(Advanced Toastmaster Silver) Hixwell Douglas (right) receiving his award from Paul Sharp (Chairman, Caribbean Territorial Council of Toastmasters).
-Contributed photo
THE ONE and half hours between 3:30 and 5:00 p.m. of Saturday, May 29, 2004 must have been the most inspiring, motivating, humorous and tense ever experienced by Caribbean Toastmasters and Contestants of the Caribbean Speech Contest 2004.
Four toastmasters from across the Caribbean delivered 5-7 minute speeches of their choice. The speakers captivated, motivated, humoured and inspired the audience of Caribbean toastmasters, their friends and families as well as distinguished toastmasters from North America and Europe. Among them was Jamaican-born 1995 World Champion of Public Speaking, Mark Brown.
After the 1 1/2 hours of speeches, announcements and interviews the anxious toastmasters, contestants and guests were made to hold their breaths a little longer and to send up as many prayers as they could between 5:00 and 8:30 p.m. The speech presentations were all excellent and the champion would be the one who came out ahead in the hurdles of speech development, speech effectiveness, speech value, physical appearance; body language, voice flexibility and quality and manner. In the end Hixwell Douglas was announced the new Caribbean Champion of Public Speaking.
Hixwell delivered a flawless, arousing and inspiration presentation of 'Failing forward'.
But one thing was very clear, the Education Officer, Valedictorian of the 1992 University of The West Indies Graduation Ceremony, Ph.D., student (UWI), and member of Trailblazers Toastmasters Club was certainly not in a failing mood.
DANGER
His victory was not without danger because his rivals challenged but Hixwell preserved and delivered and in the end his triumph was a glorious one. A true champion from a field of four excellent speakers, Hixwell's victory has made it the second consecutive year that the trophy for the Caribbean Champion of Public Speaking has come home to Jamaica. Last year's Champion was Tanya Lobban of the Pacesetters Toastmasters Club.
The Caribbean Territorial Council of Toastmasters is proud of Hixwell. He held the audience and moved them through his failures and successes while leaving them helpless with aching sides as they erupted in uncontrolled laughter. But that was not all the audience was left with there was the great reward of being motivated to rise above failures and to make each failure a stepping stone towards success. Hixwell, we thank you for showing us how to fail forwards and not backwards.
