From President' s Desk

TM Vinod Basalalli

In March 2020, the first lockdown was announced and all of us were confined to our homes. Going out, and meeting people stopped and suddenly, we were forced to move into the digital medium. WFH, i.e., Work from Home, a luxury that was accorded to us as a rarity, become the norm. The initial few days of working from home were a pleasure. But over time, each one of us got overwhelmed by the entire affair. For toastmasters, virtually became the new normal and each one of us started using Zoom, Teams, and Meet for our meetings. For every toastmaster, transitioning from an in-person physical meeting to a digital meeting was a big challenge. Though challenging and difficult in the beginning, each one of us took this challenge up his/her sleeve and worked on creating possibilities around this adverse situation. As a result, we Toastmasters became better prepared at interacting with people in a virtual setting, expanded our reach and explored toastmasters meeting across the globe, and made our toastmasters ' journey richer. Fast-forward to March 2022, things have improved greatly, and life is back to normal. The last two years have been a challenge for us at Pimpri Toastmasters Club. Thanks to the commitment of all past and current club members, we have not only weathered the storm but have come out of it with flying colors. Each of the club executive committees over the last two years has ensured that the club not only sustained itself

through these tough times but also thrived and helped its members become better leaders and communicators. The club had one of the highest annual renewals for the current renewal year. The club was one of the first few clubs in the district to achieve Distinguished Club status. Adding to this, PTMC is well on its way to fulfilling the requirements for Diamond Club and many of the Hall of Fame awards instituted by District 98 for the term Jul 2021 – Jun 2022. The club also supported multiple areas, division, and district initiatives with club members participating as contestants, role players, and audiences for these events. Few of our club members even finished in the top two positions at Area Contests.

With life back to normal, the club is working towards getting the offline meeting started and exploring the possibility of having a hybrid meeting regularly which can help the club offer its members the best of both worlds, i.e., offline and virtual meeting experience. With life back to normal, the club is working towards getting the offline meeting started and exploring the possibility of having a hybrid meeting regularly which can help the club offer its members the best of both worlds, i.e., offline and virtual meeting experience.

In summary, the last two years have been the two years of the greatest experiences, where-in we as toastmasters have learned to look at every adversity with an open mind and explore multiple avenues of creating possibilities where none existed before.

Vinod Basalalli, Club President, Pimpri Toastmasters Club Term (Jan 2022 – June 2022)

Look At Every Adversity With An Open Mind And Explore Multiple Avenues Of Creating Possibilities