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Charter
New
Clubs
District: 41
Nov/2013 Vol 5
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1 Editorial Page 2
2 District Governors
Message Page 3
3 New Clubs Brillian S. K.
- Page 4
4 Survive & thrive
Sudarshan Gadhave - Page
8
5 Remembering Navneet
Suneja - Page 10
6 Masti @ Toastmasters -
Page 14
7 Learning to Lead - Page
17
8 Contributors Page 19
TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL
NEWSLETTER
2
Umesh Agashe, CC, ALB
EditorNewsletter,2013-14
Toastmasters International
District 41
If you would like to
contribute in e
Newsletter, or have
suggestions for
improvements, please
provide your insights, email
your views, feedback,
suggestions at
d41enewsletter@gmail.com
Editorial
Umesh Agashe, CC, ALB
What you build, builds you, said world champion of public speaking 2012 -
Ryan Avery. Wont you agree that taking up an initiative to present
speeches; to perform leadership roles in your club is actually building your
confidence step by step? Then how about taking this platform to more &
more people so that more people can benefit from Toastmasters? Indeed
building new club builds you too. Building new club provides you an
opportunity to take your leadership skills to next level. We are happy to
inform that District 41 has added 19 more clubs (till 30th October)
in the New Year.
So many of us have desire, willingness to start a new Toastmasters club in
our company or community, or we know about an opportunity where a new
Toastmasters club can be started. But most of us seat back because of
varied reasons, & one of the reasons is lack of information. If you have an
idea about starting a new club, please read an article about basic formalities
of starting a new club by Lieutenant Governor Marketing, District 41
Brillian. Learn about things to be considered before starting a corporate
club from Leo Paulose.
Starting something is easy, but sustaining the same is difficult. Are you
encountering challenge of dying club? Do you want to know how one such
club not only survived but is now thriving? Read an article by Sudarshan
Gadhve.
Only one thing can ensure clubs success & consistency in performance, &
that one thing is quality of meetings. Read about how some of the clubs in
District 41 are organizing unique meetings to ensure that members have fun
while learning, in article Masti @ Toastmasters.
Toastmasters is not only about enhancing your public speaking & leadership
skills, it is also about creating those bonds of human network, its a family.
Unfortunately we lost one of our leaders Navneet Suneja in a tragic accident
few days back. Read the memories of fellow Toastmasters associated with
him, who worked with him, & who shared bonds of friendship with him.
This family is served by many leaders. In this issue we are presenting you
story of one such leader Pooja Sapra, Division Governor - Division I. If you
also want to share your story, your journey of learning to lead, please write
to us. If you know someone in your Area, Division who is a super
enthusiastic Toastmaster, please let us know, let others get inspired to be
super enthusiastic Toastmasters. You can send your story or information
about Super Enthusiastic Toastmasters from your Area, Division to
d41enewsletter@gmail.com
Keep communicating
Umesh Agashe, CC, ALB
Editor, Newsletter, District-41
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Prasad Sovani, DTM,
District Governor 2013-14,
District 41, Toastmasters
International.
He is a communication
evangelist. By profession
he is a corporate trainer
and has successfully
trained many students to
their satisfaction in India,
Singapore, & Brazil.
You may write to him at
prasad.sovani@gmail.com
Dear members of the most enthusiastic district in the world!
The District Semi-Annual Conference is one of the major milestones
in the calendar of the district. We meet and have District Executive
Council meeting to discuss the status of the district and we gather to
have District Council meeting to know the future of the district.
In addition, we have training programs specially lined up for those
who come all the way to attend this conference. We also have speech
contests to promote the spirit of the competition and recognize
champion speakers amongst us. We also have an evening for fun!
This year, we are trying out something new! We are giving a chance
to our own trainers! Members of District 41, who can conduct training
but need an opportunity, will be provided with that opportunity! We
have identified four new trainers from our own membership, who will
guide us on a topic of their competence and add value to us.
In addition, we have the best trainers across the world! The best
person in our district for language training is Dr Punita Singh, who
will conduct a special session for us. And the best person in the world
in using props and constructing speeches, Palaniappan Subramanian,
(First Runner up in the World Championship of Public Speaking) will
fly all the way from Penang, Malaysia, to train us!
I would like all of you to attend this conference and network with
friends you havent met yet! Conferences are all about learning and
networking! Please get to know at least 10 new individuals, share
your cards and spend some time to know them well. Who knows
what can happen after that!
