Secaucus Resident, Sanjiv Srivastava, Wins First Place in Toastmasters Contest

SECAUCUS, N.J. - April 15, 2013 - PRLog -- Sanjiv Srivastava of Secaucus, New Jersey, has taken first place in the Division F International Speech Contest held April 13 at Allwood Branch Library, Clifton NJ.  He will go on to compete at the District contest, on Saturday, May 18.  The District 83 Conference will be held May 17-19, 2013 at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Newark Airport 128 Frontage Road, Newark, NJ, 07114.  

Srivastava, an IT Manager with IBM, Secaucus, New Jersey, joined Toastmasters in July 2012. In his speech, “The Next Step,” Sanjiv states, “Taking the next step every time we fail is very important in moving forward in life. This step is even more important than taking the first step.  Many of us try, make mistakes and fail.  Only those who stand up and take the next step are successful.”

“On behalf of Fairleigh Early Birds Toastmasters Club, I would like to say we are so proud of Sanjiv’s success in the International Speech Contest,” said Shakara Thomas, President, Fairleigh Early Birds Toastmasters Club. “Sanjiv has worked very hard in improving his speech content, delivery, and overall presentation.  Although he has been a member of Toastmasters for only eight months, he stands as a shining example of how far one can go when they work hard and stay focused on their goals.  Congratulations Sanjiv!!”  

In order to compete in the Division contest, Srivastava won at the club and area levels.

“Sanjiv has already proven his expertise in the International Speech Contest at the club and area levels. With each round, the competition becomes tougher and caliber of speeches even higher, noted Lynda Starr, Division F governor and contest chairperson. “At Division, Sanjiv rose to the top among a field of proficient and dynamic speakers, each of whom can claim to be accomplished speakers.  We look forward to cheering him on at District.”

Second and third-place winners in the International Speech Contest were Ed Rivera of Nutley Toastmasters and Teresa Palmer of the TM of Westfield Club, Westfield NJ.

Anita Fickensberger of Summit Toastmasters won the Division F Speech Evaluation contest and Karen Rittweger of the Roche Toastmasters club placed second. Fickensberger’s district contest is set for May 19.

In the evaluation contest, a speech is given by a “target speaker”, and contestants present an verbal evaluation, prepared within a limited time. Gimai Ma, Division E, Area 54 Governor, was the target speaker for Speech Evaluation Contest.

“In the Evaluation contest, Anita demonstrated great skill in offering feedback to the speaker that would enable the speaker to improve that particular speech and future ones,” Starr explained. “A good evaluator commends and advises the speaker all the while supporting the speaker’s effort. Evaluation is a key component of Toastmasters and is included in every meeting so that speakers can build and improve speaking ability.”

Both international and evaluation speech competitions take place during the District 83 Spring Conference. Individual club winners competed at the area level last month to earn a position at the division contest. The division includes 27 clubs in the New Jersey counties of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Union. The district covers Metropolitan New Jersey, Staten Island, and Rockland County, New York.

“District 83 would like to congratulate Sanjiv on winning the Division F International Speech contest. He, as well as those who win in their respective divisions, will go on the compete at the District  level on Saturday, May 18th, during the Spring Conference being held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Newark Airport,” said Margarita Estrada, District 83 Spring Conference Chair.  “The District 83 Toastmasters International Speech winner will go on to compete at Toastmasters International World Championship of Public Speaking in Cincinnati Ohio!”

Srivastava is a member of Fairleigh Early Birds Toastmasters Club.  They meet 09:30 AM - 11:15 AM, Saturdays at Rutherford Public Library, 150 Park Ave, Rutherford, NJ, 07070. To find out more about Sanjiv Srivastava or his club, visit their website at http://feb-tm.org.

About Sanjiv Srivastava:

Sanjiv Srivastava is a member of Fairleigh Early Birds Toastmasters Club since July 2012. In the last nine months he has won three table topic awards; has been a very active member; and participates in leadership roles during the club meetings.  His toastmasters experience has not only supported him in performing his leadership role at work more effectively, it has also facilitated his ability to provide constructive feedback for the overall development and performance improvement of his team.

About Toastmasters District 83:

District 83 includes 150 clubs (4,000 members), in Metropolitan New Jersey, Staten Island, and Rockland County, New York. For more information, please visit the District 83 website, http://www.toastmasters83.org.

About Toastmasters International:

Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. Founded in October 1924, the organization currently has more than 270,000 members in 13,000 clubs in 116 countries. Each week, Toastmasters helps more than a quarter million people of every ethnicity, education and profession build their competence in communication so they can gain the confidence to lead others. For information about local Toastmasters clubs, please visit http://www.toastmasters.org.