Toasties Hold a Team Building Event

Butter & Toast, Toastmasters club members went to  Seraphim Resort in Valley Golf Antipolo on September 6, 2014 to renew their commitment to the club. Teamwork has always been one of the most cherished values of our club. We recognize the importance of good relationship among members and the interdependence needed for all of us to achieve what we came for in the Toastmasters Club,

We thank our President, Gege Sugue for hosting the event and opening the doors of Seraphim for us. We also thank Boom San Agustin for ably Facilitating the workshop.

 Here are some of the photos that captured the fun moments we shared on that day. For more photos, click Read More below or  follow this link.

525,600 Points to a Better Club

Toasties are so passionate about our growth as communicators and leaders that we are willing to engage each other in a fierce (but friendly) competition on achieving our personal and club goals. We divided the group into two teams who will battle it out on the following:

• Meeting attendance
• Speeches delivered
• Roles played
• Norms completed
• Guests invited and converted to new members
• Club, area, division and district contests participated in and won.

Everyone who attended the last meeting was very excited, and it looks like we're off to a really exciting term. 

Below are the mechanics for the contest. If you'd like to be a part of this game and the  Butter &Toast experience, join us now!

And did I mention that exciting prizes are at stake? I'll announce more about that later!

Now, let the trash-talking begin!

525600 points from Edwin Ebreo

Butter 'N Toast Toastmasters Club Officers Go Planning

It is an exciting time to be a member of this Toastmasters club and even more exciting to be an officer. The new batch of officers  went home with wide smiles because they are all very happy with what they agreed to do for this term. Here's a preview:

1. Club contests - We are dividing  the club into two competing teams that will take turns hosting our twice a month meetings. Points will be earned based on attendance, speeches delivered, roles played, norms achieved, new members invited and club contests won among others. Great prizes await the winning team.

BNT Toastmasters Club invites you to 24 Nov Meeting

Sep 8 Meeting--Discover How Spatial You Are in BNT Club

December 9!

Block the date: December 9, 2010 is BnT's Christmas party.

Our Christmas party takes the place of our regular meeting of the 2nd Thursday of December.

We will take a long break to allow everyone a chance to rest and be with family and friends.

Our next regular meeting will be on January 13, 2011.

We encourage every Toastie to attend.

Watch out for updates regarding the venue and activities.

RSVP here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=168029239895335

Toasties on TV

The formula for excellence can be summed up as:
  Passion + Training + Perseverance = Excellence.
 
Two individuals from Butter 'n Toast have achieved excellence by using the above formula.

Let’s take a look at who these two gentlemen are. 

Few individuals have excelled both in enterprise (Outsourcing, Automotive and Online industries) and public speaking but Enrique Salvador San Agustin, or Boom as fondly called by friends, managed to succeed in both. Boom is definitely an Entrepreneur guru. He, together with his team, runs the BisWiz Resources who caters to the needs of the budding entrepreneur.  Boom is also into writing and is the man behind "Pen Strokes", a blog at wordpress.com. He is a self confessed comic book geek, chess enthusiast, poker player and air engine advocate. He is a devoted husband, a supportive father and a loving Grandpa.  Boom is also a champion speaker; he honed his communication skills at Butter ‘n Toast Toastmasters club.  An entrepreneur, blogger, columnist, TV Host and most of all a Toastmaster, what more can you ask for from this multi-media personality?

Dazzling bachelor Alvin Gale Tan is also someone who has used his passion, training and perseverance, to achieve excellence. This bubbly being is a computer expert who found his heart in public speaking.  Alvin enjoys photography as his past time and joins several competitions.  He is vibrant and animated and brings life to any Toastmaster meeting. He’s very outgoing and known in Toastmaster circles as he club hops a lot.  Alvin is an asset to BnT as he is one of the reasons why Butter ‘n Toast gets a lot of guests from other TM clubs.

Two outstanding speakers, two excellent leaders, product of one great club, Butter ‘n Toast Toastmasters Club.

Catch them live every Monday 10:30 to 11:30 at GNN’s SME Forum.

At Butter ‘n Toast, success is just a step away!

