F ilcom bets bested the bests in the just con-

cluded Area 12 Division Q Speech Contest

2016 held at the Mercure Hotel Doha last Friday,

19 February 2016.

In the International Speech Contest Joseph Aman-

de ran away with the 1st Place trophy while Grace

Moran got the 3rd Place award. Joseph will repre-

sent Area 12 in the Division Q contest. It was a 1-

2 punch in the Humorous Speech Contest, with

Philip Cherian lifting the 1st Place trophy and

Ludmila Barrica flying off with the 2nd Place.

Philip, will represent Area 12 in the Division Q

annual contest.

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Filcomites dominate 1

Filcom continues... 1

President’s Corner 2

From the Editor’s 3

We do not change 4

A Winner’s Trophy 5

Coping with stress 8

A moment with 9

...and more

Filcomites Dominate the Area 12 Speech Contest

J A N U A R Y – M A R C H 2 0 1 6 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1 1 I

EDITORIAL

BOARD

Kynah Genson

Editor-in-Chief

Dennis Mujana

Asst. Editor

Gil P. Bangalan

Adviser

Contributors:

Omar Fayyad

Ludmila Barrica

Noor Muwalla

Fuoad Al-Fares

Dr. Mhd Farooq

Nissar V P

Filcom International Continues Earning TI awards..

Continued on page 5...

The Edge Filcom International Toastmasters Club Newsletter

Club # 7847 Area 12 Division Q District 20

For Filcom International the TI year 2015-2016 seems just like other years. The club leaders continue working with members’ growth and-self-development as the priority. The club’s education committee led by VPE Omar Fayyad instituted a formal mentoring program, particu-larly for the growing new membership. Utiliz-ing the easySpeak members’s success plans are facilitated. The member-ship commit-tee under VPM Nissar V P and treas-urer Dr. Farooq make sure new members are duly registered, undergo orientation and for-mally inducted into the club. VPPR Kynah Genson and team make good use of technology and social media to keep members and the com-munity aware of club programs and activities. The club secretary and sgt-at-arms takes care of

making guests feel welcome and belonging to a family of dreamers. It is not surprising. Therefore, that the club has

been reaping recognitions and accolades and will continue to reap more not only as a club but as individu-al members. The club earned the Smedley

and Talk-up Toastmasters award. We are al-ready a Select Distinguished Club and before the end of the year we will be a President Dis-tinguished Club. Members has been actively involved in Divi-sion events and activities in various roles—education module presenters in several clubs, hosting events and members of area and divi-sion working committees. Indeed focusing on members’ growth brings recognition to the club.

Winners of the Area Contest hold up their trophies.

When I was a student I always felt bad and frustrated if I do not get a perfect

score in my exams and projects. My obsession with perfect scores was pro-

pelled by my obsession to maintain my status as the top student in my aca-

demic level. Being the second best was not an option. Then something

snapped within me as I completed my secondary education and was preparing

for college and the university. “What do all these medals and accolades mean

if I do not apply the knowledge acquired in my life? Why this obsession with

being perfect in everything I do?” My answer to my questions set me in my

journey not for perfection but for growth.

My mother’s reminder that “haste makes waste,” and that if I want joy and

happiness in my life taking everything one step at a time would help in my

journey towards growth and the discovery of my true self. She spoke the truth.

Life is not about perfection, it is about growth, and growth means a steady

progress from one level to another, always challenging ourselves to do better

and be the best we can be.

One of the best examples of progressive growth is the Toastmasters program.

