the voice of ctc - new year special edition
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THE VOICE OF CTC COROMANDEL TOASTMASTERS CLUB’s NEWSLETTER
WHERE LEADERS ARE MADE
3075300
Coromandel
Toastmasters Club
Volume 1, Issue 3 December 2013
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Editorial Team’s Voice
President’s Voice
Awards & Recognitions
Education Column
Club Members’ Voices
New Members’ Introduction
Updates from CTC
Distinguished Club Program
Club Announcements
Book your speech slots
Login to www.easy-speak.org and use your ID and Password to book your speech slots.
(If you have not yet received your credentials, contact TM Anirudh)
Role players are also requested to book the slots online as it will help us plan the meeting well in advance.
1 Member - 1 Guest
To improve the quality of meet-ings and to have fresh voices all members are requested to bring 1 guest along with them.
This will give variety to our meetings.
A glimpse of the newsletter
Front Liner’s Voices ------- Page 3, 4
CTC’s Editorial team revamps the newsletter after a feedback survey
President lists the club’s achievements for November 2013
Awards & Recognitions ------- Page 5 - 7
TM Satish receives the “Distinguished Toastmaster” award
DTM Jayan emerges as the 1st runner up at the District level Evaluation contest
TM Monisha bags the Best PR award at the District level
Education Column ------- Page 8
DTM Saro Velrajan talks about Youth Leadership Program
Club members’ voices ------- Page 9 - 12
Hear the voices of our members - Arun, Monisha, Anirudh, Bharath and Pratap
Updates from CTC ------- Page 13 - 15
Status of Communicator and Leadership tracks of CTC members
CTC’s Hall of Fame awards
New Members’ Introduction
Distinguished Club Status -------Page 16
Take a look at CTC’s performance towards Distinguished status
http://coromandeltc.in Contact us at: [email protected]
TM Anirudh
Every little smile can touch somebody’s heart. No one is born happy, but we are born with the ability
to create happiness around us
2
ABOUT TOASTMASTERS
HISTORY
How it started?
In 1924, Ralph C. Smedley held the first toastmasters meeting in a basement in YMCA in Santa Ana, California.
W h e n i t b e c a m e
“International” ?
Toastmaste rs became Toas tmaste rs In te rna -tional after a speaking club in New Westminster, British Co-lumbia, Canada, expressed interest in joining the organiza-tion.
TOASTMASTERS -
TODAY
How big is Toastmasters
International today?
As of today there are
292,000 memberships in more t h a n 1 4 , 3 5 0 c l u b s in 122 countries
Who can join Toastmas-
ters?
Anyone over the age of 18 can join toastmasters, provided they have the de-sire to improve their com-munication and Leadership skills.
Also toastmasters is a perfect platform for network-ing 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 thousands of member clubs, Toastmasters International offers a program of communication and leader-ship projects designed to help people learn the arts of speaking, listening, and thinking. A Toastmasters club adopts a “learn-by-doing” philosophy, wherein each member learns at a pace suitable to his or her developmental needs. The Toastmasters program is divided into two separate tracks, communication and leadership, with members progress-ing along each track by presenting speeches and taking on roles within their club, distirct and Toastmasters International itself.
Toastmasters International Mission
We empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders.
Coromandel Toastmasters Club is the youngest community Toastmasters 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 per-sonal and professional skills. Currently there are 30 members in the club.
