25 Years in the making
Not the end of an era, but the beginning of the next chapter in the storied history of the STC OBA – CANADA.
As the evening of May 5th drew close, 400 guests of the STC OBA – CANADA prepared themselves for an epic event. The evening began with a happy hour of drinks and hors d’oeuvres and gave our guest the opportunity to mingle in their dazzling attire. Right on queue the MC Bennett Olegasegram asked everyone to take their seats in the hall. The opening ceremonies began with 8 Past Presidents marching in proudly behind flag bearer and past president Kumaru Wijesundera, flanked by all old Thomians present. The procession began with founding member and first president Wimsy Sinntamby, He was followed closely behind by Siri Wijetunge, Chico Guneratna, David Jayaweera, Shanaka De Mel, Russell Rajaratnam, D.R. Weerasinghe, Rajith Kannangara and current president Jehan Ahamed. All past presidents were honoured with a keep sake memento as gratitude for the services rendered.
With his Dance Committee standing behind him our current President Jehan Ahamed welcomed all those in attendance and thanked his team for 3 months of long hours, many late nights and weekends spent planning and preparing for this moment. Special mention was made of dance Committee Chairman Sumith Samarasinghe whose leadership and skill had made this special event evolve from idea to reality. As a special tribute to his invaluable contribution to the dance Mr. Daya Ginige was called upon to cut the 25th anniversary cake.
Headliner and “King of Baila” Desmond De Silva transported us back in time with heart wrenching renditions of some of the best of the 60s and 70s. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand, singing along to a few choruses, left side vs right side of the dance floor. He nearly brought the roof down when he sang “she went into the water”. The surprise guest artist Mr. Roshan Thavaratnam, added a great deal of flavour with a short set of popular Tamil songs. Matrix and DJ Chamil also brought their “A” game to the event keeping the dance floor jammed packed all night long.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen the Thomian “Silver Jubilee Dinner Dance” was a big hit and a roaring success. A fitting celebration with style and elegance that only the boys from “The School by the sea” could pull off. Ducimus Nos Sequnter Alli as the saying goes, non Thomian guests were privy to just how the alumni of the most prestigious school in Sri Lanka celebrate a great milestone in Canada. A beautiful venue, great food, top shelf entertainment and a midnight Sri Lankan table with a live “Kothu” station were complementing the main event, Celebrating the 25 years of the STC OBA CANADA.
In Closing I would like to thank all the past presidents for their exemplary service to our Alma Mater, Wimsy Sinntamby, Siri Wijetunge, Premalal Fernando, Chico Guneratna, Kumaru Wijesundera, David Jayaweera, Sunil Welikala, Shanaka De Mel, Russell Rajaratnam, Malik Candappa, Ashok Senadeera, D.R. Weerasinghe, Hiran Adhihetty, Rajith Kannangara, Trevor Fernando, Thamal Perera and current president Jehan Ahamed.
An event such as this would not be possible without our great sponsors, especially our very own Thomian sponsors, Yoga Warren, Kumar Gurutharan, Chian De Silva, Sumith Samarasinghe, Trevor Fernando and Riyaz Rauf.
Finally, the Dance Committee:
Chairman: Sumith Samarasinghe, and his team Daya Ginige, Jehan Ahamed, D.R Weerasinghe, Goddy Kumarage, Malik Candappa, Prasad Jinasena, Priyanthan Gopallapille, Ram Thirugnanam, Sachi Suresan, Sana Saravanamuthu, Ravi Niles, Trevor Fernando, Sajeewa Peiris, Gerhard Munaweera, Eshan Samsoodeen and Rajit Kadirgamar
Dance Photos: by Daya Ginige
Anchorman Photos by Dirk: