Arab News
ALKHOBAR, April 11: Toastmasters across the Eastern Province will gather for their annual conference in Alkhobar starting tomorrow. The two-day event, which is being held under the support of Khaled S. Al-Sultan, rector of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, and Khaled Almaeena, editor in chief of Arab News, will bring together members from 23 clubs in Toastmasters Division F as well as senior executives of leading Saudi companies. Several dignitaries from Toastmasters’ GCC fraternity are also expected to attend.
Events like this aim to bring out the best in participants and provide the audience with an enriching intellectual experience, said a statement issued by the organizers.
One high point of the conference is the opportunity to watch participants compete for their division’s glory. Participants will also get a chance to listen to some of the top international speakers, such as writer Najeeb Al-Zamil and Dr. David Brooks, the world champion public speaker 1990. Brooks will hold a speech craft workshop.
Division F held its last annual conference in March 2006 at the Le Gulf Meridien in Alkhobar under the theme “Leading and Leaving a Lasting Legacy.” More than 750 Toastmasters and their families attended the event.
John Kincannon, consul general at the US Consulate in Dhahran, and Abdulaziz Al-Khayyal, senior VP of refining, marketing and international operations at Saudi Aramco, will be chief guests and Ted Corcoran, former international president of DTM, will be the keynote speaker, at this year’s event.
Organizers say the conference is being planned in a way that would allow the participants to derive maximum educational benefits. Division F consists of 23 clubs, each affiliated with the US-based Toastmasters International since 1978. Toastmasters International has over 10,000 clubs with approximately 400,000 members in over 78 countries.
During the conference, a number of educational workshops will be offered, covering a variety of topics including speech, drama, comedy, parliamentary process, challenging speech evaluation, debate, leadership training, stress management and more.
For further information, contact chairman Abdullatif Al-Harthi at 0505809656.