If you could put on a mask and party all night, where would you go? Money Mastery (Singapore) Toastmasters Club’s (MMTMC) Masquerade Chapter Meeting would be the place to be at on the night of 13 Nov. Many members of MMTMC and guests attending the Masquerade “Ball” at 26 Tai Seng Street came bearing Mardi Gras masks, party theme masks and even protective N-95 masks.
The evening started with the members and guests partaking in the wonderfully wholesome home-cooked bee-hoon and sweet and savoury muffins while waiting for the main event.
At 7.25pm sharp our Sergeants-at-Arms for the evening, Tommy Chew and Angel Chan, came up on stage in surgical and N-95 masks, energising the crowd with their humorous banter. Our Toastmasters of the Evening, Claire Cheong and Aaron Khoo then followed and delighted the audience with their good looks and charm. Claire was in a stunning little black dress and bolero jacket while Aaron was in a smart black suit with a bowtie. They exuded elegance, ready to host the evening’s Masquerade Ball.
Aaron and Gang
The Language Evaluator, charismatic and charming DTM Glenn Lim, shared the Word of the Day, “enchant”, paving the way for a truly unforgettable and enchanting evening.
In the opening Address, Club President, Chai Pei Shan shared her vision for the club, the important contributions made by the previous Exco, the challenges ahead and the cumulation and celebration of our 13th Club Anniversary on 20 Nov, a day for Superheroes, a day for MMTMC.
The Prepared Speeches Session saw four quality speakers speaking on four different projects. The speakers were a band of sisters, exemplifying the very best of MMTMC. Lin Yuan spoke about being true to oneself and living a life without regrets—a mantra to live by. Arva Rangwala talked about her beautiful childhood, the importance of human interactions, friendship, and all the things in life to be treasured. Janty Widjaja shared about the trials and tribulations of everyday work-life and about how finding the right attitude is key. Karen Lim, working on her first project in the Story-Telling advanced manual, regaled us with a folk tale on how the rainbow was made.
Following the prepared speeches, our dedicated club adviser, Jeffery Seah, delivered a club update for the ages, sharing the stage and honouring our immediate past Exco members who have sowed the seeds of our club’s success, raising the bar and challenging the current Exco to bring MMTMC to greater heights.
Members from our immediate past Exco with Club Advisor
Then, four seasoned toastmasters delivered their evaluations of the prepared speeches with finesse and provided recommendations that crystalize the crux of the delivery and how the speakers can take the next step forward. Special thanks to our visiting Toastmaster, Area E4 Director, Prem Methani for his presence and evaluation of one of our speakers.
The Table Topics session began with a bang, with the witty repartee between the lovely Wendy Lee and the “Smoking Master” Chandran Kanapethey. Our brave speakers include the ever-lovable and indomitable Zoya, the refreshing Rayana, the gentlemanly Shalen, the studious Jerome and enthusiastic Ikhlash. The speakers took their first steps into the unknown, taking a leap of faith to improvise based on the topics chosen, master of their two minutes of talk-time.
Beautiful Wendy and Erudite Chandran
When Glenn took the stage, he had the audience mesmerized. He was in his element, conducting the language evaluation in a clear, concise manner, wowing the audience on the art of the use of rhetorical devices and vivid imagery in making a good speech great.
LE Glenn Lim in his element
During the closing ceremony, Pei Shan delivered the award to the best speaker, best project evaluator and best table topics. The best prepared speaker was a tie between the animated Toastmaster Arva and our very own Story Spinner, Competent Communicator Karen. The best Project Evaluator goes to our language guru, Toastmaster Michell Sheya Wong and the best table topics speaker goes to our first-time visitor, the fabulous Rayana.
Claire with the”Ladies”
The masquerade themed chapter meeting came to a close on a high note with guests sharing their delight in how much fun they had and how much they had learned. The evening’s delights had all who were present raring to go for our next Chapter Meeting on 11 Dec – “May the Force be with You”.
Thank you Bei’an for writing this remarkable recap. Masquerade has been the best chapter meeting so far this term. Let’s try to top this for “Star Wars – The Force Awakens” chapter meeting.