of meeting many of you in previous visits to Singapore, when you were still part of D51, as well as the International Convention. Kim Siong, I am especially happy to see your progress in Toastmasters and believe that you and your leadership team will build on the good work of last year and lead D80 to a very successful year.

As you know, International President Johnny Uy has chosen the theme, “Toastmasters: Simply Amazing!” In his inaugural address at the International Convention, he explained that to claim this theme, we have to pledge ourselves to do amazing things – for our own growth as well as the growth
of our fellow members. We cannot be satisfied by simply going with the flow, but we must accept the challenge to step out of our comfort zones, stretch to make use of the opportunities to build our communication and leadership skills. Then we will truly reap the benefits of the incredible power of
the Toastmaster program and become role models and mentors to our fellow Toastmasters. That is the path of self-development and the path of leadership.

My very best wishes go to you as you step out on the adventure of this new Toastmasters year. May
you have a “Simply Amazing” year!

With sincere regards,

Dilip R. Abayasekara, DTM, AS
Immediate Past International President
Toastmasters Internationa