model and people who set an example are continuous. There is a start with no end. As a child, I was influenced by a group of individuals who were as close to me as my parents. It is the human instinct to be a follower of someone of influence, an advisor like your parents, but when you get older, you seek for more. In the beginning, the search for the role model was easy, as the criteria were simple. The older I got, the more complicated my standards became. I started looking at my friends, teachers, aunts, uncles, and sometimes bosses at the workplace. Between complicated and straightforward standards, I found that the common factor of selecting and defining any role model is when he or she touches your heart. I still cannot forget all of the people who touched my heart with their inspiring words and behavior. Their actions and how they react to a critical situation is what I will never forget. My parents set an example of showing sacrifices by how they raised their children with love. My friend set an example by extending a helping hand during a difficult time in school. My uncle set an example with his instructions when he trained me on how to drive a car. I still remember my bossâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guidance at work and how they inspired me to be successful. By all means, touching peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hearts is one of the key elements of a role model. If you want to be a real role model and leader, whether at home, the workplace, or even in a platform like in Toastmasters, you should always remember to speak gently with encouraging words, support, and helpful feedback.

SATAC 2020

Primary School, Revisited TM Haji Rahman Never in my wildest dreams have I come close to attending school again, where I would be under the active guidance of a wonderful and no-nonsense teacher, named Rowena. That lovely teacher is none other than my daughter in law, Rowena Nurel Hidayah Rahman. It happened as a coincidence, as my wife and I planned to visit Dhahran, KSA, where our youngest son Kazi Tauhidur Rahman is employed under Saudi Aramcoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Audit team and Rowena, his wife, is employed as an HR professional at John Hopkins Aramco Healthcare. Our visit was planned well in advance, and we arrived in Saudi Arabia on the 1st of March 2020. We are expecting to remain as tourists until the 28th of March. To note another point here, another senior couple (that is the parents of Rowena) were also visiting KSA at the same time. Imagine two sets of parents living in the same house. Our respective children planned it as they wanted us to become closer as a family and to get to know one another while both of them are at work in the day, we have each other as company. Suddenly, the whole world was shaken to its core unexpectedly, with the dawn of Covid-19, which came with extremely hazardous risks to everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health. The virus started its initial infection in countries such as China and, almost overnight, had begun to spread all over the world. Governments and citizens worldwide reached a state of panic! No one was prepared to tackle and stop the spread of this deadly virus as a vaccine was nowhere to be found to cure infected patients. By the 13th of March 2020, Saudi Arabia declared the cancellation of all inbound and outbound flights until further notice. One by one, other countries followed with their levels of flight restrictions, both domestic and international. It is amazing to reflect how such a microscopic-speck-of-a-virus can cause such commotion and how powerless all of humanity has become, whereby the only concrete protective action that provides a semblance of control was enforcing lockdowns in various nations.

As a result of such lockdowns, our family was affected. Advanced, well-thought-of plans were canceled, as were all of our flights to return to Canada. It was also quite challenging to plan anything locally, and spending time with family became limited to the four corners of our newly adopted home. We have to get creative. Here is the interesting turn of the events.Rowena was already actively involved in Toastmaster activities. We have seen her coordinate various club meetings for Almidra and Paradigm clubs, where she pulled different members to take on various roles. She did one thing that got us involved too. She invited us to attend online meetings where we saw how public speeches were delivered and connected us to Salsabila Harbi, who provided us with useful training so that we can become toastmasters. At this point, we became impressed by what Toastmasters can do for us, so all four of us joined with hopes of mastering public speaking. Shortly after getting our membership, we immediately accessed our accounts and began our e-training. We took on various club meeting roles like Evaluator, Table Topics Master, Timer, Ah Counter, and so on. We also learned how to write speeches through the Almidra Beginners Writing Workshop, and we took our e-training to learn how to deliver icebreakers, storytelling, and research/present speeches. As new club members, we initially felt unsure if we were up to the task. It was at this point that I felt like I was in primary school. It was a shared feeling. We may be four senior citizens, but in Toastmasters, we all felt like novice students who were continuously reminded of our duties by our headstrong teacher, who challenged us to do better. She is a persistent individual who demanded perfection because she believed in all our capabilities. With her help, we managed to master the art of writing and delivering memorable speeches within allotted times. Our concern of making mistakes became less and less with each delivered speech. We slowly started gaining confidence. Towards the end of our first level, we have greatly overcome the initial uneasiness. We developed control over our delivery methods and even surpassed all expectations by completing level 1 of the pathways program within record time. We are not stopping here. We are moving ahead. The duties we have started are progressing well, and we look forward to fulfilling future projects that are required to get to the next stage. In fact, as part of my level 2 requirements, and while I am writing this article, our primary school teacher had stepped in to remind me to keep me also focused on drafting my first level 2 speech. In hindsight reflection, we could not be happier. The last two months have passed so quickly, and we have not had any problems with our health through it. This may be due to the fact that we have kept ourselves indoors without feelings of boredom. Every week is a fun week filled with interesting conversations with family and Toastmaster club meetings via the Zoom app. Specifically, club meetings have exposed us to hear about personal stories that are so passionate and emotional that have enriched our knowledge immensely. We got to know many new friends in Saudi Arabia through Toastmasters too. We met many distinguished and active members from different parts of the world during club, division, and district level meetings over the past eight weeks and have learned so much. In a way, it has been a blessing in disguise to be stranded in Dhahran because without this time, we would not have met so many new friends, or gotten to know each other in the spirit of learning together. I look forward to continuing my primary school days with my classmates in Toastmasters.

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Salt in Tea TM A T Pillai “There is a saying that Malayali men love their professional life more than wedded bliss. Hence they marry late compared to those belonging to the other states in India. The mean age of marriage in Kerala, the God’s Own Country is roughly 27.3 which is slightly higher than other states inIndia”Though I do not fully agree to the foregoing, I got married at 28. “the needle of the clock moving backward for many years”Per arranged marriage procedures, on my 1st leave from my job in Saudi Arabia, I have planned to see my fiancée who, at that time, was in her final year of college. My uncle was running the college canteen and asked me to drop by as he will introduce the girl rather than going to her house with the marriage broker for the first time. I felt very logical and comfortable with the arrangement rather than following the orthodox type of procedure to see the girl.The NSS college situates near the place that gives the impression of natural beauty, serenity, and divinity as it is a vast green area beside the small hills and the beautiful streams coming from the eastern side of the land passed beside it. On the one hand, the flowers and fields are like scenery painted by a professional painter. The butterfly, the birds, the bushes, and towering trees make it a place worth sitting for hours and days together. The small town is not far away from the Jatayu Eco Park in Kollam District, Kerala. The place is blessed with impeccable beauty. I was very handsome at that age. Well dressed, wearing day and night ray ban glass, the light brown belt was matching with my wrangler jeans and Nike shoes. Okay, nice, is anything left. Yes, a packet of Rothman cigarette – no leave it. She may not like it. I am at the canteen and excited, watching the surroundings. Girls and boys moving around, few are sitting at the corners of the ground and chatting.What to say - I am delighted - no excited - no, maybe nervous, how to break the ice. The heartbeat sound is somewhat similar to the one that a fast train passes through a level cross. Will she be slim, tall and fashionable or is she from an orthodox Hindu Nair family, wearing the type of village girl dress and putting a lot of oil in her hair, – so many pictures have gone through my mind like a cinema reel. The teenagers were busy in taking ice creams and cakes, laughing and enjoying the canteen. Looking at my style, a few girls were commending me – ‘see his Amitab style, his hair is also long. One of the girls came and asked – are you married? I answered, ‘no.’ Suddenly she told me– well, send your horoscope to my father’. I felt very odd at that time because I was alone and they were in a group. A smart girl coming out from the kitchen, walking towards my seat, asked – “Sir, what do you like to take. Tapioca with fish curry? We also do have Kerala rice soup (local name Kanji).” “No thanks, please. Where is the owner of this Canteen – Mr. Kumar. He is my uncle.” I said. She replied – “Yesterday, one other person came here who told me that Kumar is his father.” With her compulsion, I had to order one tea. She took the money for drink and disappeared. I just sipped the tea but felt like vomiting. She put some salt instead of sugar. Salt-in-tea! When my uncle came back, I told him that your staff, that waitress- girl is very rough in character. My uncle told me that there are no waitresses in his canteen and maybe a student was fooling me. The college election campaign was going on. While going back, I saw the same girl who was serving me salt in tea in the canteen was on the podium and delivering a speech. When she saw me walking by, she smiled at me as if nothing had happened in the canteen. I could not meet my fiancée on the day and returned home. The next day, the broker asked me to follow him, and after 1 hour, we reached the place called Kilimanoor. This is where Raja Ravi Varma was born, a celebrated Indian painter and artist. He is considered among the greatest painters in the history of Indian art. My fiancée is from the same place. The place is beautiful, and my fiancée will have natural beauty like this place, I thought to myself. We were approaching her house, and it was a shock to me, the same girl who gave me salt in tea was coming out of the house. She just threw a smile, which had the beauty of a sunflower. The salt in tea maker has become my life partner, and the rest of the life is with ‘sugar in tea’.

