JEDDAH - An Indian educator was named champion in International Speech in the recently concluded contest of the Toastmasters International's Division "G" in Jeddah.

Shankaran Madhavan of PACE Toastmasters Club got the most votes for his speech titled Adversity — Stepping Stone to Success to Success, earning himself the right to represent Toastmasters of the Western Region in the district conference in Doha, Qatar, in May.

By topping the International Speech category, Madhavan, who joined PACE only last December, became the first "neophyte" in the Western Region to enter the "big league."

His credentials, however, shows that he is a newcomer only in terms of membership. Currently, the vice principal of Al Waha International School in Jeddah, Madhavan has more than 30 years experience as an educator, including 22 years as head of the English Department of St. Joseph's College, the oldest school in Bangalore, India. He had been a motivational speaker for the past 10 years and has a great interest in theater used in education.

Madhavan will be competing in Doha along with former Division G Gov. Benchito Guerra, an accountant by profession, who topped two of the four categories in the contest - Speech Evaluation and Table Topics.

In Speech Evaluation, contestants deliver a 2-3 minute critique of a speech by a target speaker. In Table Topics, contestants are asked to make an impromptu 2-3 minute discourse on a given topic.

Guerra was the founding president of Tanglaw Club of Jeddah, the first Toastmasters club to be organized in the Western Region.

Completing the list of first place winners was Aiman Al-Harby, a math teacher who topped the Humorous Speech category. Al-Harbi, the current vice president for education of Tanglaw, represented Division G also in Humorous Speech and Table Topics in last year's district conference in Dubai.

Of the four categories, International Speech is considered the most prestigious because winners in the district conference will compete in the regional contest and up to the international contest during the Toastmasters International Annual Convention, which this year will be held in August in Phoenix, Arizona.

The other winners in the Division G contest held last Friday at the Ramada Hotel (formerly Al Harithy) were:

• Humorous Speech — Dan Factoran (Tanglaw), 1st runner-up; Sameena Khaleel of HOPE Toastmasters Club, 2nd runner-up.

• Table Topics — Shankaran Madhavan (PACE), 1st runner-up; Umar Abdul Salam (Tanglaw), 2nd runner-up.

• Speech Evaluation: Nazer Melethil of HOPE, 1st runner-up; Noriza Guerra (Tanglaw), 2nd runner-up.

• International Speech: Umar Abdulsalam (Tanglaw), 1st runner-up; Abdul Rahman Palliveettil, 2nd runner-up.

Contrary to the notion that all Toastmasters do is talk, they are also trained to listen, according to Elmer Fuentes, current governor of Area 11 and one of the organizers of this year's Division contest.

During the contest, they listened to Dr. Waheeb A. Linjawi, group president and managing director of Saudi Cable Group of Companies, illustrate the value of hard work and respect for everyone working hard for his success in turning a bleeding company to a profitable venture.

Sayed Abu Safar, the District 79 lieutenant governor for education and training and older of the high rank of DTM (distinguished toastmaster), talked about barriers in communication and how to overcome it.

Dr. Wail Dudin, representing the conference's main sponsor Pfizer, talked about the health benefits of pharmaceutical studies, research to develop and market products that help fight diseases, and promoting healthy lifestyles.

Division G. Gov. Joselito Villanueva explained that Toastmaster's is not just about public speaking but also about leadership.

"The focus is not in success but the pleasure of working, the pleasure of serving others and the pleasure of seeing the fruits of this service to the community," said Villanueva, one of the co-founders of the Toastmasters movement in the region.

Villanueva said the first place winners will attend the district conference in Doha free of charge, compliments of benevolent sponsors coordinated by conference chairman Marwan Dashash.

Division Marketing Chairman Mohammad Rashid said last Friday's conference was made possible with the support of Pfizer (Viagra), Nesma Holding Co. Ltd. Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) Electronics (DORA products), ALJ Industrial Equipment (Forklift), ALJ-Toyota Aurion, ALJ Spareparts, Sky Freight Forwarders, Expeditors International Cargo Co. Ltd., Al Waha International School-Jeddah, Dr. Hesham Mehrez of Steripack, DEJAM for Billards, Al Murjan-IDdesign, Abdullah Filimban, Elmer Fuentes, Ben and Norie Guerra family, and Joey and Tess Villanueva family.

The Toastmasters movement in the Western Region started with the idea and organizing work of Ruben Datu, who has since returned to the Philippines, and Ben Guerra, who became the founding president of Tanglaw when the club was formed and chartered in May 1995.

With 12 years behind, the movement is now a full-fledge division with 12 clubs (community and corporate such as ALJ Toyota, Aramco, and Nesma Holding) divided in three Areas, and it continues to grow.

Those who wish to be part of the growing movement and interested in forming their own community or corporate clubs may get in touch with the Division Gov. Joey Villanueva.

Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. The organization currently has 211,000 members in 10,500 clubs in 90 countries.