Coromandel Toastmasters Club’s Mission
We provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are em-powered 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: [email protected]
About Toastmasters International
About Coromandel Toastmasters Club
In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: IT GOES ON - Robert Frost
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EDITORIAL TEAM’s VOICE
An important question that was running in our minds was, what exactly is the mis-sion and vision of our newsletter? We con-ducted a survey to gauge the average time taken by readers to read a newsletter and the genre of articles preferred by a majority, The responses obtained from CTCians and other fellow Toastmasters helped us to frame our mission and vision statements. Mission Statement “To publish a newsletter every month on time, focusing on club‘s news and events for the month” Vision Statement “Newsletter should be as crisp and informative as possible so that a reader is informed of the happenings at CTC and the tips from the world of Toastmasters in 15 minutes” The New Beginning We have included a new section “Educational Column” which will cover a range of top-ics from public speaking skills and Leadership skills. To adhere to the reading time limit of 15 minutes, we have included a lot of pictures and abridged our written content. We believe that it will facilitate you understand faster than words. We have also worked on the quality of photographs used. DTM Jayan was our official photographer who captured some of the best moments at CTC using his DSLR camera. Most of the sections in this newsletter from the awards to the articles, CTC news to the educational section follows the norm, “Let pictures talk more than words” We are sure that you will like our style.
Note of Thanks
Special thanks to our advisor, TM Monisha, for her support and guidance. She spent a lot of time explaining us and guiding us on how to publish the newsletter as per Toastmas-ters International guidelines. No doubt, she was awarded the best PR in District 82 for her commitment. Thanks to DTM Jayan for capturing the wonderful moments at CTC using his DSLR and many thanks to TM Iniyan for extending his support by sharing his knowledge as pre-vious Editor in Chief. Many thanks to all those who spent their time and effort to contribute articles for this edition. We would like to thank each and everyone of you who indirectly helped us for the success of this newsletter. Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year! Enjoy reading!
Naresh Kumar B Editor In Chief
Newsletter Revamped
We at CTC always believe in changes. So the newsletter has been revamped to meet the standards of Toastmasters International
Animesh Shah Sub Editor
Rajesh Sub Editor
Monisha Monikantan Advisor
65% respondents read for 10 minutes or lesser
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accom-
plishment.
4
Interview with Madhavan
What does New Year mean to you? To me, New Year is a time to look back and see what worked and what did not work in the past year and use those learn-ing to do better in the next year .
What is your 2014 new year resolution? I usually don't go for any resolu-tion, but I try to use the New Year to get back on track on some of the things I wanted to do, but failed to till then.
Any message for CTC members? Since most of the members are fairly new, the only message or suggestion is to be regular to the meetings and take up what-ever opportunity comes your way. You will be amazed at the results .
PRESIDENT’S VOICE
It is December, and it is usually the time for stock taking and reflection. While Coro-mandel Toastmasters Club (CTC) was officially chartered only in September 2013, the amount of work that the team had put in from the beginning of the year to start the club was remarkable. The challenges were immense, like having to conduct meetings with just 5 people or the struggle to reach the magical membership of 20 for getting chartered. But thanks to the relentless work of early members like Satish Vachaspati, Monisha, Anirudh and Karthikeyan (to name a few), the club got chartered and is on its path to a solid growth. The support lent by the members of Chennai Toastmasters Club( CTM), Infosys Toastmasters Club and senior Toastmasters like DTM Nina John also played a catalytic role in the growth of the club.
At this juncture, I would like to update the members about the progress of the club.
Contests
Our senior most member - DTM Jayan Narayanan – made not only Coromandel Toastmasters Club proud but also the entire Tamilnadu Toastmasters community proud by becoming the first runner up at the District Level Evaluation Contest at Reverberation 2013 held in Bangalore in November. As a bonus, CTC also got the first runner up prize for the club with the strong Face-book presence.
Membership
Our membership stands at 29 and as you are aware, we received the first Smedley Award, which is given to the club that added 5 or more additional members during August and September of a year.
Educational Milestones
Satish Vachaspathi became the first DTM from Coromandel Toastmasters Club. In addition, 3 members (Monisha, Madhavan and Anirudh) completed their Competent Lead-ership requirements.
Distinguished Club Program (DCP)
As of 17th December 2013, CTC has earned 5 DCP points and became a Distin-guished Club.
Initiatives to improve club meetings’ quality
In order to help the members improve their communication skills and to assist them in competing against the best in the speech contests, 5 members with potential have been identified, and they are being given guidance and coaching.
With the increased involvement and enthusiasm of the members, I am sure we as a club will be among the best in the District in 2014 and beyond.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!!
