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Jacques Piché, a French Canadian from Montreal, is looking for members

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CHIANG RAI – A Canadian expat is attempting to establish in Chiang Rai a branch of Toastmasters International, a public-speaking club.

Jacques Piché, a French Canadian from Montreal, is looking for members. Twenty are needed to establish the branch.

He hopes the club will be officially established in December or January 2016.

Piché expects the club, which could be based in Chiang Rai Buddhist College near Overbrook Hospital, will be bilingual, English and Thai, eventually, but he believes the preponderance of members, initially, will be English-speakers.

“The club may sound like just a toasting or speech-giving club, it’s really much more than that. It’s about developing self confidence and leadership, and the ability to communicate with others in varied environments. Everyone can profit from it,” said Piché

Piché, 66, was a member in the club in Canada for 2 years. He was an air traffic control flight planning specialist in Montreal for many years and has lived in various parts of the world.

Toastmasters, an international non-profit public-speaking organization, has more than 13,000 clubs around the world, including more than 20 clubs in Bangkok alone. You can learn more about Toastmasters at their website, https://www.toastmasters.org

A public demonstration meeting, backed by the Chiang Mai Toastmasters Club, could soon be held in Chiang Rai city. Regular meetings are to be held weekly, at a place and time to be determined by the members. Members must be 18 or over. Dues are 36US$ for a six-month membership plus a one time 20US$ membership fee. Fees include meetings, training material, some coaching, monthly magazine and access to all TM materials on website.

For more information about the planned Chiang Rai Toastmasters Club, please contact Piché at toastmasters.chiangrai@gmail.com or 095-451-0294.