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THE VOICE OF CTC QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF COROMANDEL TOASTMASTERS CLUB - Vol 1, Issue 4 - April 2014

WHERE LEADERS ARE MADE

3075300

Coromandel

Toastmasters Club

Where do we meet?

W e m e e t a t S i t a -

devi Garodia Hindu Vidyalay

a, Kalamegam Street Exten-

sion, Tambaram East, Tamil

Nadu - 600045

When do we meet?

Every Saturday from 5:15 pm to 7:00 pm

Directions to the Venue

1. From Tambaram Rail-

way Station and Bus sta-

tion :

Move along the Tambaram-

Velachery High Road to-

wards Velachery for about 1

km and turn left to Bharad-

waj Street to reach the

venue.

2. From Tambaram Santo-

rium Railway Station :

Take the Bharatha Matha

Street and move towards

Tambaram-Velachery High

road for about 1.5 km and

take left at Kalidasar Street

to reach the venue.

Club Announcements

Book your speech slots

Login to www.easy-speak.org and use your ID and Password to book your speech and role player slots.

(If you have not received your credentials yet, contact TM Anirudh)

A glimpse of the newsletter

Front Liner’s Voices - Page 3 - 5

CTC celebrates ’A season of Firsts’

A proud President talks about the growth of the Club

Voice of the Int’l Director, Region 13, DTM Deepak Menon

Club Members’ achievements Page 6 - 7

Club members completing their Toastmasters’ milestones

Education Column Page 8 - 9

TM Sudha and DTM Jayan on Walk the Talk 2014

Voice of Club Members Page 10 - 15

Hear the voices of our members - Arun, Bhooma, Bharath,

Yamuna, Madhavan and Monisha

Voice of The Well Wishers Page 16 - 18

Messages from senior Toastmasters - DTM Saro Velrajan,

DTM Rajeev Nambiar and TM Rajesh Natarajan

Updates from Division M and CTC Page 19 - 22

Summary of happenings in our division and special meetings of CTC

Progress Chart of all CTC members in their Communication tracks

CTC Hall of Fame

Distinguished Club Program Status Page 23

Take a look at CTC’s performance in Distinguished Club Program

Contact us at: coromandeltoastmastersclub@gmail.com

Our Website: http://coromandeltc.in

Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect. -Alan

Cohen

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MISSION OF TOASTMASTERS CLUBS

HISTORY

How it started?

In 1924, Ralph C. Smedley held the first toastmasters meeting in a basement in YMCA in Santa Ana, Califor-nia.

When i t became

“International” ?

Toastmasters became Toastmasters Interna-tional after a speaking club in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, ex-pressed interest in joining the organization.

TOASTMASTERS -

TODAY

How big is Toastmas-

ters International to-

day?

As of today there are 292,000 memberships in more than 14,350 clubs in 122 countries

Who can join Toastmas-

ters?

Anyone over the age of 18 can join Toastmasters, pro-vided they have the desire to improve their communication and leadership skills.

Toastmasters is also a per-fect platform for networking with people.

Toastmasters International (TI) is a nonprofit educational organization that

operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of helping members to improve their communication, public speaking and leadership skills. Through its thou-sands of member clubs, Toastmasters International offers a program of commu-nication and leadership projects designed to help people learn the arts of speak-ing, listening, and thinking.

A Toastmasters club adopts a “learn-by-doing” philosophy, wherein each mem-ber learns at a pace suitable to his or her developmental needs. The Toastmas-ters program is divided into two separate tracks, communication and leadership, with members progressing along each track by presenting speeches and taking on roles within their club, district and Toastmasters International itself.

Toastmasters International Mission

We empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders.

Coromandel Toastmasters Club is the youngest Toastmasters community

club in Chennai, Tamilnadu. Coromandel Toastmasters Club (CTC) is situated in Tambaram and helps the aspiring Leaders and Communicators in South Chennai in developing their personal and professional skills. Currently there are 30 mem-bers in the club.

Coromandel Toastmasters Club’s Mission

We provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth.

To Join Us Contact

Naresh B - VP Membership

Mobile No: +91 95009 78800 ; Email: coromandeltoastmastersclub@gmail.com

About Toastmasters International

About Coromandel Toastmasters Club

When you talk, you give yourself away. You reveal your true character in a picture which is more

true and realistic than anything an artist can do for you. –Ralph C. Smedley

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VOICE OF THE EDITORIAL TEAM

Coromandel Toastmasters Club has infused a dose of creativity and ex-

pressiveness into the lives of many professional and aspiring engineers

who reside in vast numbers in the ‘Detroit of India’ thanks to the high den-

sity of automobile companies in the southern part of the city. The club

also attracts many students from SRM university.

The 30-member strong club celebrated its first anniversary in February

2014 and that the first ever club contest

coincided with the first year celebrations

was the icing on the anniversary cake.

We would have celebrated our 50th meet-

ing as well by the time you are reading

this, yet another ‘first’ and since it is a

‘Season of Firsts’ at Coromandel Toast-

masters Club , we thought of continuing

with the same theme for our Anniversary

edition. We asked our members to recount their experience of achieving

their milestones for the first time as we always tend to savor our first ex-

periences more than any other.

Note of Thanks

The Distinguished Toastmasters and the senior Toastmasters of our Divi-

sion are the first and foremost whom we have to thank for their unbridled

support and guidance during the inception of the club and special thanks

to DTM Saro, DTM Rajeev Nambiar and TM Rajesh Natarajan who were

again kind enough to contribute to our newsletter.

Special thanks to our advisor, TM Monisha, one of the most active PR in

our district. She spent a lot of time guiding us on how to publish the news-

letter as per Toastmasters International guidelines. She used her vast

networks to solicit an article from DTM Deepak Menon, International Di-

rector, Region 13 for our special edition.

Many thanks to the Editorial team of the previous edition of the newsletter

for setting the agenda for the newsletter and creating a format to be fol-

lowed to ensure consistency in the subsequent editions.

Thanks to all the members of CTC specially Arun, Bhooma, Bharath and

Yamuna and special thanks to our own DTM Jayan and TM Sudha Ra-

jesh from Chennai Toastmasters Club who spent their time and effort to

contribute articles for this edition.

Enjoy Reading!

Pratap Simha

Editor In Chief

Monisha Monikantan Advisor

Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.- Henry Ford

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How was the 1st meet-

ing at CTC?

I did not attend the first

meeting of CTC since I was

a member at Chennai Toast-

masters club, and I did not

know about this new club.

