Rathippriyah Balasubramaniam
Candidate for Club Growth Director District 102
Toastmasters member since: 2010
B.Ed(Hons) TESL (2010)
Theatre Short Cause (2012)
Documentary & Film Maker (2021)
Toastmasters offices held and terms of service:
• Division B Director 2021-2022
• Area Director 2020-2021
• President Sai Masters TMC 2015-2016
• President Balsans Edutainment TMC 2021-2022
• VPPR Sai Masters TMC 2018-2021
• Club Coach – Roche ( Malaysia) TMC 2021
• Club Sponsor – Toastmasters Club by MAHRP 2021
Toastmasters honors and recognition:
• DTM, MS4
• Achieved Distinguished Area and Chartered Balsans Edutainment TMC as Area B3 Director
• Achieved President’s Distinguished Club 10/10 as Club President 2015-2016
• Champion for contests at Club up to Division Level for several years.
• Currently serving as Division B Director.
Relevant work experience and how it relates to Toastmasters and your role as a District leader:
I have organised and handled several events in national and international level- Storytelling, Public Speaking, Shows and Workshops. Most of them are major events and requires me to work with a big team so I have all the qualities that a District Leader needs especially to have good teamwork and manage events to ensure we will excel as team.
What experience do you have in strategic planning?
Being an event planner, I have to organise several events and get things done right. So, I carefully choose my collaborators, working committee and trainers/ crew. Over the years, I have garnered trust from my sponsors and collaborators. I am more involved in kids training- Public Speaking/ Storytelling/ Musical Theatre and so forth. I have worked very closely with several important organisations for National and International program.
What experience do you have in the area of finance?
When I manage events /productions under my company or for an organisation, normally I personally handle the Budget. Therefore, I am very careful in the expenditure and money matters.
What experience do you have in developing procedures?
I have done many important programs with renowned people in my creative industry – ASTRO, RTM, Traxxfm, Agenda Suria, Minnalfm, Raaga, British Academy and Performing Arts, Universiti Malaya and many others. I have done work from zero scratch up to the contest/ event date. Developing procedures are one of the important criteria to enable us to have a smooth program.
What lessons did you learn from previous leadership positions?
I have been a President and a VPPR since 2018 till 2021. The various roles have moulded me to become a competent leader and also on how to organise meetings. The pandemic has also played a major role in my leadership skills. We are now conducting online meetings and this has been a great challenge for me as I was not a Tech- Savvy person. But with the guidance from our District officers who have been tirelessly conducting training sessions , I am now more confident in carrying any roles given. I also believe it is not just one person’s or only the EXCOS responsibility in getting more members to join us but everyone in the club. Played multiple roles in many events. Adding another feather to my hat and achieving more milstones with Toastmasters.
In your opinion, what are the District mission’s major objectives and how would you work to achieve them?
In my opinion, the main thing for now is To build more new clubs and get more people to be involved in our Toastmasters Program. We also have to work harder to bring back the old toastmasters to come back to the clubs as they have more options now. – They can choose to join the online meetings and hybrid meetings. The numbers have dropped tremendously. Therefore, all members in the district should work hand in hand to bring back the energy and create more enthusiam. For example, we can organise more workshops and joint meetings among clubs and areas or maybe among divisions in our district 102. This will encourage more people to join Toastmaster. I will personally ensure this programs take off smoothly by heading the team.