A fresh serving of Butter N Toast

The first session under the leadership of BnT President Jun Roy and his team last July 8, 2010 showcased a fresh start for a lot of toastmasters in the Club. That night featured not just wonderful speeches and great evaluations but formal introductions to the Club in different capacities as well.

Division B’s Immediate Past Governor Katrina Letargo (BnT’s JJ!) inducted 10 new members into the Butter N Toast Toastmasters Club. Francis Ang, Jennie Lou Cantago, Eden April Alemania-Dayrit (who earned her CC norm even before being formally inducted!), Jonathan Doringuez, Clave Draculan, Maria Cristina Marcelino, Johnson Regalado, Elaine Romero, Karen Sermona, and Mayette Torreliza kindled their lights from their respective mentors’ candles, and then took oath to make the firm obligation to attend meetings regularly and prepare fully for each assignment, among other duties. Armed with the burning fervor to improve themselves and to contribute to the continuing success of BnT, the newbies will introduce fresh blood to the Club, giving it new life, new sources of excellent speeches, and a new breed of future leaders.

After welcoming BnT’s fresh-from-the-oven toasties, JJ next discharged last term’s set of officers, led by President Pat Pascua, with VP-Education Jun Roy, VP-Membership Christine Dapa, Secretary Chris Siena, VP-PR Shel Roxas, Treasurer Sheila Dela Cruz, Sgt.-at-Arms Boom San Agustin, and IPP Gege Sugue. As JJ expressed that night, the outgoing officers have unleashed their X factors, building speakers and leaders in the Club. It may be “out with the old, in with the new,” but the success and experience of past officers will always serve as guiding wisdom to the current term’s set of officers, leading them towards another President’s Distinguished Club award by June 30, 2011.

Division B Governor Yolanda Meru then installed the current term’s set of officers, the “Toasters,” as they want to be called, led by President Jun Roy, with VP-Education Sheila Dela Cruz, VP-Membership Gege Sugue, VP-PR Alvin Abrantes, Secretary Faye Melegrito, Treasurer Eden Dayrit, Sgt.-at-Arms Ed Ebreo, and IPP Pat Pascua. Yoly called on them one at a time, mentioning their respective keywords (Ed’s “order,” Eden’s “collections,” Faye’s “records,” Bino’s “publicity,” Gege’s “members,” Sheila’s “education,” Pat’s “advise,” and Jun’s “leadership”), handing the gavel, describing the goals and responsibilities of the office, and posing the question, “Will you perform these duties to the best of your abilities?” Each of the officers replied back, “I will!” with conviction and enthusiasm, paving the way towards a BRIGHT year ahead for Butter N Toast.

Under the leadership of Jun Roy, the Butter N Toast Toastmasters Club surely will be Bringing and Rousing Individuals to Greater Heights in Toastmasters!

- Faye F. Melegrito

BNT's New Set of Officers

Butter N Toast TMC elected its new set of officers last May 27. About 18 members stayed after the regular meeting to participate in the election which was ably handled by the outgoing President, Pat Pascua. The elected officers will serve from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011.

Below is the list of the incoming officers:
President              Jun Roy, CC
VP- Education     Sheila Dela Cruz, CC, CL
VP-Membership  Gege Sugue, ACS, CL

VP-PR                Alvin Abrantes, CC
Secretary             Faye Melegrito, TM
Treasurer             Eden Dayrit, TM
Sgt.at Arms         Ed Ebreo, ACS

Toasties Do Laguna: Food, History, and Footwear

The Toasties' 3rd Food Trip.

April 9, 2010 - Food, History, and Chinelas Shopping Tour!

First, Bulacan. Second, Binondo. And now, the Toasties do Laguna.

That our club was named after food could be a foreboding of the foodfests that were to happen, an indication of the superhuman powers of our esophaguses/ esophagi?? to process food.

So, on the day of heroes (Araw ng Kagitingan), the superheroes of gastronomia met at different points of Metro Manila, converged at Magallanes, and went on a joy joy joy ride to Laguna.

First stop was RSM, supposedly just for tapsilog. But the lure of the turo-turo won us over, and thus began the food orgy. Sigig, seafood bouillabaisse, and many other dishes not designed for morning stomachs served as the day's appetizer.

Digesting the food required a great deal of aerobic and cardio exercises, aka laughing, so the Toasties spent some time playing with cocks, wooden roosters actually, before we set off for Calamba.