My first visit to CTC was

around the 7 or 8th meeting,

to deliver a speech. There

were only 5 people in that

meeting. All of us played all

the role among ourselves

(each playing 2-3 roles).

Most memorable meet-

ing out of the 50?

The special meeting when

the club was officially char-

tered is very memorable.

The reason is that all of us

(Satish, Monisha, Anirudh,

Arun and I) toiled really hard

to get the first 20 members

required for club chartering.

The process was frustrating,

and took more time than we

initially thought, and the

chartering ceremony was a

sweet end to our struggle.

VOICE OF THE PRESIDENT

50 meetings! It is hard to believe that the newest community club in Chen-

nai has conducted 50 meetings since its inception. Coromandel Toast-

masters Club has come of age. It is no long the toddler which was affec-

tionately helped by some senior Toastmasters to stand on its feet and

slowly start running. The club is now stronger, both in terms of quantity

and quality.

The number of members has been steadily increasing, and so has the

attendance at each meeting. The quality of the meetings has also risen,

thanks to the high level of involvement of a majority of members. It is

heartening to see that lot of new members who joined recently are making

full use of the Toastmasters platform by regularly attending meetings, tak-

ing up meeting roles and broader club and area level leadership roles. It

is also very encouraging to see them

deliver their speeches at regular inter-

vals. The fact that every meeting has

no less than 4 speakers is a testimony

to that.

The enthusiasm and the participation

level of members is also reflected in

the contests and the Distinguished

Club Program (DCP). During the re-

cently concluded club contests, 10

members participated in the Interna-

tional Speech Contest and 12 mem-

bers in the Table Topics contest.

When it comes to the program, our club has achieved 8 DCP points and

is only 2 points away from scoring a perfect 10/10 this year. Thanks to the

efforts of the VP-Education and VP-Membership, the club was also able

to add more than 5 members during February-March and is eligible for the

“ Talk up Toastmasters” award.

At this juncture, I would like to take the opportunity to thank every mem-

ber, club membership team, club mentors, and area level, division level

and district level officers without whose contributions we would not have

reached where we are right now.

Happy Reading!!

Madhavan V

President ,

Coromandel Toast-

masters Club

Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society

work, a civilization work. –Vince Lombardi

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DTM Deepak Menon is

a certified public accountant

in New Delhi, and is a Fel-

low Chartered Accountant

with the Institute of Char-

tered Accountants of India.

A dedicated Toastmaster

since 2002, his home club is

Central Delhi Toastmasters.

He has held a number of

high-profile leadership posi-

tions within Toastmasters.

“Toastmasters has provided

me immense insight into

effective interpersonal com-

munication,” he says. “I have

learned the art of handling

problems and conflicts.”

As a member of the Toast-

masters International Board

of Directors, Menon is a

“working ambassador” for

the organization. He works

with the Board to develop,

support and modify the poli-

cies and procedures that

guide Toastmasters Interna-

tional in fulfilling its mission.

Source: http://

www.toastmasters.org/Members/

MembersFunctionalCategories/

AboutTI/Board.aspx#DM

VOICE OF THE INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR

“Stay! Sit! No, Tommy, I said no! NO!! Bad dog!”

Tommy is on a leash and is used to his master yanking his chain often for inap-

propriate behavior. That is inappropriate behavior from the master’s point of view

and not necessarily from Tommy’s perspective!

It is not only Tommy who has a chain around his neck, which is yanked hard and

often. Each of us also face these situations in our lives when we have been

foisted with a chain of obligation and inhibition which is yanked often and hard by

those in a position of authority over us. And we let them!

However, such chains bind us and restrain us from uncovering our latent talent

and discovering our true potential. We remain blind to the possibilities that sur-

round us and knock at our doors. We live lives, encumbered and enslaved.

Toastmasters is the knight in shining armor that rescues us from a life of drudg-

ery and dejection! It helps us in discovering ourselves by making us confident

and awakening in us our true potential.

These shackles also bound me and my chain was also yanked hard and often

until I discovered Toastmasters twelve years ago! It was serendipity that brought

me to a Toastmasters meeting on that fateful day of July 2002 and it was love at

first sight! I signed up as a member of the Toastmasters Club of New Delhi and

my lessons in communication and leadership began in right earnest.

I discovered that Toastmasters yielded rich dividends for those who were willing

to invest their time and effort on them-

selves. I gained in confidence as I went

through my speech projects and partici-

pated actively in the fledgling club, which

at that time was the only Toastmasters

Club in what is today District 41. And

then, before I realized what had hap-

pened, I was elected as the President of

the Club for the year 2003-2004. The

leadership lessons I learnt in that one

year have proven invaluable and have

guided me in all my leadership roles

thereafter.

In all these years and through all my roles, I have been always guided by the

core values of Toastmasters that have helped me ‘RISE’ beyond the ordinary.

These core values are: Respect for the individual (R); Integrity (I); Service to

members (S); Dedication to Excellence (E).

From Toastmasters I have learnt that communication skills are vitally important

for achieving any kind of success. These need not necessarily be limited to

speaking skills but also encompass effective listening skills. Toastmasters

teaches these skills in abundant measure in each meeting that we attend. I have

learnt interpersonal communication skills that have helped me resolve problems

and conflicts; persuade and motivate as well as inspire others when needed. I

have imbibed the ‘mantra’ of brevity, clarity and simplicity in all my communica-

tion. In effect I have shed the chain that yanked me and have discovered a new

self!

DTM Deepak Menon

International Director,

Region 13

There is nothing evil save that which perverts the mind and shackles the conscience. –Saint Ambrose

Who Yanks your Chain...

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Interview with

TM Anirudh N

When did you attend

your first TM meeting

and how was the experi-

ence?

It was in Chennai Toastmas-

ters Club, a week after

Pongal in Jan 2013. I was

amazed by the speeches

and Prasanna.V who was

then the VP Membership of

CTM gave me an opportu-

nity to speak in Table Top-

ics.

Where does this

achievement rank

amongst your other

achievements in life so

far?

I enjoyed what I did. I would

consider it as my first step

in the journey of leadership,

I would rank it as #1 as it will

be the source of all my fu-

ture accomplishments.

How has the journey in

Toastmasters changed

you as a person?

My confidence level has im-

proved not only while ad-

dressing a gathering but

also in other walks of my life.

I have also become better in

decision making.

MEMBERS’ ACHIEVEMENTS

DTM Sathish Vachaspathi

Coromandel Toastmasters Club’s God-Father, DTM Satish Vachaspathi

has restarted his next DTM journey by completing the CL track for the sec-

ond time.

Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort. -Franklin D Roosevelt

TM Monisha Manikanthan

CTC’s very own PR Engine, TM Monisha Monikantan too has earned the

Competent Leader award for the second time.

TM Anirudh N

The person who set realistic educational goals for each and every mem-

ber of the club, the ever enthusiastic VP-Education, TM Anirudh N has

bagged his 1st educational goal, the Competent Leader award.

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Interview with

TM Madhavan

Another milestone in

your TM journey, how

does it feel?

Frankly, this milestone adds

some pressure because the

expectations from someone

who completed ACB is

higher than someone who

finished just CC. So, now I

have to prepare more, and

work harder to meet the ex-

pectations.

Why did you choose

storytelling and humor-

ously speaking manual?

Is there anyone who does not

like a good story? Good story

telling is perhaps the most

important aspect of effective

public speaking, or for that

matter general communica-

tion. Storytelling engages the

audience like nothing else

can. As someone who regu-

larly presents on business/

technical topics, which are

usually boring, I wanted to

make my speeches more in-

teresting by good story telling.

I chose humour because it is

extremely difficult, but can be

very rewarding for a speaker.

MEMBERS’ ACHIEVEMENTS

TM Madhavan

The driving force behind the club, the President of CTC, TM Madhavan V

has achieved the Competent Leader award and the Advanced Communica-

tor Bronze Award.

Be more dedicated to making solid achievements than in running after swift but synthetic happiness. -

A P J Abdul Kalam

TM Rajesh K

CTC’s Sergeant at Arms, TM Rajesh K has completed the Competent

Communication track and is all set to start his advanced communication

program.

One of the key qualities of a good leader is to lead by example and that

holds true for every single leader at CTC. The exceptional enthusiasm

and commitment of every member of the club is what made the club rise

to stardom in such a short span.

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Who can participate in

Walk the Talk?

Toastmasters with Passion,

Dedication and Sincerity.

Any one who passionately

wants to be a World Cham-

pion (not just clear the club

level or area level). The pas-

sion cannot stand alone. It

must stand on the legs of

dedication (home work,

script ) and sincerity ( thor-

ough practice and not im-

promptu speeches).

Will it be organized for

the Humorous Speech

and Evaluation Contests

also?

NO. It is meant only for the

International Speech Con-

test as we want an Indian on

the International Stage with

a trophy in his/her hand.

‘Walk the Talk’ was started

with the intention of serving -

another opportunity to help.

Serving is what we do at

Toastmasters. Serving is

what makes us Leaders.

EDUCATION COLUMN

Walk the Talk is a result-oriented program with a very specific objective,

that is, to help the Toastmasters in the region to scale the heights in the

contest season.

Each attendee came prepared with a speech which was then evaluated by

three facilitators. Each facilitator evaluated the speech from contest per-

spective and the criteria they looked at were –

Content – structure, organization of

speech, language, alliterations

Flow of speech - the characters in it, the

relevance or irrelevance of the stories

Delivery – pace, pauses, stage move-

ment, facial expressions

Sincerity of the speaker – prepared or oth-

erwise

Amount of practice – is lack of practice

and preparation evident?

Message - relevance to the audience, is it

memorable, does it make an impression

Each participant was given at least one

chance to speak. Each speaker also got a chance to wait after the session

and talk to his evaluators to get more constructive ideas.

The facilitators were candid. The evaluations were not “sandwich” but

rather eye-opening or let’s say a wake-up call.

It was a well-structured program planned and organized really well. It was

very heartening to note that the program achieved its purpose in a big

way. TM Ilangathir, the winner of Division N conference was also a partici-

pant in Walk the Talk.

I am glad I got to be a part of it to witness some of the brilliant speeches

and contribute in a little way.

This is definitely one workshop a contestant must not miss.

My advice to the contestants of International Speech Contest for the year

2015 – please start scripting your speech right away. Don’t trash any

ideas. Keep them aside. Keep delivering speeches. Keep participating. Do

not let failures get in the way. If you failed to win this time, then that is one

mistake less you can make next time. Analyze what worked and what did-

n’t; what strengths you have that are unique to yourself. Introspect and

start preparing.

No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path. –

Gautam Buddha

WALK THE TALK -2014

TM Sudha Rajesh

Chennai Toastmasters

Club

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How was your first meet-

ing at CTC?

It was very interesting. I en-

tered a dimly lit hall in the

school and there were some

7 or 8 very young and enthu-

siastic people just about to

begin the session. I was a

stranger and hence a guest.

I loved the way the TMOD

TM Subhadip politely ex-

plained what Toastmasters

is to the lone guest. At the

end during the guest feed-

back session, I revealed that

I was a DTM and saw Sub-

hadip hiding behind some-

one, that was a cute mo-

ment. The energy of the

people there floored me!

Most memorable of the

50 meetings at CTC?

The first day of course was

the most memorable one.

Another one was a recent

one where the room was full

and toastmasters were fo-

cused on saving their chairs.

That was a moment of abso-

lute delight. The club has

really grown and it was over-

whelming to witness pro-

gress at a steady state.

EDUCATION COLUMN

I almost walked away at the walk the talk!

What a brilliant concept and a novel idea to encourage contest participants

to sharpen their speaking skills. I gave a puzzled look when TM Badri

called me and requested me to be a facilitator at 'Walk the Talk'. First, I

wasn't sure if I had missed something important while I was on a sabbati-

cal from Toastmasters for over two years. Second, my thought was 'Why

me?' Badri sounded very serious and he summoned me to a cafe coffee

day on OMR to meet up with the big daddy of 'Walk the Talk' - DTM

Karthik! A 10 minute hands-on explanation session on what 'Walk the Talk'

was all about and I was completely sold as a facilitator and not a partici-

pant. I didn't have the guts!

The first day at 'Walk the Talk' resembled an army camp for new recruits. I

felt like a nervous Sepoy on duty for the first time ever in his life. The Ma-

jor General announced the rules and by the

end of it I had lost 500 grams of my weight.

Almost drained and completely lost, I was

called to share my thoughts. There were a

million butterflies in every possible part of

my body and I tried my best to mute them

all and in my confident best managed to ut-

ter a few tips and suggestions. As the day

proceeded, the grilling continued unabated.

For once, the humor vitamin in me malfunc-

tioned. it refused to get activated. yet, to

cool myself down, I did manage to lighten the atmosphere with selective

eye contact (obviously ignoring the major generals in the room :-). End of

the day, it was such a learning experience that left me wondering - 'Why

aren't we practicing it regularly at our toastmasters clubs?'

