Metro Manila Toastmasters Club (MMTMC) is pleased to welcome three new members who were inducted during the Club’s meeting on August 10, 2009. These new members, who are proud to be called Toastmasters, are Leah Galzote, James Estur, and Jojo Cabrera. During the same meeting, Toastmasters Leah and Jojo already delivered their Icebreaker Speeches, during which they introduced themselves to their fellow members.

Photo above shows MMTMC President Sipen Mines (far right), administering the oath of membership to (from left, with raised hands) James, Jojo and Leah. The mentors assigned to the three are Vice President Erick Llaguno, CC-CL (for James), Past President Freddie dela Cruz, ACB-CL (for Jojo), and Immediate Past President Joy Gatdula, CC-CL (for Leah).

With the addition of these three new members to the two earlier inducted in July (Mica Carino and Verchie Totanes), the Club’s new members now total FIVE — quite an achievement this early into the Toastmasters program year 2009-2010. It also makes the Club an immediate shoo-in for the Ralph Smedley Award for recruiting at least five new members before September 30.

 More importantly, the continued growth of MMTMC is a testament to its tradition of excellence and spirit of openness. The MMTMC officers and members are always pleased to welcome budding Toastmasters and to help guide them in their journey of development in public speaking. 

Welcome, Toastmasters Leah, James, and Jojo!  

Last July 25, 2009, officers and members of Metro Manila Toastmasters Club (MMTMC) motored to San Fernando City, Pampanga to conduct a demonstration meeting for the Real Estate Brokers Association of the Philippines (REBAP) at the Bale Campampangan Restaurant. The demo meeting aimed to show REBAP members and guests what a Toastmasters meeting is like and what they can gain from joining Toastmasters.

The demo meeting was requested by REBAP-Toastmasters Club (TMC), which has been inactive for almost half a year. The Club is now trying to rebuild its membership base and reactivate itself. Toastmaster Corazon Baluyot, who is the new REBAP-TMC President, is hoping to attract new membership from Pampanga-based real estate brokers, with the end goal of establishing a new TM Club there. Area 2 Governor Joy Gatdula, who oversees REBAP-TMC under her jurisdiction, tapped the MMTMC to conduct the demo meeting, which also included the induction of the new REBAP-TMC officers.

Among the MMTMC officers and members who participated in the demo meeting were: President Sipen Mines; Vice Presidents Virgel Cabrera, Erick Llaguno and Lynne Gamboa; Treasurer Cris Aviso; Sgt.-at-Arms Ernest Bautista; Past Presidents Tootz dela Torre and Freddie dela Cruz; and members Luz Go, Marlon Caisip, and Mica Carino.

The REBAP members and guests were treated to prepared speeches from Mica, Marlon and Cris, and they also gamely participated in the Table Topics portion handled by Virgel. They also learned how to listen to and assess speeches from the evaluations made by Sipen, Freddie, Erick, Ernest, and REBAP officer Tom Ang. True to form, Tootz wowed the crowd and kept the program going with his upbeat hosting style.

At the end of the meeting, majority of the attendees were impressed by the MMTMC demonstration, and were eager to learn more about and join Toastmasters. Pending the resolution of some procedural and Charter issues, REBAP-TMC may be on its way to rebuilding itself, or spinning off a new Club in Pampanga. Either way, MMTMC is proud to have played a part in strengthening and spreading the Toastmasters spirit!