Some members surprise me when they ask if they can jump over projects. My

answer always is: to achieve the requirements of the competent communica-

tion level you must follow the order of the speech projects. As the introduc-

tion to the competent communication manual clearly says: “This manual has

10 speech projects, each designed to develop your speaking skills one step at a

time. Every project builds upon what you’ve learned in the preceding project,

so you should present the speeches in numerical order.” The Advanced Com-

munication Series are designed under the same principle of progressive skills

development and growth. Every manual underlines this reminder: ”The pro-

jects increase in difficulty within each manual…Each subject incorporates

what you have learned from the preceding ones…”

I encourage all members to plan their progress and success in becoming ex-

ceptional communicators and leaders along the Toastmasters philosophy of

progressive growth and development. Let us not allow ourselves to fall into

the trap of what I call “instant success syndrome.” Greater achievement and

fulfillment are the fruits of consistent progress and steady growth in compe-

tence and skills.

Club President View...

Gil P. Bangalan, DTM

Club President, 2015-2016

P A G E 2

T H E E D G E

Greater achieve-

ment and fulfill-

ment are the

fruits of con-

sistent progress

and steady

growth ...

Not Perfection But Steady Growth...

Strive for progress, not perfection...

P A G E 3

T H E E D G E

From the Editor’s Desk...

Kynah Genson, CC

Editor-in-Chief

If you are one of those people who equate perfection to happiness, then you will never be happy- because nobody is perfect! Not even the richest people, not even celebrities, not even kings and queens. We ALL have insecurities and imperfections. But isn't it ironic how so many people still aim for perfection? For years, I was afraid to let my true colors shine because I was afraid that I might not be perfect for the people with speculating eyes. In everything that I do, I hesitated because I wanted to be 100% sure that I get everything right. But I learned that the more you try to be perfect, the more you get anxious and the more you make mistakes. When I first started taking public speaking gigs and hosting programs, I said so many em-barrassing things that still make me cringe to this day. I have mispronounced so many names of famous celebrities and personalities. I have said jokes that I thought were funny, but no one laughed. I have asked silly questions during interviews. I am usually a victim of an un-fortunate mishap during public events. Probably one of the most embarrassing would be when I had colds during a live shoot and liquid (you know what kind of liquid) came out of my nose while we were on air. We couldn’t go for a break and there was no tissue around. When I started speaking, snot came running down my nose and I could feel it on my lips. At the back of my head, I was thinking what my close up shots would look like. I tried to breathe heavily to fan out the liquid and hopefully dry it out faster. I was doing this while half of my brain was focusing on the interview. Imagine the panic going on in my head. An-yway, since the air conditioner was quite cold that day, it eventually dried up, but not with-out making my forehead and my pits sweat of uneasiness. I wouldn’t say I am a perfect host now. I still experience a lot of mishaps, but I am surely proud of what I have become—I have become a better person in such a way that I have wel-comed my mistakes and insecurities and focused on the what I can learn from that particular experience. I have learned to ask people to pronounce their names correctly before I start the program. I have learned to familiarize myself with cultural jokes to get the kind of laughs I am expecting from the crowd. I have learned to prepare and rehearse my questions and fol-low up questions before I ask them. And most importantly, I have learned to keep a pack of tissue always within reach, because you just never know what you might need it for. I learned because I made mistakes. I became better because I accepted the fact that something can always go wrong and things will never be perfect the way I want it. Instead of trying so hard to be perfect, I focused on my progress. Instead of stressing myself out and being anxious about failing my own idea of perfection, I congratulated myself each time for pushing forward and progressing each time I try. I might never achieve perfection, but it doesn't bother me, because perfection has limitations. Perfection is the ultimate state of being. It is like a prison. It dictates you what you should be and not what you WANT to be. Take note that perfection is not the same as setting goals. Goals motivate you, perfection on the other hand, exhausts you. It has no room for error. So when your goal is to progress, you will have more room to grow, to be what you want to be-- no limitations! You could be an employee at an organization who wants to be the best at everything, to be perfect in the eyes of your boss, that you work like a dog even on weekends and don't have time for yourself. You could be somebody who is fit and beautiful and yet still feel inade-quate that you beat yourself with excessive exercise and yo-yo dieting. You could be someone with so much potential, and yet you hesitate to show who you really are for the fear of being judged, that you never dare to take a step and give it a try! Whatever doubts you have about yourself, remember that it doesn't matter if you take baby steps, as long as you are moving forward. It doesn't matter if those steps are imperfect, as long as you keep on learning how to be better than the last time. So make mistakes. Learn from these mistakes. Move forward. Watch yourself grow and give yourself a pat on the back. Strive for progress instead of perfection.

