Team Public Relations

Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.

For the first time in our Rotaract club history, a PR team was appointed on the 8^th of August, with the aim of improving the public image of the Club. This decision has since proven to be one of the best that were ever taken. From 40 odd applications, 12 amazing individuals were selected to take over the responsibility of molding and maintaining the public image of the club, along with myself and Ruchira. Within a very few days, we all became a close-knit family, comfortable enough to laugh, joke, and constructively criticize each other while working on our assigned individual and group duties.

This is a brief glimpse of the 12 wonderful members, who are much appreciated for their dedication and commitment towards the club within these past few months. They were the silent strength behind every project, PR-wise, and POC-wise. They were the wonderful backstage troupe working flawlessly behind the scenes, and for that, they deserve much credit and many thanks.

Our team consisted of 11 first years and one second year, our batchmate, Rtr. Sahan Chandula, who is also known as Mr. Chess. Sahan is a responsible and methodical guy who is excellent at teamwork. He is a huge asset with his experience as a former member of RAC Battaramulla, guiding our first-year team members. He is popular among the batches as the reigning “National Chess Champ”. He chaired the very first project of our club’s Rotaract year, “Stop the Spread” and continued as the project chair of “Got PINK?”.

Rtr. Bimsara Perera is the team’s scouting pro, who took over the role of PR coordinator of “WeGuide”, with the words, “I’ll try my best akki”. He is self-assured and his secret tools are the right attitude and hard work.

Rtr. Binuri Wickramathunge also known as Ms. Silent, is the PR coordinator of the ongoing “Mistletoe Magic” project conducted by the Club Services Avenue. Don’t let her nickname fool you, though! She is a former school parliamentarian and can be as loud as she wants on choice. She was one of the delegates of the “Got Pink” POC and a facilitator for the “Treasure hunt”.

Rtr. Chandula Fernando, the Ms. Smiles, is a former team coordinator of the Volunteer organization “Without Borders, Sri Lanka”. She once had to step in as a moderator, impromptu, during the “Treasure Hunt”, but took it in her stride and showcased her impressive talents. And of course, she grabbed the unwavering attention of all the single rotaractors in attendance that day!

Rtr. Dewmini Jayalath, our Miss. Charming DJ is another wonderful soul of the team. She is a former Toastmaster at the Colombo Toastmasters Club and a talented moderator of live sessions. She was the moderator of the very first project of this year’s Rotaract calendar; “Stop the Spread”. She continued her part as the moderator of the best PR project of the RACFOSUOC history, “GotPINK”. She also gave her helping hand as a facilitator with a short invitation from me, showing just how dedicated she was, 24/7. She also works as a subject coordinator at the Akhankara POC.

Rtr. Malshaka Kodikara: Mr. Bright Wing, is the most silent guy in the team who is the epitome of ‘less talk, more work’, to the extent that I sometimes check if he is even present. He is one of the creative masterminds who contributed to the International Posts series that we published as a team.

Rtr. Nipuni Wanniarachchi, also known as Miss. Walking Encyclopedia is an eloquent public speaker who has completed the Speech Craft program of the Toastmasters International. She was one of the PR coordinators of the “Got Pink” project and was a facilitator at the “Treasure hunt”. Whenever someone presents an idea, she never forgets to add tidbits of facts and her own ideas to make it better.

Rtr. Omeshi Chamiska, also called as Chief Briggs, is a former member of the PR team of Diplomats MUN 2020. She held the delegate position at the POC of the “Mystery trails”. She uses her unique experiences in the PR field to brainstorm novel ideas whenever there’s a discussion in the group.

Rtr. Oshadie Tennakoon the Ms. Extremely Silent, is the brilliant member who came up with the epic catchphrase for “GotPink” that went viral. She is one of the most active members of the group. She is the PR coordinator of the Akhankara POC where she first showcased her talents which led us to select her as a definite member of the PR team. She was one of the PR coordinators of “Got Pink” and a facilitator at the “Treasure hunt”. Special mentions: whenever a pm pops up from her saying “Reshani akkiiiii”, I know that something has gone wrong with a video I have uploaded on our Instagram account. She is always alert and is the ever-present helping hand of our team.