Needless to say, the three sessions I attended were very enriching and I

carried back home a truck load of learning that I would try to implement

when ever I get a chance to speak. May 'Walk the Talk' keep walking tire-

lessly and spread the good work amongst all toastmasters in the state!

Keep the momentum going, focus on innovation and look for a better place

that have quieter surroundings for weekly meetings . Invite external speak-

ers to the club (TMs who are excellent and Tamil Nadu has many of

them).

It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.– Francis of Assisi

WALK THE TALK -2014

DTM Jayan Narayan

Coromandel Toast-

masters Club

Message from DTM Jayan for CTC

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How was your first meet-

ing at CTC?

The first meeting is also the

most memorable meeting for

me. There were 5 toastmasters

including me who had to do

everything right from cleaning

the meeting room to arranging

the chairs. It took us about half

an hour to start the meeting and

then each one of us had to play

multiple roles.

One thing you like about

CTC and one thing that

can be improved at CTC?

The enthusiasm of the mem-

bers is what I like the most at

CTC. For instance, when the

Sergeant at Arms is late for

some reason, other role players

and officers come in and ar-

range the chairs to get the

meeting going in time.

One thing that can be improved

is the interpersonal connect

between the members. I feel

that some members feel left out

from the group. An informal

outing for all members or ask-

ing all the members to stay

back after the meeting for a cup

of tea at CTC’s hangout place

would be a good idea.

VOICE OF CLUB MEMBERS

The child is happily playing in the house. The rest of us are lost in our own chores. The happiness of the child never attracts deep attention. How-ever, while playing the child hurts herself and now every family member converges towards the child, enquiring, “What happened?” Unaware, we program the subconscious of the child into believing that her crying draws more attention than her happiness. In the future, even after she grows into an adult, whenever she wants attention she will sink into some form of crying - from tears to de-pression to tantrums - the range varies. Her emotions will seem so legitimate for her, though others may notice the peculiar-ity in it. This is a subconscious choice, and not a conscious one. She won't even be aware that something within her (her sub-conscious) is choosing her emotions and also the life situations to suit those emo-tions.

With every faltered commitment, with every promise broken, we build a subconscious doubt in the other person; quality of your life is affected.

How do we strengthen our subconscious mind?

Living up to all our commitments and promises is a wonderful instrument to build subconscious beliefs. Your subconscious mind comprises of your most powerful workers. Subconscious beliefs work for you. Subconscious doubts work against you. Every man, therefore is his own take-off pedes-tal and his own bottleneck.

A famous author Norman Peale rightly said "Formulate and stamp on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold on to this picture stubbornly and never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop this picture!"

On this joyous occasion of CTC celebrating their 50th meeting, I take an

opportunity to congratulate all members and guests from other clubs

whose efforts have helped shape the club to what it is today. I wish all the

very best to TM Pratap and his team in bring out this special edition of the

newsletter to commemorate CTC’s first anniversary.

I would also love to appreciate all members of Coromandel Toastmasters

Club for showing a phenomenal enthusiasm and continual improve-

ment in Toastmasters community.

TM Arun Kumar AS

Area Governor—M1

Division M

Message from TM Arun for CTC

The conscious mind may be compared to a fountain playing in the sun and falling back into the great

subterranean pool of subconscious from which it rises. - Sigmund Frued

“Man can be his own take-off pedestal or his own bottleneck. It all depends

on the strength of his subconscious mind!” - Anonymous

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How was your first meeting

at CTC?

I was in search of a commu-

nity club to join and was visit-

ing few clubs as part of my

search. I already knew of CTC

through DTM Jayan. I loved

the club in the very first meet-

ing and became a member by

second meeting.

Most memorable meet-

ing ?

Women’s day special meeting

held at CTC recently.

One thing you like about

CTC and one thing that can

be improved at CTC?

I have never seen a Toast-

master coming to CTC and not

getting a chance to speak,

either in form of role player,

speaker or TT speaker. That's

something I like about CTC.

One thing that can be im-

proved is the variety in ses-

sions. There can be some TT

marathons, ‘spin the yard’ ses-

sions which peps up the en-

ergy level.

VOICE OF CLUB MEMBERS

Lessons from my first Contest season

Few things are learnt quite easily in life from others, but the greatest

learning comes from our own mistakes, failures and experiences

One day my boss said that I need to do an internal presentation to my

colleagues. Since it was on the topic that I used to daily work on, I

thought it would be a cake-walk for me. But during my presentation I was

almost speechless. My boss came to me and said that I won’t be able to

move up in my career unless I do something to improve my communica-

tion skills. Around the same time someone had told me about Toastmas-

ters and I was looking for the right club to attend. Wipro Chennai Toast-

masters club started around the same time and I joined it immediately.

The first time I was called for an impromptu speech in Toastmasters, I

couldn’t even speak for 45 seconds. I was looking at the ceiling most of

the time. But all the good evaluations, tips, excellent mentorship and

support from fabulous club members gave me the courage to come back

on stage. WCTM Club President, TM ASK had faith in me and encour-

aged me. I did fairly well on my second time on stage and from then on

my stage fright started to diminish.

Then came the Humorous Speech contest. I didn’t enroll myself for fear

of failure. But somehow I was convinced by others to participate in the

contest. Once I knew I would have to participate, I decided to give my

best shot. My Mentor then, TM Asha Verghese, guided me throughout

the contest and I stood second in my club contest. It was not only a

memorable win but it taught me that however poor you are at something,

with dedication and hard work you can achieve wonders.

I decided to give my absolute best at the Area contest and wrote a differ-

ent script. This time not only did I take help from my mentor, but also

from my fellow Competitor TM Dennis and the wonderful VP-E TM

Viswanath. Then came the area contest day, the only thing that was in

my mind was that I should at least put a decent show. And that I did as I

came second at the Area G4 contest.

Though I could not clear the division level, I was happy that I was able to

speak before more than three hundred people and deliver a speech with-

out hiccups. As luck would have had it, I couldn’t participate in next sea-

son of International speech contest.

I was playing the role of a contest master at Area G4 contest. A gentle-

man came to me and said, ‘I don’t remember your name but in the last

division contest you spoke about your onsite trip and snake wine right?

Why aren’t you contesting this time”?

Though I may have lost that contest the previous year, but if someone

remembers my speech even after six months, I think I won. Don’t you

think so?

A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong

enough to correct them.– John C Maxwell

TM Bhooma Sampath

Coromandel Toast-

masters Club

12

Most memorable meeting

at CTC ?

