JEDDAH, 15 March 2006 — A mathematics teacher led winners in this year’s speech competition of the Toastmasters Division G comprising clubs from the Western Region and Riyadh.
Aiman Al-Harby topped two of four categories of the contest at Jeddah’s Al-Hamra Sofitel Hotel on Friday, earning the right to represent the division in the District 79 Conference in Dubai in May.
Al-Harby beat five other contestants in Humorous Speech with his entry titled “Bowling Ball Head.” He was also the champion in Table Topics, a contest in which participants are asked to make an impromptu two-to-three minute speech on a given topic.
Division G’s new star, an officer of the Tanglaw Toastmasters Club of Jeddah, teaches math at the Othman Bin Affan Elementary School and heads the Astronomy Department of the Jeddah Science Club. In the International Speech category, Yogi Desai of the Koohinor Club in Riyadh was voted No. 1 with his entry titled “What Is Right, Good and Just?”
Picked to join Al-Harby and Desai in the district contest was Samer Hamadeh of the ALJ Talkmaster Club of Jeddah, who topped the Prepared Speech Evaluation category.
Desai also placed 2nd in Table Topics and will be a stand-by replacement for Al-Harby. The 2nd-placers, who will all serve as stand-by replacements for the champions, are Henry Cabansag of Tanglaw (International Speech), JP Selvan of Kohinoor (Evaluation), and K.G. Guna of HOPE Club in Jeddah (Humorous Speech).
Named 3rd-place winners in the division contest were: Arslan Siddiqui of PACE Club of Jeddah (International Speech), Umar Abdulsalam of Tanglaw (Evaluation), Jose Poovathinkal of HOPE Club (Humorous Speech), and Ibrahim Sabjan of Koohinor Club (Table Topics).
The contest, which lasted the whole day, was interspersed with an inspirational talk by Philippine Consul General Pendosina N. Lomondot, an educational seminar on leadership by engineer Mousa Banajah, an IT manager at the Saudi Catering, plus intermission numbers by Grade II pupils of The Studio Dance Ensemble of Jeddah and a special Indian dance by student Svetlana Jose.
Joey Villanueva, Division G’s current lieutenant governor for education and training, said the contest was made possible with the help of major sponsors Abdu Latif Jameel Co., Toyota Yaris & Avalon, Ammar Zahran of Al Yanabie & SBF, SAMBA Speedcash, Sky Freight Forwarders & Mediacom, and Henkel. The other sponsors were Key Rent-A-Car, Philippine National Bank, IDdesign, Ay Sarap Restaurant, WedFood Restaurant, Saudi-Canadian Factory, and the Guerra and Villanueva families.
Division G Gov. Ben Guerra expressed confidence that the division’s representatives would come home with trophies even as he noted that the district contest would be a tougher arena. They will be competing with the best from divisions in Riyadh and the Eastern Region, as well as from Kuwait, Jordan, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