SATAC 2020

Making the Best Use of the Worst Situation TM Hajjah Rahman There is a saying that “Men proposes and God disposes.” We have experienced, through the recent events of our lives, how true this saying could be. We purchased plane tickets to visit our children in Saudi Arabia from March 8 to 28, 2020, but that plan has been disrupted. Towards the end of February, an unforeseen event started to unfold. A virus scare was announced in China that got the world’s attention – an outbreak of Corona infections threatened closure of airports across the globe. Seeing that my son had a sense that such an outbreak will occur in Saudi, he asked us to visit them earlier. So we arrived in Dhahran on March 1. Little did we expect that after arriving into the Kingdom, our pending return back to Canada will take so long. What we did expect, however, is that we were going to have a wonderful time because my son and daughter arranged for another couple to join us during the same vacation. Seeing that our children are working in the day and that these same children were mindful that we do not become bored while they are at work, Kazi and Rowena arranged for her parents to also arrive in Saudi Arabia so that we can have some company together. All of us arrived in Dhahran by the first week of March.

Following our arrival, and after some great trips to different places in Saudi, Covid-19 did happen. One by one, domestic and international flights were canceled and suspended in Saudi Arabia. Government restrictions were enforced to stop the spread of the virus. Ultimately, citizens were advised to observe full days of lockdown, which forced people to stay home. Almost all businesses and schools were either closed or forced to conduct business online. The tiny microscopic virus caused such panic in all-powerful and mighty nations in the world. Nobody could come up with a cure. This event caused a new turn in our lives. There was no way to know how soon we could return to Canada. We were stranded. Instead of feeling anxious about the world’s event, we sought other alternative activities. We thought of at least reaping some benefits from the current situation. I took the opportunity to do something I do best: cooking! I have longed to cook meals for my son and daughter in law, and so I did just that. Every day, I cooked dishes to their hearts’ delight, and every meal was a fun treat for all. Another activity that we found joy in was presented to us as a surprise gift: Toastmaster membership for all. We didn’t know how much we would enjoy attending meetings, participating in table topics, and delivering speeches, but as soon as we attended our first online meeting, where we saw how public speeches were given, we were hooked! After that, all four of us: My husband Haji, Santiago, Aurora, and I, then received beginner training from Toastmaster Salsabila Harbi, who provided us with useful help in how speeches are written. At this point, we were so impressed that we started pushing towards learning the art of public speaking. After a few training sessions, I began to write my first speech. I used this time to remember periods of my life, and wrote about my family, childhood, and education. I wrote about memories of my childhood when I saved the life of a friend who almost drowned in the rivers of Bangladesh. I also started to remember my father’s insightful guidance related to family values, which I also wrote in my speech. I like Toastmasters because I saw that we can develop ourselves in how we speak, evaluate others, and actively listen to others’ thoughts. It also teaches us the value of time and how to have the discipline to be on time. Keeping my speeches within time took some effort, but now I know how to do it. The friendship blossomed between my husband, my daughter-in-laws’ parents, and me. Together, we started learning about toastmasters. We would write our speeches together, listen to each other as we practice delivering our ice breakers, and other speeches, and got to evaluate one another during club meetings. One of my favorite moments was when we had to research about different books for our last speech for Level 1 in Pathways. Each of us got a book, and after reading the materials, we started our own “book club,” where we discussed emotional intelligence and leadership strategies. In between our studies, we would take breaks and play. We played so many board games and card games. There was not a moment of boredom because we had each other. The best of the many happy memories happened during Eid. On Eid Day, we had meetings with toastmasters friends who shared their experiences about how they celebrated Ramadan and Eid. With my daughter-in-law’s help, and after so many years, I also got to speak with my three sons simultaneously and their families via Zoom, which is an app that our family discovered because of the many online Toastmaster meetings that we have been coordinating while in Saudi Arabia. So while I usually miss my three sons who stay in various countries during this blessed period, I didn’t miss them as much this time, because I got to see them all in one meeting. Overall, I found happiness in the worst situation. Making the best out of this event of COVID 19, by cooking for the family, playing board/card games, and developing myself as a public speaker through Toastmasters have all contributed to this happiness. I hope others can have similar experiences like me. I look forward to many more Toastmaster events, now and in the future.

SATAC 2020

The universe is made of stories, not of atoms Paddy Kennedy Greetings to everyone. I am thrilled to be asked to write a brief article for you. I have been a coach for over 48 years. Not always as a communication coach. I began training elite athletes when I was a young woman. I had trained as an Olympic athlete all my young life. I never made it to the Olympics, but I was one of the top ice skaters in my homeland, Canada. At nineteen, I began training and coaching young skaters who also dreamed of making it to the Olympics. I retired from that work in my mid-twenties after I had become completely disabled; my body just broke down after a life of such rigorous training. When I was in Grade 11, a teacher had taken me aside and told me that really, I was a writer. She encouraged me to write every day - just in case the skating career didn’t work out. Today, I look back at that teacher and I can only say how much I love her for her insight and wisdom. After an entire youth spent on the ice, I was at a loss when I had to retire from skating. I felt that my life was over. But I remembered what Sister Mary Carmel had told me: “You are a writer!” I remembered the empowering feeling I had when she told me that. So, I began to write. Everyday. Every morning, I faced the blank page in my journal. Before I knew it, I was feeling positive again, like my life wasn’t over and that there was a whole world waiting for me. Writing was my therapy – both mental and physical. I say physical because writing gave me the desire to live again, to get up and get moving again. Yes, I was disabled. Yes, I walked with canes. I even spent time in a wheelchair. But, everyday, I would set the tone for the day ahead. I would ask myself: How do I want to live this day? And every morning, I answered in the positive. I wanted to live each day WELL! I sure didn’t want to write that I just wanted to sit around all day and be sad and miserable. Feeling sad and miserable just made everything seem even worse. Today, I always say that I wrote myself back to life! Because I did. I was born to teach. I began teaching writing. Journaling. I changed my life with words! I watched my students’ lives come to life as they wrote their stories. Their life stories. For years, I had been told that I had a great voice and I should pursue a career in Radio. I thought – well, I can always use my voice, no matter how crippled or disabled I am. I went to the National Institute of Broadcasting in Toronto and passed my diploma in Radio and TV Broadcast journalism. I was so happy to become a Radio journalist. I even got to interview the Dalai Lama. Life has given me many great opportunities because of my disability. I had learned to meditate during the hardest times. Mediation helped me manage the terrible pain I lived in. Before I knew it, I was invited to move to New York City to teach meditation to medical students and to work with people with chronic pain disorders as well as people with cancer. And still, every day, I wrote! While I was doing that work in New York, I would always ask my clients, especially those who were dying of cancer:“What is one thing you wish you could fix before you pass on?” Without fail, they would all answer that they wished their families, their kids, their colleagues, and friends really knew who they were. Who they were way deep down inside. They discovered too late that they had never told their life-stories. Their kids had no clue who their Mom or Dad had been when they were kids. Their kids had no idea of the life the parents had led before having them. They were just always Mom or Dad. Now, they were heart-broken to be dying without ever having told their stories. I realized that people need to tell their stories. Before it’s too late. I realized I had to go back to teaching people how to tell their truths. Their unique stories. I left the meditation world and went back to words. I began to teach people how to tell their stories. How to express themselves. I taught them radio techniques for developing a strong voice. Before you knew it, I had created a career as a communication trainer and coach. I began to specialize in telling your story, in developing your voice, in stepping up to speak up. I began working with global business men and women, people from the professions. I even taught a rocket scientist and a brain surgeon! Today, I have a career with clients from over 90 countries, training, teaching, and coaching them to Speak-Up! If they have accents, I teach them how to lessen their accents. I love my work and everyday I give thanks to God for being given the gift of a teacher, trainer, and coach. If you are holding back, not communicating who you are at your deepest level, I want to encourage you to stop doing that. I want to encourage you to write every day in a journal, to stand up, to speak up. To tell the world who you are. After all, as the American poet, Muriel Ruykesyer, said“The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.”

