Mangaluru: The new team of office bearers of Winners Club Toastmasters for the year 2018-2019 led by President Manisha Daithota was inducted at a glittering ceremony held on Sunday, July 8 at The Gateway Hotel in the city.
Dr. Ravishankar Rao, Director, International Centre, Mangalore University was the chief guest on the occasion.
In his address to the gathering, Dr. Rao complimented the Toastmasters movement for fostering positivity in society. He quoted the first line in Charles Dickens’ famous novel ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ – “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,….” to point out that society is going through a flux and how we view the happenings depends on the perspectives we adopt. Most importantly, we have to be able to speak truth to power, he emphasized. Toastmasters provides the space for hope and motivation, he added.
Toastmasters area director Kiran Vasanth administered the oath of office to the new team of office bearers for 2018-19, led by the President Manisha Daithota. The team includes Sunitha Rodrigues (Vice-President–Education), Geetha Pereira (Vice-President–Membership), Shahab Arabi (Vice President–Public Relations), Bina Shetty (Secretary), Prahalad Kubanooraya (Treasurer), Malini Hebbar (Sergeant-at-Arms) and Shwetha D’Souza (Immediate Past President).
The outgoing team of Samina Nayak, Deborah Lobo, Shahab Arabi, Shwetha D’Souza, Lyra Pinto, Flexon Fernandes and Shivani Baliga rendered the invocation and also welcomed the gathering. Outgoing Secretary Shahab Arabi presented the annual report. Maria D’Costa introduced the chief guest. Toastmasters District 92 Division F Director Savitha Salian officiated during the function. Flexon Fernandes introduced the new team of office bearers.
Outgoing President Shwetha D’Souza thanked her teammates and club members for their cooperation during her tenure.