I know at least two couples which first met at a Toastmasters District
Conference, and then chose to get married and are living happily
ever after!
I know people who got job offers at conferences and I know people
who have got business assignments at conferences!
For now, I am excited to be in the relaxed town of Puri, to be near
the sea, enjoy its breeze and have a great conference!
Finally, before you leave, go nearer any member of the organizing
committee and thank him / her as a representative of the whole
committee! They will feel their time spent was worth it!
-Prasad Sovani, DTM
District 41 Governor, 2013-14
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Brillian S. K., DTM,
Lieutenant Governor
Marketing, 2013-14,
Toastmasters International,
District 41
If you have desire to chart
a new club in your company
or a community club, take
action, get connected with
Brillian.
You may write to him at
brillian@gmail.com
Nineteen new clubs chartered in District 41 till
October 30. Do you want to be a Charter
President of a brand new club? Do you
see any opportunities in your area
division to start a new Corporate /
Community club? Below points would provide you
some details about process of starting a new club, & to
get further assistance just drop a line to Brillian.
While we are happy to add new clubs, I take this opportunity to share few
aspects that we all need to keep in mind when processing papers. The
outline is based on our experiences in chartering new clubs and delays
caused due to incomplete or pending paperwork.
Application to Organise
Many clubs initiate the process to charter by submitting Form 1
Application to Organise. Many clubs prefer to make the US125 payment
upfront.
a. The Form has a provision of filling in details of the quantity for new
member kits; if you know the number it would be advisable to fill it
in. If nothing is filled, the WHQ will ship 20 charter member kits to
the SPOC.
b. Form 1 also has details for Sponsor Clubs; Member Sponsors &
Mentors which must be filled in. This helps in ensuring that the credit
for Mentors and Sponsors can be applied for later. In case this is
missed out only the District Governors confirmation would be
accepted by the NEWCLUBS team.
c. Club Alignment kindly ensure that you speak to the Marketing
Team and the Division Governor and align it to an Area. Before
submitting the report keep the Area Governor informed.
Payments
Clubs have the following options to make payments for chartering a club:
a. Credit Card This is the fastest mode of processing with a minimal
transaction charge applied for the international transaction. What
you would need is an international valid credit card (District
Officers may not provide their details as the same may be rejected
by WHQ).
b. Wire Transfer A long drawn process wherein the monies are
transferred from any Bank to the TI Citibank account. Since this is a
multi party transfer there are transaction charges that amount to a
total of about USD40 over and above the total for chartering a club.
While making the payment an additional charge of $40/- must be
included with the total payments
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i. Add $40/- to the gross amount (Gross amount = Charter fees + new member fees + six
monthly fees for all joiners as applicable)
ii. In case the $40/- is not added the Bank would deduct $40/- from the amount submitted
through wire transfer in effect club payment would be short by $40/-
iii. To ensure completion of the charter payment the club would have to make additional
payment of $40/-
iv. Unless this payment is processed the status would reflect on the system and reports as
partial payment made.
v. Once the payment is made, a receipt of transfer of money and acknowledgement from the
bank must be submitted along with the list of members and the forms to process the
application.
c. Demand Note / Postal Money order similar to our Demand Draft, this is payable
internationally. The demand draft making charges vary from bank to bank. Once the Pay Oder /
Demand Note is ready it is sent to the WHQ via snail mail / courier.
Membership Application
This is probably one of the most laborious tasks as it requires the charter member application to be filled
in and signed by the member and also countersigned by a club officer. To ensure that there are no
discrepancies, an excel sheet with the following headings maybe attached.
Name of Member, Officer Role, Contact No, Email id, Mailing Address
This would help the WHQ team process the forms without errors.
Signatures and Details in Forms 5 & 6
There are mandatory sections where signatures are required, before submitting the form, the officer must
validate signatures and ensure that the forms are complete in all respect.
Review of Forms
We recommend that every application to charter a club be sent to the LGM for review. This is to
ensure that there are no gaps and the club papers can be processed at the earliest. Once a formal review
has been completed the forms to be sent to new clubs team with a copy to the Division Governor, Area
Governor, Marketing Team, District Secretary.