SATAC 2020

Timing is Everything! Dana Morgan Barnes, DTM, PDG As a leader, have you ever prepared remarks for a 15 minute time slot, only to find that someone before you, spoke longer than their requested time and now you only have 6 minutes? Have you ever thought “I can’t make this speech fit 5-7 minutes as the project requires! I need at least 10 minutes to express my thoughts.” Each of us joined Toastmasters to learn, to grow, to be better. One of the many lessons we are learning from Toastmasters is timing. The projects give us specific times so we can learn how to use our time effectively. The lesson: yes, you can rewrite that speech to fit within the project’s guidelines. Give it a try, what can you take out that really isn’t necessary? What points make the speech? You want to keep those. What is unnecessary detail? Remove it. It takes practice, but you can do it! Start meetings on time. Members who come in late, will start being on time when they realize they are missing an important part of the meeting. We do not want to penalize the on time members by making them wait. “Let’s wait a few minutes to start, to let the stragglers get here” is very disrespectful to those who made the effort to be there on time. Always end a meeting on time. If there is more business to take care of, adjourn the meeting and those interested and who can, will stay. Or even consider calling a separate business meeting. You never want members to have to choose between getting back to work on time or staying for a meeting that has run long. If you are asked to present or comment to a group: respect the members by staying on time. If someone before you goes long, think: what you can take out and what must stay in. Possibly you were going to repeat something the earlier speaker said. Leave it out. You may only have time for the most important bits of information. Let the members know you will have your full statement in an email to the membership or post on the groups Facebook page. As leaders, we must be prepared to think quickly and still be gracious. Never throw the previous speaker, who went long, under the bus. No one in the audience needs to know. Being a DTM or a District Leader does not give you permission to speak as long as you like. Believe me, the members know which leaders will go long and which will not. DTM does not mean “don’t time me”. DTM means you are an experienced leader and speaker, always keeping the members first. Members are watching you, learning from you. Lead by example. I can’t tell you how many times District Leaders are left with 5 minutes for 15 minutes worth of content. As leaders, we want to respect the members and finish on time. If you do go long, don’t be surprised or hurt if people get up and leave before you’re done. They scheduled their time and they have busy lives; honor and respect that. Whether we have a title or not, we are all leaders: in our homes, workplace, clubs and beyond. We want to be the BEST leader possible! A title does not allow us to be indifferent to others needs. In fact, a title holds us to a higher standard. A standard others should want to follow. How can you grow, learn and show respect? Be on time! Because Timing……..is everything!

SATAC 2020

Times Change TM Vinod Kumar M.M. We are going through unprecedented times. All this while, we have been coming together and making many things happen. Suddenly, the slogan has changed to social distancing entailing to keep a physical distance away from one another to save oneself and society.

We have come together, not physically but with the help of technology, overcoming all obstacles. Our current reality could become a norm in life from now onwards, at least for some time. It proves that we will be able to tackle those challenges and move forward if we are faced with challenges. Since social distancing is the only way out, we did have restrictions on moving around. This meant that we saved on many fronts and realized specific facts. To name a few of them, most of us saved on traveling time, dressing time, expenditures on impulsive purchases, reduced our intake of junk food by not overeating at restaurants. In short, these restrictions have had a positive impact on our health and wealth. There is no doubt there have been some repercussions of this on our economy, and this could affect us adversely for some time. However, we have become more conscious of our thoughts and realized that we can make some compromises on our wants and still survive to face any challenges that may come in our way.

SATAC 2020

My Newfound Hobby TM Aurora Milla From my homeland, the Philippines, then ten years forward to the Fragrant Harbor, also known as Hong Kong, the ebbs and turns of life have brought me to the land of opportunity – my adopted country, Canada, where I’ve lived for more than 30 years. Now here I am, in the desert lands of Saudi Arabia, visiting my family. What a surreal life it has been. My name is Aurora Milla. I am a recent toastmaster who joined one of the clubs in Division M. I am blessed with a happy marriage to a wonderful Filipino man, and I’m a beloved stepmother to my four stepchildren and grandmother to ten grandchildren, plus a bonus – a great-granddaughter who came to our lives two years ago. As a Nursing Assistant in downtown Toronto’s bustling retirement residences, I have also recently retired in the healthcare profession. It was a challenging profession because the work was physically taxing: caring for patients meant hard work involving lifting individuals to and from locations, helping them with basic activities such as bathing, eating, changing, and so on. It also demands a lot of patience. I love the work that I did then and am proud to have contributed to the betterment of those I cared for. One of the activities I used to do to help me relax was to drive with my husband to a lake, pitch a tent to camp overnight, and of course, fishing! Fishing is a matter of good and bad luck. One day, I could catch a lot of fish, while some days none at all. There are many types of fish in the lakes that we go too as well. In Lake Ontario alone, there are big and smallmouth bass, pickerel, white fish, perch, lake salmon, sunfish, and trout. At the end of a fishing trip, the best part is when we get to cook our catch at home. There are many different fish recipes to choose from, and such preparations and cooking is another hobby of mine that I like to indulge in. One memorable fishing trip was when my husband and I drove to Lake Ontario one Sunday morning, and I caught a huge large-mouth bass, a freshwater fish that was about 17 inches long and weighed about 10 pounds. It was so heavy that it almost cut my fishing line. Luckily it didn’t. It was a very satisfying experience. Since February is still Winter in Canada, we cannot go fishing or camping. So what do a couple of retired parents do for the Winter? Well, in our case, we accepted an invitation. An invitation from our children living in the Middle East to come and visit them for a couple of weeks. I said, “Wow! What a great opportunity to see family and, at the same time, to visit a land I’ve never been to before.” So off we went. We arrived in Dhahran in early March and planned to enjoy the sights and events in our children’s Aramco Community for a couple of weeks. But, due to the lockdown that had occurred with the COVID-19 pandemic, we ended up staying longer than planned. I believe we’ve been enjoying Dhahran for more than two months now. In our time here, I have learned so many new things, like playing chess, risk, monopoly, and card games like “Cowboys and Indians”. I also picked up language learning because learning Spanish is a must! There isn’t a dull moment in our children’s household. In fact, on top of all these new activities, I also found a new hobby – becoming a club member in Toastmasters has been such a joy! Writing and delivering speeches, as well as learning about various projects online, is my first and foremost hobby from the rest of the newfound hobbies I’ve acquired. Joining Toastmasters gave me insight into how to meet many different types of people worldwide through the comforts of home. Online meetings have become a weekly activity that I have started to look forward to. It also enhanced my knowledge in writing speeches and stories. I am new to this group, but I am gaining more self-confidence in public speaking. Hurray! A Canadian, eh? Going back to Toronto with my newfound hobby of writing speeches and delivering various stories in public forums is part of my journey now. Perhaps I will be writing my speeches while fishing in front of the blue, wavy waters of Lake Ontario in Canada. Who knows, maybe I will lead a Toastmasters club someday too. The potential for my newfound hobby is endless! Thank God that I discovered Toastmasters. My senior years have been greatly enriched with more knowledgeable experiences. I look forward to living the rest of my retirement years, learning, and doing more things in my newfound hobby. Can’t wait to do more!