P A G E 4

T H E E D G E

TM Noor giving a speech and

signing for her fans at the

launching of her novel in Am-

man, Jordan.

TM Noor Muwalla published her first Arabic novel under one of the well-known publish-ers in the Middle East, the Dar Al-Farabi. The launching of her novel was held at the Sheraton Amman, Jordan. We share in her joy and we are happy to sat down with her for an interview. The tile of her novel is “We do not change..”

Please give a short synopsis of the story that you are telling in your book. It is a social novel written in Arabic language, and the main subject of the novel is the barriers that women usually face in the Middle East societies, how women can face them & come over them to achieve their dreams. The events flow in a romantic mode. The purpose of the book is to inspire women to explore their inner strengths and pursue their ambitious. Why did you choose to tell this story? I believe that women's life is harder than men's life, especially in the Mid-dle East. Our responsibilities have increased and not all women are getting enough support to achieve the balance between their personal objectives and what is expected traditionally from them. I have personally faced some challenges and barriers to achieve my dreams, and I have seen other wom-en who faced difficulties in their lives. I always wanted to do something for them in a way or another. What has been the reaction to your book? The book is sponsored by one of the top five publishers in the Middle East 'Dar Al-Farabi' who supported me to distribute the book in more than 10 countries so far. I am receiving an amazing feedback from people "especially women" appreciating and acknowledging my message which I am trying to pass through this novel. It is a feeling that can not be described in words when I search the # of the book and find how people are quoting my thoughts and believes. I realized how a small thought inside our head can become something that people are inspired with. The best feedback that I received was from a lady who texted me and told me: “you are talking about me!” That makes me believe in my responsibility as an assertive ele-ment to change the wrong perceptions in our culture. Do you think we can change people's thinking by writing stories like these? I believe that we have a cultural issue, as we take inherited thoughts and practices as an absolute facts without challenging them. In order to solve this issue we need to acknowledge it. In my novel I am inviting the readers to explore woman's mind and heart to understand how does she get impact-ed by the challenges surrounding her.

When did you decide you would like to write a book? When I was ten years old, I wrote a short story that talks about pollution (it was horrible) but my father's feedback and reaction inspired me. On that day I promised him I will publish a book.

We do not change...

The purpose of

the book is to in-

spire women to

explore their in-

ner strengths and

pursue their am-

bitious.

P A G E 5

I now hold one of the trophies I’ve been eyeing since its gold plate glittered and caught my attention. I used the power of imagination and made a mental picture of holding, feeling, caressing, smelling and sniffing it. Okay, not to

that extent. I used the power of the mind and concentrated not on the win but in the pro-cess of delivering a speech, exactly how I did on my 100th time of practice. And that, I believe, earned me the recognition. When I was younger, I used to think that I was a wonder kid. I garnered awards after awards at school competitions; our cupboard had no room for medals anymore. I was excellent in almost everything that walking up to a platform to receive another certificate has become as ordinary as climbing a flight of stairs. Please don’t hate me because I can sometimes be delusional; I mistake hallu-cination for reality.