Madhavan V.
President , Coromandel Toastmasters
Club
Club Achievements
Small and continuous improvements are visible at every meeting at CTC. It is all because of the relentless work of our members
SMEDLEY AWARD
For adding 5 members in Aug-Sept 2013
2013 2013 2013 --- 201420142014
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though
everything is a miracle.—Albert Einstein
5
Interview with
DTM Satish
Tell us about your first Toastmasters meeting ex-
perience?
I went to Ford Toastmasters
as a guest and was thinking what Toastmasters all about. I wondered if they are going to teach me how to toast. But the energy and passion of mem-bers who delivered their speeches and the warmth shown to guests was amazing and that inspired me join Toast-masters.
How will you put your journey to DTM in few
lines?
As my mentor DTM Saro says
for self improvement the jour-ney starts with the first step. My journey towards DTM was full of challenges and fun. I met wonderful people all through my journey who guided me well. Thanks to DTM Saro, DTM Karthik and a host of Toastmas-ters who were there throughout this journey.
What is your next immedi-
ate target ?
Restart my Communication journey and also visit various clubs as Ambassador.
What is your proudest mo-
ment in Toastmasters?
Conducting two Division Con-ferences in Ford and starting Coromandel Toastmasters
What do have to say for
aspiring DTMs?
Enjoy your journey in Toast-masters. Always take up the opportunities which come on your way . They are the best teachers.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
DTM Satish Vachaspathi
CTC’S 1st
Recipient of Distinguished Toastmaster Award [DTM]
from Toastmasters International
DTM Satish at CTC
Satish is a passionate Toastmaster who used to be the first person to reach the venue. He greets all the Toastmasters and guests and checks for the role players. If they do not turn up, he gives a chance to the young Toastmasters and if there isn’t any-one, he takes up the role. For one of CTC’s meeting, 2 of the prepared speakers did not turn up. So he delivered an impromptu speech to run the show and won the best speaker award too.
The best of talks happen at the tea time when he invites everyone after the meeting at a nearby coffee shop. That’s the time for casual talks and we get to know each other better. Satish used to share his knowledge, feedback or improvement points for speak-ers and role players. He also tells us about the important happenings at Toastmasters. In short he develops CTC by his informal style.
Guardian of CTC
Satish along a bunch of other senior Toastmasters, started Coromandel Toastmas-ters Club. A few months back the club had only 4 or 5 members but today we have 30 members attending our meetings. All this remarkable change within a short span is be-cause of his relentless efforts.
He was holding the position of Vice President Education and now he has handed over the baton to TM Anirudh who is equally passionate about CTC.
.
Distinguished Toastmaster Award to TM Satish
TM Satish giving his DTM Speech at CTC
My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: LOVING OTHERS - Bob Hope
6
Interview with DTM
Jayan Narayanan
What are you passionate
about?
Needless to say, I am pas-sionate about public speaking. Other passions include people, branding, photography, long distance driving, nature and traveling.
What does celebration
mean to you?
The life that I live every mo-ment!
Do you celebrate only
success?
Success, what does that mean? I can’t find it in my dic-tionary.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
DTM Jayan Narayanan
1s Runner up in the District Level Evaluation Contest in Reverberation 2013
Read on what DTM Jayan shared on his Facebook wall after his victory
“ I experienced a revelation and hence I have a message to share. This photo is to
certify it. For someone who is a born introvert, overcoming inferiority complex was a challenge. Today, thanks to Toastmasters, I don't know what being an introvert means. Inferiority complex was too complex a trait and I trashed it.
Several years ago, I had participated in the Toastmasters Speech Evaluation contest and I lost at the second level itself. The reason - I moved away from the mun-dane template based process and tried to induce humor. I had a great connect with the audience but didn't win.
Finally I gave a try this year and at the District Level contest (Reverberation 2013) held at Bangalore, I emerged as the 1st Runner up in the Speech Evaluation Contest. So, this award is certainly a testimony to the fact that the world is changing and ready to accept those who dare to be different. I'm so delighted I shared the stage with some amazing people from Kerala, Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Srilanka!