SATAC 2020

One step ahead…Beat Plastics Pollution TM D. Mohandoss “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed”. – Mahatma Gandhi

The earth consists of 70% water and 30% land, but now both the water and land are contaminated with Plastic. Yes, dear fellow humans, people across the world unwittingly consume roughly 5 grams of Plastic each week in the course of their daily life, or about the weight of a credit card, according to Australian researchers. That’s 250 grams per year. Plastics waste makes up 80% of all marine debris from surface waters to deep-sea sediments, under the influence of solar UV radiation, wind, currents, and other natural factors, plastic fragments into small particles, termed microplastics or nano plastics. Fish, seabirds, sea turtles, and marine mammals can become entangled in or ingest plastic debris, causing suffocation, starvation, and drowning. Plastic waste kills up to a million seabirds a year. As with sea turtles, when seabirds ingest plastic, it takes up room in their stomachs, sometimes causing starvation. Humans consume kinds of seafood that have ingested plastic debris, unknowingly consume chemicals released by waste plastics. Chlorinated plastics release harmful chemicals into the surrounding soil, which can then seep into groundwater or other water sources and the ecosystem of the earth. This can cause serious harm to the species that drink the water. Studies have found that a particular chemical in plastic can leach out of the plastic and into the food and beverages we consume. Human bodies absorb some of these chemicals added to plastics. Some of these compounds have been found to alter hormones and have other potential human health effects, such as metabolic disorders. Humans consume microplastics via many channels (eg..food packages, beverages packages, water bottles, etc.). We knowingly the cause of global warming and damaging our ecosystem by using plastics. To protect this earth for our future generations and our health let us take one step ahead “beat plastic pollution” by adopting the below methods: - Avoid using microbeads - Replace plastic bags with jute/cloth bags - Stop throwing polybags in rivers/oceans - Carry reusable water bottles, say no to straws - Support Organizations addressing Plastic Pollution.

SATAC 2020

Formulate your Words TM Edelito A Cueto There is a saying, “Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.” If you want to build your reputation, earn the income, and have the impact you desire, developing the skill of public speaking is one of the fastest ways to do it. Here are some tips to make our speeches more powerful, persuasive and motivational. 1. Share Something Actionable. The most important law of powerful public speaking is to share something actionable with your audience. Whether you are speaking at your event, a keynote, or on an Instagram story, people don’t care about you. They care about what you have for them and what problems you can help them solve. Avoid esoteric, philosophical, or convoluted lessons and stories. Instead, share raw, tactical, and step-by-step strategies that will help your audience overcome their biggest obstacles. But if you share something that changes someone’s life, your speech is commendable. 2. Share Something Counter-intuitive. To leverage your speeches and presentations, it is not enough to give your audience actionable advice. However, to become a powerful and persuasive speaker, you must share something unique. Spend some time thinking about the individual, contrarian, or counter-intuitive wisdom you can share during your next speech. Your audience will love it. 3. Unify Your Speech with an Overarching Theme. One of the most common mistakes by novice speakers is attempting to share too much too quickly. They have all of these ideas and lessons in their head and a seemingly endless stream of value to offer. Unify your speech by creating coherence and simplicity in your presentation, avoiding tangential rambles and seemingly unrelated diatribes. 4. Follow the “Tell them Three Times” Rule; the human brain is undeniably weird. Whatever your main point is, share it with the audience three times. Start by telling them what you have for them to take. Then narrate it to them. Finally, conclude your speech by reiterating what you just told them. 5. Speak with Utter Conviction. Another common trap into which novice speakers fall is to give speeches and presentations about topics for which they have no conviction. Speak with utter confidence and certainty. 6. Study Other Speakers. The fastest way to improve anything, whether it is your public speaking, your sales or your copywriting is to learn from others who do it better than you. To become a more robust and persuasive public speaker, you must study, educate, and emulate the greats. 7. Know and Speak to Your Audience. Before you plan your speech, gain an intimate familiarity with the individuals you will be speaking to. When you understand who your audience is, you can mold and shape your message to speak directly to them in a way they will understand. When you do this, their attention is to your command. 8. Focus on Emotion, not Information. People may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel. If you do it right, they will always remember how you made them feel. When you focus on the emotion you want to deliver instead of the information; your speeches will go from ‘good’ to ‘great’ to ‘Oh my God, that was unbelievable.’ In conclusion, a speaker should approach their preparation not by what they want to say, but by what they want to learn. Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can use this force constructively with words of encouragement or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate, and to humble. Formulate your words prudently. The choice is yours.

SATAC 2020

THE JOYS OF GROWING UP IN A LARGE FAMILY TM Joann Fernandes A large family? This concept is somewhat alien in this day and age. However, I must add that this is not true of all cultures. In the days when I arrived in this world, large families were not uncommon. I am the sixth of eight children. My sisters and I would tease our brothers by calling them the ‘thorns between the roses.’ Wonder why? Well, we sisters, six in all, are sandwiched between our brothers. Yes, they are the eldest and youngest. Our father’s career as a Flight Engineer meant that he was not always at home. Our mother wore the mantle of parenthood while he was away. As the family grew in size and age, my older siblings helped take care of our younger ones. This was especially true when our mother took a break and joined our father on his trips or postings. Growing up was fun. We created our games, apart from playing with our neighbors. Physical exercise after school hours was an integral part of our daily routine. Sadly, this is a thing of the past, as there is tremendous pressure on children these days to do well in their studies. The summer holidays meant more fun and games and also cycling for half an hour to the beach. It was possible to do that in the Bombay of those years, as there were far fewer private vehicles on the road. We were brought up with the virtues of caring and sharing. Our paternal grandmother lived with us, and we even had a dog. All of us shared a single bedroom home. We lived happily and never felt a lack of space. We even had room for guests. Fast forward, we have all grown up, and most of us have families of our own. Four of us live outside India, and two of my sisters live in different parts of India. Given the physical distance between us and the different commitments and schedules of the ever-expanding family, it isn’t easy to meet often. We do, however, try to, even if only some of us can. The eight of us were under one roof in 2013, when we gathered to bid a final farewell to our father. Our mother will be celebrating a milestone later this year. All plans are afloat to mark it. Thanks to WhatsApp, keeping in touch is even easier now. I am proud to be part of a large family which now boasts of four generations. My mother is the proud great grandmother of nine. Our family continues to grow. I would not trade it for anything in the world. I would compare Toastmasters to a large family. It grows in size with the addition of every new member. We learn to share and care for one another. Through our suggestions and evaluation, we help each other improve our skills. Our bonds, and sometimes newfound friendships, grow more profound. May we all continue to grow. Cheers to large families and our Toastmasters family!

