ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM)
The AGM was held on February 1, 2015 at the association building. Members attending were on time and the meeting commenced without much delay.
The following EC was elected at the AGM:
| President | Chris Senaratne |
| Vice president | Viraj De Silva |
| Secretary | Priyantha Silva |
| Treasurer | Lakshaman Samarasinghe |
| Director of Social and Cultural Activities | Nelum Ranasinghe |
| Director of Membership and Welfare | Gothamica Wickramasekara |
| Director of Publicity and Communications | Sharmini Senaratne |
| Director of Cultural Affairs | Himani Ferdinandis (subsequently unanimously elected by the EC) |
| Director of Fundraising | Anthony Joseph |
| Past President | Dilu Fernando |
The majority of the committee members have served in previous ECs and are all committed to work diligently to ensure a successful year. To achieve this objective, your participation and volunteerism is imperative and as such we appeal to you to volunteer to help us in our activities.
The strength of the association is also dependent on members such as you and we encourage you to continue your membership to enable us to accomplish more together. Being a member has many advantages including participation in the activities put on by the association. Family membership is only $30.00 per year and a single membership $15.00 per year. More details could be obtained by contacting the Membership Director, Gothamica Wickramasekara at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. With the recent influx of new Sri Lankans to Edmonton, we look forward to participation numbers increasing so that it is not always the same members attending AGM’s and being tasked with undertaking the work of the Association.
Although the activities of the association were conducted in a low key manner last year, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the outgoing committee for a good job done, especially considering the fact that the majority of the team worked tirelessly for 3 consecutive terms.
REGULAR EVENTS OF THE ASSOCIATION:
1st Friday - held on the 1st Friday of each month from 7.00 pm onwards at the association building, with a potluck dinner and a night of music, games, and fun. Excellent opportunity to make President Chris Senaratne Vice president Viraj de Silva Secretary Priyantha Silva Treasurer Lakshaman Samarasinghe Director of Social and Cultural Activities Nelum Ranasinghe Director of Membership and Welfare Gothamica Wickramasekara Director of Publicity and Communications Sharmini Senaratne Director of Cultural Affairs Himani Ferdinandis (subsequently unanimously elected by the EC) Director of Fundraising Anthony Joseph Past President Dilu Fernando new friends and socialize. Please try to keep the date free and attend this function because it’s certainly a case of more the merrier. Non members are welcome to join in with a drop in fee of $2.50 per head per event or a fee of $15.00 per head for the calendar year. Coordinator - Mano Senaratne
Movie Night - held on the 3rd Friday of the month at the SLCFA building from 7.30 pm onwards. Commences with a potluck dinner followed by a Sri Lankan movie. Good opportunity to mingle with our fellow Sri Lankans. Coordinator - Lakshaman Samarasinghe
Sri Lankan Dance Classes - conducted at the association building on Sundays at 1200 noon. The newly elected coordinator has lots of new innovative ideas and for these to come to fruition she needs the support of the parents. Please make sure your children come for practices regularly. Coordinator - Maduni Maraweera.
We would like to pay tribute to the invaluable services rendered by Eeshani de Silva the former Instructor/coordinator for all she has done for the Sri Lankan dance classes for over 25 years. We appreciate her tireless efforts to instill the fundamentals and love of dancing in our younger generations and with her talent has had many cultural shows to her credit. Thank you Eeshani, we truly appreciate your dedication and service.
Zumba Classes - Held on Saturdays at 10.00 am in the building depending on participant availability. Coordinator/Instructor - Sandamali Senaratne.
Classical Music Classes - Held in the association building on Sunday afternoons. Coordinator - Lakshaman Samarasinghe
Seniors Day - Held on every 2nd Saturday of the month from 10.00am - 4.00 pm at our building. The seniors in our community are treated to a day of exercise, games, a good lunch etc. and given an opportunity to have some fun. The AGLC declined funding for this program, so last year 3-4 families got together and hosted this function each month. We would like to thank those of you who have already volunteered to host this event for another year, but are still in need of a few more volunteers to take on this event for the missing months. It is a very rewarding experience and if anyone or a group is interested in sponsoring this event for a particular month, please contact the Coordinator - Dee Cooray at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Please remember this is your association. Any input or suggestions you may have on improvement of existing programs or new programs is welcome and would be considered if feasible. News pertaining to our members or any interesting articles for publishing in future newsletters is welcome too.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Annual Picnic - in September. Date, venue and time to be announced
Calgary-Edmonton Sports encounter - cricket, soccer and netball matches between teams from Edmonton and Calgary are held annually. This year the event will be held in Edmonton in August. Venue, date and time will be announced as soon as we have more information. It will be a full days event followed by a dinner dance. Practices will commence sometime in early Spring. If you wish to participate in any of the teams please contact the Social Director Nelum Ranasinghe at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and she will put you in touch with the relevant coordinators.
New Year Celebration - The SLCFA is planning on partnering with the Sri Lanka Humanitarian Foundation of Canada on a joint function to celebrate the Sri Lankan New Year. The event is tentatively scheduled for May 10th during the day. More information will be available once bookings have been finalized.
Heritage Festival - Not participating this year. The past committee was unable to send in the required application for participation in the Festival by the due date of January 9th as no volunteers came forward for the 3 keys positions, which have to be identified on the form, despite many reminders and warnings to the membership of the consequences of not doing so. While this initially excluded the Association from participation in this event, the membership attending the recent AGM requested that the past president explore the possibility of sending in a late application given her successful dealings with the Heritage Committee in previous years. She reported back that a late application could be sent in, but there would be no guarantee on participation and a decision in this regard could take as long as May to be communicated back to the Association. A penalty fee of $250.00 would also need to be paid. Taking into consideration the uncertainties, the time factor and the penalty, it was decided at the EC meeting to abstain from sending in a late application. Hopefully there would be enough enthusiasm and volunteers for us to try again next year if possible.
Building Rentals : There is a revisal in the rental prices and procedures as it was no longer viable to rent at the existing rates. The new rates are as follows.
Members - $100.00 per rental
Non Members- $150.00 per rental (with recommendation by a member)
Please note to get the membership rate you have to be a member of good standing for at least 3 months. For availability of the hall please contact the Director of Publicity and Communications Sharmini Senaratne at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or the Secretary Priyantha Silva at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Once the website is running you would be able to check the availability from there, but would still need to contact one of the above for reservations.
Website - the website will be up and running shortly. We have already called for quotations from qualified permanent residents or citizens, with experience, for management and support of the website.