MAR 2014

e-newsletter | Issue no: 3

Revitalized Education
Program

-02

Recapture the Love

for your club -03
The Answer is in the wind
my friend -06

Club News
Lions Toastmaster Dian Abeywardene a
winner at the Area Contest 7th March
2014

LIONS TOASTMASTERS CLUB

Revitalized Education Program

As the world changes, Toastmasters

International is changing with it.
That means Toastmasters is changing to
offer more opportunities to grow and
learn. After much thought, research and
analysis, Toastmasters is revitalizing its
education program.

President
Arumugam Kandasamy
ACS, ALS
VP Education
Nadeeja Abeyasekera CC
VP Membership
Shyama Silva
VP Public Relations
Gratien Fernando
Secretary
Mazher Fazleali
Treasurer
P. Chandrasekaran
Sergeant-At-Arms
Udaya Silva

The first step of this journey began with

the Board of Directors 2010 Strategic
Plan, a blueprint for the future.
The Board called for a renewed focus on
leadership and a modernized
communication program. Since then,
time has been spent researching and
analyzing the existing education program
by conducting surveys with current and
former members. In addition, Board
committees focused on identifying the
skills, competencies and attributes
learned through the existing education
program, and helped to guide a project
plan for an updated program.
The Revitalized Education Program will
debut in the second half of 2014. The
enhanced program will offer 3 things:
Tailored learning to help members
meet personal and professional goals
Communication and leadership skills
relevant to real-world experiences in
a globally evolving marketplace
A clearer path for achieving education
awards

Could you please be as

silent as the G in lasagna?
Anonymous

Achievement and recognition remain at

the heart of the process. However,
Toastmaster International is taking the
learning experience to the next level. And
in doing so technology will become a
powerful tool, the revitalized program will
refine online resources to boost selfdirected learning. Members will be able
to harness technology to improve their
speeches and meeting roles.

Members will be able to access

educational materials through mobile
web applications on smartphones and
tablets. Video will become a key learning
tool. Expanded digital content will be
available, along with opportunities to
reach around the globe and learn along
with members in other countries.
Source Toastmasters. International website

More>>
Listen to a podcast featuring
Toastmasters Chief Executive Officer
Daniel Rex and Past International
President Pat Johnson speaking about the
revitalized education program

Announcing, the First Centurion of

this group....Toastmaster
Arumugam Kandasamy ! Lets raise
a toast for Kandasamy who has
completed all his 8 assigned club
visits, a good 15 days before
deadline. This is just the role model
effort needed to this Super 30.
Many congrats and best wishes for
the effort - Raj Kumar Bansal

Recapture the Love for your Club

President
Arumugam Kandasamy
ACS, ALS
VP Education
Nadeeja Abeyasekera CC
VP Membership
Shyama Silva
VP Public Relations
Gratien Fernando
Secretary
Mazher Fazleali
Treasurer
P. Chandrasekaran
Sergeant-At-Arms
Udaya Silva

By all means lets be open

minded. But not so open
minded that our brain
may fall out!!
Richard Dawkins

If your club experience is starting to

feel stale, try a new role or club
Toastmasters isnt meant to be a till
death do us part commitment. Or is it?
While some members breeze into a club
for just a season, or stick with it until
they make it through the basic manuals,
others keep coming back week after
week, year after year. There are many
ways to keep the Toastmasters passion
alive and avoid the seven-year itch.

Merinda Air, ACB, of Sydney, Australia,

has served in many club officer positions
over the years. She considered taking a
break from club leadership. Instead, she
sought out and joined an advanced club,
while also continuing as vice president
education in her home club. As a new
member at a new club, Air had fewer
responsibilities and attended meetings
just to have fun. Her strategy worked; she
now serves as area governor.

Similarly, when Gobel became

overwhelmed when serving as both vice
president education and vice president
Here are a few strategies to help
public relations while coping with the
members avoid a rut.
stresses of his mothers dementia, he
Start seeing other people
realized he needed to let something go.
If your club experience is starting to
feel stale, try a new role or club. Even if If you are feeling overwhelmed, its best
to speak to other club executives, Gobel
you choose to remain active in your
says. At Beaches Speeches, other
home club, you can join an advanced
or specialty club. A new club will infuse members pitched in to take part of the
load off of him. As a result, Gobel feels
energy into your Toastmasters
more committed to Toastmasters than
experience, energy that you might be
ever.
able to bring back to your home club.
Deepen Your Commitment
When experienced members take a step
You get out of Toastmasters what you
back, it prompts newer club members to
put into it. Challenge yourself with a
step forward. These new leaders can
new leadership role; it will keep your
sometimes reinvigorate the club with a
membership experience engaging and
fresh perspective as they nurture their
fun and allow you to give back to your
own professional development by taking
club.
on leadership roles.
Take a Step Back
Sometimes taking a step back from a
Extract from Toastmaster Feb 2014
leadership role can help you refuel.

Club News

President
Arumugam Kandasamy
ACS, ALS
VP Education
Nadeeja Abeyasekera CC
VP Membership
Shyama Silva

Club Contest

TM Moosajee Hussain delivers Keynote

20 Feb 2014

12 Mar 2014

Lions Toastmasters Club International and

Table Topics Contest was held at the
Royal Skills Center, Col 7 on 20 Feb. TM
Dian Abeywardena was judged the winner
of the International speech category
while TM Shyama Silva and TM Lucky
Jayasouriya was judged 1st and 2nd runnerup respectively.

Veteran toastmaster from Colombo

Toastmasters with years of experience in
toastmastering, both as Toastmaster and
office bearer visits the LTMC club meeting
accepting the invitation from our
President to deliver a useful Keynote on
getting comfortable with visual aids.

In the Table Topics thinking on his feet on

Social Media Addicts TM Dian
Abeyawardene emerged winner followed
by TM Shyama Silva and TM Chamath
Silva.

In the time an age where everything is

visual, TM Hussain lays emphasis on using
this tool as an aid to delivering an
effective speech.

VP Public Relations
Gratien Fernando
Secretary
Mazher Fazleali
Treasurer
P. Chandrasekaran
Sergeant-At-Arms
Udaya Silva

Area Contest
7 March Feb 2014

At the Area Contest took place at the

Royal Skills Center with the participation
of 4 clubs. LTMC is proud to have been
represented by TM Dian Abeyawardene
who was placed 1st runner up in Table
Topics and 2nd runner up in the
International speeches.

I love deadlines. I like the

whooshing sound they
make as they fly by
Douglas Adams

The winners of Area contest proceed to

take part in the Division Contest that will
be held on 6 April.

Power Talk 2014

DISTRICT 82, Division A, C, J & P
Sunday 6 April, 7.30 am to 5.30 am
Grand Monarch, Pelawatte

Club News
Club EXCO participation
18 Aug 2013

President
Arumugam Kandasamy
ACS, ALS
VP Education
Nadeeja Abeyasekera CC
VP Membership
Shyama Silva
VP Public Relations
Gratien Fernando
Secretary
Mazher Fazleali
Treasurer
P. Chandrasekaran

The Pirates Gavel was introduced to District

26 Jan 2014

Sergeant-At-Arms
Udaya Silva

I think that success is

having fun
Bruno Mars

2nd Division OTP training participation

Left to right Aaron Watson, Sue, Saro, Kandasamy, Suba, Dian and Nadeeja

When you so badly want to win, as

much as you want to breathe that is
when you make a Champion
- Dhananjaya Hettiarchchy

The Missing MH370

These doors are bulletproof" and couldn't be
penetrated with an axe!
Even if the door was being broken down, they
wouldn't be able to get in before there'd been
a mayday call, unless the pilots were
incapacitated.

President
Arumugam Kandasamy
ACS, ALS
VP Education
Nadeeja Abeyasekera CC
VP Membership
Shyama Silva
VP Public Relations
Gratien Fernando
Secretary
Mazher Fazleali
Treasurer
P. Chandrasekaran
Sergeant-At-Arms
Udaya Silva

The Answer is in the Wind my Friend

Malaysia Airlines Boeing flight (MH370) from
Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing on 8 March,
has gone missing with 239 people on board.
As the search continues in the southern Indian
Ocean, some key questions remain
unanswered.
1. Why did the plane make a sharp left turn?
Military radar logs show flight MH370 turned
unexpectedly west when it diverted from its
planned flight path, by which time the plane's
transponder had already been switched off,
and its last ACARS data link transmission sent.
The only real reason pilots make such a
manoeuvre is if there's a serious problem on
the plane which makes them decide to divert
to a different destination, to get the aircraft
on the ground. Could it be a fire or sudden
decompression or malicious intent - by a pilot
or intruder?
But unless the "black box" flight recorders are
found, whatever happened in the cockpit at
that moment will remain in the realms of
speculation.

2. Is it reasonable to speculate that a

pilot could have intended to kill himself?

There are lots of people

who mistake their
imagination for their
memory
Josh Billings

There has been much speculation in the

media that suicide might have been behind
the loss of the plane. So far, no evidence has
been released from searches of the homes of
Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah and his co-pilot
Fariq Abdul Hamid that back up such
explanation for MH370.

3. Is a hijack scenario even possible?

Airliners have been fitted with strengthened
flight deck doors - intended to prevent
intruders from taking control - since 9/11.

But in any case, however secure the door,

there are times when the door is open - when
a member of the crew either visits the toilet
or has to check on something in the cabin. It's
always been pointed out that it would be
possible to rush the cockpit when this is the
case. But even in the event of hijackers
rushing the cockpit, it would be easy for either
crew member to send a distress signal.
4. Why was no action taken when the plane's
transponder signal went off?
MH370's transponder - which communicates
with ground radar - was shut down as the
aircraft crossed from Malaysian air traffic
control into Vietnamese airspace over the
South China Sea.
5. Did the plane glide into the sea or plunge
after running out of fuel?
The MH370's final moments seem to depend
on whether the plane was still being flown by
a pilot.
If it was under control of the pilot, the plane
was capable of being glided. An Aircraft of this
size will normally fly or glide over 50 miles
before they hit the sea if they run out of fuel.
6. Would the passengers have known
something was wrong?
If a major malfunction had not occurred, it is
unclear whether passengers would have
known anything was awry, especially if there
were no obvious signs of a struggle on board.
Malaysian authorities have said the plane rose
to 45,000ft, before falling to 23,000ft, after it
changed course. If that's the case, passengers
might have felt the loss of altitude.

7. Why didn't passengers use their

mobile phones?
If it had been obvious something was wrong,
passengers wouldn't have used mobile
phones to call relatives and raise the alarm.
Adapted from BBC NEWS

Be Bold
is a bi-monthly e-Newsletter by the
Lions Toastmasters Club, Sri Lanka

LIONS TOASTMASTERS CLUB