We take this opportunity to thank the following members for assisting in the growth of the TM movement
in District 41 by supporting the formation of the new clubs: A Poojari, Achintya Agarwal, Amit Kumar
Shroti, Anand Radhakrishnan, Ankur Rana, Antony Jerald Anand, Anurag Jindal, Arefunnisa Sayed, Arun
Mittal, Arvind Nair, Bhargav Vanaparthy, Biswajit Adhikari, Chandana Erande, Chetan Thakkar, Chinnappa
To know more about step by step process of
forming a new corporate, community or an
advanced club, please click here. This step-by-
step guide also includes all the forms which you
need to submit to Toastmasters International.
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Nanaiah, Deepak Menon, Farida Dias, Gagan Batra, Gaurav Verma, Harkirat Singh Sareen, Harsh Singhal,
Hitendra Bhadang, Inderjeet Singh Oberoi, Indrajit Suryawanshi, Jyotirmay Bhattacharjya, Leo Kurians
Paulose, Mohammed Babrawala, Mohit Chabbra, Mukesh Kulothia, Natarajan Lalgudi, Late Navneet
Suneja, Neeraj Gupta, Nikhil Kumar, Nikhil Salvi, Nitin Gupta, Parul Tyagi, Pooja Sapra, Prasad Sovani,
Prathamesh Thakur, Puneet Choudhary, Rajnish Vyakaranam, Reeti Wadhwa, Rishi Kant Upadhyaya, Ritu
Arora, Ron Billimoria, Sangeeta S. Bahl, Sanjay Upadhyay, Santhosh Kamal, Shahab Saquib, Shijin
Karuwath, Shubham Agarwal, Siana Dias, Simerjeet Kaur, Sriharsha Sravan Karavadi, Srinivas S.
Krishnan, Sumeet Miglani, Sushmin S, Tarun Mahar, Varinder Sharma, Vanshika Shrivastava, Vikram
Poddar, Vipin Abraham and Vivek Ghiria, regret if we have missed out anyone.
# Division Area Club Name Location Domain
1 A 1 3520798 Toast WiZardS Gurgaon Consultancy
2 A 2 3521387 Go Smart Gurgaon IT / ITES
3 B 2 3406282 Schneider Electric Toastmasters Noida Electrical Engineering
4 D 2 3553212 Federal Toastmasters Club Mumbai Mumbai Corporate Bank
5 D 3 3349716 Crown Toastmasters Mumbai Relocations
6 E 2 3484412 Syntel Pune Toastmasters Club Pune IT / ITES
7 G 1 2845360 IIM Ranchi Toastmasters Ranchi Higher Education
8 H 1 3543283 Quest-Qualcomm's Enlightened
Speakers of Tomorrow
Hyderabad IT / ITES
9 I 1 3499545 Toastmasters Club of AMDOCS Pune IT / ITES
10 J 1 3454766 Guavus Toastmasters Club Gurgaon IT/ ITES
11 J 1 3555448 Blackrock Speaks Gurgaon
Toastmasters Club
Gurgaon Asset Management
12 J 2 3120028 Techno Ariston Udaipur IT
13 J 3 3364013 XL India Toastmasters Club Gurgaon Insurance
14 J 3 3441784 IndiGo Toastmasters Club Gurgaon Aerospace
15 J 3 3527887 Stryker Toastmasters Club Gurgaon Medical Equipment
Mfg.
16 K 1 3356982 TATA Motors Academy Mumbai Automotive
17 K 1 3367560 Recall Information Management Mumbai Document
Management
18 K 2 3447372 Wordsmith Toastmasters Club Mumbai Engineering & IT
19 K 3 3214743 MPSTME, NMIMS Chapter Mumbai Higher Technical
Education
List of newly chartered clubs till 30
th
October under District 41, Toastmasters International
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Leo Paulose (leopaulose@gmail.com) involved in forming one of the corporate club from above list
(Toastmasters Club of AMDOCS) shares 12 things to consider for starting a corporate club.
1. Understand the need of the employees. Only and only go ahead with the decision to start a
club, if you see that there is a true need for Toastmasters in your organization.
2. Dedication and commitment are the key to starting a corporate club. You and your team
members will need to work hard in the beginning to ensure that the club is not only formed
but also sustains till at-least a year.
3. Form a core group among the group of interested people. You should be in constant touch
with this group and the work should be divided among them before starting the club.
Always ensure that this core group is in sync with one another.
4. Always take suggestions and feedback from higher management. This will ensure that the
Toastmasters vision and mission are in sync with your organization and that an intangible
benefit can be reaped by both parties involved.
