Noble Press Issue 22

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE MAHARLIKA TOASTMASTERS CLUB

JULY 13, 2007

Maharlika 27th Anniversary and Turn Over Ceremonies Draws Record Attendance A record 60 people witnessed Odessa Andal transfer the reigns of Maharlika to Ed Fabonan in a very symbolic and formal ceremony at the Hotel Kimberly last July 10. It was the first time in many years that Maharlika performed the symbolic turnover of the presidential robe and gavel. Members and guest came dressed regally in Filipiniana garb so that the ambience was really very solemn. However, Maharlikans managed to elicit a few laughs with two video presentations and two intermission numbers. Everyone was particularly pleased with the cover girl tribute to Odessa. The crowd could have been bigger but several guests were stranded by the flash flood at Pedro Gil due to the sudden heavy down pour. Gina Mapua herself reportedly tiptoed from her car barefoot on her way towards the hotel lobby as flood water in front of the Hotel Kimberly was knee deep. The program opened very late at 7:45 and the formal ceremony did not begin until about nine. As a result, the entire proceedings ended at 11:15. Odessa gave out the presidential merit awards to all the members who made her term a success. In her valedictory address, she also never forgot to mention how much of her personal wealth was invested into the club’s activities. Members did not offer to pay her back. Marian Carandang promptly discharged the previous year’s officers thus preventing Odessa from making any further official speeches. Newly installed Division B Governor Fred Castro presided the installation ceremonies while District Governor Mapua charged the incoming officers.

In this Issue • Odessa Installed Area 12 Governor, Aida Dist. Secretary • Define Your Greatness • A year of achievement

As soon as her term was concluded, Odessa decided to cool off a little but raised the temperatures around her in the process.

In his inaugural address, Ed Fabonan did not promise the moon but instead quoted the moon speech of Kennedy to encourage every member to make use of the skills they acquired to benefit the community as he launched his own theme “Driven by a noble purpose.” As if in agreement, guest speaker Eva Estrada Kalaw echoed the same sentiment and even asked every toastmaster to go further, to use their persuasive skills to speak up and have a part in deciding how the country is being run. She said that instead of being a neutral, apolitical observer, we should be more politically involved and demonstrate true love for country. Eva Estrada Kalaw is not only a well-known activist during the Marcos regime,

To know more about us, visit our site at http://maharlika.freetoasthost.info. Or be our guest at our club meetings, every Tuesdays, 7pm at the Jade Vine Restaurant, U.N. Ave. cor. Bocobo St, Manila. Just walk in. You will be welcome.

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her husband, Teddy Kalaw, another activist, happened to be the acknowledged father of Philippine Toastmasters.

Gina Mapua opened her term as District governor with the theme Toastmasters Adds LIFE (learning, inspiration, friends, excellence). Installed with her were, DTM Adelina C. Royo - Lt. Gov. for Education and Training, ACS Manuel A. Espina - Lt. Gov for Marketing, ACG Voltaire Victoria - Public Relations Officer, our very own DTM Aida T. Valles - District Secretary, and CTM Ma. Catherine Bachoco - District Treasurer.

Above, Marian Carandang, Fred Castro, Gina Mapua, Eva Kalaw, Ed Fabonan, Odessa Andal and Marian Carandang observe the proceedings from the presidential table. Below, what was left of the crowd at the meeting’s late adjournment (11:15pm).

Newly installed district officers. Bottom, Lt Gov Educ. Adelina Royo , Dist. Gov. Gina Mapua, IP Dist. Gov Alan Olmilla, Lt Gov Marketing Manuel Espina. Top, Dist. Treas. Ma. Catherine Bachoco, Dist. Sec. Aida Valles, Dist PRO Voltaire Victoria

District 75 Officers Installed The fabled Manila Polo club, home to the country’s richest of the rich, was the site of the installation of the new set of District officers for the term 2007 – 2008 last July 14. The event itself witnessed the presence of the who’s who of Philippine Toastmasters, including past District Governors DTM Joseph Adonis Baduel (1983), DTM Dina H. Loomis and DTM Brooks Loomis (1987), Ernesto Limkakeng (1991), DTM Juliet Luat (1992), DTM Jaime Pamintuan (1993), DTM Julita Manahan (1995), DTM Adelina Royo (1996 and now our Lt. Gov. for E & T), DTM Christine Temblique (1998), DTM Teresita Navales (1999), Elisa Tay (2005), Alan Olmilla (2006). It was attended by a large crowd. I estimated the headcount to be about 150. I was able to estimate that accurately by counting the number of legs and dividing it by 2.