Kidding aside, I may have exaggerated a bit but half of it was true. Hence, let me get to my point and say that life is (un)fair because some good things never last. “A winner never quits and a quitter never wins,” was one of the lines my grandmother always told me. Years passed and I realized that winning is not about being recognized or about being number one. Mathematically speaking, win-ning is not directly proportional to greatness for greatness goes beyond reward. Winning to attain greatness is about sticking to the fight when you’re hardest hit. It’s becoming that victor, that trium-phant survivor who is not afraid to face and conquer every challenge with a heart of a champion. As I held a trophy I’ve never had in decades, I am reminded of the fleeting happiness it brings, more importantly, of what it symbolized. “Winning provides happiness, losing provides wisdom.” (Neil Patel) - Ludmila Carruen-Barrica

In the Evaluation Speech Contest Shyam Sundar soared to 1st Place and will repreent Area 12 in the Division Q

contest while Arjay Diego was handed the 2nd Place in the Table Topics Speech Contest. Anna Maria Ceausu

came to represent the club in the Table Topics despite her illness.

Filcomites ensured success of the event with their roles as MC - Rasha Rafiq, Contest Chairs - Nissar V P, Den-

nis Mujana, Fuoad Al Faris and Obaid Imdadullah. Samir Geepee was Tally Counter, while Venkat took care of

the time and Mazharul Islam taking the role of official photographer.

Continued from page 1, Filcomites Dominate the Area...

T H E E D G E

A WINNER’S TROPHY

“You earn your trophies at practice. You pick them up at competitions.”

Vis

ual

Rec

ord

s o

f M

emo

ries

PH

OT

O G

AL

LE

RY

T H E E D G E

P A G E 6

Filcomites exchange gifts and celebrate the season of giving.

Humorous Speech Winners: 1st Place - Philip Cherian, 2nd Place - Ludmila Barri-ca, and 3rd Place - Dennis Mujana.

International Speech Winners: 1st Place - Joseph Amande, 2nd Place - Grace Moran, and 3rd Place - Rasha Rafiq.

Club Contest Part 2 was held on January 8, 2016. International Speech Contest and the Humorous Speech Contest.

“Letting go and moving on…” was the overriding message of the theme during the club’s 277th regular meeting on 23 January 2016

T H E E D G E

P A G E 7

A wacky shot after 279th meeting with the theme “One Step at a Time”

To celebrate Valentines Day, Filcom International Toastmasters Club swooned with a romantic theme “Love loves to love love”.

A group photo after the 280th meeting held on the 12th of March.

TM Kit introducing the theme of the evening: Springtime

281st regular meeting of the club that witnessed 3 Icebreakers from our newest members. TM Fouad introduced the theme of the evening: The hand that rocks the cradle to celebrate Moth-er’s Day.

The club continues to grow. Above photo shows the induction of 10 new members for the month of March 2016.

A certain amount of stress is good for us. When we have to face up to a challenge or we are made to get on with some job we don’t want to do, we often find that we can achieve the targets we have been set. We then feel a lot better having done it. Facing challenges and overcoming them stops us from getting bored. In fact, many people deliberately create mild stress in their lives to overcome periods of dull routine. Too much stress, however, affects our health and well-being, and may interfere with our jobs and our social lives. Repeated, continuing, severe stress has a weakening and demoralizing effect, which may make it more difficult to do anything about the factors that are causing stress. How we respond to pressure is determined by our character, by our personal values and princi-ples in life. To live successfully with stress, we need to spend some time considering the sources of stress in our lives and whether our physical and emotional responses to these are sensible and useful, or are preventing us from coping and taking control. Alt-hough studies show that the ability to cope is partly inborn, it is also a question of training, upbringing, practice and in my opinion attending regularly Toastmasters meetings. Overcoming stress There is every reason to be optimistic that you will be able to overcome stress in your life. Here are just some ways and tips to prevent and to manage stress:

Get your priorities right – sort out what really matters in your life. Think ahead and try to anticipate how to get round difficulties. Get to know yourself better – improve your defenses and strengthen your weak points.

Share your worries with family or friends whenever possible. Try to develop a social network or circle of friends. There are always people who are willing and able to help, whatever the problem – don’t be unwilling to benefit from their expe-rience.

Exercise regularly. Make time for yourself every day and every week.