Calamba's famous landmark is the childhood home of Jose Rizal, there in avocado green splendor. The home was a comfortable, well-ventilated refuge on that hot, hot day. It was nice walking around the rooms and imagining Teodora Alonzo and her daughters doing their daily chores, mother and son slash future national hero reading and studying with the help of a kerosene lamp, the Mercado family dining around the great dining table under the giant overhead pamaypay made of dusty jacquard fabric.

There were photo opps galore, especially at the exhibit hall, where the images of Jose Rizal were shamefully exploited by the Toasties.

Last rounds of group photos up the stairs and under Rizal's famous quote finally had us out of the Rizal home, but not without a raid of the sorbetero's cart before finally traveling all the way to Longos for lunch.

The long drive was made extremely enjoyable by the Toasties' intelligent humor. Well, this refers to the intelligence of those who got the jokes, those who eventually figured out what to bring to the Music Room Party. Those who didn't get it just made up their own lame party. But it was fun for intelligent and not-so-intelligent folks alike.

After a breakfast as heavy as what we had, it was surprising that we have all built up an appetite for lunch. But we believe all the laughing and ribbing burned up thousands of calories for us.

Welcome to Exotik Restaurant at Barangay Longos, Kalayaan, Laguna.

A kalaw bird (hornbill) greeted us and a slumbering (thankfully well-fed) python shocked us. Animals featured in the menu as well -- snails, snakes, and other safer dishes. The pictures in Facebook really tell the story of the blending of good food and even better company.

The restaurant's shimmering blue swimming pool,with its rocky waterfall, was very tempting, but we had more places to go to, and Liliw was calling Elaine's name.

After a sneak peek at Laguna's shoe industry via Step Rite, we went to the motherlode of footwear, Liliw Laguna, known for its chinelatic wonders. We took a lovely stopover at the charming and rustic home of Alvin A's uncle and aunt. They were so gracious, and the buchi they served us was the best I've ever had. They even gave us Indian mangoes to go. Such hospitality.

The sun set while we were in the van exchanging laff-in type jokes that kept us laughing all the way to chinelaslandia.

Then, it was a shopping frenzy as we tried to buy whatever we could before the stores closed.

With most of our energy, money, and time spent, we drove home and had dinner at (please insert the name, which I forgot, here).

The long drive back home had us again in stitches as we talked about Fu's (private joke) US adventures.

BnT Rocked Area 16 Speech Contest

Butter N Toast has never been in great shape ever. Last March 13, four members of the fun and wacky club competed in the Area 16 Speech competition. The roster was led by the club's President, Pat Pascua who competed in the Humorous Speech Competition. Other contestants were Ton Villanueva who competed for the Internation Speech Category, Boom San Agustin for the Evaluation Category and Shel Roxas for the Table Topics Category (Impromptu Speaking). With pride, they brought home 3 Silver medals and 1 gold to add to BnT's assemblage of accolades. Kudos to you BnT members!

This Christmas, the Toasties Turned Japanese

After months of hard work to meet the club’s goal to be Toastmasters’ President Distinguished Club, it was time for Butter N’ Toast Toastmasters Club to end another year of fun and learning by having a Christmas Party with a twist. The theme was JapaNAUGHTY since it was held in Nagomi, a Japanese Restaurant located in El Pueblo, Ortigas. The night of December 17, 2009 was indeed a night to remember for all of us Toasties. No speech projects, table topics, no evaluations – JUST PURE FUN.
The festivities started with the unveiling of the new Butter N’ Toast Banner. YES, IT’S FINALLY OUT! The excitement continued as BnT members played a bunch of parlor games starting with the Human Twist. Let me describe it briefly by saying that the goal of the game is to let the rope travel through the members of the group holding together. Looks hard the way it was described? You bet it was! It was even followed by a much harder game, a shooting challenge where Christmas cards served as balls and a bucket served as a ring. And last game was a guessing game where members of the group have to guess the stuffing of Santa’s Socks to win the contents.
The night ended with a Japanese way of doing Kris Kringle – of course to stay in sync with the event’s theme. Each participant get to choose their present, open it and decide whether to keep it or pick somebody else’s gift. It was indeed a fun night as the toasties savor the spirit of Christmas.