The meeting in which I gave

my CC2 speech. I thought the

audience responded very well

to my speech and were

laughing throughout the dura-

tion of my speech and the fact

that my speech was evalu-

ated by DTM Saro made it

even more special. It was

also the meeting in which my

mentor DTM Sathish gave his

final speech to become a Dis-

tinguished Toastmaster.

One thing you like about

CTC and one thing that

can be improved at CTC?

The diverse and young crowd

at CTC is something I like the

most about the club.

We need to come up with

more innovative ideas for or-

ganizing our meetings in or-

der to be the best club in

Chennai.

VOICE OF CLUB MEMBERS

The First Jolt

Opinions! It’s a collection of thoughts, which dominates our thought proc-

ess. Facts take a back seat in a mind built to be intuitive. Move your in-

tuitions to an extreme and there lies the land of fantasies.

I have spent many a days in this land as a child. As I grew up, such ex-

tremes were deserted and I migrated to the land of moderate thoughts,

though void of a sense of belonging. I never thought someone would

drag me back to my motherland. But she did!

It was the first day of school, after sum-

mer vacations. I have always been a

reluctant student oblivious to the need

for school education. Little did I know

that my calm, ignorant and innocent

mind was going to be disturbed by a

strong breeze, followed by a thunder-

storm. But, the warning always comes

with a lightning.

As a new student inducted into my

school, she was supposed to introduce

herself and talk about how she spent

her summer holidays. She entered, and I packed my bags and exited the

land of logic and sense. She talked and I went mute. She expressed, I

went numb.

Love gods like cupid are depicted with bows and arrows. That’s the clos-

est anyone can describe in terms of ancient warfare. My modern mind

refuses to accept it. This is chemical warfare of the highest order. Cupid

should be holding a nuclear device in his hands!

The first time I set my eyes on her, my

senses transmitted an oddly energetic

electrical signal to my brain causing an

overload of energy. It was too much for

my fragile body to take. All my systems

got disoriented and went on an over-

drive. It was as though a thunderbolt

landed on my head, bestowing me with

intense energy. My world spun out of

control.

Years later as I write this, the aftereffect is still felt. Like a photographic

plate etched with an image, my mind is etched with the memories. It’s

not a three-dimensional image, it’s a four-dimensional experience. I feel

her presence. You don’t have to die, to haunt someone.

TM Bharath R

Coromandel Toast-

masters Club

First love is only a little foolishness and a lot of curiosity. –George Bernard Shaw

13

How was your first meet-

ing at CTC?

Usually it takes time for me to

get used to a new place. But

the first meeting at CTC made

me feel so at-home, that I

decided to become a member

right away.

Most memorable meet-

ing ?

The Women’s Day Special

Meeting in which I delivered

my ice-breaker speech is the

most memorable one. Though

the evaluation was way gen-

erous, I felt happy to get

started on my CC journey.

One thing you like the

most about CTC?

At CTC, the encouragement

and support for a beginner is

palpable. I'm proud to be a

part of CTC.

VOICE OF CLUB MEMBERS

My First Speech

It was a cold winter afternoon and I was attending my Chemistry class.

Now you would understand that there is nothing as soporific as that

combo. So sitting in the last but one bench, I was sleeping with my eyes

wide open. Suddenly the sound of a THUD reached my drowsy brain

and I woke up with a start. My Chemistry teacher again hit the cane

against the desk, probably to wake us up; you see I was not the only one

sleeping in the class. On the board was a diagram of salt water distilla-

tion. She asked if anyone could explain what she had been teaching for

over half an hour. Obviously, no one could. “Now listen to me carefully

this time. One of you should explain this after me. Until someone ex-

plains, I’m not leaving the class” she said, her voice bordering on rage. I

listened to her words with rapt atten-

tion not because I wanted to explain,

but because I didn’t want to get

caught off guard in case she asked

me. By the time she finished her ex-

planation, the bell had gone off and

all the other classes were out for

their break. I badly needed some

fresh air, but no one was ready to

lay themselves on the altar. The

class was dead-silent. Five minutes

passed. No one yet. “Take your time

guys” she said, “I have all the time in the world.” I couldn’t take it any-

more; I felt suffocated and thirsty. All of a sudden, I got up and walked to

the board, surprising myself. I blabbered whatever came to my mind, not

bothering about who-thought-what-about-me. I missed an entire step of

the distillation process, paused in the middle, misinterpreted a step and

finished in a minute. All were very silent for a moment and then the class

erupted with thunderous applause! That was the first time I ever spoke in

front of an audience and we got our well deserved break.

Later when I recalled my stunt, I

clearly knew I had messed up. But,

it wasn’t a big deal. Everyone who

tries to explore and break one’s

limitations messes up at some

point of time or another. If we are

not messing up, it means we are

not trying. What more? I’ve started

messing up things ever since but

without an iota of regret. All my

speeches are standing examples

of this!

TM Yamuna Venugopal

Coromandel Toast-

masters Club

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curi-

osity keeps leading us down new paths.-Walt Disney

14

Your next goal in Toast-

masters?

During the earlier days of

becoming a TM, I wanted

to become a Distinguished

Toastmaster (DTM) at the

earliest possible time. But

now, my goal is just to be-

come one of the best

speakers out there without

getting carried away by the

titles. All the titles like ACB,

ACS, etc are pointless if

the speeches are medio-

cre. I plan to repeat some

of the manuals before I

start the journey for the

next level - Advanced

Communicator Si lver

(ACS).

VOICE OF CLUB MEMBERS

My First Marathon

I was drained of all energy. I was gasping for breath, and my legs were

trying to resist the instructions from the brain to keep moving forward.

But the sight of the blade runner (someone who runs on prosthetic legs)

whom I had just crossed, kept me going. And then, there I could see

“THE FINISH” sign about 500m ahead of me. That sign lifted my spirits

and I started sprinting towards it. The legs hurt more, and my panting

grew, but the wild cheers of the crowd on both side of the roads had the

magical effect of pushing me over the finish line. As I collapsed onto the

green turf at the Chennai Polytechnic sports ground, I felt elation at hav-

ing competed in my first Marathon event, and finishing a 10 km run dur-

ing my debut at the Chennai Marathon 2013.

The funny thing is that if someone had told me a year back that I would

be running in a marathon, I would have laughed at them. Like most peo-

ple, I was sedentary, and I enjoyed getting up late after watching movies

late into the night. I was also happy eating all the fast foods, and the

tasty greasy snacks all the time. But the first alarm bell rung when 4

years back, I was hospitalized due to excruciating pain caused by kidney

stones. The doctor, after ultrasound scan, told me that in addition to the

kidney stones, I also had fatty lever. The doctor advised that I need to

become physically more active, and reduce fatty food. Since I did not

want to reduce food, I decided to be more active.