Nine Division Governors were installed: Div. A ATMS Elene Amar, Div B DTM Alfredo Castro, Div. C - ATMG Leonor Tebelin, Div. D - CL Benigno Gequillana, Div. E - ATM Marie Dinah Fuentes, Div. F - DTM Isabelita Borres, Div. H - ATMB Gles A. Fuerte, Div. I - Antolina Durias and Div. K - ACG Elizabeth Pableo. Only 10 Area governors were present and that includes our very own Odessa Andal, who formally assumed her post as Area 12 Governor.

Define Your Greatness By Ed Fabonan, ATMB

I stand before you, both in awe at the task that lay before me as President, and in incredulity at the fact that I now hold that title. Two years ago, and a mere five months after I joined Maharlika, I wanted to quit. Who wouldn’t? At that time, a mere 8 people attend our meetings, and that was on a good night. Dissatisfaction with the way the club was being run, blaming and finger pointing was steadily

To know more about us, visit our site at http://maharlika.freetoasthost.info. Or be our guest at our club meetings, every Tuesdays, 7pm at the Jade Vine Restaurant, U.N. Ave. cor. Bocobo St, Manila. Just walk in. You will be welcome.

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decimating membership. I realized that, at the rate members were leaving, in two years I will be made president, not because of exceptional qualifications, but because I would be the only one left, unless I get out first. Who wants to preside over the dissolution of a club? But there were a few leaders left in the club who, like Bruce Willis in “Die Hard,” simply refused to curl up and die. People like Abe, Mercy, Jess and Odessa. And in the months that followed these people demonstrated what grim determination could achieve. Abe’s presidency inspired the few of us left towards President’s Distinction and in Odessa’s term an unwavering sense of urgency and superhuman effort on her part brought unprecedented membership growth and another President’s Distinguished ribbon.

in yourselves as you progress through your speech projects and after we gave you the chance to plan and hold your own events as Toastmasters of the Evening. The question now is, where else do we apply these new skills?

I now inherit a club that is many times stronger than the club I joined and the members that we have can pit skills with the best that District 75 can offer. Did you just see them dance a while ago?

Fellow Toastmasters, this need not be so. I think there is enough opportunity for us to be of help to people other than our members. In August last year, an article in the “Business World” reported that many of today’s new graduates get eliminated in the first round of job interviews, not because of lack of skills, but because they could not project enough confidence in themselves. Where is Toastmasters in the lives of these people? In the same month, newspapers reported the deterioration of English speaking skills among our teachers. Again, where is Toastmasters in the lives of these people?

Unlike organizations like the Lions or the Rotary Club which aspire to benefit other people in the community, Toastmasters has been regarded as a self service organization – we join to benefit ourselves. Perhaps that is the reason why when I ask people if they have heard of the Rotary Club, 1 out of 2 says yes; and yet when I ask if they have heard of Toastmasters, barely 1 of 10 do and vaguely so. Some even thought that Toastmasters is a group of beer drinkers.

New recruits strengthen our membership base.

In fact, the spillover effect of Odessa’s effort in her term gave us a warm send off. Because at this very moment, we have already completed two of this year’s distinguished club goal, having gained 4 new members this July and a new Advanced Leader Bronze for our mentor Aida Valles. Since my predecessors have raised the bar, I can only honor them by raising it higher. That is why the goal we at the execom set this year is this -- twice president’s distinguished. In other words we will double the goals under the DCP. Instead of aiming for 4 Competent Communicators, we will aim for 8. Instead of 2 Advanced Communicators, we will aim for 4 and so on and so forth. The only thing we will not do twice is paying our membership dues. But in addition to these doubly challenging goals, there is something else that I would like us to accomplish this year. I believe that each one of you have felt the improvements

Ed quotes Kennedy’s Moon Speech to launch Maharlika’s new term into orbit.