Butter N Toast Toastmasters Club Invades Division B Learning Session

Toasties turned up in surprising numbers at the recently held Division B Learning session.

Div B Governor JJ Letargo was of course there. Jazz Encarnacion, Gege Sugue, Ed Ebreo, Boom San Agustin, Christine Dapa, Sheila Dela Cruz, Mike Jacinto, Eden Alemania, Dan Li and Alice Bagadiong also attended.

Gege Sugue talked about BNT's experience in building club awareness through the web while Jazz shared some tips in using the Toastmasters International Website.

Here are some of the photos.

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! .

Spreading The Toastmasters Way

BNT, through the efforts of Boom San Agustin, has once again showed its commitment in spreading the benefits of Toastmasters by organizing a Demo Meeting for the
members of EntrepLink Philippines.

Yesterday, volunteer Toastmasters from BNT and other clubs trooped to the Zeta Building in Salcedo St., Makati to support Boom’s initiative. Among those who joined include Division B Governor JJ Letargo (DTM), Chen Villacorta (ATMG, Philamlife Club), Jazz Encarnacion (ACG, CL), Sheila Dela Cruz (CC, CL), Judith Jarabelo (CC), Jun Roy (CC), and Eden April Alemania(TM).

More than a dozen members of EntrepLink Philippines were there to see how joining or forming a Toastmasters club can help them become better communicators.

EnterpLink is an eGroup whose aim is to unite entrepreneurs in different areas of businesses with the ultimate goal of empowering Filipino enterprises. It sees itself as a great source of ideas and advices for individuals seeking solutions and possible business opportunities.

Through Demo Meetings, we are able to showcase the Toastmasters way – our way of helping people become better communicators and leaders.

It is noteworthy to mention that BNT already gave birth last year to the Toastmasters Club in the U.S. Embassy named Diplomatically Speaking. And it all started with a Demo Meeting. Tomorrow, there’s another Demo Meeting in Quezon City organized by Boom. And certainly there would be more after that. Like what
our theme for the year states, Stay on Top and Keep it Coming!

Kudos to Boom and to all the volunteers!.

Butter N Toast Toastmasters Club Named President’s Distinguished Club for the Third Time

We made it! Toastmasters International officially acknowledged Butter N Toast as a President’s Distinguished Club for a third straight year.

Each year the Distinguished Club Program recognizes clubs that have outstanding achievements in education, membership, club building, club leadership, and club communication. Every club achieving five goals is recognized as a Distinguished Club.

Every club achieving five goals is recognized as a Distinguished Club. While clubs achieving seven goals rise a notch higher, and are considered Select Distinguished Clubs. The highest level is the President’s Distinguished Club. Here, a club must work hard to meet at least nine of ten goals for this award. Only clubs that work hard and strive for excellence, by definition, can reach this award. And BnT did it way better by accomplishing 10 out of 10 goals.

We have recruited 21 new members since July 1, 2008, as more people attend our meetings to improve their speaking and leadership skills. BnT also boasts of having members at many levels of Toastmasters experience; from beginners to advanced Toastmasters. Our members work together to help one-another by doing goal setting with their mentors and supporting club activities including the speech contests that we participated in. More importantly, members have fun while learning to become more effective in their life roles.
We are extremely proud of all the hard work the club put in to reach the finish line. Yes there were hiccups and we have sometimes had to cram down the stretch; but we reached the prize; and we are, once again, President’s Distinguished!
We have our previous officers to thank for setting the precedent and giving the inspiration for success. Here’s to another great year for Butter N Toast!

New BNT Officers Take Over in July

BnT President Gege Sugue and the rest of the incumbent officers shall pass the baton of leadership to the new set of officers this coming July. Newly elected President Pat Pascua will take over together with Jun Roy as VP for Education. Alvin Tan exchanged his Area 16 Governor role to take on the role of VP for Membership. Real-life marketing expert Russel Roxas suits perfectly well as VP for PR. Christopher Siena will be turning over his role as Sgt-at-Arms to Boom San Agustin while he accepts the new responsibility as the club’s secretary. Christine Dapa will take her turn holding the clubs coffers as the club treasurer. Let’s all welcome them to their new roles and help them succeed as the new club leaders. And here is the rest of it.