5. Conduct the meeting no matter what! It is always possible that you might get last minute
cancellations. Always be prepared for that and go ahead with the meeting. NEVER CANCEL
A MEETING.
6. Always keep the members motivated and show them the big picture. This takes true
leadership skills and a true Toastmaster needs to put his talent at display here.
7. Sell the idea. Use any and all mediums of publicity available, starting from sending group
mailers to sticking posters. Anything and everything counts!
8. Assign members from the core group to mentor new members in the right track. Help them
prepare their speeches and understand Toastmasters better.
9. As Toastmasters is new and the EC is also new, ensure that all the members are briefed in
detail about the roles and functionalities of the EC before the elections so that one can take
an informed decision.
10. Always clear any doubt, no matter how small it is with your area and division leadership.
11. Be prepared to take multiple roles during and after a meeting. At the end of the day, the
fact remains that, the first few meetings are solely dependent on the core group/EC.
12. Most importantly, have fun! At the end of the day, you should enjoy what you are doing and
trust me, starting a corporate club is a great feeling. Enjoy and savor each moment of it.
You'll definitely cherish them in the future.
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Sudarshan Gadhve, CC, ALB
is working in John Deere
Technology Center India as a
Data Analyst in Data Quality
Team. He has served JDTCI
Toastmasters club as VP-PR
& president and currently
fostering growth of District
41 as an Area Governor for
Area I-1.
An avid Toastmaster,
Trekker, Table Tennis player
and a Traveler (lot of Ts).
He thinks person becomes
rich with the number of
people he/she connects to
and not with money. So he
likes meeting people and
making new friends.
To learn more from him you
may write to him at
GadhaveSudarshan@johndee
re.com
Surviving & thriving: How to bring back a
club into action. We talked to Sudarshan
Gadhve, Area Governor Area I -1 who
shares his story of bringing back a
stagnant club into action.
Sudarshan Gadhve, CC, ALB
Q: When & how did you join Toastmasters?
A: I joined this wonderful community called Toastmasters around 1.5 years
back. My clubs charter president one day asked me whether I want to join
a club dedicated to improving public speaking skills as an officer which is
being formed in my company John Deere at department level. I
immediately said yes, because I dont like to miss opportunities. Thus I
started my Toastmasters journey as VP-Public Relations for JDTCI
Toastmasters club, Pune.
Q: Please explain us the scenario, the challenge you faced in John
Deere Toastmasters Club?
A: The set of challenges which corporate clubs face are different from those
of community clubs. JDTCI Toastmasters chartered very well with healthy
membership of 30 and we conducted sessions regularly for 4-5 months.
After that attendance count suddenly started diminishing due to year end
closing and annual performance evaluation cycle work. Because of lower
attendance most of our meetings got cancelled and after couple of such
instances members started feeling that club is not functioning and they
stopped coming. At the same time, our club President got into higher
management role and because of loads of work he was unable to contribute
time for Toastmasters activity. Due to all these reasons, club was in
stagnant stage and we could not complete even minimum renewal required.
One another reason for the club to become defunct was related to money.
Initially when we started, our management assured club members that their
membership fees will be reimbursed after 6 months but due to some
unavoidable process related glitches it took too long and finally it did not
happen at all.
Q: How did you plan & brought the club not only back in to action
but also made it one of the thriving clubs in your Area?
A: After seeing club in such situation, I had small talk with our president
about reviving the club. Seeing my energy and passion, he suggested me to
take lead to revive the club by giving some helpful directions. Having some
team leading experience in Employee engagement initiatives in my
company, I stared gathering enthusiastic members and officers from our
club. We formed a group of 4-5 people and started brainstorming on what
steps need to be taken in order to rebuild the club. We decided to go strong
on membership building and hence conducted meeting with our department
heads and management team. We helped them understand benefits of
Toastmasters to an individual & an organization. We requested them to
identify and send us the list of people from their departments, who would
like to improve their communication and leadership skills.
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We also asked nominated members managers to include this particular activity as a goal in their
Development action plan so that they can regularly monitor employees performance with respect to it. This
has helped us a lot and within short period we got around 40-50 members who not only joined the club but
also contributed membership & club expenses fees from their pocket. We not only survived but thrived &
now we have strong club strength with 60 active members.
Q: What suggestions would you like to give to leaders who are facing similar challenge of dying
clubs?