Now, here's the message. Be bold. Be sincere. Be shameless. Be creative. Be inno-vative. Most importantly, be different. Stand out. Take risks. Like modern day technolo-gies, be disruptive and question the Status - Quo.
www.toastmasters.org - The vitamin C and L for your career and also life. ”
DTM Jayan—Best Evaluator [1st Runner Up]
If you don't stand for something you will fall for anything - Anonymous
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I n t e r v i e w w i t h
TM Monisha Monikantan
What according to you
are qualities of good PR?
According to me, "Passion"
is the main quality required, not
just for a PR but for any profes-
sion.
What is your immediate
goal in toastmasters ?
To complete my ALB
What is the key take
away working for CTC?
Do not give up. The begin-
ning is always the hardest.
Can you share your first
Toastmasters meeting
experience?
In my very first meeting
at Toastmasters, I was a TT
speaker. I was very nervous to
even stand up. But the
encouragement of the Toast-
masters made me to talk for a
minute on the topic given to
me.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
TM Monisha Monikantan
Recipient of Best Public Relations Award at the District Level in Reverberation
2013
TM Monisha—Best PR (District Level)
TM Monisha’s Voice
"As Daniel Golston says, "If you are passionate about something, be passionate
about learning". And that's exactly what I did as the VP-PR. I followed my passion, learnt
(and still learning) from several seasoned Toastmasters about the art of Public Relations
and the end result was the unexpected recognition which I can never forget in my life-
time..”
Hats off to Monisha
TM Monisha was one of the team members instrumental in starting this club. Cur-
rently, she holds the position of Vice President - Personal Relations in CTC. Due to per-
sonal reasons she had to leave Chennai and move to her hometown which is 700 kms
far.
Distance did not stop her from working for CTC. She was consistent and delivered
all the work from her native. Her flyers in Facebook is something everyone regularly
watches out for. Once the theme of the meeting is decided, the flyers with the touch of
her magic wand do the first show. With a minimum number of words amalgamated with
colours and pictures, every flyer is a perfect invitation for Toastmasters for the meetings.
She is also an ardent blogger who updates her speeches and events at Toastmas-
ters. With 900+ followers, she is definitely following the footsteps of DTM Saro Velrajan in
helping other Toastmasters to learn from her experience.
On this occasion, we would like to say hats off to TM Monisha for her continual con-
tribution for the improvement of the club and the district. She has definitely made a sig-
nificant impact by mentoring and leading a path.
Congratulations Monisha for winning the Best PR award at the District Level. You
have made CTC proud. We wish you all success in your future endeavors. Good Luck!
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present
8
YOUTH LEADERSHIP
PROGRAM (YLP)
Whom we help
Higher secondary school students and college students
What skills do we train
Prepared speeches Impromptu speeches Evaluations Debates Listening Leadership
How do a Toastmaster
Benefit from YLP
Organizing a project involving various groups Delegation of work Co-ordination with people Leadership without authority Leading by example Mentoring & coaching
DTM Sajo Velrajan @YLP
DTM Lalitha G @YLP
Wish to Volunteer @ YLP
Contact your Club President / Area Governor or watch out for updates in Facebook groups of various Clubs and Divisions
Wish to start a YLP ?
Contact us at
c o r o m a n d e l t o a s t m a s [email protected]
EDUCATIONAL
Youth Leadership Program
DTM Saro Velrajan
Toastmasters from Tamilnadu have run several Youth Leadership Programs in the last 3 years. Youth Leadership Program, shortly called as YLP follows a standard curriculum from Toastmasters International. YLP provides an opportunity for fellow Toastmasters to give back to the community their learning and takeaways from Toastmasters.Higher sec-ondary school students and college students are imparted communication and leadership skills through YLPs. YLPs are initiated by school/college authorities or by alumni of schools/colleges. The cost of organizing the program is taken care of by a sponsor - typically, the school/college authorities. YLP programs are normally conducted over the weekends when fellow Toast-masters are readily available to conduct the workshops. The students are normally divided into groups of 20 and for each group, 2 coordinators from Toastmasters are assigned. A typical YLP is conducted for a period of 6 - 8 weekends.