Give yourself treats and rewards for positive actions, attitudes and thoughts.

Think realistically about problems and decide to take some appropriate action; if necessary distract yourself in a pleasant way – don’t bottle things up’ or sit all night brooding.

Relax and take short rests throughout the day, every day. Make small, regular changes to your lifestyle. Make space for leisure time.

Attend TOASTMASTERS meetings regularly - Dr. Mohammad Farooq ACB, ALB

Coping with Stress...

“To live successfully with stress, we need to spend some time considering the sources of stress in our lives…”

T H E E D G E

P A G E 8

It was an opportunity the Filcom members did not let pass. It was an opportunity to listen to and to hob nob with the firstArab world public speaking champion of 2015. With fearless passion Mohamad Al-Qathani led his audience through his experience how to eliminate fear. He convinced them that fear is all in the mind and that facing our most horrific and terrible fear is the only way to create the road to success. Then he showed his winning public speaking skills with his speech “Changing Seats.” In life, we must not fear to change seats if the conditions are not conducive and unhelpful in achieving our dreams.

The event was held at the newly opened Shang-rila Hotel Doha with an overflowing audience,. Indeed a moment to remember.

World Champion, Mhd Al-Qathani Won Doha TMs

Filcomites pose with the champion, Mhd Al-Qathani

P A G E 9

Philip Kochuparampil Cherian CC, CL is an accountant by profession. He is currently employed as the Finance Planning & Reporting Manager of the Ali Bin Ali Group. He holds a Bachelor in Physics degree and a Post Graduate Diploma in Systems Analysis from India. During his over 7 years as a Toastmaster, Philip has held several leadership roles as past-president of Filcom Inter-national (2013-2014) and as past Area 12 Governor (2014-2015). He was a finalist in the Interna-tional Speech Contest on the Division level (2011-2012) and placed 2nd in the Humorous Speech Contest (2012-2013). He will be representing the Area in the Humorous speech contest during the TACQ 2016. We were lucky to sit down with him for an interview. He is a man of few words and humor.

Why did you join Toastmasters? Filcom International? I joined toastmasters to overcome stage fright and nervousness. It took a long while to join as I found several excuses to avoid attending a meeting. Finally I was forced to take the plunge when Ali Bin Ali started a corporate club. I later regret-ted for not joining earlier. I later moved to Filcom International. The club offered a friendly environment with encouraging and supportive members. It’s been a very fruitful journey and each meeting a learning experience. What motivates you to stay with Toastmasters? with Filcom International? Each meeting is an opportunity to learn by doing or observing. I love listening to speeches be it an ice breaker, table topics or an evaluation. These experiences have made be a better listener and speaker. Filcom International encourages it members to go beyond the club in pursing their communication and leadership aspirations. How did you get into your profession in accountancy? Destiny or fate... it was a chance or coincidence that I chose this profession. Why is it important for people in your profession to improve their communi-

cation and leadership skills? I believe communication and leadership skills are very essential skills for any pro-fession. In the case of accountants, it is very important to decipher the balance sheet, income statement and KPI’s to the non-finance. Figures and KPI’s are bor-ing without a story to tell. It’s important to keep the story short and sweet, to hold

T H E E D G E

Philip Cherian CC, CL

Figures and

KPI’s are

boring

without

a story to tell.

Meet our new members...

P A G E 1 0

T H E E D G E

ISCHAK ABDULLA— has been in Doha for over 12 years. As a Technology Service Controller with the Hamad International Airport he leads a team that is responsible for a large number of servers, storage and multiple critical datacenter and communication rooms scattered across a huge and geographically expansive infrastructure. He is a proud citizen of India.