I promptly joined a gym, and started working out occasionally. But at

some point, I realized that my weight was not reducing and I was not

feeling physically fit. That is when I decided to abandon the smelly gyms

in favour of the fresh air of the outdoors. Fortunately for me, the beach

was nearby.

In December 2012, I read about the Wipro Chennai Marathon which took

place inside the scenic IIT Madras campus. Around the same time, I also

started seeing the tagged pictures of one of my friends from the Wipro

Marathon and Auroville Marathon. That gave the inspiration to start run-

ning.

I could not run even 500meters when I started, but the mileage in-

creased gradually. However, my progress was disappointing vis-à-vis

the goal I had set. That is when I was introduced by Deepa Bharatku-

mar, a Toastmaster, to a running group, Chennai Runners. The group

helped me run in a more systematic way, and it also helped in efficient

running.

In October 2013, I completed running my first 10 k, and boy, was it not

exhilarating? This was soon followed by my first marathon, as I had ex-

plained in the beginning.

But this is only one side of the story. Even though I covered the distance,

the time I took for completing 10k was 1 Hour and 15 Minutes. Most sea-

soned runners would have completed 20 km in this time.

But hey, I am running my own race and not others’. Why bother?

TM Madhavan V

Coromandel Toast-

masters Club

Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it. –Oprah Win-

frey

15

How was your first meet-

ing at CTC?

It was absolutely wonderful to

have witnessed the birth of

CTC on 23rd Feb 2013. And

for the first time, I was the

Presiding officer of the day! :)

It was a really exciting meet-

ing since there were several

senior Toastmasters from

various corporate and com-

munity TM clubs. It was their

support and contribution

which gave a smooth start for

CTC's first meeting.

Most memorable meet-

ing ?

I still remember the 3rd meet-

ing of CTC, themed "Never

give up" when there were only

5 people (4 members and a

guest) running the whole

show. We took multiple roles

and conducted the entire

meeting and true to the

theme, we never gave up!

VOICE OF CLUB MEMBERS

Grab the Opportunity

Someone rightly said, “When opportunity knocks, make sure your door

isn't locked”. Since the world of Toastmasters is full of so many wonder-

ful opportunities for leadership and communication, it’s better to leave

your doors opened all the time.

Last year around January, our Area Gov-

ernor TM Arun Kumar asked me if I’ve the

interest and time to work for the “Social

media and marketing team” for Ovation

2013. Since I’m a Facebook fanatic, I was

allured by the opportunity and I immedi-

ately agreed to be a part of the team. 6

months of immense efforts and tremen-

dous learning, paid off when the team re-

ceived appreciation from several members

throughout District 82. On the last day of

Ovation 2013, every member of the Social Media team was recognized

for their relentless contribution. Those 6 months of valuable learning was

one of the main factors for my first District level award for my PR activi-

ties.

More than the award, I cherish the words of some of the stalwarts and at

this instance I’d like to quote the words of DTM Saro. “Toastmasters pro-

vides the same amount of opportunities to everyone for the 36$ mem-

bership fee. What you gain out of Toastmasters is dependent on how

much time you invest to genuinely serve others”.

Right from taking up roles during every meeting to conducting massive

conferences, there is a plethora of opportunities on your platter at Toast-

masters. So make sure that you grab the opportunity because there is

nothing more expensive than a missed opportunity!

TM Monisha has achieved many a milestones in her Toastmasters jour-

ney but she would be crossing one of her biggest milestones in her per-

sonal life, this April. Monisha is tying the knot on 27th April, 2014.

Coromandel Toastmasters Club has been served very efficiently by the

indefatigable Monisha. CTC and all its members wish her all the very

best for her married life.

TM Monisha Monikantan

Coromandel Toast-

masters Club

Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them. –Ann

Landers

Congratulations to Monisha Monikantan

16

Saro Velrajan works for

Aricent Group, as Director -

Technology.

Saro is a member of Toast-

masters International since

2006. Through his blog, he

shares his communication

and leadership experience

with fel low Toastmas-

ters. Saro's Corner is a ones-

top shop for public speaking

and leadership development

tips, sample Toastmasters

project speeches, Toastmas-

ters role player templates,

and many more useful info.

Saro has played several lead-

ership roles at the club, area,

division and at the district in

Toastmasters. Saro was hon-

ored with the Best Division

Governor award for growing

the Toastmasters movement

in Tamilnadu, during the year

2011 - 2012. He was awarded

the Distinguished Toastmas-

ter (DTM) title for communica-

tion and leadership excel-

lence.

Source: http://

toastmasters.saroscorner.com/p/

about-me.html

VOICE OF THE WELL WISHERS

Cruising Down My Memory Lane..

"Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of human

spirit. The potential for greatness lives within each of us".

Coromandel Toastmasters Club (CTC) is a testimonial to this quote.

CTC, which was once a small sprout has developed roots today and has

established itself as a strong tree in the Tamilnadu Toastmasters com-

munity. I’m one of the few lucky members to participate in the first ever

CTC meeting on Feb 23rd 2013. Time flies and we are already at the 50th

meeting of the club.

I was going back in memory to find out the reasons why CTC became

successful, in such a short period. There are several 100s of reasons

why CTC became successful. However, the following 5 reasons stood at

the top of my list.

1. Determination of DTM Satish Vachaspathi to establish a commu-

nity club in Tambaram.

2. The untiring PR engine led by TM Monisha that used all forms of

online promotion to reach out to several thousands of members

and non-members.

3. The commitment and the determination of the executive committee

members (Madhavan, Anirudh, Monisha, Karthik, Rajesh, Arun

etc) and the sponsors/supporters from various clubs in the city.

4. The periodic educational sessions conducted by senior Toastmas-

ters which helped in attracting regular visitors to the club.

5. The support from several Toastmasters, who helped the club by

either transferring their membership or by maintaining dual mem-

bership with CTC.

Corporate clubs are easy to start and difficult to sustain. Community

clubs are difficult to start, but easy to sustain. Having seen the CTC grow

from just a small seed to a tall tree, I can now confidently say that CTC is

an established club. Keep rocking and scaling to newer heights, CTC !!

DTM Saro Velrajan

Chennai Toastmasters

Club

Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find

alloy called guts. –Dan Gable

DTM Sastharam, DTM Saro and DTM Kartik at Meeting No. 24 (Club Chartering

Meeting).