YLP workshops are similar to what we do in regular Toastmasters meeting. The stu-dents take up various roles and the faculties guide them to perform their roles effectively. YLP programs provide the confidence and courage to youngsters to face interviews, de-bates and public speaking situations. YLP programs provide opportunity for Toastmasters to develop their leadership skills. Tamilnadu Toastmasters believe in “educate and illuminate” and this motto has illuminated several 1000s of students in the last 3 years through regular YLP programs. If you are interested to illuminate our society, join us to conduct the next YLP in Tamilnadu.
Toastmasters who volunteered for one of the Youth Leadership Program
Anjuman School, Chennai Thiagaraja College of Engineering, Madurai
If you judge people, you have no time to love them—Mother Teresa
9
Interview with Arun What does 2014 New Year mean to you? According to me New Year is just another day. If we have commitment towards our goals and constantly invest efforts to achieve them with lot of persis-tence and sensibility, every day is a new beginning. What is your 2014 New Year resolution?
I do not use New Year eve
as an excuse to build resolu-tions. I believe any day should be a good time to start doing what your passion is or what you want to do. Any message for CTC members? This club has members who are equipped to achieve suc-cess in the toastmasters world and steer the club to greater heights. I urge the new mem-bers to take leadership roles as and when they are offered. Per-forming these roles with your fullest commitment will enable you to find your true potential of leading people, which is a direct indication for your growth at work place.
CLUB MEMBERS’S VOICE
How many of us are playing life too safe and getting nowhere fast? Are we stuck in the comfort zone and just hoping to have a mistake-free, loss-free and stress-free life? It may sound like the good life now, but it is actually the “no-life” way to go. A constant need for security is one of the things that keep us from taking risks. There are people who have not taken a single risk all their life and have gotten no-where. My Grandmother is 88 years old. In spite of having had a good formal education, she was timid and always had someone make her decisions, be it her father before mar-riage and her husband after marriage. Having taken no risk at all to voice her opinion, she had never been a daring/outspoken woman all her life. All we got is one life and why do we
have to give it in hands of others to rule? On the other hand, there are people who literally walk over the edge and take dumb risks. Ramesh, an amateur wild life photographer, rushed to a village on the outskirts of Bangalore, where a herd of Elephants were reported to have strayed from the forest. Ignoring the repeated warnings from the forest department cau-tioning civilians not to venture too close, Ramesh slipped away to photograph the wild herd. In excite-ment, he went too close to one of the tuskers which panicked and attacked him. He was rushed to the hos-pital and declared “dead on arrival”. The reckless risk he took cost him his life!
So how can we take calculated risks? Calculated risks are those where the potential downside is lim-ited, but the potential upside is virtually unlimited. Ac-cording to Andre Malraux, “Often the difference be-tween a successful person and a failure is not that one has better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on one's ideas, to take a calculated risk - and to act”. You can either live someone else’s tried-and-tested template for a life or you can make your life your own.
I would like to congratulate CTC members, DTM Jayan for achieving “1st Runner up at District level evaluations contest” , TM Monisha for getting “The Best PR Award” and TM Satish Vachaspathi for joining the “Distinguished Toastmasters” community. I would like to applaud the efforts of the new editorial team comprising of Naresh, Ani-mesh and Rajesh for putting together yet another enthralling newsletter. I would also love to appreciate all members of Coromandel Toastmasters Club for showing a phenomenal enthusiasm and continual improvement in Toastmasters community. I wish all the members a happy Christmas and a happy New year!
TM Arun Kumar AS
Area Governor—M1
Division M
Take Calculated Risks in Life
You are the right person to take decisions for your life. Visualize the problem well ahead and take calculated risks
Message from Arun
“The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway” - Mother Teresa
10
Interview with Monisha What does 2014 mean to you? Personally, 2014 is going to be very special to me as it's go-ing to change my marital status. In my Toastmasters journey, it's special too as CTC celebrates its 1st anniversary! It has been ab-solutely delightful to have seen the various stages of CTC - crawl, walk, run and now fly!