A: In any club there are some 3-4 individuals who are strongly connected to the club and who act as a
nervous system or backbone of the club. These individuals could be club officers or members. I think even if
these individuals are committed enough for the betterment/growth of the club then no club should face
stagnancy.
Below are some tips which I would like to share for resolving this challenge.
Try to make meetings as interesting as possible ( Include variety in Table topics, meeting flow and
other meeting roles)
Conduct mentorship program to help new members.
Club leaders should regularly visit other clubs & conferences which will help them to get
issues/problems solved by discussing it with other club leaders and senior toastmasters.
Connect with management/leadership of your company (in case of corporate club) and see if you can
help them by including benefits of toastmasters as their team/individual goals, talk to HR.
Share members achievements with leadership/management of company.
Do aggressive membership building via posters and communications, social media.
Conduct educational sessions for members from senior toastmaster members.
Invite non-toastmaster speakers/orators to conduct session on Leadership and other topics.
Use word of mouth marketing to promote club between colleagues & friends in your company.
Basically its all about the value each individual member experiences in those 1-2 hours of club meetings. If
you can make club meetings happening/interesting, you will never face any major challenges.
Friends, if you have observed such bounce back
stories in your Area, Division, please inform us. Send
information to us at d41enewsletter@gmail.com
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Remembering Navneet Suneja
On 17th September shocking news of Navneet Sunejas sudden demise hit the
District 41, Toastmasters International. Immediate Past Division C Governor
Navneet Suneja passed away in a terrible road accident in USA. Fellow
Toastmasters closed to him shared their interaction with a dynamic leader, & an
avid Toastmaster.
He began his journey as Toastmasters in the year 2008. He served as the VPM for Toastmasters club of
Dwarka and later led this club as the Club President. His tenure as the Area Governor (2009-10) saw him
interact with numerous clubs and helped them achieve Select Distinguished/Presidents Distinguished club
status. He was the founding member of Toasmasters Club of West Delhi (TMWD) and North Sparks. In the
year 2011-12, Navneet also served on the Division A Council as Asst Division Governor, where he helped
with PR activities in the Gurgaon region. As Division C Governor (2012-13), Navneet led from the front and
he along with his team members, contributed 7 new clubs. Under his leadership, Division C also contributed
the greatest number of educational awards, to District 41.
After successfully leading Division C to new heights, Navneet had opted to take a year off from
Toastmasters and wanted to focus on his professional career. He had joined a new organization in August
2013 as an Operations Manager and was sent to US for a short term assignment. This is where he met with
the fateful accident.
My association with Navneet dates back to 2009. This was my maiden year in Toastmasters fraternity and
Navneet was serving as an Area Governor, for one of areas in Gurgaon (Division I, District 82). We first met
at an Area contest and Navneet was one of the few people I could instantly connect with. His simple, caring
nature made it so easy to interact with him. We worked together very closely in chartering new clubs and
holding numerous club/area contests. Before he left for USA, we had made plans to catch up once he was
back. Sadly, that will never happen. I will clearly miss his friendship and all the memories shared with him
will forever be cherished and remembered. Navneet touched many lives and was a great friend, to many
people he interacted with. He will always be remembered as a wonderful and caring human being. RIP
Navneet... you are missed every single day!!
Sumeet S. Miglani - District DCP Chair
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I saw Navneet transform from a carefree, nonchalant person to a mature and charismatic leader. The
first thing I remember noticing about Navneet when I met him after he joined the Toastmasters Club of
Dwarka as a new member was his ponytail! In time, with his ponytail, he also shed his happy-go-lucky
attitude. The formation and mentoring of the Toastmasters Club of West Delhi was when Navneet cut
his teeth in leadership and his transformation began. By the time he took up the mantle of the Division
C Governor, Navneet had matured into a seasoned servant-leader who was looked up to as a role-
model. Navneet, you will be sorely missed.
Deepak Menon, TMI International Director, Region 13
'Saying grace before commencing a meal is a concept I am familiar with, but never have I seen it done
as gracefully and subtly as Navneet did at a meal we shared in Indore last year. All kinds of aromatic
rotis had come to the table naans and kulchas stuffed with exotic fillings. After a long day of travel
and training, I was exhausted and hungry and ready to dive into the food and call it a night. But I
paused as I noticed Navneet shutting his eyes, folding his hands and quietly communicating with his
plate. My impatience vanished and I too looked at the offerings on the table and was filled with a rush
of gratitude.
