CIPM TOASTMASTERS CLUB NEWSLETTER - Issue 1

CIPM TOASTMASTERS CLUB NEWSLETTER

YEAR 2021/22- ISSUE 1

CONTENTS

03

CLUB INTRODUCTION Brief about our club information

04 05

MESSAGE - PRESIDENT & EDITOR Wishes from the President and Editor

BACK TO ONLINE All about the Educational Meetings we had

06 07

CIPM INSTALLATION CEREMONY Installing the new leaders - for Toastmasters Club

A TRIBUTE TO CIPM Showing gratitude to our backbone

08

MEMBER CREATIONS Articles written by our own talented members

12 13

THIRD EYE'S VIEW What did visiting toastmasters say about our club?

ACHIEVEMENTS CORNER All what we have achieved this year (July - December 2021)

15

MEMBER GALLERY What did we do during the pandemic?

02

CLUB MISSION “We provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth”

Chartered in May 2009 as IPM Toastmasters Club Charter President Mr. Rohitha Amarapala

Club meets every 2nd & 4th Thursday of each month 6.00pm-8.00pm.

CIPM Toastmasters Club is a community club and leads into bringing individuals on board with diverse backgrounds with the aspiration of taking the club into greater heights alongside their personal & professional development, while strengthening member engagement and networking by organizing themed meetings, joint meetings, fun-filled outdoor meetings and through participation in events organized by the areas, divisions, district and beyond.

BLOSSOM PANDEMIC EDITION | DECEMBER 2021 | ISSUE 01

03

04

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT It gives me great pride as the President of the CIPM Toastmasters Club to launch the first Club Newsletter.

“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow” was a quote from Anthony J. D’Angelo.

I, as an individual strongly believe that Toastmasters is a platform which provides opportunities to learn and grow.

With the new normal we as a club have adapted to the situation. Each individual has contributed collectively to take the club to greater heights. As an experienced club we always want to have quality meetings, while empowering individuals to become effective communicators and leaders.

In this newsletter, we have showcased the activities of our club during the first two quarters of the year, 2021/2022 which assisted our members to learn and grow. We had been able to have interesting themed meetings, joint meetings and educational sessions. Our members were able to create a bond among each other which will last beyond Toastmasters.

An appreciation for all EXCO members for doing an excellent job with their respective roles, a special appreciation to the VPPR and the team for their commitment made to release the Club Newsletter.

Dear members, the true essence of Toastmasters comes when each individual takes every opportunity that comes in their way. Therefore, grab every opportunity and grow yourself better than yesterday. If you are a stakeholder reading this newsletter, come and visit the club, we assure that you will learn a lot with various moments of enjoyment.

BY TM CHAREN HULANGAMUWA

MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR "If you want to be truly successful invest in yourself to get the knowledge you need to find your unique factor. When you find it and focus on it and persevere your success will blossom."

-Sydney Madwed Toastmasters is not just all about speaking and leadership skills. It helps you enhance your writing, creativity and other hidden potentials. The name Blossom bloomed from our last year's newsletter yet the biggest difference this year is that it is all about the pandemic situation we faced. No physical meet ups, no gatherings and the online set up made everyone bit lethargic yet at the end, success bloomed with all the lovely members and their commitments.

Anyone who reads this newsletter will gain knowledge about the club, the Educational meetings we had even it was conducted online, our member achievements and much more exciting things inside which will help you to gain more knowledge and become a better future leader tomorrow.

Also this enriches with articles by our own very talented members who have contributed to make this newsletter a splendid masterpiece. I would love to thank my Executive Committee Members, PR Advisors, PR Sub Committee and each and every member who took their valuable time to help me out.

I hope you will enjoy and gain more insights about the club and if you are a non -toastmaster feel free to join our club meetings because the experience is worth it.

I warmly welcome your feedback via email (yasasmigamage216@gmail.com) after reading the Newsletter.

Happy Reading!!!

BY TM YASASMI GAMAGE BLOSSOM PANDEMIC EDITION | DECEMBER 2021 | ISSUE 01

05

BACK 2 ONLINE Since the pandemic was at its peak we had no other choice but to go back to the virtual set up. Still we managed to have successful themed meetings using and adapting to the virtual world. So far we managed to have around 12 meetings for this year and we never missed a single Saturday from 6.00pm to 8.00pm with a count of around 30 members everyday.