What is your 2014 new year resolution? Well, there's no resolution as such. I just want to "Be good and do good" for now and always
Any message for CTC mem-bers? Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try. So keep trying!
CLUB MEMBER’S VOICE
What’s your New Year resolution?
New year resolution is hard to follow but if we could do it for a year and then for the years to come it can change a lot of things .
Every New Year, I hear a lot of resolutions from people around me “I will hit the gym everyday and shed x kilos this year!”, “I will quit smoking this year”, “I will save y rupees by the end of this year”, “I will control my temper from now on!” and the list is almost end-less. For the very first time in my life, I took a New Year resolution in my 2nd year of col-lege. I wrote on a piece of paper that “I shall not waste my food” and also stated the rea-sons why I don’t want to waste it. I then stuck the paper on my room wall so that every time I see it, I get reminded of my resolution. The initial days were a little difficult. (You know how hard it is to eat the food provided in hostel :P ) As days passed by, the resolu-tion became a part of my daily routine. By the end of 2008, I contemplated how effective my New Year resolution had been and It was then that I decided two things - I shall continue the resolution of not to waste food for the rest of my life.
I never believed that I would be able to keep up my resolution for one “long” year because I’ve seen a lot of people breaking their resolution in the very first week of New Year! But the sense of con-tentment it gave me whenever I had a clean platter, made me question myself, “If I can do this for one whole year, why not for the rest of my life?” After all, wast-ing or not wasting food is not confined to a particular year but for a lifetime! I shall not wait till the next New
Year to take another resolution. Every day is a new day, another chance to change. So why do you have to wait till the next New Year to change something which you can do right now? I deeply appreciate the fact that people take some time to reflect on their past and try to take some measure to bring about changes at the dawn of the New Year. But if they are taken for granted, then what’s the point in making one? So what’s your resolution? Perhaps is it not to take one? :) Happy New Year folks!
Monisha Monikandan
Vice President—PR
CTC
A creative person is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others—Ayn Rand
11
Interview with Anirudh What does 2014 mean to you? I’m expecting 2014 to help me in fulfilling my dream .
What is your 2014 New Year resolution? I am not used to it. I will take resolutions then and there if needed, without waiting for a new year
Any message for CTC members? You have taken a decision to be a Toastmaster. Please be regular to the meetings and do take up roles. I did it and I have improved a lot. If you want to know in what way I have im-proved, please contact me in person .
CLUB MEMBER’S VOICE
You Hold The Key
You set your targets, accomplish it enjoy it. You hold the key for your life
It was a winter evening. I sat on a park bench near a fig tree, holding a Dairy Milk Silk. I saw some kids playing in the park, giggling and laughing enjoying every moment. I felt nostalgic as I thought back of my school winter vacations. Occasions and festivals are created by humans for the pursuit of happiness. The seasons carrying the festi-vals backpack ecstasy.
My avidity on Christmas every year was because of a portly, joyous, white-bearded man from North Pole with a large number of magical elves. This person visited my home every year on 25th December midnight when I am at sound sleep. But I have never seen him, because he was as quick as a lightning. When I wake up at morning, all I saw was a bag hanging in the window. On seeing the bag, I could feel my excitement bubbling up inside, my champagne cork getting ready to burst. The bag had gifts from pas-tries to video games, for which I craved throughout the year. If you can’t get whom I am talking about, his name
is Santa Claus.
When I was 10 years old I asked my grandfather “will Santa Claus visit me all through my life”, he smiled and replied “he will visit and endow you until you are a kid”. His words baffled me. I prayed that I should be a kid throughout the life. But 2 years later I became responsi-ble for bursting my own bubble.