So often we take our blessings for granted. The food that nourishes us, the jobs that sustain us, the
experiences that enrich us, the people who support us and love us We rush around obliviously, never
pausing to reflect on or savour or appreciate and celebrate the abundance that graces daily life. That
image of Navneet sitting across the table quietly saying grace has stayed with me and I invoke it to
instantly bring in a peaceful perspective.
Some people inspire us with their words, some with their deeds. Navneet inspired me with his words,
with his deeds and with his spiritual radiance. With his blend of dynamism, dedication and divinity. With
his embodiment of grace.
Punita G. Singh, Past District Governor (2011-12), District 41
Navneet is still aliveI can feel him every day! Whether I am walking, eating, driving or sleeping,
flashes of my interactions with him still keep coming back. He was a person I could look upon for any
assistance and also be a punching bag. Even if I called him late in the night, he entertained my call and
remained a constant guide till his fateful trip to USA. When he used to call me sometimes late in the
night, I used to tell him jokingly, why are you troubling me so much? He used to laugh and dismiss it
and say, arey Dada, that is my job!!..... I wish now that he had troubled me even more.
Shouvik Datta, Area Governor- C1 (2012-13)
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In July 2008, I took over as Division Governor and was invited to the installation ceremony of
Toastmasters Club of Dwarka. During the ceremony, I met the Executive Committee which had few
familiar faces but what struck me was this young member who took oath as the VPM of the club. He
was full of vitality and exuded confidence. Over the next few years, not only did he become a known
name across NCR clubs but a dear friend.
In the last one year, Navneet was instrumental in taking NCR to a different height; he provided selfless
service across various divisions and was always dependable. During his short span in Toastmasters, he
achieved what many cannot achieve in their entire lifetime. Before my travel to US, we met on 13th
August; seldom did I know that it would be our last meeting.
Vinay Jain, Immediate Past District Governor, District 41
A few years ago I came across a guy in a ponytail held by a rubber band, wearing a shiny black
headband, struggling to speak, at Toastmasters Club meeting. From there to the post of Division C
Governor, Navneet Suneja had really grown and come a long way. A guy who constantly dreamed of
achieving more, Navneet did great job in motivating his team members to perform. His contribution to
the growth of clubs in our District will be talked for a very long time. He was taken too early, may his
soul RIP
Ritu Arora, LGET (2013-14), District 41
Navneet Suneja was a great friend, a great human being and a friendly soul. I had several opportunities
to work with him very closely particularly when he was a team member of Division A. He was so much
dedicated and committed to the Toastmasters cause, that whenever any task was assigned to him, it
was always considered done without any follow-up or reminders. His untimely departure from this
material world at the prime of his youth is still unbelievable. We are missing you Navneet.
We pray to GOD that his Nobel Soul rests in peace.
Naresh Kantoor, District Treasurer (2012-13), District 41
13
Many good people help others to expect some good returns, but there are few great people who help
others selflessly and silently, Navneet Suneja was one of them. He created so many opportunities for
me so that I can learn the new leadership roles, so that I get to know the format of the demo meeting,
so that I can get the TMI membership award and the list goes on and on I used to tell him Navneet
because of you, the world has become so much better place to live. I feel blessed to know, to work
and to be a friend of such a nice soul like Navneet..
Anju Agarwal, Area Governor C1 (2013-14)
I closely worked with Navneet in a Youth Leadership Program last year, and have ever since admired
him. He truly championed for a cause for bringing Toastmasters to the less privileged parts of our
society. Personally, I've always found him to be composed, sensible, and very helpful. His passion for
Toastmasters was contagious. I remember the last time I met him, right outside the airport, he handed
me the charter papers of a club and said, 'let's catch up for coffee when I come back.'
Though we may never catch up again, I'm fortunate enough to have known Navneet. He will always
have a special place in my memories.
Goodbye, Navneet.
Sunil Nair, Division-C Governor (2013-14)
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Masti @ Toastmasters
Bored of the regular Toastmasters session with the routine Prepared Speech,
Table topics and evaluation sections? Want to add some spice to your
meetings? Want new ideas to rev up the fun factor in your meetings?
Jahnavi Chintakunta talked to some of the club executive committee
members across District 41 who organized refreshingly different Toastmasters
meetings. You will surely have a thing or two to try out something different in
your next meet.
300 Second Speech:
TCS Maitree Hyderabad Toastmasters Club on its 300th meet hosted an intriguing theme of a 300
second speech i.e., speakers would have to etch a 10 slide presentation auto timed to 30 seconds each.
