Toastmasters is an Organization famous for its motto: “Where leaders are made”.
Keeping up with this motto, The fourth of January was a very special day for Sunshine Toastmasters Club as it was the installation and induction ceremony for the term Jan- May 2015.It was quite a happy coincidence that the event fell so close to New Year, maybe a good omen even.
So it was not surprising when the Theme of the event was the strange ways that people celebrated New Year’s!
Did you know that In Russia, they write down their wish on piece of paper, burn it and throw it into their champagne glass and drink it at Midnight? I don’t know about what joys it can guarantee but it sure guarantees FOOD poisoning 😮
And in Netherlands they eat Oliebollen (big oily balls of dough which are deep fried and covered in icing sugar).This is supposed to welcome new year ( along with new layers of fat on your body).
The Venezuelans wear Yellow Underwear on this day, which signifies good luck. Well It sure brought John Abrahams backside a lot of good luck in dostana :p
Yes, everyone seems to think of an installation ceremony as a solemn pious event, but at Sunshine Toastmasters we deal with even the most solemn occurrences with a sunshine like smile on our faces!
As if to emphasize just that, the event swung open with the joyous smile of the very talented artist-teacher Shivani who played the role of Sergeant in Arms with her usual ease.
There was a beautiful song just following that by our very own group of patriotic rockstars (one of the singers was our very own Lalitha ma’am’s son).
The evening then formally began with the Master of ceremony for the evening (ahem, that’s yours truly). Having never publicly conducted a meeting before (especially not one of this much magnitude) I was quite nervous. There were many high dignitaries present there and I really didn’t know what it would be like to speak to them or about them.
My fears were put to rest when Geetha Prasanna (past division B governor) came onto the stage to perform the induction ceremony. IF one has to play a leader without playing a bad cop this elegant woman does it best! It was clear when she spoke that she has the ability to blow your mind with the shortest of conversations. Following her was IPDG Kumaran. He looks tall and handsome, but nothing can compare the humility with which he speaks. He gave a clear perspective about what the entire point of the Toastmasters Initiative was.
Past President Anand came and radiated sunshine on our club as he always does with his ever-present smile and handed out the certificates of achievements at the club.
Area governor Mrinalini, performed the otherwise long induction ceremony with her trademark perfection and simplicity. And the new Team was welcomed with a joyous applause 😀
“For Last year’s Words belong to Last year’s language, Next year’s Words await another voice“ – Said Elliot.
There was a huge round of applause when newly anointed president Priyanka walked in to give her speech. She brought with her boundless energy and joy and once again rejuvenated the mood of the evening with an inspiring speech. Priyanka, is a very creative enthusiastic person and it’s my personal opinion that the club will achieve new hallmarks under her leadership (and most of the guest speakers enthusiastically agreed with my opinion in their speeches making Priyanka almost burst with happiness: P)
Many dignitaries spoke on this day, Toastmasters Gauri, Ramesh, etc. but one thing that I noted and was very grateful for was the spirit of the Toastmaster community. There were very few not so obvious glitches but everyone just jumped right in to help me conduct the ceremony and many people didn’t even get to know that something had gone unlike what had been planned!
The entire meeting was so energetic and filled with laughter, not to mention awe (OH! We had a BEAT BOXER at the event!) Yeah, Beat boxer Sunny blew everyone’s mind with his insane skills.
By the end of the meeting, everyone knew everyone. Even my very quiet mother who had come as a guest was happily talking to so many people. I met people from different clubs,different states. People of all ages mixed together happily and talked about their lives.
That’s the effect of Sunshine Toastmasters. People come from everywhere! Whether they are housewives or students like me. Dasas from ISKON or fashion designers. Research Scientists or Builders… It’s a welcoming arena to fine tune the leader in you, with the help of a warm group of people who extend friendship that lasts for a life time 😀
I’m so glad to be a part of it 🙂
The Politically Wrong Bong 