VW Beetle Owners’ Club holds AGM

The Volkswagen Beetle Owners’ Club held the 24th and 25th Annual General Meeting on Saturday 30 October at the Marco Polo Room of the Excel World, Colombo under strict COVID regulations that was ensured by the management of the venue.

The Club’s President Peter Jasinghe called the meeting to order. A moment of silence was observed in memory C A Fernando, a long-standing member of the club who passed away which was followed by the tabling and confirmation of the Minutes of the 23rd AGM, followed by the Annual Report and the Audited Statement of Accounts for the period under review.

In his outgoing speech, the President mentioned of four events that were planned and finalized which had to be cancelled due to the first and second lock-down that occurred and went on to convey his gratitude to the outgoing committee that supported the activities of club by spending many hours in organising the events which included a few unique activities that would have been enjoyed by all which has been the tradition of the Club events.

Kapila Jayawardena was invited to take over the mantle of Pro-Tem Chairman pending the appointment of the Committee for the year 2021/22. The house unanimously proposed the name of Peter Jasinghe to take on the position of President for another term and was invited to take the chair and proceed with the rest of the activities of the day. All present were unanimous in appointing the out-going committee to take on the responsibility for another term which was proposed and adopted by all present.

The President thanked all present for their continued support towards the activities of the club with special thanks to the Treasurer of the Club for his expertise in maintaining the finances of the Club during the past two years. Many matters of interest were discussed under the item ‘Any other business’ which followed with the ‘Vote of thanks’ that was conveyed by David Jansze who thanked the members of the Committee and Patron Kapila Jayawardena for the kind assistance and encouragement extended towards the activities of the Club.

He also thanked the good offices of the LOLC Group of Companies who have been the main sponsors of most of the events held by the club, the Hilton Colombo, the Mount Lavinia Hotel, the Galle Face hotel, and the management of Excel World who have come forward to host many events organised by the Club. He went on to thank the members and their families for their kind support extended towards the activities of the club and ensuring to keep up the spirit of the ‘People’s car’ alive in Sri Lanka.

The following were appointed to the committee for the year 2021/22:

Patron: Kapila Jayawardena                     

President: Peter Jasinghe

Vice Presidents: Ruwan Punchihewa and Ruwan Weerawardana

Secretary: Amanda Gooneratne

Asst. Secretary: Jaliya Jayasekera

Treasurer: Lasath Pathirennehe

Webmaster: Shehan Samarasinghe

Auditor: H.K. Amerasinghe

Executive Committee: David Janzse, Kumar Samarasinghe, Mahika Chandrasena and Duminda Bandara.