CHRISTOPHER BARRITT— Kit, as he prefers to be called, is a British national and is working as a Broadcast Technology Consultant for Sony on a project with Al Jazeera. He has been in TI for 10 years on and off. Done most roles up to Area Director (Governor) and founder VPE of a UK club. Non-executive member of the district 71 exec. Developer and technical support for the easy-Speak software used by many thousands of clubs worldwide

LUDMILA CALUEN-BARRICA— Ludmila is an instructress in SEP (Safety & Emergency Proce-dures) with the Qatar Airways. She hails from the beautiful islands of the Philippines. She describes herself as a nomad, traveler, gypsy, wanderer, tourist and former flight attendant. Ludmila is passion-ate about inspiring others through writing. She wrote her first book, Cruising on Cotton Candy Clouds, which is a collection of stories of a flight attendant's life. Published in the Philippines and available on Amazon/Kindle, she jumps with excitement not on every copy sold but on every lif

touched.

NADIM BITAR— Neil, as his friends call him, is the Projects Director for Boom General Contrac-tors. He is proud of his Lebanese roots. He describes himself as hardcore booklover and a lifer ex-traordinaire. Revels in good food, bad humor and in thought-provoking debates (or a somewhat healthy and peaceful intellectual discourse between parties). An eternal optimist but slightly delu-sional when it comes to his abilities in Latin dancing and singing in public (each to their own).

ARJAY DELA CRUZ LEGERE— Arjay is a Filipino who is passionately interested in the multi-faceted world of technology. For two years, leading the Client Services Department of CloudClin-ik Qatar has taught him the value of maintaining great relationships with clients and treating them as partners towards advancing healthcare IT. As a hobby, he loves learning different cultures by meeting many different people to further his goal as a citizen of the world.

SAMIR GEEPEE— Samir is an Indian national who is a civil engineer by profession. He is the Chief Operating Officer for Baba Chapatea under the Savy Hospitality Services. Samir is an avid traveler, an adventure seeker and life enthusiast. Born and raised in Qatar, he has worked with various indus-tries and in different countries including the UAE and India. He lived as an entrepreneur in China for 8 years before returning to Qatar and join the hospitality industry.

ZOILA SANTOS— Zoila is an architect by profession who is working with Boom General Con-tractors. According to her, she is a borderline obsessive compulsive hoarder with a mild speaking paranoia. A horrible singer, a certified weirdo, a neophyte antiques collector and an iced coffee addict with a penchant for high(er) heels who fell in love with Khalil Gibran (The Prophet). She comes from the Philippines.

KIRUTHIKA RAJESH— Kiruthika is a professional engineer who hails from the country of In-dia. Aside from being a mother and wife, she works part time at the Vivartana Ventures India Pvt Ltd.

P A G E 1 1

T H E E D G E

My Mentor and Me...

T ill the last of march of this year, I was thinking that me and only me is my mentor. I never thought that someone could be my mentor or support for free. When I joined Filcom, VP Education, Omar, asked me who would I like to be my mentor. By default my choice was John Holland, perhaps because of his age and experience. However, he was prepar-

ing to leave the country. Again Omar asked me the same question and gave me a choices of the four of the best of what I dream to be my mentors. I was confused because all of the mentioned names showed me the best of support all the time. Finally, I chose Philip Cherian.

I still remember the moment of my trial - first speech, the Icebreaker. I was looking into the audience my eyes scouting for their reaction, Everyone had positive reaction, but Philip was different . I saw him nodding as if saying to go ahead that yes I’m on the right way. I didn’t finish my first trial successfully, but all the words after was very supportive and positive. One comment I heard was totally different when he said: “Fouad, I know you have a lot to tell. Don’t hesitate, just prepare it well and say it, you will be fine.” Then I registered for the contest of ICC 2015. I was totally busy for the last 10 days before the contest. I called my mentor asking if I should go ahead with my participation. His answer was very direct: “why not? what will you lose if you try. It’s a new experience, and I don’t want you to win at the first time.” I wrote the script in may be one hour, it was late night of Thursday. The next day, he was waiting for me at the door of the contest hall. I rushed to show him how I will be delivering the speech. I was telling myself I still have the choice to withdraw and to enjoy just watching the others. But Philip said no, it’s good, and you exactly caught the required topic. He gave me some advice how to stand, how to look and where to pause. Around 30 min later, I was called to take the stage. My fans in the audience thought I was good, and all the feedback was positive as Philip exactly said. I just exceeded the time, it was around 8:30 min, which was a great chance to me speak-ing publically for about 9 min. As Philip said, I didn’t lost any thing, but I gained a lot. It was my first time, and a great chance to win, and I won.., I won

