Our Over-all Theme for the Year

Stay on Top and Keep It Coming. This is what the club has chosen as its theme for the year.

The phrase conjures up an interesting mix of images and meanings, from the sublime to the mundane, from the ethereal and down to the sensual. Such novelty somehow captures our identity as a club. No doubt, we are passionate learners and we are serious in our quest for personal growth and achievement. That's the reason why we earned the President's Distinguished Club for three consecutive years. Yet, we are also bunch of "funatics." We certainly know how to have fun. Just sit in and observe one of our post-meeting sessions at Starbucks, and you'll know what we mean, especially when one hears our conversations going unpredictably from intellectual to trivial - well, mostly the latter and maybe somewhere in between. Or just notice how we are touched, even inspired, by a lot of the speeches. But then, we also hear ocassional banterings which oddly defy both reason and convention for they spiced up our evening without leaving anyone hurt nor insulted. For a club that have seriously embraced a philosophy for unleashing human potential by building on the positive yet get away clean with those banterings, that sounds paradoxical. Well, it just shows two things. One, we have mastered the art of having fun while learning. Second, we just enjoy each other's company yet we know how to temper our brand of humor and fun with the respect and decency each member deserves.

The theme somehow captures not just who we are as a club but also where we think we are now. We believe that we are at the top of our game. Yet, we also know that the greater challenge for us is staying on top.

If this is a trip, I don’t think we just intend to stay overnight or for a couple of days. As a club, we think of ourselves as immigrants who aim for a permanent status in a high altitude residence called Excellence. No, we are not vacationers or tourists who just wander around aimlessly and then eventually leave later on. That’s the essence of what we mean by "Keep it Coming!" We recognize that complacency is the enemy of greatness. Hence, the club cannot rest on its past laurels. We need to continue building on what we have achieved and keep the achievements coming.

Our own Ed Ebreo has this to say about our theme, “The Keep It Coming part talks to the new leaders and the rest of the members to demonstrate leadership in whatever roles they play. Keep raising the bar. Keep pushing the envelope of excellence. It tells us to be accountable for the roles we play, to step up to the plate and deliver on our promise of performance. NOTHING LESS is expected…Being able to do this in BNT is like practicing to do it in one's life and career. BNT can be your best training ground for leadership in life.”

As we formally launch our theme for this term, we believe it’s a perfect time to revisit our goals and our roles here at BNT. Think about how you can continue climbing the never-ending ladder of excellence. That means delivering more speeches,
earning higher norms, or taking on more roles. And like what Boom and others are doing, you can even think of spreading the Toastmasters way to those who are interested .

Indeed, there’s a lot that we can do to stay on top. Just keep it coming! .