ButterNToast Toastmasters Club Receives Talk Up Toastmasters Award

Toastmasters International awards Butter N Toast Toastmasters Club a Talk Up Toastmasters award for recruiting 5 or more new members between February 1 and March 31.

The club receives a blue ribbon to add to its collection and a free manual from the Successful Club Series, the Better Speaker Series, or the Leadership Excellence Series.

This term is certainly a banner year for BnT TMC’s member recruitment program. 14 new members have thus far signed up, and we still have a couple months to go and a number of interested prospects.

BnT officers and members deserve to be recognized for this achievement. Without embarking on any active recruitment program, we have attracted new members through a combination of internet promotion and providing a warm, fun, and motivational learning environment in every meeting.

Be Part of Butter N Toast Toastmasters Club's Growth

BNT Toastmasters Club has experienced astounding growth in membership this term. From less than 20, we grew up to more than 30. At some point we had to slow down our marketing campaigns to manage the droves of people wanting to have a piece of the Butter N Toast Action. At this point the total number of paid members is 24 while we are waiting for 6 other members to update their payment. The big BNT family is giving us diversity and a rich source of talents, wisdom, fun, and friendship. This means that with BNT’s growth, we are not only growing in size, we are also growing in experience.

Now, how can we, maximize our contribution to the club’s growth? Our success is not only measured by our membership size. It is measured by our ability to accomplish our club goals. Every term, we pursue a set of Distinguished Club Program goals.


We need to have four members graduate to Competent Communicator Norm. We need 2 to move up to the next Advanced Communicator Norm. We need at least 2 people to achieve a Competent or Advanced leader Norm. We also need to get 8 additional new members, have our new set of officers trained and submit our reports on time. These might sound all uninteresting to a new member but believe us when we tell you that the journey towards the achievement of these goals are what make us well rounded Toastmasters. These goals are no joke and can only be achieved through teamwork. The measure of our ability to lead and work together as a team can be measured by everyone’s ability to advance in one’s Toastmasters’ projects, play leadership roles, invite members and fulfil their Toastmasters Obligation. We’ve achieved our 10 f 10 goals two years in a row, and we don’t plan to stop.

As a member of BNT, you are part of this commitment but only you can make it your own.

AIM Takes a Bite of Butter N Toast Toastmasters Club

The Meralco Room was again the venue for a Toastmasters demo meeting. Thanks to the invitation of new toasties, Sheila Abalajen and Joanna Capareda, both AIM students.

BnT Treasurer Sheila dela Cruz again rose above the call of duty by taking the last-minute challenge to be TM of the PM. Of course, she handled the hosting like a pro, as if she had been preparing for this for weeks.

TM Ton Villanueva made his debut as Table Topic Master. His questions were challenging, thought provoking, and focused on the theme -- Mentor, Evaluator. Speech champion Boom San Agustin, VP Ed Ebreo, and AIM student Samid Ghosh all took the impromptu speech challenge.

New toastie Alice Bagadiong delivered her icebreaker speech. She wowed us with her poise and confidence as she talked about her father as the most influential person in her life. Demi, er, Dianne Tang regaled us with stories of her bad hair childhood. The last prepared speaker of the evening, Alvin Abrantes, had us reflecting on life by using the metaphor of a pencil. He said that like pencils, 1) we make our mark, 2) we can erase mistakes, 3) it's what's is inside that matters, 4) we need to be sharpened, and 5) we depend on Him who holds and moves us.
It was again a night for great speeches.

General Evaluator and Diamond Toastmaster JJ Letargo took over the stage and led the evaluators. BnT mentor and member Jazz Encarnacion shared her insightful evaluation of the table topic speakers. Toasties Boom San Agustin and Pat Pascua, as well as guest Carmel Valencia, evaluated the prepared speakers in their usual contest-winning fashion. Props go to our tecnical evaluators, Jun Roy, Joanne Capareda, and Mark Sta. Maria.

We missed our usual pansit dinner, but the sumptuous feast arranged by our hosts more than made up for it.

By the end of the meeting, we had sufficiently convinced two people of the worth of becoming a Toastmaster. Welcome to our new members, Russel Roxas and Cian Palami. To see the rest of the photos, click here.