By Michael Xavier

I was proud to be a flag bearer for the Malaysian flag for the Opening Ceremony of the 69th Annual Toastmasters Convention held at the Grand Ballroom of The Fontainbleu Hilton Resort.

The flag parade, being a tradition in all major events at the Toastmasters, was greeted with honour by all the attendees, as the flags were marched in by Toastmasters representing their respective countries.

Being in an International Convention and attending its Opening Ceremony for the very first time, I found this experience to be very interesting and fun.

The highlight of the evening was the keynote address by Tony Brigmon, with the Theme "Are We Having Any Fun Yet?"....and yes we did! Tony made the session more than interesting with his constant jokes and humourous mannerisms. Not just that, he added value and meaning to the session by sharing with us his 'Fun Formula' stressing the importance of being able to Focus, Undertake and Notice being the acronym of FUN. He didn't stop there, he proceeded to share with us the 'Magic of Music' by distinguishing between Energy Songs, Relaxation Songs and Frisky Songs of which he played and sang and danced with the tune of a Frisky song.

To take home some thoughts, he introduced some quotations such as "The MAIN thing is to keep the MAIN thing the MAIN thing....and that's the MAIN thing"..and many more.

Overall I found the the session to be so inspiring and considering that the opening was more than fantastic, I can't wait to see what's in store for the rest of the Convention.