SATAC 2020

A MENTOR’S PATH TM Jon Dale Concoer We cannot accomplish great things if we rely only on our strengths. Who does not know the billionaires & icons of today, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Michael Bloomberg? They are accomplished and extraordinary individuals, not because of their capacity. They were protégés once before reaching the highest levels of success. They had the influence and guidance of mentors. Mark Zuckerberg’s mentor was Steve Jobs, Bill Gates’s mentor is Warren Buffet, and Michael Bloomberg’s mentor is Billy Salomon. I remember the time I was a protégé. I would describe my relationship with my mentor as a scene of a diamond in the rough. I was just a washed-up stone in the stream, swayed by the current together with all the rest. This was the time when I started college. I would spend most of my time with friends, extracurricular activities, without focusing on my studies. I was drifting, and a time came that I was failing in my subjects. I knew I had to change. One day I was invited by an amicable guy at my college to a study center. There my mentor found me. An educated and refined man. He loves art, collects paintings, speaks to big audiences for seminars & has written three books. He is a values and development professional. He found the uncut diamond in me. This mentor guided me. He showed me the right direction and to focus my energy and time towards my goals in life and work to achieving it, which is to develop a professional character and habits in study and success. We met two times a week; one of them was a one on one chat where he would scrutinize my activities and priorities in a week. I knew I was poor in organizing my time, but he never used strong words. Moreover, he kept me motivated at the end of the chats. From that day on, I aspired to be a person who will mentor and influence individuals, as my mentor did to me for four years. After 12 years, I am now here in Saudi Arabia. In the meantime, I journeyed two and a half years as a Toastmaster. “Alone, we can do so little, but together we are unstoppable.”; this adage rings in my head, seeing the Areas, Divisions, and SATAC gatherings in the contest season. Each time, it brings out ideas to ponder and reflect after the events. It leaves awe and amazement in me, knowing that I was a part of something great and relevant to a team of extraordinary individuals. I started my path with Nesma& Partners TMC, a corporate club. My mother club showed me great leaders that have mentored promising Toastmasters to be leaders—a prominent club where numerous leaders and clubs were made. Last year I was one of the chartered members of Perlas Ng Silangan Toastmasters Club, my second club, a community club. Here I have grown to apply my leadership skills and to start influence members to the Toastmasters core values. The whole club is proving to be a mighty club that has produced champions in just two years. Young, enthusiastic members from Horizon Toastmasters Club, Nesma& Partners Toastmasters Club, advisers DTM James Taruc, and DTM Shekhar Tiwari have collaborated to form a positive environment for members of different nationalities to support and guide one another. I am positive that we can grow our influence with people of different professions, personalities, and backgrounds by firstly believing in ourselves; secondly develop a strong character and values, with the trait of trustworthiness and team play. Anyone starting as a protégé can become a mentor one day and ultimately reach the height of success.

SATAC 2020

Relevance of Toastmasters for Finance Professionals TM Mahesh R. Pillai Finance professionals are the backbone of any organization. They do take up often a lot of responsibilities and hard work for the organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success without counting on the time. Do you think they are adequately recognized? If not, what are the main reasons for not giving them proper recognition? One of the main challenges they face is their struggle in communication skills. They are mostly not provided with opportunities to improve their skills other than their subject expertise in the organization. What could you accomplish if you could present your ideas and point of view more effectively? An excellent communication skill blended correctly with your technical expertise would convince your employer for the right recognition for you. Toastmasters is an organization that will help its members to improve communication skills in a safe, encouraging, and supportive environment. Now that you are a finance professional, it opens up an arena to showcase your talents in various areas, such as organizing events, speaking, and sharpening our speaking, listening, and thinking skills. It also gives a fantastic platform for networking and charges you to learn, unlearn, and relearn. All finance professionals will look into the money invested in such activities, and let me tell you that it is one of the most economical methods to drive your talent development. Now, as a finance professional, it is even helping me do some literature for you by writing an article for this magazine. I joined Toastmasters to build communication and leadership skills. It took me a bit of time to get over my stress, but I had made my mindset to overcome that. A big thanks to my right friend circle, who happened to encourage me just like my friends at my badminton club. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be honest; my tenure in toastmasters helped me a lot in my profession for improving my skills and gaining the right amount of recognition. Dear professionals, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait for anything. This is an opportunity to improve your skills for better recognition. Take the decision now and be the part of a Great Team where leaders are made! Good luck.

SATAC 2020

The Ultimate Story You Can Tell TM Presiyan Vasilev By 2013 World Champion of Public Speaking Pres Vasilev, author of How to Master Compelling Storytelling If you ask me, “Pres, what’s the best story I can tell?” I’ll tell you what I tell my coaching clients when they prepare for theirnext speech or speech contest – focus on three things: #1. Personal. The ultimate story you can tell is your own story. That’s right, your best story is personal. When I was a teenager, I came to America by myself. Family and friends remained back in Bulgaria. And I remember struggling with the language, struggling with the culture, lacking the words to fully express all the messages within me. When people would hear my accent, they’d ask, “Where’re you from?” And with the few words I knew, I’d tell them about my home, about my journey, about my challenges. And every time, an amazing thing would happen. I would feel connection.Many, many friendships were born that way. And now I know what they were really asking me back then was “What’s your story?” You’ve heard it – everyone has a story. The question is, do you dare share yours? #2. Passionate. The ultimate story you can tell taps into your passion. Passion is a powerful force.When I delivered my winning speech “Changed By A Tire”at the World Championship of Public Speaking, I believed with every fiber of my being in the importance of my message, in the power of reaching out to others. After all, that’s how I learned to survive and thrive in a new culture. How about you? What’s your passion? How can you build a story around it? Your passion will charge your voice, energize your body and inspire your audience.

#3. Purposeful. The ultimate story you can tell helps other people. When you and I speak, it’s never about us. Yes, you share your story. Yes, you share your passion, but ultimately, it’s about your audience. And here’s a great secret.There are people only your story can reach, lives only your story can touch. So as you get ready for your next speech or speech contest, remember, the ultimate story you can tell is personal, passionate and purposeful.

SATAC 2020

Role of Youth Leaders in Nation Building and Social Reformations

TM Raju George Medical colleges produce great physicians and surgeons to treat human bodies and to maintain a healthy society. Law colleges prepare the lawyers to support the judiciary for the administration of justice and to ensure a world of truth. Engineering colleges generate professionals with technical knowhow to take responsibility for the structural and technological development of the world. Faith treats the diseases of the mind and soul. Who will utilize these professionals for the benefit of society? It is only the leaders with a definite and clear vision who can see the big picture, yes VISIONARY LEADERS. The world needs visionary leaders who can create a compelling vision and engage others around it, who can communicate what lies beyond the horizon and inspire confidence. Years back, before joining the Toastmasters program, I had my doubts on what Toastmasters is all about. I thought it was just a gathering of professionals to pass the time. To my surprise, after my indulgence, I felt that it is not merely a gathering but a platform for grooming up future leaders. Now, after carefully observing various Toastmasters clubs, especially Gavel Clubs, I firmly have a realization that we are working for a better world. The youth plays a significant role in the building of a nation. Youth has the power to help a country develop and move towards progress. Youth is responsible for bringing social reform within a country. The youth of a country determines the future of a nation. What if the youngsters do not have a vision? Our Gavel Clubs are ensuring the formation of new-generation leaders who think beyond religion and politics and see a big picture. Humanity is their motto; a better world is their dream; they see the world more clearly. A world without poverty is their aim, and they even foresee the environmental impacts due to human intervention. So, now this is the time for us to act. Develop more visionary leaders through our Gavel clubs and make the world a better place to live. Every seed you plant will grow into bountiful crops for a great harvest. Thus, be the part of a social movement that aims to make a gradual change in the society for a better world.

SATAC 2020

Forego your fears TM Rekha Rajesh Shetty The acronym F.E.A.R. may have two meanings: ‘Forget Everything And Run’ or ‘Face Everything And Rise.’ The choice is yours: RUN or RISE. Fellow toastmasters, my toastmaster’s journey has been a revelation where I have explored the unknown side of my personality, my passion for public speaking. It would come as a surprise that apart from addressing small gatherings as a part of Legal Aid Forum, my foray into this marvelous public speaking world was after I came to Saudi Arabia. On several occasions in social circuits, many toastmasters invited me to join Toastmasters. I was a reluctant entrant to Toastmasters as it was an unknown concept for me, and I always take time to come out of my comfort zone. During one of the MASA cultural programs, DTM Ravi Karkera insisted that I come for a meeting and watch. This is the catchline of every toastmaster, who is trying to get members for his or her club. He must have observed that I am wasting my speaking skills on my husband alone. My first experience of witnessing a Toastmasters meeting had me hooked to it for good. The two ‘Wow’ factors were the gorgeous ladies of Phoenix Masa Club, which would give me a lot of scope for gossip, and the next was the hot samosa with tea served during the break. When everyone makes their first Table Topic experience as a subject of their humorous speech, I can always make it as a reference point as the most adrenaline rushing experience I have ever experienced. Standing before the members and speaking made me feel liberated. I thoroughly enjoyed that 2 minutes because, during those 2 minutes, I felt my brain was being used 100% while mostly otherwise it is in hibernation. The past four years of my toastmaster’s journey has evolved me into a more confident person. I have seen this transformation in so many people, and it makes me proud to be a part of such a path-breaking process. I have witnessed people who used to go blank on stage within seconds and struggle to make even one complete sentence in front of a crowd. I have seen them work on their fears and finally let go of their fears and inhibitions. Miracles have happened right in front of my eyes, so I try to encourage people to face their fears head-on. There is not a single person who has no fears. The beauty of life is that it gives us so many opportunities to overcome our fears. If my journey in Toastmasters has encouraged even one person to let go of his/her fears, then I feel that the journey was well lived. Mark Twain has brilliantly said, “Courage is the resistance of fear, mastery of fear, not the absence of fear.” All we have to do is forego our fears.

SATAC 2020

A Lifetime of Leadership TM Santiago Pardilla The last project in the first level of the Pathway program is the Researching and Presenting speech project. This project encouraged me to learn basic research methods, which I used to present an organized, well-researched speech on the topic of my choice. I enjoyed delivering this speech, which is why I decided to write about it for others to take the same journey in their development through the Toastmasters Pathway program. I chose the book Leading for a Lifetime. The book was written in 2007 by Warren Bennis, an American Scholar who graduated from MIT in the United States. He worked as a Business Administration professor at the University of California. Leading for a Lifetime is a very informational and inspirational book. From what I have read, I understood that this book is about grooming future leaders in many areas, but for this article, I will focus on three areas: The leadership of people, organizational capabilities, and decision making. The first area is the leadership of the people. Leaders should understand themselves and have both vision and the ability to translate that vision to their teams and establish an environment of trust. A leader knows their strengths and weaknesses, which can also plan for the future of an organization by preparing what that organization needs through creating a vision that is only half the success. A leader needs to learn how to communicate that vision to others to obtain people’s confidence in what the plan is for the future. The second area is the organizational and capabilities skill. Leaders should know how to recognize differences between various tendencies, such as administration vs. innovation, maintenance vs. development, acceptance vs. investigation, the desire to do things vs. the ability to do the right things vs. their ability to identify, sustain and inspire others talented people. Knowing how to determine which of these tendencies are necessary for any given situation is critical. The last factor to a successful lifetime of leadership is decision making. A leader should know how to make accurate decisions. In this case, there are two types of people who show distinct decision-making styles: Older leaders tend to make decisions based on their experiences: what they have seen, heard, acted on during past events shape how they behave and decide in future events. Younger leaders tend to make decisions based on research and imagination: they may not have experienced past events to make decisions; instead, they make decisions on assumptions and probabilities of what could happen. Imaginative based decisions could, at times, lead to mistakes. Warren Bennis does not write that such mistakes are errors; they are essential to the process of learning to become a great leader. Apart from these three factors of lifetime leadership, the writer also mentions two types of ‘generational leaders.’ There are the “geezers” who are about 70 years old and above. Some geeks are 35 years old and younger. Geeks are the grandchildren of geezers. Geezers are known to manage projects in an analog-style of leadership. Analog leadership refers to leaders who have a linear narrative and thought process. They believe in organizational hierarchy and make decisions based on who is in control from Top to bottom. They follow a chain of command type of leadership. Geeks, on the other hand, use a digital style of leadership. They believe in a flat organizational structure where employees who work for them have the right to voice their opinions regardless of hierarchy. This means that Geezers like structure while Geeks do not. Geeks do not follow formal forms of management. Despite this, Geeks usually idealize Geezers and have respect for Geezers because of the Geezer leader’s proven track record of experiences. This book ties together the process and the players who are part of the leadership grooming process. Geezers tend to groom Geeks towards a higher level of leadership in managing people, organizational planning, and decision making. One of the examples I read was about Michael Klein. He was a young man who made millions in Southern California real estate while he was still in his teens. He said his mentor was his grandfather, Max Klein, who created a paint-bynumber pad (which is an artful hobby of painting pictures by numbers) that swept the United States in the 50s and 60s. Michael recalled that he was only 4 or 5 years old when his grandfather approached him and offered to share his business expertise. His grandfather said, “You’re never going to get any money from me, but I’ll tell you anything you want to know and teach you anything you want to learn from me.” Michael, a geek, took his grandfather’s help (who is a geezer) and learned as much as possible. Learning from his grandfather, Michael became successful in managing a real estate company in his early years. He then became CEO of Pacific LLC, a company that managed hedge funds and became Chief Executive Officer at E-group incorporated, which is one of the most extensive email communication services in the world before being acquired by the global giant Yahoo.

SATAC 2020

Joining Toastmasters; Life-Changing Experience DTM Ahmed S. Abdelmoeti By profession, my role is to speak, present, and influence others. My daily duties include inspiring people, motivating them, and impacting their thinking positively. My mission is to create learning environments and facilitate enlightening experiences for learners; I am, proudly, a teacher and trainer. Striving to enhance my skills and talents that enable me to achieve my mission and duties, I always look for the best sources of personal growth and professional development. In 2012, a friend of mine invited me to attend a conference with a strange name for me at that time, “SATAC” Saudi Arabian Toastmasters Annual Conference. “You will enjoy listening to wonderful speakers sharing their own experiences and their motivational stories,” my friend said, trying to persuade me to attend. I told him that I attended many international conferences in different countries all over the world, and I was a speaker at several conferences on four continents, and I asked him the traditional question, “What’s in it for me?” He gave me a short, appealing answer, “You will explore new horizons of communication and leadership skills.” Of course, I did attend the conference. After SATAC, and thanks to the full support we always receive from Saudi Aramco, I immediately became a member of two Toastmasters clubs, and I started a new journey of learning, entertainment, and making friends all over the globe. As a teacher, I discovered that I could have more profound influences on the learners when I master speaking skills and tell personal, meaningful anecdotes. Just four years later, in 2016, and equipped with the tools I gained from Toastmasters, I won first place as the “Best Speechwriter” in a very challenging and prestigious competition in Saudi Aramco. I kept the spirit of Toastmasters to continue professional development, and I became internationally certified as a trainer in public speaking from a specialized college in London, UK. The most vital transformation that Toastmasters clubs have instilled in me is to think about giving and helping others to learn and improve. I trained more than a hundred people in Saudi Arabia. I traveled to my home country Egypt to promote Toastmasters in an international conference at the American University in Cairo. I gave workshops in many clubs, including Alexandria Toastmasters Club in Egypt. I was a speaker in many significant events, including one in Dubai, UAE. I also mentored and trained new members in Toastmasters. As a teacher, I believe in life-long learning, and I think that Toastmasters clubs are one of the friendliest and most motivating environments for continuous learning and education. If this is your first time to know about Toastmasters or to attend SATAC, I urge you to take the same path I have already tried and tested to join a club, and I assure you that one day you will thank me for this advice as I appreciate the friend who informed me about SATAC in 2012.

