Presidents Notes

President's Notes

2 October 2019

Dear fellows,

NEW HORIZONS

Last week saw our club meet and greet numerous international dignitaries.

Meeting RI President Mark Maloney
Director Thaya Ponniah and I were fortunate to attend a dinner at Woolwich last Monday which was organized in honour of visiting RI President Mark Maloney. We heard a truly arousing and inspirational speech by President Maloney who shared his vision for building a stronger Rotary, calling on leaders to expand connections to their communities and to embrace innovative membership models.

Listening to RI President Mark Maloney
“The first emphasis is to grow Rotary — to grow our service, to grow the impact of our projects, but most importantly, to grow our membership so that we can achieve more.” President Maloney believes that connection is at the heart of the Rotary experience. (Rotary) allows us to connect with each other, in deep and meaningful ways, across our differences. “It connects us to people we would never otherwise have met, who are more like us than we ever could have known. It connects us to our communities, to professional opportunities, and to the people who need our help.”

Left to right: Mrs Gay Maloney, Director Thaya Ponniah, RI President Mark Maloney with President Arie Pappas

International projects
Director Thaya Ponniah has been working unwaveringly on numerous local and international projects. Thaya is a twice Past President of the Rotary Club of Colombo South RI District 3220. We are in the process of building a strong alliance with this club and are currently working on numerous projects which await Global Grants. Upon being notified by his former colleagues that President Sepalika Panagoda and numerous colleagues was visiting our shores we organized a dinner at which time a historical “Twin Club Certificate of Recognition” was signed.

Sister clubs
Twin clubs, or sister clubs, are two clubs from different countries that form a long-term relationship to promote international understanding and goodwill and carry out service projects in their communities. When looking for a partner, consider clubs that:

Share similar interests, challenges, or history

You’ve worked with in the past

Are located in a place that matches your club’s service interests

Speak a common language

Left to right: PP Rod McDougall, President Sepalika Panagoda, Ret. Air Vice Marshall Dr. Asoka Amunugama, Director Community Service Stanley Jayanthakumar, Director Paul Anton, Director Thaya Ponniah, President Arie Pappas & Mr Haran Ramachandran (Rotary Kellyville).

Yours in Rotary

Arie Pappas

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