I know of many clubs in the district who have done community directed services in this direction and today I say, Maharlika should start doing the same. That is why I have chosen the theme “Driven by a Noble Purpose” for this term. I think it is about time that we reach out and make an impact as a group to the community where we belong. So my fellow members, I ask you once we finalize our plans for 2 education programs for this term. outside our meeting. It will mean

To know more about us, visit our site at http://maharlika.freetoasthost.info. Or be our guest at our club meetings, every Tuesdays, 7pm at the Jade Vine Restaurant, U.N. Ave. cor. Bocobo St, Manila. Just walk in. You will be welcome.

to volunteer your help community leadership It will involve sessions added work for you in Issue No. 22 Page 3

addition to the speeches and roles you have to do to earn your norms. And whether or not it will be effective for them is not certain. But I am sure of this, while a mere 6 sessions of training for non-members may not be enough, it will plant in them the seed of desire for learning. And direct them to avenues where they can get it. When they do get it, who do you think they will remember? On the second evening of this year’s District convention in Cebu, I sat alone at the side of my bed in my hotel room. I was holding in my hands the trophy I won as the first runner up in the District Evaluation Contest and I was not very happy. I had prepared hard for that event, so it was really painful to come up short. But as I stared blankly, sadly at that 1st runner up trophy, I realized one very important thing: the base plate of my trophy is blank. That means I can actually have somebody engrave the words “District Evaluation Champion, 2007” in that plate, display the trophy prominently in my shelf and in five years, who would bother to verify? I have not done that yet, but I felt that it was very symbolic. Toastmasters builds our confidence by offering us different opportunities to gain personal glory -- in the form of earning our norms, becoming officers and winning contests. But Toastmasters leaves it up to us to write what our trophies should say about our achievement. In other words, Toastmasters gives you the chance to define your greatness. You give 10 basic speeches and you get the same norm as anybody else who did the same. You become a club or district officer and you get listed in equal footing in the annals of the district as anyone else who occupied that post. As a Toastmaster you are a faceless part of an aggregation. What will distinguish you, what will separate you, is what you gave in your speeches, how much of you were you able to give as an officer and more importantly, how you made use of your opportunities to do something meaningful as a Toastmaster. Indeed, asking you to give more than you need to make the grade everyone else gets (by doing less) may be unfair. But I would like to inspire you with an appropriate passage from John F. Kennedy. In the 1960’s, the Americans lambasted their government for spending too much money and effort in a seemingly profitless venture to land a man on the moon. In a speech that was to be relived many times after his death, John F. Kennedy answered “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills…” In the same way I ask you to join me in taking that extra effort; because we want to measure the limits of our abilities, and in the process extend them. Let me lead you to a special journey, that will involve doing the hard but meaningful things. Let me help you define your greatness.

AYear of Achievement The performance of Toastmasters clubs are measured in terms of the goals set by the Distinguished Club Program (DCP). While the DCP does not have a qualitative measure of performance it is the only available indicator of club strength at present and clubs conform to it. There are 10 goals the DCP requires clubs to achieve as follows: Goal 1. Produce 2 CC’s 2. Produce 2 add’l CC’s 3. Produce 1 AC 4. Produce 1 add’l AC 5. Produce 1 CL,AL or DTM 6. Produce 1 add’l CL, AL or DTM 7. Recruit 4 new members 8. Recruit 4 add’l new members 9. Train at least 4 officers July Feb 10. Submit officer’s list and member’s list on time April October

What we accomplished 2 2 1 1 2 4 16 4 4 Done Done

You should be proud that Maharlika earned President's distinguished honors by attaining 9 of the 10 goals. The one goal we missed is goal number 4. Let us now rank ourselves among the different clubs in Division B. Club

Members

Goals Attained

Stan d-ing

Managers For Christ Toastmasters Club 22 9 P Maharlika Toastmasters Club 24 9 P Achievers Toastmasters Club 20 9 P Philamlife Club 25 9 P Makati Club 21 9 P Diamond Toastmasters Club 13 8 Butter N Toast Toastmasters Club 20 8 S Manila Bay Club 20 7 S CPA's & Friends Club 20 7 S Synergy Toastmasters Club 12 6 Bayanihan Toastmasters Club 20 6 D Executive Club 25 6 D Blue Swoosh Toastmasters Club 35 5 D Tambuli Toastmasters Club 16 5 Above Table is based on data from the TI website as of June 29, 2007 and may not reflect corrections from late reports.