17

Excerpts from report on

DTM Rajeev’s Education

session at CTC

DTM Rajeev’s education session

mainly focused on International

speech contest. He explained

how the learning from the first 6

Competent Communication pro-

jects will help a person to be-

come a matured speaker in order

to take part in contests. He

boosted the confidence of mem-

bers by saying ‘Contest is about

competing with oneself and

not with someone else and be

self centric’. DTM Tiger also

requested the contestants not to

be disheartened by the not-so-

favorable contest results. He

mentioned about Rory Vaden

(First Runner Up of International

Speech Contests 2007 ) and

about his famous blog in which

he had mentioned that “While

judges determine who goes

home with the trophy, they

don’t determine who goes

home a success.”

Visit http://coromandeltc.in/tiger-

nambiar to read the full report by

TM Anirudh.

VOICE OF THE WELL WISHERS

Accepting Leadership

DTM Rajeev Nambiar

Chennai Wordsmiths

Toastmasters Club

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a

leader. –John Quincy Adams

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate but that we are powerful

beyond measure.” - Nelson Mandela

Leadership is all about action and very little about position. If you look at

this statement very closely you will find many hidden meanings than

what meets the common man’s understanding. To me leadership has

thought me much more than what the common man thinks and under-

stands. In general leadership means authority and power to so many.

Actually the fact is when you embrace leadership you learn much more

than when you are being led and the most important learning what you

receive as a leader is the sense of responsibility. Well in today’s world

it’s very alarming to note that only a handful of leaders accept responsi-

bility for their team’s actions when the going gets tough. Now what I

have learnt over the years about being a leader is that it is not doing

things your way but the ability to accept ideas, views and suggestions of

your team then rework and add your ideas if needed and allow it to be

implemented as the brain child of your team. By doing so the process of

delegation is smooth and transparent that it works magic be it in profes-

sional, social or family fronts. Thus a good leader is one who is a good

follower and has the ability to be flexible when it matters to smoothen the

rough edges when the ride is bumpy in all walks of life. So the next time

a leadership role comes your way either at Toastmasters or at your work

place accept it with both hands because if you decline it then you are

going to be a big time loser in respect of life’s learnings. Therefore if you

want to be able to cultivate the habit of accepting leadership without a

2nd thought just look yourself in the mirror and say-

“I want to learn more in life than what I have learnt so far”.

DTM Rajeev Nambiar at Meeting No 37 delivering an education session ‘Tailor

Yourself’ on how to prepare for the International Speech Contests.

18

Excerpts from report on TM

Rajesh Natarajan’s Educa-

tion session at CTC

TM Rajesh was unhappy

about his credit limit which

was stagnant at Rs. 36000/-.

He used the “sandwich tech-

nique”(Positive feedback,

negative feedback followed

by positive feedback) he

learned at Toastmasters and

wrote a mail to the bank for

credit limit increase.

Today his credit limit has

been tripled, and Rajesh ac-

knowledged the fact that this

could not have been possible

without the skills learned in

Toastmasters. The bottom-

line here is that a lot of learn-

ing from Toastmaster Club

meetings can be applied in

real life to make a positive

impact.

Visit http://coromandeltc.in/how-

did-i-benefit-from-becoming-a-

toastmaster-tm-rajesh-natarajan

to read the full report by TM Mad-

havan.

VOICE OF THE WELL WISHERS

TM Rajesh Natarajan

Chennai Toastmasters

Club

The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision. - Hellen Keller

The testimony to this quote is this 50th celebration meeting of Coroman-

del Toastmasters. At this juncture, I recall the tough times the core group

of CTC had to go through. Low turnouts, member playing multiple roles

and at times not sure about the club chartering plan, there were multiple

challenges for the leaders of CTC. Yet they believed in the greater good.

They dreamed to have a Vision and dared to turn that Vision into a Real-

ity.

Today the road is laid for new members to have a smooth ride.

My heartfelt wishes to all the members of CTC to have a smooth, joyful

learning journey at Coromandel toastmasters.

Happy Toastmastering!

TM Rajesh Natarajan at Meeting No 14 delivering an education session ‘How

did I benefit from becoming a Toastmaster?’.

“Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the

world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Creed

19

UPDATES FROM DIVISION M

RHETORIC—2014

The Division M Confer-

ence

Date: 13th April, 2014

Time: 09:00 to 16:00 hrs

Venue: Hotel Benzz Park

Address: 62, Thirumalai

Pillai Road, T Nagar,

Chennai

Registration Fee: Rs 300

Register at

https://docs.google.com/

forms/

d/1g7PZ_GJbo2dWKqB7uDm

BNO78AKSu3F5PvE4xHguyZ

7Q/viewform

Keynote Speaker

Mr Sanjay Pinto is an In-

dian lawyer, columnist, author,

public speaker, talk show

host, former bureau chief and

resident editor – NDTV

24x7 and executive editor –

NDTV Hindu, communica-

tions mentor – silver tongue

academy resource and former

national debating champion.

International Speech Contest and Table Topic Contest

Area M1 & M3 – International Speech (ISC) & Table Topics (TT) Contest

was held on March 22nd, 2013 at CSC Chennai – MEPZ Campus.

Area M1 Contest witnessed 11 contestants each in both the contests for

the title ‘Winner’, ‘First Runner Up’ and ‘Second Runner Up’. Following

were the results from ISC and TT contests.

International Speech Contest

Winner - TM Bharath Ram – RR Donnelly, Chennai

1st Runner Up: TM Lakshmi Ranganathan – RR Donnelly, Chennai

2nd Runner Up: TM Arun Sridhar – Chennai Wordsmith Toastmasters

Table Topics Contest

Winner - TM Safi Mohamed – Infosys Toastmasters, Chennai

1st Runner Up: TM Rashmi Ramesh – Infosys Toastmasters, Chennai

2nd Runner Up: TM Bharath Ram – RR Donnelly, Chennai

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate. –Oprah Winfrey

Infosys Toastmasters Chennai’s 100th Meeting

Infosys Toastmasters Chennai (ITC) conducted their 100th meeting on

March 19, 2013 at their Mahindra World City Campus. Being the farthest

club in Chennai, the club attracted close to 20 toastmasters from clubs all

over Chennai!!

The main highlight of ITC’s Grand 100 meeting was TM Chendil Kumar, a

world renowned corporate and life skills trainer, giving a session on

‘Essence of Communication’. Toastmasters of the club and the guests

gathered in huge numbers to attend the session. Special Table topics

session followed and the meeting ended with key club members being

recognized by our Lt. Governor Marketing, District 82, DTM Sastharam.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Sanjay_Pinto

20

UPDATES FROM CTC

Women’s Day Special

Meeting

“Behind every successful man

there’s a woman”

TM Anirudh who was the Pre-

siding Officer explained the

significance of women’s day.

