06/07/2026
Most people celebrate the New Year once a year. But if you're a Toastmaster, you're lucky enough to celebrate it twice!
With a warm and heartfelt welcome, Parramatta Toastmasters officially stepped into the 2026–2027 Toastmasters year with the fitting theme, "A Toast to New Beginnings."
The Word of the Day was "amazing", a word that has become so overused in everyday conversations that it has almost lost its impact. Yet, tonight's meeting was nothing short of amazing in every sense of the word, thanks to our dedicated role players who kept the meeting engaging from start to finish.
The Table Topics session took on a creative twist with the "Dural Lifeboat Challenge," where each speaker stepped into the shoes of a different character. The challenge brought plenty of laughter, creativity, and quick thinking. Congratulations to "Daniel Mitchell", who won Best Table Topics Speaker by brilliantly portraying "Bob Marley" and convincing us that music would be the most valuable companion for surviving a lifeboat challenge. Runner-up "Mohammed Aqeel", as "Charles Darwin", argued that knowledge would ultimately be what saves humanity.
The Frivolous Motion delivered plenty of laughs, debating whether members should sing an Australian version of a yodel before every Frivolous Motion to warm up their vocal cords. Safe to say, it certainly got everyone talking and laughing!
The heart of the evening, however, was our prepared speeches.
Congratulations to Kylie, who bravely delivered her Ice Breaker. Her courage to take that first step inspired everyone in the room. Jazib, shared the story of how the neighbour he once thought was rather spooky turned out to be none other than "Michael Said", who eventually became his lifelong mentor. It was a touching moment, made even more special as Michael became visibly emotional.
Angelina took us back to a life-changing experience she had at just 11 years old. Her remarkable resilience and ability to find joy even in difficult moments truly warmed everyone's hearts. Finally, TM Sami challenged the way we think about negotiation, reminding us that successful negotiation isn't always about winning the deal, it's about understanding and communicating your value proposition.
Congratulations to all of tonight's award recipients:
🏆 Best Speaker: Jazib Farid
🏆 Best Evaluator: Vicki Sheehan
🏆 Best Table Topics Speaker (Winner of Dural Lifeboat Challenge) : Daniel Mitchell
🏆 Runner Up Topics Speaker (Runner Up of Dural Lifeboat Challenge) : Mohammed Aqeel
🏆 Steiny “Stirrer’s” Spoon : Daniel Mitchell
🏆 Tommy Award: Minoli Batepola
What a wonderful way to begin a brand-new Toastmasters year. Here's to fresh starts, personal growth, and another year of learning, laughter, and memorable speeches. Cheers to new beginnings!