SATAC 2020

‘Book’ your progress DTM Abul Kalam Azad ‘Read’ shall be the keyword for success in all walks of life. This term could not be linked with academic excellence alone. In actuality, the ‘read’ is starting after we gain basic academic skills or qualifications. The recommendation is not to become a book worm sort, but to develop the habit of reading books regularly. No one could suggest what sort of books you should select to read. Any book that relaxes you motivates you, elevates your intellect, enhances your knowledge, guides you in soul searching could be selected according to your own perspective. Generally, the core subject of the book shall not hamper the harmony of good living. For students, reading good books other than the educational curriculum is slowly becoming an additional burden. Electronic gadgets might have their own portion of such a reduction in reading habits among young adults. The amount of information pouring in is commendable, but those are through presentations, short movies, animation, etc. While considering the advantage of young adults getting such information as the positive aide of electronics, we do have a flip side too. Such electronic media limits the imaginations while telling a story. Through audiovisual effects, it defines the backdrop clearly. Thus, living inside the story by painting your own backdrop is being suppressed. It is advisable to limit gadget time and substitute that with reading time. Day in, day out we all read. Reports, manuals, evaluation sheets, project objectives, what not? All these readings play a role in developing our cognitive skills. Apart from the readings of specific required tasks, it is advised to have developed the reading habit. Reading may be of any genre of our interest, any form of our comfortable media, the one important aspect is, it should be a good book. A good book is the best companion. Often, we find difficulty in allotting time for reading. Our times are occupied by work, using apps on mobile, entertaining ourselves through TV programs and movies. With this outset seldom we find time for reading. Reading may not be on the top of the priority list. As it goes to the bottom and bottom, it would vanish one day from the list too. We could not achieve the reading target with such an approach. Initially, reading shall be exercised during the waiting time as filler. This is to start with. Once the filler times are successfully filled with reading at least a single page or a single passage, it will surmount, and the habit will initiate to rework our priority list. May be cut shortening our movie time a little bit and convert the same as reading time. Some portion of mobile apps time maybe diverted to reading time. This would slowly inculcate the reading habit. ‘I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book’ – by J. K. Rowling. Before we conclude, please be informed that all leaders are voracious readers. Read and ‘book’ your progress for a better tomorrow.

SATAC 2020

‫تحدي الصعاب‬ ‫يرجاهلا فيان‬ ‫*يقولون يف األزمات تصنع الرثوات و أقول أنا يف األزمات يظهر القادة*‬ ‫ظهر الكثري من القادة يف مختلف املجاالت و مختلف دول ‪ COVID-19‬وهذا ما حدث خلل هذه األزمة العاملية أزمة‬ ‫‪ .‬العامل وهذا الذي حدث معنا أيضا بالقطاع ‪ 79‬ألندية التوستامسرتز باململكة‬ ‫ملن يسأل ماهو التوستامسرتز ؟* التوستامسرتز هو مؤسسة تعليمية عاملية غري ربحية تأسست منذ عام ‪ 1924‬م‪*،‬‬ ‫‪ .‬تطور مهارات التحدث والقيادة من خالل أندية تعتمد عىل مبدأ التعلم بالتطبيق‬ ‫املؤسسة عدد أعضائها قرابة ‪ 358,000‬يف ‪ 16,800‬نادي يف ‪ 140‬دولة و تتكون من أندية تتبع ملناطق و املناطق تتبع‬ ‫ألقسام و األقسام تتبع للقطاع و نحن باململكة العربية السعودية لدينا قطاعان ‪ :‬قطاع ‪ 79‬يف وسط و شامل و رشق‬ ‫اململكة و قطاع ‪ 104‬يف غرب و جنوب اململكة ‪ ،‬و نحن يف القطاع ‪ 79‬ظهر لدينا قادة مميزون متيزوا بإدرتهم خلل‬ ‫هذه األزمة ملناطقهم و ألقسامهم و للقطاع ‪ ،‬فلم تتوقف عجلة التعليم بالقطاع فاستمرت األندية تقيم لقاءاتها (عن‬ ‫وغريها لتستمر مسرية التعلم و العمل و العطاء و استطاعات ‪ Zoom‬بعد) بستخدام منصات مختلفة مثل منصة‬ ‫املناطق و األقسام تسخري هذه األزمة باقامة برامج كثري إلفادة األعضاء و املجتمع بدعم من القطاع و من لجنة تنفيذ‬ ‫‪ .‬رؤية ‪ 2030‬بالقطاع‬ ‫و هنا حدث تجربة جديدة حيث استطاع القادة أن يقدموا تجربة فريدة و مميزة بإقامة املسابقات (عن بعد) لتنجح‬ ‫هذه التجربة يف أول مره لها واآلن نعمل لتحقيق هذا النجاح عىل مستوى القطاع يف املومتر السنوي للقطاع ساتاك‬ ‫؟ ‏ ‪ SATAC‬املومتر األول يف تاريخ القطاع الذي سيقام (عن بعد) ملن يسأل ماذا يعني ساتاك ‪2020 SATAC‬‬ ‫املؤمتر السنوي للتوستامسرتز يف السعودية و هو الحدث ‪Saudi Arabian Toastmasters Annual Conference‬‬ ‫األهم ألعضاء التوستامسرتز يف اململكة العربية السعودية‪ ،‬يتم خالله عقد منافسات يف الخطابة‪ ،‬ويشارك يف املنافسات‬ ‫األعضاء املتأهلون من املستويات السابقة‪ :‬مستوى األندية ثم مستوى املناطق ثم مستوى األقسام للوصول أخريا ً إىل‬ ‫‪ .‬املنافس عىل منصة القطاع ساتاك‬ ‫الذي كان مقررا له أن ‪ SATAC 2020‬وهذه السنة ترشفت بأن أكون رئيسا للمسابقات العربية للقطاع ‪ 79‬ساتاك‬ ‫يقام يف املنطقة الرشقية يف مدينة الخرب قبل حدوث هذه األزمة العاملية و اآلن أعمل أنا و فريقي عىل إقامة تجربة‬ ‫و هي تجربة جديدة ‪ Zoom‬فريدة و مميز وأوىل من نوعها ألعضاء القطاع يف إقامة ذلك (عن بعد) باستخدام منصة‬ ‫‪ .‬نتعلم منها و نستمتع بها‬ ‫و أسال الله لنا التوفيق يف هذه التجربة ‪ ،‬يف الختام أتقدم بشكر لكل فريق املومتر السنوي ‪ ،‬وأخص بالشكر فريق‬ ‫املسابقات العربية الذين يبادرون ويتطوعون مبا لديهم من خربات ومهارات لتقديم فعالية مميزة تليق باملؤمتر وتربز‬ ‫‪.‬إمكانيات وقدرات أندية التوستامسرتز العربية يف القطاع ‪ 79‬باململكة العربية السعودية‬ ‫نايف الهاجري )‪ (DTM‬توستامسرت مميز‬ ‫رئيس لجنة تنفيذ روية ‪ 2030‬بالقطاع‬ ‫رئيس املسابقات العربية يف ساتاك ‪2020‬‬