my self-confidence, won the trial, won the real mentor... I’m really proud of being a Filcom Toastmaster family member..

Thanks Philip for everything.— Fuoad Al-Faris

Meet our new members… (continued from page 10)

ARUN POAL— Arun is a mechanical engineering graduate and holder of a diploma in tool and die mak-ing. He comes from Bangalore, India. He has been in Doha for 6 years after spending a year in the UAE.

NOUSHAD KARUVANKANDY— Noushad, who hails from India, has been residing in Qatar for 10 years. He is working with the Ministry of Labor as an IT support professional.

VIJAYALAKSHMI RAVINDRAN— Viji, as she fondly called, is from Chennai, India, married to Ravindran, Senior Project Manager with Galfar Engineering. A happy homemaker, and a proud mother to Shriraam who is pursuing a masteral degree in structures at the University of Florida. She has been an on-and-off resident of Qatar for the past 10 years. She says she joined Filcom for self-improvement

1 Start of Beat-theClock

membership building

contest

7 Filcom Internatinal club

regular meeting

*ELECTION OF OFFICERS

21 Filcom International

club regular meeting

26 DTAC District 20 annu-

al conference in Abu

Dhabi

8 Gavel Club speech con-

test finals

9 Filcom International

club regular meeting

15 Area 51 speech contest

22 TACE Divison E annual

conference at CNAQ

23 Filcom Interntinal club

regular meeting

29 TACQ Division Q annu-

al conference at the

CNAQ

Before June 30:

Submit list of club offic-

ers to world headquar-

ters

Submission of education

awards application for

DCP credit

End of Beat-the-Clock

contest

About Filcom International

Filcom International Club is one of the oldest Toastmasters

Clubs in Qatar. It was chartered in 2002 and was the fourth

club to be established in Qatar. The club was founded origi-

nally as an all-Filipino club, hence the name Filcom stands for

Filipino community in Qatar.

Through the years, the club opened its door to other nation-

alities. In 2012 the name of the Club was changed to Filcom

International. Today the club is known for its membership

diversity - which representative of the continents of Africa,

Asia, Europe, and the Americas. We continue to attract

more nationalities as our guests savor the exuberance, ca-

maraderie and fellowship during regular meetings. Filcom

International Club over the years consistently receives

recognition as a Distinguished, Select Distinguished, and

President Distinguished Club, among other awards and

recognition. The Club also has been active in sponsoring new

clubs such as the PICE-Qatar TM Club, PSME-Q TM Club,

FIL-GS, Stafford TM Club, and NDTAA TM Club. We con-

duct Speechcraft programs for professional groups and are

looking forward to develop members of the young genera-

tion through the Youth Leadership Program.

UPCOMING EVENTS...

www.filcominternational.org

All members are requested to take note of the events coming up for the next 3 months and to in-clude these in their individual calendars. The Club VPE shall advise all on changes to these scheduled events, if any.

APRIL 2016 MAY 2016 JUNE 2016

T H E E D G E

P A G E 1 2

The Toastmasters Mission A statement of shared values Every Toastmasters club shares the same mission, clearly defined in the following mission statement: “We provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth.”

When do we meet? 2nd & 4th Saturday of the month at

18:30

Where do we meet? Crown Plaza Doha-The Business Park

Al Matar Street