My cousin who is older than me visited on a half yearly vacation. She told me that Santa Claus stories are myth and she started her investigations. On the day before Christmas she took me near a cupboard belonging to my mother, I went with her not knowing that she is going to take away the light of my life. She opened it and took a red coloured bag from it. And as I predicted the same bag was hanging in the window next day morning. And finally I ascertained who the Santa Claus was. like a fine mist disap-pearing in the morning, my innocence disappeared when I grew up and so I missed Santa Claus.
My nostalgia broke off and I started jogging around the park. When I started jogging there was a 5-6 year old kid who was wearing a government school uniform also started to run. He just started behind me, overtook me and went ahead of me. He stopped when he reached the starting point and smiled at me. I had no clue what for he is smiling. He stood in the same place, but I continued and went ahead for my second round. He again started, over took, went ahead and reached. Again he smiled at me, this time pointing his two fingers towards the sky he was hopping and dancing, conveying that he
outpaced me twice.
By setting his own target and by accomplishing it, he is celebrat-ing it in every possible way. I learned from him that ‘happiness is not something ready made, It comes from your own actions’. All we need to do is to recognise the happiness like an innocent child and share it like a Santa Claus. I dropped the Dairy Milk which I was holding in my hand in his school bag when he was away from it and I left the park silently.
Santa Claus is back in town.
TM Anirudh
Vice President - Education
CTC
Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy - Guillamme Apollinaire
12
CLUB MEMBER’S VOICE
History of New Year Resolutions:
‘New Year Resolutions’ have been a part of human civilization since the days of Babylon. Babylonians celebrated it in what is now the month of March. The idea of ‘New year resolu-tions’ was later adopted in the Roman culture which celebrated it during the month of Janu-ary. January is named after Janus, the two faced Roman god, one face looking at the old and the other at the new. But, in those days it was a period of celebration and revelry.
Later on as Christianity caught on, the same became a time for self-introspection. They were known as puritans. They reflected upon their character, attitude and behavior over the year that went by and resoled to become a better human being in the year to come.
How successful?
The really good idea of self-assessment and improvement may have caught on. But, how many succeed in achieving their resolutions? Research studies conducted on it say that most who take up such resolutions fail in it. But, there are some patterns noticed.
Those who set quantifiable (a measurable reference point) and time bound goals have been found to be far more successful than those who don’t. So, it’s better to make a New Year resolu-tion like, “I am going to lose 5 Kg weight in the next 3 months”, than “I am going to lose weight”
To make a quantifiable and time bound goal to happen, one has to set a frame in which one will have to fit a plan, and thus once the plan is in place, one can focus on the execution.
A leaf from the great minds
The great Indian sages who lived centuries ago spent a sig-nificant amount of time in self-introspection. They realized that human potential is vast and we use so little of it. We shouldn’t be taking resolutions and acting upon it at some particular point in time. The more often we self-introspect and the more we act upon it, the better we shall become.
Having said all that, wish you all a very happy and crazy New Year.
Tu-Too!!
New year Resolutions – Origins & Motivations
A good idea of self-assessment and improvement. The motive is simply to motivate.
TM Bharath Raman
Member, CTC
Interview with Bharath What does 2014 mean to you? I see and feet lots and lots of transformations inside me and the society around me.
What is your 2014 New Year resolution? To try my best to understand people around me more by lov-ing them more than I did in pre-vious years.
Any message for CTC members? Try new things, ‘Experiment’; learn by failing again and again and again; Until one day you see the success.
My New year Resolution
I have been a spectator for a long time when It comes to sports. Come 2014, I will make myself ready for the Chennai marathon
Pratap Simha
Member, CTC
"Athletes, I'll drink to you, Or eat with you, Or anything except compete with you”
These are lines from Ogden Nash’s poem “Born to be a Spectator”. As a passionate spec-tator of sports, my biggest regret in life has been that I didn’t pursue competitive sports as much as I should have. My exploits in competitive sports are limited to being part of my school cricket team. For 2014, I have resolved to rediscover the athlete in me. I want to put my running shoes on and visit the gym every alternate day. I hope that my 2014 reso-lution would culminate in my participation in 10 km run of 2015 Chennai Marathon and I have set an ambitious target of clocking that distance within an hour.
Pratap Simha is a new member in CTC. He has already started his Competent Communication and Competent Leadership projects. For him CTC is the right place as it gives him ample opportunities to participate and grow.
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one
more time - Thomas Edison
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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 deliv-
ered. The levels are as follows.
● Competent Communication
(CC)
● Advanced Communication
Bronze (ACB)
● Advanced Communication
Silver (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 Monisha is pursuing her
ACB.
CTC has many budding com-
municators who are well guided
by other Toastmasters in their
pursuit to complete competent
communication manual.
“A picture is worth a thousand words”. These words hold true for the graphs which
depict the up surging Toastmaster journey of our members.
Opportunities galore at CTC and the Toastmasters are steadily climbing up the
competent communicator and competent leader ladder .
CTC STATISTICS
Budding Toastmaster in action
You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream - C.S.Lewis
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UPDATES FROM CTC
LEADERSHIP TRACK
The Toastmasters Lead-ership track has 3 Leadership levels
● Competent leader (CL)
● Advanced leader
bronze (ALB)
● Advanced leader silver
(ALS)
CTC’s Leadership Tracker
DTM Jayan and DTM Satish
have completed their ALS
level.
TM Arun is pursuing ALS.
TM Madhavan and TM Mon-
isha are pursuing their ALB.
TM Rajesh, TM Sakthi
Prasanna and TM Anirudh
met their CL requirements
recently.
About 20 members of the club
have been participating ac-
tively to meet their CL re-
quirements.
CTC’s STATISTICS
Leadership role at CTC starts from
arranging the chairs to taking up meeting
roles like Timer, ah counter, TMOD et al.
And as the members climb up the leader-
ship ladder, roles like editor for a newslet-
ter, mentoring a member are taken. One
gets a spectrum of leadership opportuni-
ties when he/she organizes events at
club / area / division / district level.
Leadership role - Arranging chairs
Leadership Role - Grammarian
B S
The best and the most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched . They must be
felt with the heart.
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UPDATES FROM CTC
TOASTMASTER OF THE
MONTH AWARDS
NOVEMBER 2013
OCTOBER 2013
CTC’S HALL OF FAME
The spirit of healthy competitiveness brings the best out of CTC’s mem-
bers. Every week we see new heroes emerging at the club.
Congratulations to all the winners!
NEW MEMBERS INTRODUCTION
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 Chandrashekar 2. TM Pratap
3. TM Velmurugan 4. TM Satya
5. TM Sneha (transfer)
We wish you a wonderful Toastmasters journey at CTC!
Anirudh
Animesh Shah
Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can - Arthur Ashe
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EXECUTIVE COMMITEE
President
TM Madhavan V [email protected]
Vice President Education
TM Anirudh [email protected]
Vice President - Membership
TM Naresh B [email protected]
Vice President - Public Relations
TM Monisha M [email protected]
Secretary
TM Karthikeyan K [email protected]
Treasurer
TM Harikumar A [email protected]
Sergeant at Arms
TM Rajesh K [email protected]
Details of club
Toastmasters international
Where do we meet?
Sitadevi Garodia Hindu Vidyalaya,
Kalamegam Street Extension,
Tambaram, Tamil Nadu – 600045
When do we meet?
Every Saturdays from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
We now accept articles for our next edition!
Send your articles to
CTC’s Distinguished Club Program (DCP) Status
The Distinguished Club Program by Toastmasters International helps the clubs to promote equality, ensure productive meetings, pro-vide structure and guidance and increase the enthusiasm of the club. The DCP includes 10 goals which a club should strive to achieve each year.
A club receives the status of
Distinguished Club - If 5 of 10 goals are met
Select Distinguished Club - If 7 of 10 goals are met
President’s Distinguished Club - If of 10 9 goals are met
DCP requirements and CTC’s status,
Achieved requirements 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
CTC’s current DCP: 5 points
We are a Distinguished Club!
Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be.