Woman adds balance to eve-

rything. That was true for

CTC’s 46th meeting as well.

When TMOD was a man, GE

was a woman.

There were two woman speak-

ers and two other speakers

were men.

It was again the case with the

evaluators.

TMOD Animesh welcomed all

the lady toastmasters and

guests with a rose. He also

spoke about the woman who

was his inspiration, his mother.

It’s always a woman who wins

at end and if it’s not a woman

then it’s not the end.

All the Winners of meeting 46

were women:

Best Evaluator- TM Vinutha

Best TT Speaker- Guest Harini

Best Speaker- TM Shirley

The International Speech Con-

test and the Table Topic Con-

tests at the club level were

held on 22nd February 2014.

International Speech Con-

test:

Winner. : TM Kartik

1st Runner Up : TM Anirudh

2nd Runner Up : TM Pratap

Table Topics Contest:

Winner. : TM Kartik

1st Runner Up : TM Pratap

2nd Runner Up : TM Louis

International Speech Contest and Table Topic Contest

Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is

not difficult - Charlotte Whitton

TM Kartik won both the ISC and TT Con-

tests

Chief Judge TM Sudha awarding 2nd

Runner up prize to TM Louis

Contest Master TM Noorain with 1st Runner up of ISC TM Anirudh

Contest Chair TM Ramkumar

The young ladies of CTC - TM

Shirley and TM Yamuna deliv-

ered their 1st Prepared Speech

on Women’s Day Special Meet.

21

UPDATES FROM CTC

C O M M U N I C A T I O N

TRACK

The Toastmasters communi-

cation track has four levels and

at each level 10 speeches are

delivered. The levels are as

follows.

Competent Communication

(CC)

Advanced Communication

Bronze (ACB)

Advanced Communication Sil-

ver (ACS)

Advanced Communication

Gold (ACG)

CTC’s Communication Tracker

The torch bearers of CTC,

DTM Satish and DTM Jayan

have completed all the 4

stages and have achieved the

Distinguished Toastmaster

status.

TM Arun and TM Madhavan

have completed their ACB and

have stepped into ACS.

TM Rajesh completed his CC

and TM Anirudh, TM Bharath

and TM Bhooma are all close

to completing their CCs

CTC has many budding com-

municators who are well

guided by other Toastmasters

in their pursuit to complete the

competent communication

manual.

The graphical representation of the progress of the Club Members in

their Communication tracks clearly shows why there is always a scram-

ble for Speech slots at CTC

CTC STATISTICS

It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to

stumble backward - Proverb

Progress Chart of CTC Members in their Communication Track as on 7-April 2014

22

CTC HALL OF FAME

TOASTMASTER OF THE

MONTH AWARDS

CTC presents the Toastmaster of

t h e M o n t h a w a r d t o

the Toastmaster who has scored

maximum points in a month based

on the following scoring scheme.

Prepared Speech -5 Points

TMOD, GE, TT Master -4 Points

Speech/TT Evaluation -3 Points

TT Speaker -2 Points

TAG roles -1 Point

MARCH 2014

FEBRUARY 2014

JANUARY 2014

The spirit of healthy competitiveness brings the best out of

CTC’s members. Every week we see new heroes emerging at

the club.

Congratulations to all the winners!

We always love to have new members in CTC because they add

a new flavour and energy to make us strong. The following are

the new members who have joined us recently.

1. TM Aman Maharshi 2. TM Louis Babu

3. TM Shashank Rao 4. TM Shirley Cathleen

5. TM Yamuna Venugopal

We are delighted to welcome you aboard!

TM Pratap

TM Bhooma

Glory lies in the attempt to reach one's goal and not in reaching it. –Mahatma Gandhi

TM Shirley

Best Speaker Best TT Speaker Best Evaluator

38 TM Madhavan TM Vijay TM Arun Kumar

39 TM Naresh DTM Jayan TM Subhadip

40 TM Pratap TM Santanalakshmi TM Naresh

41 TM Madhavan - TM Arun Kumar

42 TM Anirudh TM Louis TM Kartik

43 TM Madhavan - TM Kartik

44 TM Pratap - TM Anirudh

45 TM Suresh TM Yamuna TM Anirudh

46 TM Shirley Guest Harini TM Vinutha

47 TM Karthik DTM Jayan DTM Jayan

48 TM Louis TM Pratap TM Arun Kumar

49 TM Anirudh TM Lakshmi TM Madhavan

Meeting NoAwards

Winners at Club Meetings

New Members Introduction

TM Aman TM Shashank

23

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President

TM Madhavan V

madhavanvee@yahoo.com

Vice President Education

TM Anirudh

reachanirudh.n@gmail.com

Vice President - Membership

TM Naresh B

nareshkumar17@gmail.com

Vice President - Public Relations

TM Monisha M

m.monisha@gmail.com

Secretary

TM Bharath R

technobharath@gmail.com

Treasurer

TM Naresh B

nareshkumar17@gmail.com

Details of club

Toastmasters international

All editions of Voice of CTC can be ac-

cessed from

http://issuu.com/coromandeltms/docs

Join our group on Facebook at

https://www.facebook.com/groups/

CoromandelToastmastersClub/

We now accept articles for our next edition!

Send your articles to

coromandeltoastmastersclub@gmail.com

CTC’s Distinguished Club Program (DCP) Status

The Distinguished Club Program by Toastmasters International helps the

clubs to promote equality, ensure productive meetings, provide structure

and guidance and increase the enthusiasm of the club. The DCP in-

cludes 10 goals which a club should strive to achieve each year.

A club receives the status of

Distinguished Club - 5 of 10 goals are met

Select Distinguished Club - 7 of 10 goals are met

President’s Distinguished Club - 9 of 10 goals are met

DCP requirements and CTC’s status

Requirements achieved by CTC are highlighted in green

1. Two Competent Communicators

2. Two More Competent Communicators

3. One ACB, ACS or ACG

4. One more ACB, ACS or ACG

5. One CL, ALB, ALS or DTM

6. One more CL, ALB, ALS or DTM

7. Four new members

8. Four more new members

9. Four officers trained at each COT

10. Membership renewal and Club Officer list submitted on time

We are a Select Distinguished Club!

There is no real ending. It’s just the place where you stop the story. -Frank Herbert