Ceylinco Life’s Toastmasters Club strides into 7th year

Above, from left: Ceylinco Life Chairman R. Renganathan presents the award to Mathanraj Sivalingam, while the company’s Managing Director Thushara Ranasinghe presents awards to Chulaka Kumarasinghe and Gayan Lakmal Alwis respectively and (below) the new Executive Committee of Ceylinco Life’s Toastmasters Club, with the company’s senior management

The seventh installation ceremony of the Ceylinco Life Toastmasters Club was held recently, at which a new Executive Committee was appointed, new members were welcomed and achievers for the year were recognised. 

The installation ceremony took place at the Ceylinco Life Head Office with the Company’s Chairman R. Renganathan attending the event as Chief Guest. District and Divisional Level members of the Toastmasters organisation too were present at this event. 

Manager – Operations Kamal Rupasiri was appointed as the new President of the Club to lead the Executive Committee comprising Milinda Peiris as Vice President, Education; Dileepa Delwala as Vice President, Membership; Chamathka De Alwis as Vice President, Public Relations; Nalin Dhanushka as Treasurer; Sandeepa Silva as Secretary and Mathanraj Sivalingam as Sergeant-at-Arms.

For the first time since inception, two members of the club were honored at Toastmaster International’s District Hall of Fame awards 2020 for their contributions to the Toastmaster community during the year. This recognition was conferred upon Chulaka Kumarasinghe, Immediate Past Area Director and a Past President of the club, with three awards and the honorary award for displaying exemplary dedication to achieving the Mission of the District. Mathanraj Sivalingam was presented an appreciation award for his outstanding support of Toastmaster International’s communication and leadership programs. 

Furthermore, at the installation ceremony, two members were inducted to the Ceylinco Life Toastmasters Club – Hall of Fame of 2020 to recognise exceptional skills demonstrated in the year to bring recognition to the club. Gayan Lakmal Alwis was inducted for becoming the Champion in the Table Topics Competition at the Division level and Chulaka Kumarasinghe for exceptional leadership skills demonstrated as the Area Director last year. 

The event saw the induction of 11 new members to the life insurance leader’s Toastmasters Club which had 44 registered members. As a testament to its prowess in communication and leadership of its members, the club has been accorded ‘Distinguished’ status every year since it came into being.

The club has produced Toastmasters who have won at Division and Area level speech contests, an achievement that surpasses that of many other clubs. The club was awarded the prestigious ‘Golden Gavel’ by Toastmasters International, the highest accolade any Toastmasters Club could win, in 2015. 

Additionally, three Ceylinco Life Toastmasters, Shyamala Arulanandam and Chulaka Kumarasinghe who are Past Presidents of the Club, and Gayan Lakmal Alwis have won Division and Area Level Speech and Evaluation contests, a commendable feat for a relatively new club.

The Ceylinco Life Toastmasters Club was chartered in September 2014 and has been part of all events hosted thereafter by Toastmasters International in Sri Lanka.

Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development with a membership of more than 358,000. Members improve their speaking and leadership skills by attending one of the 16,800 clubs in 143 countries that make up the global network of meeting locations. By regularly giving speeches, gaining feedback, leading teams and guiding others to achieve their goals in a supportive atmosphere, leaders emerge from the Toastmasters program. 

Since its founding in October 1924, the organisation has helped more than four million men and women give presentations with poise and confidence. The communication and leadership projects designed by Toastmasters International are devoted to the development of the art of speaking, listening and critical thinking among its members.

Sri Lanka’s leading life insurer for more than half of the 32 years it has been in existence, and certified as a ‘Great Workplace’ in Sri Lanka by Great Place to Work, Ceylinco Life was ranked the Most Valuable Life Insurance Brand in Sri Lanka by Brand Finance this year and declared the ‘Peoples Life Insurance Service Provider of the Year’ for the 14th consecutive year at the 2020 SLIM-Nielsen Peoples Awards. 

The company was ranked among the 10 ‘Most Admired Companies’ in the country by the International Chamber of Commerce, Sri Lanka (ICCSL) in 2019 and in the same year was named the ‘Best Life Insurer in Sri Lanka’ for the sixth consecutive year by World Finance, and ranked sixth overall in the Business Today ranking of the country’s top 30 companies.