Colombo Toastmasters Club holds 31st installation of officers

Friday, 25 July 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

South Asia’s first Toastmasters Club, The Colombo Toastmasters Club held its 31st Installation on Friday 11 July 2014 at Hotel Galadari, Colombo. The officers for Toastmasters Year 2014/15 are: President – TM Sarma Mahalingam, VP Education - TM Ajith de Costa, VP Membership – TM Chathushika Wijesinghe, VP Public Relations – TM Mohan Morais, Secretary – TM Aruna Fernando, Treasurer – K. Rameshkumar, and Sergeant at arms – TM Tilak Gunawardena. Immediate Past President Keith Raymond will also serve on the board. The Chief Guest on the occasion was Kshanika Himburegama, Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo. Toastmasters International (TI) District 82 Governor DTM Yusuf Jeevunjee and former TI Director and 2014 Nominee for 2nd International Vice President DTM Arunasalam Balraj graced the occasion as guests of honour. Chendil Kumar (CK), a Toastmaster from Bangalore, India, entertained the audience as the After Dinner Speaker.

In his address, President Mahalingam thanked the membership for the confidence they had placed in him to lead the Club as its 31st president. He shared his own Toastmasters journey, explaining how Toastmasters had helped him not only to lead his business successfully but also to have a rewarding life serving the community and leading a contented life as a family man. He attributed all these benefits to his Toastmasters experience. Therefore, he pledged not only to be a good steward of the club in the new year, but that he will also actively promote Toastmasters among as many people as possible, especially through the Club’s signature public speaking training community outreach program ‘Speech Craft’. He urged members of the audience who were not members of TI to join Toastmasters and transform their lives for the better. He concluded emphatically with TI’s tagline: “Toastmasters: Where Leaders Are Made.”