In 2013 the General Council named Sanaka Samarasinha the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year for his career with the United Nations and for significant leadership with humanitarian relief and disaster recovery is nations around the globe. Today, Samarasinha is the UN Resident Coordinator posted in the Republic of Belarus in Eastern Europe.

Planning began for Samarasinha’s return to the United States to attend the 2014 Las Vegas General Convention and the Kansas Epsilon 45th Reunion a week later at Emporia State to be celebrated by his brothers. As the date approached, civil turmoil in neighboring Ukraine caused a flow of thousands of refugees into Belarus. This geo-political turn of events necessitated Samarasinha to cancel his trip to America.

On July 18, 51 weeks later, Sanaka Samarasinha returned to Emporia for the Kansas Epsilon Summer Reunion event to be presented his General Council recognition by Brian Davey, president of the Emporia Alumni Chapter, chartered in 1909.

Sanaka Samarasinha of Sri Lanka is the first initiated international Kansas Epsilon brother of many since 1990.