Congratulations to Area D1 Toastmaster of the Year 2003-2004, SIA TMC Club President, CL Chan Sig Yam! 

As the Area D1 Governor, I personally find Sig Yam as a GREAT Leader by leading with good example as a Club President, he participated in all our Events, 2 COTs, 3 Area Council Meetings, District 51 Convention, Area Contests, Division Contests, TI Night, Toastmasters Awareness Month, even took part in Essay Writing Contest (awarded Consolation Price).

I find him a very friendly, approachable and supportive person, always putting his smile on face to greet members & guests, and with very encouraging opening and closing speeches during the Club meetings. He always makes me feel warm and welcome whenever I attending SIA TMC meetings, including the hospitality for inviting me during their Year End BBQ Party last year. I am also touched by his kindness in making the last minutes changes to the Food Catering Manu during our last Area Contest, due to our budget constraint!

To-date, SIA TMC has already achieved Presidents' Distinguished Club status with 9 Goals! With just one more CTM (which I was told is achievable), SIA TMC will achieve their 10/10 Goals very soon! Last term the Club obtained 7 Goals with Select Distinguished Club status.

18th May 2004

Message from Sig Yam after the Award

I must give full credit to my Team, without whose Hardwork, Dedication and Support, this award would not have been possible.

My Teammates are  All Great Toastmasters.   During the SARS period last year, we instituted Temperature Taking Procedures to be in-line with what the Community Clubs were doing then, and hence we need not suspend our Club Meetings, although we were under Great Pressure to do so, and also to cut
costs.    Hence we were able to give ample opportunities to our Members to do their Projects.

My Team is also blessed with some very IT Savvy Members, quite like Your Good Self (Tay Yiang Ping), who have taken our Club into the IT age, with our own inhouse website.

I consider myself very lucky to be working with such Capable and Dedicated Teammates, and I am sure SIA TMClub (Club No. 5672) will Grow from Strength to Strength.

HOW JOINING A TOASTMASTERS CLUB HAS MADE A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN MY LIFE

  1. Toastmasters  offer  an  excellent  forum  for  meeting  people  from  different  walks  of  life,  with  the common  intent  of  improving  themselves  in  Public  Speaking,  and in Communications and Leadership Training
     

  2. Joining the SIA Toastmasters Club has enabled me to meet very interesting people from various divisions and departments within our  very large SIA Group of Companies, and also Toastmasters from other Clubs.   I find that my horizons have widened significantly as a result.     Not only do I have a wider circle of friends, but also I have benefited from this network  of contacts, which include IT Professionals, Engineers, Nurses, Trainers, etc, with whom I have shared  new hobbies, pastimes and skills.   During the past year, I was able to help some retrenched Toastmasters find new jobs through this network.
     

  3. I particularly like the Toastmasters’ Guidelines of  “No obnoxious Sexual Topics, No Contentious Religious   and  Political  Issues”.   With these Guidelines, we can be assured that we will not need to listen to annoying   speeches and insensitive quotes and jokes,  or to witness uncouth behaviour.    I am proud to say that even without resorting to Dirty jokes, our Toastmasters can craft and deliver excellent  entertaining Speeches, as evidenced  by the Humorous Speech Contests at the November Conventions.
     

  4. Finally, having listened to many Motivational Speeches and having delivered some myself,  I firmly believe that Toastmasters is a Great Forum for us to help bring out The Best in Each and Every one of us.

 (244 words)

Written by
Chan Sig Yam, CTM, CL.
President,  SIA Toastmasters Club (TI Club No 5672).
30 March 2004.
(The above article awarded Consolation Prize for Toastmasters Awareness Month Essay Writing Contest)