Most people know that fruits and vegetables provide many important vitamins and minerals. If vitamins and minerals were the only reason to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, then supplements might be a fair substitute. You hear of a new report, almost every day, confirming the health enhancing benefits of eating nine servings of raw fruits and vegetables daily. As it turns out almost all fruits and vegetables are alkaline forming, which is why, they are so good for us and why we should you eat them raw. On Saturday 3 April 2010, the club was privileged to have guest chef Mr. Wilson Tan to conduct a live healthy cooking demonstration.

Around 20 members and guests attended this course which included preparation of a 4-course set meal by Chef Wilson. During the course, Chef Wilson shared the best methods of cooking fruits and vegetables. He shared that microwaving and steaming is one of the best ways to prepare vegetables.

Furthermore, Chef Wilson shared easy tips on how to retain nutrients by not soaking the vegetables

Members enjoyed the session thoroughly and look forward to more such courses.

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held on 27 March 2010 (Saturday) in the NTUAC Conference Room. We saw a good turnout of 53 faithful members comprising 45 Ordinary and 8 Associate members. The President of the Management Committee Mr. R. Sinnakaruppan called the meeting to order and confirmed the Minutes of the 24th AGM and gave a background on how the club was setup, summarized the past events, issues and challenges faced last year.

The President introduced the new CEO Mr. S Nallathamby and also announced the appointment of the General Manager who will assume office in mid April 2010. Together they will be responsible for implementing the policies & objectives of the MC and to assist in bringing the club to the next level of service, development, expansion and identify new opportunities for collaboration with other similar organizations.

The Management also presented the various activities for the year including the Facilities Upgrading, Membership Recruitment, Membership Profile and the Audited Statement of Accounts for the Financial Year ended 31 December 2009, In addition, amendments to the Constitution were proposed and adopted at the AGM to allow changes in membership policies which are deemed necessary and beneficial to the Club and allow the Club to form a business entity to participate in business transactions which will benefit and further the object of the Club.

This was followed by the election of the Management Committee. As there was no contest, all the proposed six members were elected to the Management Committee. At the end of the AGM, members were given an opportunity to give their feedback and suggest ways to improve the club operations.

The AGM ended with a wine and cheese party followed by networking with the Management Committee.

On Thursday 18 March 2010, the club was privileged to have Guest Speaker Mr. Harold Fock of Litespeed Education Group to share with 50 members and guests on the Start Up to IPO- An Entrepreneur’s journey. The event began with a small ice breaking session and lucky draw followed by the talk. At the beginning of the session, Mr. Harold shared on what the challenges are from starting a company to the eventual exit.

He added in ideas on how the ‘real world’ works with its inherent complexities, honest brutality and the joy of creating new enterprises. Moreover, the talk also benefited participants who are non-entrepreneurs and job seekers as Harold shared the valuable insights into joining young organizations and start ups. At the end of the session, members and guests were given an opportunity to take part in the question and answer session.

It was a meaningful evening. The club hopes to organize more such events in the future.

We are always told that we should learn sports when we are young, when our bodies are more resilient to the bruises and bumps which can be afflicted on us when we learn a new sport. This is true to a certain extent. But there is a huge difference with scuba diving. YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN SCUBA DIVING. It's not necessary to be in peak fitness before you can take up scuba diving.

However, you would need some strength to be able to walk with full scuba diving gear strapped on you. Once you enter the waters with all your gear, you are almost weightless. On a fine Saturday afternoon, approximately 25 members joined in the scuba diving orientation conducted by Certified Dive Instructor Dr. C.S Choong who also happens to be our SSR committee member. The session was spilt into 2 parts - a classroom theory session followed by a practical session at the club’s swimming pool.

During the theory session, Dr. Choong shared some important factors when learning to scuba dive and what are the inherent dangers concerned. During the practical session, Dr Choong briefed all participants on the necessary diving specific equipment and how they should be worn. Participants had a thrilling experience.

We hope to organize more such courses in the long run for all members to join.