JOINT CLUB MEETING WITH AATSL EMERGING TOASTMASTERS CLUB

AREA C3 & C5 JOINT AREA MEETING

DIVISION C SPECIAL CHRISTMAS MEETING

BLOSSOM PANDEMIC EDITION | DECEMBER 2021 | ISSUE 01

13TH INSTALLATION CEREMONY OF CIPM TOASTMASTERS CLUB

The 13th Annual Club Installation of CIPM Toastmasters Club was held on the 12th of December 2021 at the CIPM HR House Auditorium with the graceful participation of many dignitaries, club members and invitees from other clubs.

TM Charen Hulangamuwa was officially declared the Club President of CIPM TMC for the year 2021/22.

BLOSSOM PANDEMIC EDITION | DECEMBER 2021 | ISSUE 01

06

07

In 2009, the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (then called IPM) established the CIPM Toastmasters initiated by Mr. Rohitha Amarapala, Charter President of the club and a past President of CIPM. This establishment was in order to develop the public speaking and leadership skills of the members of CIPM and its stakeholders. CIPM Toastmasters club grew stronger as years passed by and the institute had always been a pillar of strength by assisting in all requirements whenever needed.

We are highly grateful for the recognition provided by the Institute for CIPM Toastmasters Club in their social media pages, promoting our club among students and members. This indeed had resulted in many students and members joining our Toastmasters family.

Further, CIPM Toastmasters Club contributes to the society by conducting the CIPM Gavel club which also enables the members of CIPM to enroll their children to nurture them as future leaders; and by conducting the annual speechcraft program as well. The speech craft program gives the students and any individual an interesting opportunity to develop their public speaking skills and to eradicate their stage fear within a short period of time. In all these activities conducted, the logistical requirements provided by CIPM played a major role in the smooth functioning of all these activities.

CIPM Toastmasters club created a reputation to the “CIPM” brand name by achieving the President's Distinguished Club award for the 10th consecutive year and winning the Golden Club award for the year 2020/2021. We also carried the CIPM flag to greater heights by representing in Area Level, Division Level and District Level through leadership roles and contests.

Thank You CIPM for your continuous support throughout our journey!

We’re looking forward to continuing this relationship and strengthen our bond further for years to come!

BLOSSOM PANDEMIC EDITION | DECEMBER 2021 | ISSUE 01

Written by TM Malya Wijayasiri

PANDEMIC OR NOT, KNOW YOUR PRIORITIES Whenever a new member joins my team, there is one very important message I share with them.

Remember this is your job, not your life. Your life is out there with your loved ones: family members, relatives, and friends. We do a job to be happy in our lives. Therefore, I do not want you to do the job at the expense of your life. At the same time, we need to do the job properly to be happy in our life.

If I am to elaborate on that; say your mother or father is not well. Then I don’t want you to come and work. I like you to be with them and take care of them. We, the rest of your team, will make sure your share is also covered.

You will get the chance to return the favor to others when the situation demands so. Don’t think your office work is more important than your loved ones! If you lose your loved ones, you will not be able to bring them back, even if you are the CEO of the company.

One day when we lose them, we take a few days off to organize the funeral and pay our last respect. That’s fine, but it is more important to be with them when they are with us! Know your priorities!

On the other hand, everyday by the time we conclude our day's office work, we should feel we have done enough during the day. If we do not feel so, that will have a negative influence on us when we spend the rest of the day with our loved ones. It may not be visible to the others, but we ourselves will know it for sure.

Through this example what I am insisting on is the importance of knowing your priorities. It may be personal life, it may be professional life, there would be many instances where we wish we can be at two different places at once or we wish we can attend two different things at once. We should be mature enough to make the correct selection in prioritizing our tasks.

How many things have we postponed before the arrival of Covid pandemic, and then had to wait for months if not years to attend them? How many of us postponed visiting our loved ones and were unfortunate to see them leave us forever during the pandemic? Maybe this is an eye opener for us to know the priorities of our lives!

By - Arjuna Jayadarshana, DTM

BLOSSOM PANDEMIC EDITION | DECEMBER 2021 | ISSUE 01

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09

TOWN TALK I HAD A DREAM.....

NEHANSA WEERASINGHE, DTM

From small days I had a dream of

Therefore I chose my long- awaited

having my own show to create

dream to make it come true

awareness to the society with

through this project. I was able to

respect to the unfamiliar and

do a successful work with the

forgotten topics. As human beings

resource personalities and become

we all are in a rat race to achieve

aware of the issues we never spoke

our dreams but sometimes we

much in the public. Mainly I wanted

forget the basics of life.

to bring the uncommon topics to the general public where we need

This is where Towntalk comes into

to start the change. I hope I was

the picture. As a toastmaster who is

able to achieve my target and

in this public speaking journey for a

planning many more in the future.

considerable period of time, to achieve the final award or the status I had to do my High Performance Leadership manual.