To know more about us, visit our site at http://maharlika.freetoasthost.info. Or be our guest at our club meetings, every Tuesdays, 7pm at the Jade Vine Restaurant, U.N. Ave. cor. Bocobo St, Manila. Just walk in. You will be welcome.

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Out of the 30 clubs in Division B, five clubs became President's Distinguished, all of which attained only 9 of 10 DCP goals so we can say that we are tied at the top spot in Division B with these 5 other clubs. There were 3 select distinguished clubs and 3 distinguished clubs in the Division. 3 other clubs could have gotten distinguished or select distinguished status for completing the DCP goals except that they did not meet the minimum 20 member requirement or net growth of 5 members. Though we recruited a total of 20 new members in the term, we are only second in the Division in recruitment, Jardines TM having outdone us by recruiting 24 new members. Jardines also has the highest net growth in membership in the Division. How did we fare relative to clubs in the entire district? Only 29 clubs out of 163 attained the President's Distinguished honor this year. Therefore, our feat is not something to sneeze at. But we have to take our hats off to the 11 clubs which completed all 10 DCP goals! That relegates us to a tie for 12th to 29th place overall in the District based on number of goals achieved. Let's check the record breakers: • Most number of CC's produced in the term, 7, was achieved by 3 clubs IAME, ADB and NPC Toastmasters Clubs from Divisions K, A and G respectively. • Most number of Advanced Communicators produced in the term, 8, was achieved by Baguio Forensics TM of Division G. • Most number of CL's, AL's and DTM’s produced in the term, 8, was attained by IAME of Division K. • Most number of new members and reinstated members in the term, 27, was attained by Powerhows TM of Division A. Our 20 member haul was only good for tie for 4th place with Silver and White. • Most number of registered members as of June 30, 2007 - 37, goes to Aboitiz Club of Cebu. We are in a tie for 21th - 26th place with 6 other clubs with membership base of 24. We have something to be glad in that we are at the top 20% of the heap and something to aspire for -- to be at the actual tip. Now there’s your challenge.

What’s Happening At Maharlika June 19, Self Defense By Edwin Villanueva

June 19 was a great night for David Lai -- his first time to be the Toastmaster of the Evening. David decorated the room with pictures of men and women clad in martial arts attire.

It was a night for first-timers. Aside from David, TM Mimosa Maghanoy took the challenge to be Table Topics Master. Mimosa threw hard questions. But the participants defended themselves well, especially new member Jun Yebra, table topics speaker for the very first time. CC Mely Fernandez, also a first time General Evaluator, led the evaluation portion. Other first timers made up her team - Grammarian Erika Nicolas, Ah Counter Lester Lazaro and Timer Evadan Culata. TM Malcolm Mesina delivered basic speech project no. 8, "Miracle or Life." Award-winning ATM-B Ed Fabonan delivered his advance speech project no. 3 entitled "Always Check Your Work." Finally, CC Bong Pestanas gave a Toast for the birthday celebrators DTM Aida Valles and ATM-B Luisa Bonaga. The two timeless beauties were honored that night. Luisa will be leaving for the mean time to join her son in Chicago, USA.

