Merrill Cassell's reciprocal speech in Denville, NJ on August 9, 2008 for Lifetime Achievement Award

In picture above: From left: Mr. Jay Liyanage, Honorary Consul for Sri Lanka in the USA, and Mrs. Theresa Liyanage looks on as Merrill Cassell reciprocates:

Text of speech

Honorary Consul for Sri Lanka, Mr. Jay Liyanage and Honorable Congressman Rodney Frelingheusen and fellow Sri Lankan and fellow Americans. I stand before you ready to accept this Lifetime Achievement Award by courtesy of the Sri Lanka Association through the dedicated efforts of our honorary consul Mr. Jay Liyanage.

I share some common paths with Jay and his family. Jay is a sportsman and so is I. Jay raced stock cars up dangerous hills and curves, which I do with a bicycle. Jay worked for children’s issues, personally helping needy Sri Lankan children get the best medical attention in the USA and I worked for UNICEF dealing with children’s issues. Jay organized events of mammoth proportions, car and motor cycle races for the whole country of Sri Lanka, while I organized Learn-to-Swim campaigns for the whole country as well, all about the same period.

Then I was surprised to cross a path with Jay’s beautiful wife Theresa. For many years, I swam many miles along the ocean facing the famous old Galle Face Green in Colombo from Galle Face hotel to the old Colombo port with another companion swimmer by the name of Benito de Silva, which 25 years later and in coming to New York I learned was the brother of Theresa. Is this not a small world?

Jay has been a companion force is organizing these events in Denville and inviting the participation of fellow Americans to meet their new citizens, the Sri Lankan Americans. It seems more fitting to me that the Sri Lanka Association is renamed the Sri Lankan American Association. While I am very proud of my ancestry and the fact that I am from Sri Lanka, I am also proud to be a citizen of America the land of the free . America is now the land that I have come to love and which I think is the greatest country on planet earth, a country that teaches the rest of the world the true meaning of freedom and liberty of the individual to excel to their fullest potential. I pray that Sri Lanka and America enjoy a cordial relationship forever.

I will now gladly accept the Lifetime achievement award from the Honorable Congressman Rodney Frelingheusen.

Thank you.

Merrill Cassell .

Comments

[Thayaparan]

Well deserved Merrill!
We are proud of our CEO!

The SODA group.