And what would the speakers talk about? Their passions!! Invite was sent across to all the clubs for
speaker and a thumping response leading to around 40 entries of which the best 8 were selected. The
speeches made the audience witness the enthusiasm of a footballer, the inquisitiveness of a blogger, the
craziness of a maze artist, the magic of a movie sketch artist, the talent of a rock band vocal lead.
The uniqueness of the meeting was celebrated even better with members of the club getting customized
T-Shirts done for the occasion. Look at some of the feedbacks from members the meet was beyond
expectations, turned out to be truly inspirational and was worth every minute spent. Members of the
club would remember and cherish these memories forever. The subsequent meetings saw an even more
energized and enthusiastic crowd waiting to learn more and perform better.
Members of the club with customized T- Shirts celebrating 300 Second Speech
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Power of Three:
Mumbai Toastmasters Club celebrated their 300th Meeting with a theme Power of Three. They had 3
power-packed speeches by champions such as Avinash Agarwal (Motivational Speech),Vikram
Poddar (Humorous Speech) and Kunal Khanna (Speaking under fire). Also the meeting had a
talent show which witnessed 3 talents - a duet song performance, a dance performance and keyboard
performance. MTM also experienced a different and enjoyable Table Topics Session which had games on
public speaking such as Just a Minute. In the end Hall Of Fame trophies were awarded by the club
President to 16 dedicated members who have contributed towards the success of club. Audience cheered
at various speeches, games and performances during the entire meet. Post this meet, the club is
witnessing higher energy levels and enthusiasm amongst members.
Mumbai Toastmasters Club celebrating 300th meeting
Accent Encounters:
Deloitte Delhi Toastmasters Club , for its 25th meeting, decided to try something different and
organized a meeting around the theme: Accent Encounters: The Good, The Bad and The Downright
Funny which focused around the various accents one encounters during their daily lives, their travels, or
even as part of calls with clients in various countries. The meeting was widely publicized by way of emails
and word of mouth for its whacky theme and the expected hilarity; this drove a higher participation from
both members as well as guests to the meeting.
The TMoD introduced the theme of the meeting and narrated a few instances he had encountered where
people from differences parts of the world were conversing and hilarity ensued due to differences in their
accents and speaking styles. Audience members were subsequently asked to narrate their own encounters
with accents, most of which drew smirks, chuckles and even roaring laughter.
The Table Topics Master had some challenging yet interesting table topics wherein speakers had to try and
imitate accents from around the world or were put into hilarious situations arising out of how people from
different parts of the world speak English.
The meeting ended on a very high note with most of the guests expressing their interest in becoming a
part of the club, all of whom subsequently joined the club.
Fun and Frolic:
Mulund Toastmasters, Mumbai celebrated couple of special toastmaster meets in their own style.
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If one meet was hosted exclusively by the Women Toastmaster members in the club, the other meets had
extended Fun sessions after the Prepared Speech sections. For the Sesquicentennial meet (150th meet),
there was a cake cutting ceremony followed by entertainment session filled with Duets, Solo numbers,
Guitar strumming, Flute recital by the toastmasters. Yet another session organized on the eve of Diwali
was an extended Toastmaster session which lasted for 3 hours. The venue was decorated to suit the
occasion and all members attended in Traditional Garb. The meeting had a regular prepared speech
section, followed by special educational session on evaluation and a fun session with games and a fashion
show. Also a surprise Toastmasters quiz was conducted where the members were racking their brains for
the right answer. Who says theres a reason to celebrate?! asks Mulund Toastmasters.
Dance to the Toastmaster Tunes:
Infosys Hyderabad Toastmasters Club hosted a scintillating meet with a unique Dance theme So You
Think You Know Dance. Toastmaster of the Day who also is a Salsa Trainer kick started the meet with an
amazing dance compilation video highlighting the essence of dance. The meeting was very interactive with
quiz on various dance forms and audience responded with great enthusiasm. Power packed prepared
speeches aka Choreographed Section, Table topics section where the speakers were asked to dance to the
tunes of the Table Topics Master soared up the energy of the meet.
Meeting ended on a high note with a Flash mob and the audience just said Yeh Dil Mangeee More...!
So, Dear Toastmasters, I hope you got enough inspiration to start off preparing for the next creative meet
in your club. We wish you success in organizing unique, fun filled meetings.