June 26, June Bride By Aida Valles, DTM

In my many, many years of membership with Toastmasters, [this particular night] was my first experience at seeing someone go through great length to make her program incredible, fantastic, fantabulous, terrific, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Mimosa soared on all aspects. Just imagine her asking a dressmaker to prepare a wedding ensemble for her -beaded gown, head dress and veil, lace gloves, two heartshaped cushions with two rings, cord, nuptial veil, two lavender candles and gold arras. Not to mention the profusion of roses in four (or five?) shades that transformed Jade Vine into a rose garden. She bought a cake which could double up as a birthday cake in case Malcolm decided to show up last night. And yes, there were two bottles of red wine for that symbolic drink. There were even souvenirs that tickled the imagination (naughty and otherwise) of the attendees. Ask any one of the attendees and he/she will whisper what it was. Suffice it to say that the souvenir item came in yellow, green, and red. Following the tradition of the American bride, she paid for the reception. Everyone feasted on pork chops, rice and veggie side dishes. And for dessert? Luscious buko pie from one of the wedding sponsors - Odessa. Mimosa was so enthusiastic to give a memorable VIRGIN performance as Toastmaster of the Evening that she sent out positive vibrations into the air. Des, probably picking up telepathic vibes, painstakingly transformed the program into a wedding invitation. Mely, in a cooperative spirit,

To know more about us, visit our site at http://maharlika.freetoasthost.info. Or be our guest at our club meetings, every Tuesdays, 7pm at the Jade Vine Restaurant, U.N. Ave. cor. Bocobo St, Manila. Just walk in. You will be welcome.

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brought along her own slim-waisted wedding gown and veil and displayed it as additional prop. The bouquet was not tossed. It was given willingly to Erika, who was the Best Female Prepared Speaker of the Night. Bong Tagle and Jun Yebra received the "wedding" presents for their impressive speeches. Mimosa surely gave the performance of a lifetime. Hers was a very tough act to follow. Mimosa, you are super galing. Congrats!!!

July 3, Beauty Pageant Cecille felt seriously challenged by the performance of Mimosa as Toastmaster of the evening and decided she will not be upended, if only for the outfit. Thus she cooked up her own fashion parade and launched Pageant Night. With quiet persuasion she made the Eva, Erika, Mely and Mimosa don evening gowns and ran a beauty contest at the heart of the meeting. She even persuaded a female guest to join. Instead of Table Topics, Ed did a beauty contest question and answer portion. Judges David, Edvil and Lester had a hard time selecting the winner but clearly loved every minute of it. In the end, it was Erika who took the crown.

COMPETENT LEADER PROGRAM

There were speeches galore, featuring Malcolm’s 9th and Edvil’s 7th, Mimosa’s flower arrangement demo as well as the Ice Breaker of Kenneth Owen. Jun Yebra showed perfect form and his now patent humor as the ah counter but had to leave early to watch himself appear on TV’s Probe Team, Lester Nico showed great potential as grammarian while Lester Lazaro managed the time. General evaluator was Area Gov Odessa Andal. It was another memorable event and Cecille shone in it.

Game Reset – Project Completion Status A new term, a new race; and this early, we see 3 faces fast approaching the finish line. Malcolm seem unassailably ahead with only 1 speech to go but breathing down his neck is Mimosa and Edwin. Meanwhile, the Race to 5 (first 5 basic speeches) has just heated up with the entry of new members who hit the ground running as Erika, Evadan and Lester threaten to overtake Cecille and David. Talk about youth catching up with age! The Advanced Communicator race is grinding exceedingly slow and needs a little more action. But take a look at the CL completion records and observe the progress being made by Mely.

About This Newsletter This newsletter was published with the happy approval of the following officers: Area 12 Gov Odessa Andal 928 5004615 President Ed Fabonan 917 8384583 VP Education Mely Fernandez 9155552327 AVP Education David Lai 9184991111 VP Membership Stephen Caparas 9272008467 AVP Membership Cecille Azarcon 9214211915 VP PR Bong Pestanas 9172722177 AVP PR Malcolm Mesina 9178963183 Secretary Doris Bisnar 9189276874 Treasurer Mimosa Maghanoy 9164512681 Sgt. At Arms Edwin Villanueva 9163150626 If you find any articles offensive, please do not read them again. We probably did not intend you to see it. The names "Toastmasters International", "Toastmasters" and the Toastmasters International emblem are trademarks protected in the United States, Canada, Philippines and other countries where Toastmasters Clubs exist. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

To know more about us, visit our site at http://maharlika.freetoasthost.info. Or be our guest at our club meetings, every Tuesdays, 7pm at the Jade Vine Restaurant, U.N. Ave. cor. Bocobo St, Manila. Just walk in. You will be welcome.

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