| President Elizabeth-Anne Weaver  Elizabeth-Anne joined Cumberland Forest Toastmasters in May 2007. After
doing such a fantastic job in 2008-2009 as Secretary, she continued to
do it in 2009-2010. This year she is taking on the role of President!"I was initially attracted to the Cumberland Forest Toastmasters because of its great location - a modern business building Set in a beautiful forest. My quest was to improve my confidence and effectiveness in public speaking and communicating with my voice generally. After coming as a guest a few times I soon saw that this friendly club would be the place to nurture my goals of self Improvement. Since joining CFTM in May 2007 my confidence has certainly grown and with the encouragment and support of members I have Learnt many new valuable skills. On a larger scale - positive effective communication certainly makes for a more peaceful World and being part of Toastmasters helps us to bring this about. Happy Communicating" |
| Immediate Past President Michael Ross (CC, AL-B)  Michael led the club to Presidents Distinguished status in 2007-2008, and
Select Distinguished in 2009-2010.."I have been in toastmasters for a number of years and filled many roles during that time, such as Vice President Education, President Vice Presdent Membership, and Sgt at Arms. Throughout that time Toastmasters has been instrumental in building my own self confidence and helping me to step out into the unknown and do things I wouldn't normally of done, such as speaking in front of a large audience. Toastmasters has also given me leadership skills through the differing roles within the club and through the assignments that we have at the club meetings. Overall I truly believe Toastmasters is a great place to meet new people from differing backgrounds and with different skill sets and from meeting these people alone I have grown and with the Toastmasters creed I have grown personally as well. |
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Vice President Education Sean Wolrige <photo and details here> |
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Vice President Membership (VPM) Shirley Childs (CC) <photo and details here> |
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Vice President - Public Relations (VPPR) Nalini Kanumury  <photo and details here> |
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Treasurer Vice President Membership (VPM) Marcel Raffoul (AC-S, AL-B)  Marcel is a long term Cumberland Forest Toastmaster and has lead the club
in a number of roles including President, Vice President Education and
Vice President Membership."I joined CFTM in 2003 as a shy person who's career was going nowhere and boy has that changed my life upside down I'm much more confident personally and professionally and being in Toastmasters tremendously helped my career… Having better communications skills is not an option is today's world; you'll always find it there on top of every job ad. In 2003, 3 years after arriving in Australia from a non-English speaking country, I finally realised what my handicap was in progressing my career and that was communication skills… At first I joined Toastmasters to learn better English but after 1 year I realised I was learning so much more: confidence, humour, thinking on my feet, giving constructive feedback and delivering effective speeches. But best of all is the camaraderie and the leadership opportunity Toastmasters presented me to manage and then lead the club to success. Working with members to help them improve their communication skills has been a pleasure and a vindication for me that the program works ! Today I look forward to attending a Toastmaster meeting because it's where I constantly challenge myself to improve; it's the best 2 hours a fortnight anyone can possibly invest on their way towards self-development and a life of fulfilment." Marcel has made 4 career moves since he joined Toastmasters and now works for VMWare as Partner Business Operations manager for Asia Pacific |
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Secretary
Tracey Slack  Tracey joined Cumberland Forest Toastmasters in May 2009, and has been
a wonderful addition to our club. This year she is taking on the role of
Secretary!"After one visit as a guest to Cumberland Forest Toastmasters I was convinced that Toastmasters would provide a supportive and fun environment to help me overcome my shyness. In the short time I have been a member my confidence has grown and public speaking has become more exciting and less stressful. I look forward to continually improving my communication skills and wished I'd joined Toastmasters years earlier!" |
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Sergeant at Arms Darren Gilchrist (AC-S, AL-B)  Darren has been a Toastmaster since October 2002, and has completed his
Advanced Communicator Silver (AC-S) award. He is also a Competent Leader
(CL). He has previously been President, and taken other numerous CFTM executive
roles. In 2007-2008 he was priviledged to be Area 37 Governor."Toastmasters has definitely improved my public speaking skills; educated me on how to conduct meetings more effectively; and increased my leadership abilities. I'd encourage any prospective member to visit us for a meeting! Also for our existing members, I'd strongly recommend they make use of the wider Toastmaster organisation - by attending seminars, conferences, and contests!" Assisted by Sonja O'Brien  Sonja has been with CFTM for three years, and has assisted before in the
role of Sergent At Arms and was also Treasurer for 2 years!"I joined Toastmasters develop my public speaking and presentation skills, I know that this will help me in my personal and professional spheres, gaining the confidence required to speak to a room full of people. I certainly am an advocate for Toastmasters improving all facets of communication and leadership." |
| Webmaster Krishna Kumar  <photo and details here>Assisted by Darren Gilchrist |