Award for founder of the Sri Lanka America Association
View(s):Jayam Rutnam received the main award at the Sri Lanka Foundation Awards, held on Sunday, November 16 at the Millenium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles.
The award was presented by Sri Lanka Foundation President, Dr. Walter Jayasinghe. Jayam, who has lived in Los Angeles for the past 50 years, was honoured for his work with the Sri Lankan expatriate community in Southern California.
He is the founder of the Sri Lanka America Association, which celebrated 41 years of service to the community.
Born in Sri Lanka, Jayam is the son of the late Dr. James T. Rutnam and Evelyn Rutnam. His brother Chandran is the well known film producer.
Jayam migrated to the USA in 1963, and set up an association for Ceylonese immigrants in 1970, to serve the needs of the Sri Lankan expatriates with the advice of the then Ambassador of Sri Lanka to USA, Neville Kanekeratne. He worked with an eight person committee to draft a constitution for the organisation.
Jayam served as President of the Ceylon America Association from 1970 to 1973. He also formed the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and promoted trade between Ceylon and the U.S. He also hosted several events to promote tourism and investments in Sri Lanka.
In 1974, he was instrumental in hosting a Sri Lankan cultural show at the Lotus Festival at Echo Park in Los Angeles.
Jayam served as President of the Sri Lanka America Association (SLAASC) in 2002 and 2008.
He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Gina. Although retired, he publishes “Good News From Jayam”, a newsletter on events in Sri Lanka and activities of Sri Lankans worldwide which is circulated among over 50,000 readers. He is also a Senior Staff Reporter at the San Gabriel Valley Examiner newspaper.