Inner Universe Toast Masters Club

Minutes of the 416th meeting of Inner Universe Toastmaster Club

Reigniting Minds theme by TM Abidul Islam

Minutes by TM Elroy Vaz

Meeting Date:        13 Sep 2022                                               Venue:   Abu Dhabi Youth Hub

Meeting No:           416                                                             Meeting Time:  7.20 P.m.

Presiding Officer:  MTM Shruthi Shetty                                    Minutes Prepared by: Elroy Vaz                           

Theme of the Day	Re- Igniting Minds
TMOD:	TM Abidul Islam
Word of The Day	Genial (Meaning: friendly and cheerful, cordial, warm  )
Total Number of IUTM Participants	17
Total Number of Guests	1: TM Bhushan Mehta

Meeting Responsibilities

Thought for the Day	TM Alok Mishra
Greet Master	TM Rakshita Rangari
Timer	TM Shruthi Shetty
Ah Counter	TM Pankaj Rangari
Grammarian	TM Prasad Bartake
Quiz Master	TM Rakshita Rangari
Word Master	TM Shruthi Shetty
General Evaluation	TM Saurabh Joshi

• President’s opening remarks- TM Shruthi introduced Past President Abidul Islam in glowing terms. She recounted how ready he was to take on challenges. From handling the club when meetings were held in Foodland, to the Infinity restaurant, then to Nihal and then the virtual environment. Besides his hectic schedule at ADNOC TM Abidul is an avid mountaineer and has peaked Mt Kilimanjaro recently.
• Toastmaster of the Day: Toastmaster Abidul introduced the theme “Re- Igniting Minds” . He asked members if they were ready for the bumps ahead. He reminded members that Toastmasters is the place where we face challenges we least expect. He then explained no sanctions can stand against ignited minds. Minds are engaged when we someone inspiring us.

1. Prepared speeches were presented:

• TM Yogesh Amrutkar Icebreaker – He explained his journey from Jalgaon in Maharashtra where he was born. His early days, how he liked Mathematics, a subject which he topped later. He recounted his work at Toyo engineering for 8 years and how that made him face tough situations. The impact the passing of his father had on him, and how his wife supported him emotionally during that period. He expressed his involvement in the Maharashtra Mandal Abu Dhabi.

• TM Jinson Pappachan – Icebreaker – Jinson explained his journey from Cochin. Sharing his early childhood experiences in school with his own Mum as his teacher in one of the classes. He had taken part in the 100m race at the State competition and what lessons he drew from coming 3^rd. How his character shaped up once he went to the hostel during his college days. He is married with 2 kids and had a punch line to state “You don’t have to be great to start; you have to start to be great”.

• Table Topics^® questions were presented: As we were hard pressed for time, on this occasion the Table Topics session was skipped.

• Evaluations were presented:

• Rajsekhar, DTM  evaluated the speech of TM Yogesh. He affirmed him for the nice snippet of Abu Dhabi –Mumbai used in his speech. The manner in which he described his journey to date. He praised him for his well-structured speech which was equally well delivered. He suggested he focused on his transitions.
•  Ashit, DTM evaluated the ice breaker of TM Jinson. He evaluated him on three parameters of Success- Speech, Speaker and Suggestion. He commended Jinson for the format he adopted in his speech which was unique. He affirmed his smile that made him feel very comfortable.

• Moments of Truth – Walkthrough with TM Namrata Pandey

          The Moments of Truth exercise is a good reflection of the year gone by. As TM Abidul indicated it is like looking at mirrors. We want to see how we look/behave as a club. Some of the pointers of Past President TM Namrata’s presentation are as follows:

• There were 6 different parameters that were analyzed based on the 24 member responses received.
• 37.5% of the members in our club are in the 3- 5 years’ membership range
• 62.5% of the members felt that guests are greeted warmly and introduced to club members and other members.
• 20.8% members felt that we do need to maintain a guest book register, a name tag to be assigned to each guest attending our sessions. We need to work on our conversion rates. Guests to members.
• 50% of responses received said that we need to provide a professionally engaged physical meeting or virtual meeting room.
• 50% of the members felt that guests are invited to join the club on the day they visit us.
• 33% felt the club always assigns a mentor to a new member immediately upon joining the club.
• 50% felt that we involve members in all aspects of the club’s functioning.
• 58% of the respondents felt that our new members are informed about all educational programs in the Pathway as well as those organized by the District, Division, Area. As well as the recognition system
• 41.7% of respondents felt that we assess the learning needs of   members using surveys.
• 41.7% members felt that we assign speaking roles to new members
• 50% of respondents claimed that we involve members in all aspects of club activities
• 83.3% of members felt that we greeted guests warmly.
• 66.7% of respondents felt that sessions are enjoyable and feature education progress regularly.
• 62.5% of members participate in Area, Division, District and International events

      TM Namrata praised TM Nancy for the newsletters released last year.                      

• Reports from members with meeting roles were provided:

• Timer: TM Shruthi Shetty carefully monitored the proceedings and stated the rules for each segment
• Ah-counter: TM Pankaj pointed out the Huhs and aahs of members present
• Grammarian: Key: TM Prasad pointed the incorrect usage of grammar and gave the exact correct placement of sentences.
• General Evaluator: TM Saurabh praised members for their involvement. He congratulated TM Nancy for her superb newsletters last year. Commended TM Shruthi for her subtle sense of humor. He was thrilled to witness the induction of new members which he said created a sense of Community, for them amidst the wider Toastmaster fraternity. He praised TM Namrata for presenting the Moments of Truth which was an eye opener on many fronts. He thanked the TME Abidul for driving him and for the smooth proceedings. He suggested that a mock study be conducted for the technical glitches and to have a backup plan.        

• Club awards were presented:

• Best Evaluator: Ashit Korgaonkar, DTM
• Best Speaker: TM Yogesh and TM Jinson
• Club Specific Awards: [Member Name].

• Reports from club officers and committees were provided:

• Word Master-TM Sabnam explained how many members used the word “genial” and how it can be used daily.
• TM Abidul Islam informed members that we have 6 DTMs and 34 members as on date to take the club marching ahead.

• Unfinished and new items of club business were discussed from the floor:
• President TM Shruthi Shetty urged all Ex Com-members and club members to lend a helping hand to make the Open House on 9^th October 2022 a success. She asked members to contribute articles to the newsletter which will be shortly released by VP Public Relations TM Prasad Bartake.

Meeting adjourned at 9.23 pm.

Shruthi Shetty                                         13^th September 2022

President                                                         Date

Elroy Vaz                                                   13^th September 2022        

Secretary                                                          Date