SESSIONS WE DID.....

We started our very first show with

Due to the high demand and

a psychologist Ms. Rasini Bandara

enthusiasm of the audience we

on the 30th May 2021. We discussed

even started phase two in our talk

about how to sustain our mental

show which continues until today.

health in the Covid'19 pandemic situation which was a much needed topic for everyone.

Under different resource persons we

were

able

employment,

to

climate

touch

on

change,

children and their personality.

BLOSSOM PANDEMIC EDITION | DECEMBER 2021 | ISSUE 01

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THANK YOU IS NOT ENOUGH ALL THESE WEBINARS WERE NOT POSSIBLE IF NOT FOR THE ACTION TEAM

AND

MODERATORS

THE WHO

DEDICATED HELPED

ME

THROUGH THICK AND THIN.

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” ― Helen Keller

GAVEL CLUB INSTALLATION CEREMONY The 6th Installation Ceremony of CIPM Gavel Club was celebrated on the 11th of December marking the beginning of yet another glorious and successful step in the journey of CIPM Gavel Club. Events such as the induction of new members, installation of the executive committee for the year 2021/22 and award appreciation of Gaveliers were done. Here are some pictures of the Ceremony...

OUR ERS I L E GAV

BLOSSOM PANDEMIC EDITION | DECEMBER 2021 | ISSUE 01

11

THE FUN CORNER

Which star can you reach?

"DON'T GET STRESSED THIS IS JUST A PIECE OF CAKE " Can you spot?

Can you find?

By - Dilrukshi Rajapakse, DTM

12NATING

CI TS S C A F FA OUT S AB NT A PL

• Acid soils can be identified by the bluish-purple blooms within. Now you will be able to understand how a Hydrangea flower plant suddenly turns into blue blooms when planted in new soil, with cow dung added.

• Nitrogen depleted soils are observed with carnivorous plantsinsect eating plants which overcome this defect in the plant.

• Did you know that the delicacy of Europe Truffles -an underground mushroom and sniffed out by pigs is a money spinner?

• The Jackal food plant, lives under ground but a bright red flower sprouts to the subface.

• The bamboo is classified as grass. The growth rate is 1’-4’ per day.

• The Talipot Palms produce about 20 million flowers in spring. It takes about one year to mature, after which the palm dies.

• That Pteris fern when planted in water can purify factory water waste for aquatic life to survive.

• A popular insect repellent is the common ‘Daspettiya’ flower plant planted around vegetable plots.

• The latest research experiment shows that the flower of the tobacco plant can light up a whole house.

• The Raffia bloom is 3’ in diameter and 20 pounds in weight.

• Nature too arranges marriages between alga and fungus. Their main name is Lichen. The alga makes food for both. The fungus provides shelter. Lichen grows anywhere, they are of rock breaking fame. That is how soil was formed.

• What makes Ivy popular in bridal bouquets? Because the plant’s life span is 100 years.

'WHAT I FOUND INTERESTING DURING COVID TIMES ....

IT IS ALL ABOUT PLANTS'

By - TM Rohini Gamage

BLOSSOM PANDEMIC EDITION | DECEMBER 2021 | ISSUE 01

12

THOUGHTS OF VISITING TOASTMASTERS WHAT DID THE THE VISITING TOASTMASTERS SAY ABOUT OUR CLUB?

"It was a pleasure being part of the CIPM TMC club meeting. The highlight for me was the amount of preparation that goes in prior to the meeting which helps the members to experience a fun learning environment during the educational meeting. All prepared speeches were well delivered, and a very interesting table topic session was held. The evaluators made sure to encourage the speakers to become better at what they do. Role players were well prepared, and the “Phrase of the day” introduced by the grammarian was something unique to the club from what I have experienced. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the meeting, and it is no surprise that CIPM TMC is doing well as a Club. It was really encouraging to see a lot of guests joining the meeting too. Let me wish all members & guests of CIPM TMC a wonderful Toastmasters journey! " -TM Niroshan Dharmakantha - Millennium EPS Toastmasters Club -

"CIPM showcases unity in diversity. In fact, I had the pleasure to witness a Toastmaster, a senior citizen, taking the stage on the online platform with ease and speaking confidently, which translates to the supportive environment that the club provides for its members.