Rtr. Ravindu Dulakshana, A.K.A. Mr. D bot, the auto-reply dude of the club, is a former Business Development Associate at HSBC where he developed his impressive communication skills. He was the PR coordinator of the POC of “Coast to Coast” conducted under the IS avenue. He got his pet name from the auto-replies he used to send us when he was absent for our Whatsapp discussions.

Rtr. Sajani Perera, the Ms. Multitasking was the lucky chair of “Treasure hunt”. She worked as the delegate of the “Gotpink” POC, a project coordinator of “Akhankara” and the PR coordinator of the “Breathe” and “Wise Advice” projects, as well. The novel way of the Mystery trails was one of her brilliant suggestions which made it a unique treasure hunt, where we made the Rotaract community aware of breast cancer in a fun and interactive manner. She gets her nickname because she never says the word “can’t”.

Rtr. Yasas Jayaweera also called “Kanda Udarata Kumaraya”, is multitalented in both PR and Designing. He designed the templates for some of the international day posts and made the teaser trailer for the treasure hunt. He was one of the PR coordinators of “Got PINK” and is a project coordinator of “Akhankara” as well. He also played the role of Agent Cole during the Treasure hunt.

Just after a couple of days from their recruitment, they proved to be such a talented bunch that we were so proud of selecting them for the team.

Our journey started with the dare for the International Youth Day. This was our first shout out that went viral to the extent that, Ruchira and I were fed up with reposting the stories where we were tagged. Starting with this, the International day post series launched in a very novel and unique designs. The outstanding posts, videos, and quizzes that were made by this talented crew for World Humanitarian Day, International Handwashing Day, International Charity Day, International Children’s Day, International Elders’ Day, World Teachers’ Day, World Mental Health Day, World Food Day and the viral “GotPink” project became a social media frenzy, greatly increasing the influence and reach of the Club. The ideas for all these international day post series proved that “Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than the one where they sprang up”.

During the second week of October, Sahan (as usual) suggested that we do something for breast cancer awareness. It was just a random suggestion in the group and none of us imagined the huge success it was going to be.

The POC which included almost the entire PR Avenue, which was chaired by Sahan with Oshadie, Sajani, Binuri, Nipuni, Yasas, and Dewmini as members of the POC from our team, brought this idea into reality. Dewmini moderated the webinar professionally with so many compliments from all the fellow rotaractors and the general public. Just after the Webinar, for Phase 2 of “Gotpink”, we launched the “Pinktobers Mystery Mania”, a fun treasure hunt incorporating creative ways of Breast Cancer Awareness. The trailer video for the treasure hunt was released and the shoots were done with the of story play designed by this talented bunch. Sajani, Chandula, Omeshi, Yasas, and Oshadie were some of the POC members.

It is with humble pleasure that we celebrate the fact that it went on to become one of the best virtual webinars of the Rotaract history and the best ever PR project done by RACFOSUOC. GotPINK ended up showing that individuality counts but teamwork dynamites.

GotPINK also paved the way for many cherished partnerships with Lanka Hospitals, Chokolaate, Now You See Me, Pulse, Treats and Delights, and Minimelt. We dedicate all these victories to our team members and all our fellow Rotaractors! Let us meet again in the new year and make more memories, win more victories, and most importantly, have fun together! At last but not least, Thank you so much for all your dedication towards the club work! Teamwork makes the dream work happen! Looking forward to more great works from the team. We as a club are proud to have a hardworking team like you. Keep it up and let’s strive as one to go that extra mile.

PR Directors: Rtr. Reshani Lolimbavansha and Rtr. Ruchira Nirmal