Did you miss the meeting? Then enjoy dance
performance in this unique meet on You Tube
by clicking here
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Learning to Lead
Everyone has a story to tell, & in Toastmasters we have stories from surviving
to thriving on the stage, & as a leader. In this new section we present you
stories of Toastmasters, their journey as a public speaker, their learnings
while serving as leaders in Toastmasters. In this issue we have a story of
Pooja Sapra, DTM who is currently serving as Division Governor
Division J. She earned coveted DTM award in July 2013. She shares her
journey as an Area Governor.
The year started with the District Officers Training Programme in July 2012 and I was all charged up and
excited to make my Area as Presidents Distinguished. While I was absorbing the role and responsibility of
an Area Governor, my mind started parallel processing of How to make my area as Presidents
Distinguished. That is the level of motivation/guidance provided in the Training programme in DOTP.
Next there was Officers Training Programme (OTP) for Executive Committee members at the club level
and Judges Training Programme (JTP) for all the toastmasters who aspire to be judges. It is important
that the contests are conducted properly and good judging is vital to this. And it is equally important for
the clubs to have their in-house judges for the club level contest. While I was doing a top-up OTP for Area
J3 in Jaipur, I also got a chance to conduct JTP for the first time.
(From L to R) Sangeeta S Bhal, Nagaraja Rao, Pooja Sapra
Along with all these activities there are Club visits to be done and reports to be filed on the TMI website.
Club visits are opportunities for the district, through the area governor, to support clubs and improve club
quality. During my Area visits I suggested that the clubs conduct the Moments of Truth Module. While I
was there to help them through the module, one of the club members was asked to present the module. It
helped the club member to achieve next Education Award.
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After the regular meetings, I used to have short meetings with the Club EC to understand if they faced
any challenges while running the club or needed support of the district for anything. The Distinguished
Club Programme was always discussed and potential members highlighted for achieving would achieve
those goals for the Club. I also identified future leaders while doing Club Visits.
While the last set of trainings are going on, the contest season begins and the clubs start conducting
contests. That is why it is highly recommended to conduct the JTP before the contest season begins. 2 out
of 4 clubs in my area had not conducted club contest before as these two clubs were relatively new, hence
I organized a workshop on How to conduct Quality Speech Contests in the month of August 2012.
Highlights of the Module
Types of Speech Contests and their Benefits
What to do - Before, during and after the Contest?
Responsibilities of the Contest Chair
Reporting of the Contest Results to the Next Level
Contest Checklist
Contest Hosting Kit containing Certificates, Judges Guide and Ballots, Participant Eligibility Form,
Biographical Information form Contest Rule Book
After successful club contests, a Core Contest Committee was formed to organize the Area Level Contest.
This core committee was formed with one representative from each club. Each representative was
responsible to get one Judge and two role players from their own club. This ensured equal participation
from all clubs and fair show by judges. The whole set up also embarked the self-sufficiency within the area
to conduct a wonderful show.
Between the end of the contest season and beginning of the new term was a brief period with no official
activities to be conducted. So Area J2 planned to conduct a Joint Meeting in order to enhance bonding
amongst the toastmasters from all clubs within the Area. Theme of the meeting was "lets make new
friends.
However, during the planning and preparation phase we opened the meeting for all the clubs in NCR
region and the invite was shared across 4 Divisions. The meeting was attended by toastmasters from
more than 10 clubs spanning across 4 divisions.
With January, the second half term starts and we start with the trainings again leading to the Contests
and joint meetings in the Annual Conference in Hyderabad!
I have had a wonderful journey, faced many challenges, learnt some lessons and achieved a few
milestones. If somewhere along the way I have changed a toastmasters heart for the better, I am
grateful for it.
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Contributors
Umesh Agashe, CC, ALB
Chief Editor, layout, design & production
agashe.umesh@gmail.com
Sita Ravinatula, DTM
Co Editor
sita.ravinutala@gmail.com
Jahnavi Chintakunta, CL
Co Editor
jahnavi.c07@gmail.com
This is a monthly e - Newsletter of District 41 - Toastmasters International. The sole purpose of this e - Newsletter is
to share success stories of fellow Toastmasters, activities at district level & spread the brand of Toastmasters. This e
Newsletter is a result of efforts by many contributors. If you would like to contribute in e - Newsletter or have an idea
for content or suggestions for improvement in e - Newsletter, please write to D41eNewsletter@gmail.com