#01 The Foundation

In our first official episode of The Story: TGIF and Born to Shine Christian Toastmasters, Founding President Lester Lin shares how he took TGIF Christian Toastmasters out of the thought realm and made it a reality when he started the club in 2013. The Foundation takes us back to when TGIF began.  If you want to watch the video for this episode, please check out our YouTube page. Today’s episode  1. How Lester joined Toastmasters and his wild ride as president of two clubs before starting TGIF  2. Lester’s motivation to start TGIF Christian Toastmasters and lessons learned from the model of small groups in churches and the structure of Toastmasters meetings 3. TGIF as a place with members from different generations, nationalities, and religions  4. The challenges of starting a Christian-oriented club in Toastmasters and how people reacted to TGIF  5. Lester’s reflections on the highlights of TGIF’s ten years since chartering  6. Two factors of TGIF and Born to Shine’s success: love for God and each other, regular attendance 7. The future of TGIF and Born to Shine: bringing the experience to a wider audience online 8. How Lester has personally grown through the club 9. A special inflection point in TGIF for Lester: the first non-Christian president of the club A Selection of Lester Lin's Iconic Speeches The Face of Brotherly Love Gauge with Love