Without a doubt, the Toastmasters at CIPM have many talents that make their educational meetings unique and vibrant. During my short visit it was apparent that the club stays true to the Mission of Toastmasters International. So don’t take my word for it, visit them sometime and you will witness it first hand!!" - TM Treshan Galappaththy- Lyceum Toastmasters Club-

" CIPM TMC has been a club which I would always like to visit. The main reasons being are the energetic atmosphere they maintain in all the meetings and the diverse members which the club consists of. Whenever I visit the club they haven’t failed to impress me with the said qualities of them. As the Immediate Past Area Director I was privileged to have CIPM TMC under my belt as they were a club with great potential and with a good spirit of Toastmasters. Toastmasters is a place where you can learn and unleash the inner potential. The learning environment gets more dynamic when you have an audience which is vastly diverse. This helps you to get evaluations in a 360 degree view which will help to elevate yourself to a greater extent. I recently visited one of the meetings of CIPM TMC it was full of energy, enthusiasm and enjoyment. The numbers of members attending the meetings are simply awesome and that uplifts the momentum of the club. This gives pleasure to perform speeches at the club when there’s a packed audience even in an online meeting.

I wish CIPM TMC all the very best for the years to come. I am pretty sure that they will shine high in the Toastmasters fraternity as a club which has so much potential and will create great leaders. " - TM Mario De Silva - Ragama Toastmasters Club -

"Are you looking to improve yourself? The best place is Toastmasters International. As a visiting toastmaster at CIPM, I was a little nervous and scared on the very first day in toastmaster journey.

When I entered CIPM, toastmasters welcomed me just like someone who really knew me. I couldn't imagine such a friendly environment like this. After the very first prepared speech done by one of the toastmasters, I thought one day I have to become a toastmaster. At the end of the first meeting day at CIPM, they personally talked to me in a way that increases positive attitudes. Not only that, but also how to increase my confidence level. With such a great appreciation and with clear mind set, I started my toastmasters journey. I wish you all the very for a successful Toastmasters journey. " - TM Heshani Thamel - Puttalam Toastmasters Club -

BLOSSOM PANDEMIC EDITION | DECEMBER 2021 | ISSUE 01

13

ACHIEVEMENTS

CORNER

Glimpse of our Toasties' Personal Achievements..

TM Gayal Rangajeewa appointed as Plant Manager at Ceylon Graphene Technologies

TM Yasasmi Gamage selected for The Asian University Chess Championship

TM Kavingi Perera appointed as Associate Member of the CIM Body

TRIPLE CROWN WINNER

District Positions DTM Nehansa Weerasinghe for being Division C TLI Coordinator

TM Maheshi Fernando for being Area Director - Area C3

DTM Arjuna Jayadarshana for being Club Extension Chair Divisions C,G & H

CIPM Club Achievements

WE WON THE SMEDLEY AWARD FOR ADDING 05 NEW MEMBERS TO THE CLUB

BLOSSOM PANDEMIC EDITION | DECEMBER 2021 | ISSUE 01

SPEECH CONTESTS 2021 HUMOROUS SPEECH CLUB CONTEST 2021 Humorous speech club contest was held on the o5th of October via Zoom for the first time with 07 rib tickling speeches. The best out of the best were selected.

TM Yasasmi Gamage and TM Shemaya Sandanayaka was selected for the Area level.

EVALUATION SPEECH CLUB CONTEST 2021

The Evaluation champions were CHAMPION - TM Shanaka Wijewardhana 1st RUNNER UP - DTM Dilrukshi Rajapakse 2nd RUNNER UP - TM Malya Wijayasiri

HUMOROUS SPEECH AREA CONTEST 2021

We are so proud to announce TM Yasasmi Gamage became the CHAMPION of Division C -Area 03 Humorous Speech Contest and was selected to compete in the Division Contest

'GLORIOUS MOMENTS' HUMOROUS SPEECH DIVISION CONTEST 2021

TM Yasasmi Gamage was able to add more glory to CIPM name as she was placed as the 1st Runner Up in the Division Stage in her first time as a contestant

BLOSSOM PANDEMIC EDITION | DECEMBER 2021 | ISSUE 01

14

15 INTERESTING ACTIVITIES OUR CLUB MEMBERS DID DURING THE LOCKDOWN I became the Timer in a Toastmasters Meeting

l Cou

P la P in n t e ea d a c r o p p le wn

N o lo

ck d o w e x a m n s fo r s. stu d ie d w .. it b est h m y ie

Teaching students kept me going even if it is online

Nature never made me bored.

Truly loved this experience

ay t st dn' e hom e v I lo in g l vel a r t

DTM ARJUNA JAYADARSHANA

TM CHAMODI WIJESUNDARA

TM CHAREN HULANGAMUWA

Never knew cooking was this fun!

