Make Things Happen!

Opening Address June 2009

Good evening, fellow toastmasters, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to begin by asking you a question. If your answer is no, don’t say it out loud. But if your answer is ‘yes’, please say it out loud.

This is my question: “Do I look pretty tonight?” Thank you. Now I can go back and tell my Immediate Past President Justin that I have accomplished my objective because he told me that as a club President, all I have to do is to sit and look pretty.

But seriously, appearances aside, the more important thing for the President to do is to set a vision for the club and motivate the team to get the job done.

It has been said that some people make things happen, some people watch things happen, and some simply wonder, ‘What happened?’

Fellow club members, don’t be wonderers, don’t be watchers, be makers of happenings!

If you want to be an accomplished speaker, make that happen by preparing for each and every speaking assignment diligently.

If you want to be a contest champion, make that happen by taking part in contests and getting a mentor to guide you.

If we want Katong Toastmasters Club to be a distinguished club, let’s work together as a team to make that happen! I believe we can.

When I read about the World Champion of Public Speaking 2008, I was very excited and inspired because it was a woman! Do you have any idea how many woman has ever won this title? Since this contest began in 1938, only four women have ever won this title!

And LaShunda Rundles from Dallas, Texas is the first African-American woman ever to win this prestigious competition. Her contest speech, “Speak” encouraged people to use their voices to change the world. As a lupus survivor, she plans to become the national spokesperson for the Lupus Foundation of America.

In her own words, she said

“People who do not understand lupus do not have an idea of what I deal with each day. There are thousands of people living in pain daily.

I want to raise money, awareness, and understanding. I don’t want people to live with the shame that I did for many years wanting to hide it. My skin is not flawless, my scars are many, but my resolve is unbreakable. I want to bring hope to the lives of those that know what it is really like to have a “good” day. As the awareness grows the quality of life for many people will mean many more “good” days and better yet restful nights. In a world of limited resources we have to fight for our piece of the pie.

I lost a friend of mine who was 28 and died blind and in a wheelchair with lupus. If I can help prevent things like that through my voice, it would be a blessing and an honor.”

Wow, what an inspiration! To think that we can change our world through our voices. We can speak up for what’s right and what’s true. Whatever your goals in life, whatever your dreams, whatever your aspirations, make them happen.

May Toastmasters be the place and platform where you start to make things happen by honing your listening, thinking and speaking skills. I thank the outgoing EXCO for their dedication, commitment and contributions to the club and I congratulate the incoming EXCO for their courage to take up the challenge of running this club. Together, we will make things happen for Katong Toastmasters Club and bring it to the next level.