JEDDAH — Sherwin Auman of Kamfi Toastmasters Club stole the show with his spellbinding speech, which was tinged by passion and pathos that won him first place in the international speech contest in the Toastmasters' Area 24 annual contest was held in Jeddah. The contestants were winners in their respective clubs, which come under the aegis of Area 24. Area 24 Director Anitha Beevi Kooloth addressed the audience. Mohammed Al Juffry of Energy Toastmasters club was the master of ceremony. Speech contests were punctuated by inspirational messages by Toastmasters dignitaries composed of DTM Mohammed Rashid Ali, Program Quality Director-District 79, DTM Johnnygene Padillo-District 79 PRM, DTM Joey Villanueva, immediate past District 79 Governor and DTM Tess Villanueva. What struck participants right at the beginning was the immaculate preparation of the contest materials and the venue. Division G Director Mohammed Kunhi in his speech said: "The success of the event was due to the talented team of committed Toastmasters, under the leadership and guidance of Area 24 Director Anitha Beevi Kooloth." The speech contest started with Humorous Speech category in which 4 members competed. Ibrahim Marikkar was the chief judge for this category while Javed Jasser led the segment. The fun-packed humorous contest generated laughter and intermittent clapping from the audience. Mar Par Jr of Kamfi club won first place and Irshad Ahmed of Voice club was adjudged as the second place winner. The Table topics speech contest was a nerve-racking for participants as there was no time for speech preparation. Though it's an impromptu speech, it requisites are as that of a speech because it considers as a mini-speech. Sara Ansari of Voice Club and Robert Perez of Kamfi won first and second places in both Table Topics and Evaluation speech categories respectively. Ramaswamy of Voice Club got third place in the table topics competition while Fadel Mowalled of Energy Club secured the third place in speech evaluation segment. In the international speech category, Raju Suresh from Voice Club and Joesil Villanueva of Kamfi won second and third places respectively. Omer Fattah led the show. Javed Nasser, Mat Jason Solmeron and Nash Gumiran were contest masters in other speech segments. Distinguished Toastmasters KM Saifuddeen and Rhic Briones were Chief Judges for International speech and Evaluation speech segments respectively. Whereas Mohammed Fawzi played the role of chief judge in table topics session. The test speaker for evaluation speech category Raeesa Tabassum delivered a motivational speech. The first and second place winners in all four categories will represent area 24 in the division G contest, scheduled for March 4 in Jeddah. The Area 24 comprises of four clubs: Voice, Energy, Kamfi and ANC Toastmasters Club. The gathering was welcomed by the chief sergeant at arms Khaleelurahman. Contest Chair and Area Director Anitha Beevi gave a vote of thanks and extolled the efforts of the contest committee for the flawless arrangements. Participants posed for a group photo thereafter.