Making tea became my daily routine

Never missed to join with lovely Toasties

TM CHATHURI ABAYARATNA

TM CHINTHAKA RANATHUNGA I bec a Toas m e a tm It w a a s te r. sa c h a n life ger

Co ul aw d no w or ay t ge . k t H O fr o ..

M m E

g fu n Havin e v e ry a ft e r tional a c u d e g e e m tin

TM ARUN CHANDRAMOHAN

TM DAKSHITHA BANDARATHILAKA

DTM DILRUKSHI RAJAPAKSE

TM DINUSHA WITHANAGE I bec a C ont m e th e est Had tou g M a ster h tim es bu enjo t yed

Ma socia intainin g l bein distanc ing & gar esp o n sible citiz en

TM DULITH PERERA of rt p a te rs a s e ma am ec oast y Ib T m il M fa C IP

TM EUGENE FERNANDO

Re did n ading ot m a lock dow ke m y n bo re d

TM FASLAN MALAKOOTH

I enj oye O n li d n Mee e t in g s

hy healt y Sta y did m I it f and out w o rk

TM GAYA RAJAPAKSE

TM GAYAL RANGAJEEWA

TM KAVINGI PERERA

TM LAHIRU SANDEEPA

TM MALYA WIJAYASIRI

TM MUDITHA VIDANAPATHIRANA

16 INTERESTING ACTIVITIES OUR CLUB MEMBERS DID DURING THE LOCKDOWN W p ro a n te t I g e ct d re w n a tre tu re es

to

DTM NEHANSA WEERASINGHE

I enjoyed being mys el

ny m a ter k s o To stm a s a e o l T ro

Id e s p liv e r ee ed o n ch e s lin e

f

TM NIRANJI SAMARASINGHE

TM NIRUSAN THANGAVADIVEL

TM P NADES KUMAR

No

ha pp m e in e s s t b e g ra in g h a n fo r nd w i da u g th h te rs

I grew as much as I could until it turned out to be a beautiful garden full of Roses

TM RAMANI JAYAWARDANA

TM ROHINI GAMAGE

Family is my priority Enjoyed time with them

ow n my ted b e r a t S Tu You nel n w!

Cha e No crib s b Su

No

I T o e n jo ast ye d m e m as e ti te rs ng s

Ig

b e re w c t m o a u se re e s th e I r n lo v e a tu re

to

TM PESHALI MAHAGAMAGE d te es nt th e n o I c fo r e i e c h im s p e tt 1 s ro u s st te o m co n Hu

TM SHANAKA WIJEWARDHANA

TM S. KIRISANTH

I moderated an online webinar

st d an co a rt e cin g mp d , m u os s ic in g too

En

my

TM PRIYA DHASIAH En w i jo y i th ng s wa my H u now st th i h e co sb a n d ng o e v le s t e r!

TM SHEMAYA SANDANAYAKA

n ly

ed n e jo y E n g a rd y m in

jo y w i in g d a th ug h te r

TM SHOWMIJAH SIVATHASAN ife gl in t b y d n t a a iy a a m rs y de Rub hay n U it h r K a w m O

Lo ast ved m m e ast e ti e rs ng

To

TM THILINA HIMAL

TM THILINI RAJAPAKSHA

TM THULANI PASQUAL

TM UTHAYASHANKAR PARARAJASINGHAM

TM YAMILAH AMIT

TM YASASMI GAMAGE

17 BUILD A BETTER YOU !!

COME AND JOIN WITH US BECOME CONFIDENT IN A FRIENDLY ATMOSPHERE

TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL MISSION We empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders.

CIPM TOASTMASTERS CLUB Club No - 01334805, Area 03, Division C, District 82 Location - CIPM, No .43, Vijaya Kumaranathunga Mawatha, Colombo 05, Sri Lanka Meeting Frequency - 2nd & 4th Thursdays of every month.

From - 6.00 p.m -8.00 p.m

THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE President - TM Charen Hulangamuwa Vice President Education - TM Shanaka Wijewardhana Vice President Membership - TM Dinusha Withanage Vice President Public Relations - TM Yasasmi Gamage Secretary- TM Kavingi Perera Treasurer - TM Dulith Perera Sergeant-at-Arms- TM Kirisanth Senthilnathan

CONTACT DETAILS Vice President Membership - TM Dinusha Withanage dinushashamalee0710@gmail.com 077 297 6645

BLOSSOM PANDEMIC EDITION | DECEMBER 2021 | ISSUE 01