‫‪SATAC 2020‬‬

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‫مشاعر قيادية‬

‫يبرحلا هروتكد‬ ‫بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم‬ ‫حمدا لله عظيم املنن و واسع الفضل ذو الجالل و االكرام ‪ ،‬و نصيل و نسلم عىل خري املرسلني نبينا محمد و عىل اله و‬ ‫‪ ..‬صحبة اجمعني و بعد‬ ‫ان الحديث حول تجربة القيادة ذو شجون كبري ‪ ،‬و سنحتاج للعديد من الصفحات لندون بعضا مام افضته تجربة‬ ‫‪ .‬القيادة يف الروح و العقل‬ ‫‪ .‬و اليوم قبيل انتهاء فرتة القيادة للمنطقة ‪ ٧٧‬فيرسين أن أبث اليكم أبرز التجارب عىل سطور‬ ‫يف القيادة جميل هو التحفيز الذي تبثه لفريقك يف املنطقة و املشاعر املتبادلة فيام بينهم تعيش معها مشاعر العطاء‬ ‫‪ ،‬و الحب بكل تفاصيله‬ ‫و كذلك عندما أعلنت امارة منطقة القصيم انطالق اليوم العاملي للتطوع‬ ‫رأيت كم هي جميلة روح الفريق الواحد ‪ ،‬و كيف أن دورة واحد للعريف املميز مرام الحامد حول ( قيادة التطوع )‬ ‫استطاع معظم فريق املنطقة ‪ ٧٧‬ان يتشاركوا املحاور و يتحدثوا حول تجربة التوستامسرت و يجذبوا األعضاء ألنديتهم‬ ‫‪ ،‬و كيف للمدرب أن يعطي بعضا من محاور دورته ألجل اسعاد االخرين و صنع ثقتهم بأنفسهم ‪ .‬فكانت بهجة‬ ‫‪ .‬االعضاء عمت أرجاء املكان و أمام حشد من الجامهري من كل صوب‬ ‫و عند حديث املبادرات كم رسين كثريا سعي عضوات نادي الريادة و نادي قادة القصيم و نادي الخليج بكل همة‬ ‫عالية نحو تقديم برامج القيادة الشبابية و برامج االشبال اىل النبتة األوىل للمجتمع و أغىل الفئات ‪ .‬و قد عملوا‬ ‫‪ .‬متطوعني لوجه الله بكل حب و أمتوا العمل بكل اتقان‬ ‫و عن حكايات فصول فرباير يف مسابقة املنطقة ‪ ٧٧‬عندما خاضت تجربة املسابقات عضوة جديدة بكل حامس و معها‬ ‫‪ ٤٠‬من فريق العمل املتطوعني و حرض لها جامهري بلغ عددهم ‪ ، ٨٠‬و يف نهاية العمل وجدنا مايرس العني من نجاح‬ ‫العمل و سعادة قائدة املسابقة ت‪.‬م رحاب الحريب ‪ ،‬و ابتسامة اعتزازها التي مل تربح املسابقة و حتى خروجنا من‬ ‫‪ .‬املقر‬ ‫و مع أزمة كورونا ملعت روح االرصار و القيادة بني فريق العمل ‪ ،‬بكلمة ايجابية و تحفيز و اثق تراهم يحلقون‬ ‫لخدمة مجتمعهم و وطنهم ؛ فاستمرت اللقاءت أكرث حامس مام سبق ‪ .‬و تم تأسيس نادي جديد بأنشطة متجددة و‬ ‫قد حقق نجاح و الهام كبري بني االعضاء بالرغم من تأسيسه يف العامل االفرتايض ‪ .‬و ماذاك اال فضال من الله ثم وجود‬ ‫‪ .‬فريق عمل مثابر ملهم و محفز‬ ‫و بعد ‪ ..‬فإن لكل انسان يف هذه الحياة محطة احباط وتوقف وركود ‪ ،‬و وصويل للتوستامسرتز هو بكلمة واحده من‬ ‫حب للعامل‬ ‫القائده املبتسمة االستاذه ع م منى الحريب حيث دفعتني وبقوة فالذيه لألمام بنظرة ٍ‬ ‫‪ .‬و قد كان حلمي القياده الناجحة منذ صغري اكامال ملسرييت يف قيادة أبنايئ نحو األفضل واألجمل دامئا‬ ‫أما عن قياديت الحقيقية بعد دخويل اىل عامل التوستامسرتز ‪ ،‬عندما تعرفت عىل القائده املميزه ع م مرام الحامد‬ ‫كانت ملهمتي دامئا ومدربتي ودافعي نحو النجاح ‪ ،‬يف كل مصاعب او لحظة استسالم متر يب أراها تشد من أزري و‬ ‫تعزز من همتي و تدفعني للرقي و التميز بكل ماأملك من قوة يف حوايس و احسايس ‪ .‬و كذلك رؤساء أندية املنطقة‬ ‫‪ ٧٧‬و فريق ادارتهم و أعضاء أنديتهم التي يخدمون بها ‪ ،‬دوما أجد فيهم التجاوب الرسيع و حسن التخطيط و العمل‬ ‫بكل حب فأصبحنا كأرسة واحدة ال نكاد ننفصل عن بعضنا البعض ‪ ،‬فهم بال شك أيقونة النجاح يف املنطقة ‪ .‬و هذا‬ ‫الشعور تجعل احساس القيادة أمر يف غاية الروعة‬ ‫قبل الختام ‪ ..‬أقدم كل الشكر والتقدير لرشكاء نجاحي منذ أن دخلت التوستامسرتز و حتى انتهاء منصب قيادة‬ ‫‪ :‬املنطقة ‪ ٧٧‬كال من‬ ‫ع م ‪ :‬منى الحريب‬ ‫ع م ‪ :‬مرام الحامد‬ ‫‪ C :‬و رئيس القسم‬ ‫ت م تريك البدراين‬ ‫و الذي كان له السبق دوما بكل مانحتاجه من معلومات وتعليامت‬ ‫‪ :‬ختاما‬ ‫‪ .‬نسأل الله أن يجعل ماقدمه الفريق يف خدمة مجتمعهم رفعة لهم و اليحرمهم أجر جهدهم و سعيهم و يبارك لهم‬ ‫هذا و صىل الله و سلم عىل نبينا محمد‬ ‫‪ :‬رئيسة منطقة ‪ ٧٧‬للعام ‪2019‬‬

‫‪91‬‬

‫‪SATAC 2020‬‬

‫رحلة نجاح‬

‫ةقيلح وب هلادع‬ ‫قيل ان الحلم يتالىش مع االنشغال بشؤون الحياة اليوميه واقول ان الهدف اساسه حلم تحول اىل فكرة ومنها اىل‬ ‫خطة تنفذ عىل ارضالواقع ‪....‬وليك يتم تحقيق الهدف بنجاح يجب علينا االميان بأنفسنا اوالً وايجاد فريق عمل‬ ‫‪..‬مميزا ً متكامل ثانياً واخريا ً االلتزام بكفاءةالعمل والالنتهاء باملوعد املحدد‬ ‫نادي كلامت والحمد لله منذ ان تأسس يف عام ‪٢٠١٣‬نادي متميز يحصد النجاح يف كل سنه بعد تحقيق النقاط‬ ‫العرشة والرس يف ذالك انه يعمل كفريق واحد خالل السنة التوستامسرتيه‪..‬حيث توضع االهداف منذ االجتامعاالول‬ ‫لالدارة ومن ثم تحول اىل خطة لتحديد الطرق واالسرتاتيجيات التي تؤدي إليه‪ ،‬ومن الرضوري التفكري يف جميع‬ ‫التفاصيل املتعلقة بهأو الحواجز التي قد يتم مواجهتها‪ ،‬ويجب أن تكون الخطة عىل شكل خطوات متسلسلة وصغرية‬ ‫‪.‬قابلة للتنفيذ مع تحديد وقت إلنجاز كلخطوة‬ ‫بعد تحديد األهداف ووضع الخطط واالسرتاتيجيات لها يجب البدء بالعمل والتنفيذ ملا تم التخطيط له‪ ،‬وإن النجاح‬ ‫‪.‬يف الوصول لها يتمحورحول التطبيق الواقعي لتحقيق األهداف‬ ‫وخالل جائحة كورونا التي رضبت العامل‪.‬وتوقف فيها العامل واالقتصاد وكان للتوستامسرتز نصيب منها ولكن عدنا اقوى‬ ‫واخذ النادي يقيملقاءاته عرب اللقاء االفرتايض ويكمل مسرية النجاح ونستقطب العضوات ونحفز هم لالشرتاك قبل‬ ‫املوعد املحدد بشهرين وتكون هناك جوائزعينية عىل سبيل املثال هذه السنه من يبادر ويسجل من العرشه االوال‬ ‫يكون هناك خصوم عىل الرسوم‬ ‫ومن يتعذر بالدفع من العضوات يتم التواصل معهم شخصياً وفهم االسباب ويقوم النادي بدعمهم من صندوق النادي‬ ‫الداعم للطواريء حيثتم تخصيصة لذالك‬ ‫نادي كلامت رحلة نجاح مل توجد من العدم اهداف وضعت وخطط تم تنفيذها ونجاح حصد يف نهاية‬ ‫‪ ..‬ونقول متسك بحلمك وأرص عليه حتى يف اصعب الظروف‬

‫‪SATAC 2020‬‬

‫‪92‬‬

SATAC 2020

Saudi Arabian Toastmasters Annual Conference

2020 DISTRICT 79