Hayleys harnesses the power of speech with its own Toastmasters Club

Executives of Sri Lanka’s Hayleys Group have embarked on a mission to harness the power of effective public speaking for personal and professional advancement with the formation of the Group’s own Toastmasters Club.

The new club, currently consisting of 78 ‘speech crafters’ was formally installed as a member club of Toastmasters International (TI) recently, becoming part of the world’s leading communication and leadership-skill building organisation. Hayleys Group Chairman Mohan Pandithage, the Patron of the new club officiated as Chief Guest at the installation ceremony, which was attended by senior Toastmasters from Toastmasters District 82 and representatives of the Toastmasters Club of SriLankan Airlines, who provided mentorship for its formation.

In his address at the event, Nandalal Perera, the founder President of the Hayleys Toastmasters Club described its launch as “another step in re-inventing and re-discovering the potential of our venerable institution.”

The theme for the inaugural year of the new club is ‘Your Speech Matters,’ a theme that encapsulates the multiple paradigms in which effective articulation of ideas and views could be influential and impactful. Guest speakers at the installation included M. Z. Salim, General Manager Corporate Sales at Sri Lanka Telecom in his capacity as Lieutenant Governor – Education & Training of Toastmasters District 82 and Neranjan de Silva, Director and CEO of Metropolitan Computers, a former Area Governor of Toastmasters District 82P.

The first seven-member executive committee of the Hayleys Toastmasters Club comprises of Nandalal Perera (President), Eric Vandendriesen (Vice President Education), Manohari Abeysekera (Vice President Public Relations), Tyronne Ockersz (Vice President Membership), Madubhashini Hewawasam (Secretary), Dhammika Siriwardene (Treasurer) and Ranga Dias (Sergeant-at-Arms).