AKKA President's Message
Dear AKKA members and
fellow-Kannadigas,
At the very outset
I like to thank each and every one of you for the great support
you have extended to me and to AKKA for the last two years. I
also ask your forgiveness for not communicating with you earlier.
It gives me great pleasure to tell you now that we have made
great progress as an organization promoting Kannada culture in
North America and nurturing unity amongst Ameri-kannadigas, in
the very short history of our existence. And now we have taken
some key administrative steps towards stabilizing our organization
and positioning it for further growth of Ameri-kannadigas.
I like to share with you some of the major achievements and
milestones in the progress of AKKA:
• AKKA was born in February 1998, at the first world Kannada
sammelana-98 held in USA at Phoenix, AZ. The spirit of more than
800 Kannadigas at this conference was all encompassing like a
great family re-union. In the words of Harish Kumar, one of the
founding members of the steering committee, "the Phoenix
Sammelana set the Gold standard for Kannada Sammelanas in USA
and that all future Sammelanas will be judged by that gold standard".
A group of 9 prominent kannadigas who believed in the need for
a central organization were selected from across the country
by the Chairman of the conference Mr. Seetha V. Ramaiah and formed
a steering committee. This committee elected the office bearers
of AKKA and got its constitution drafted by Seetha V. Ramaiah.
• The constitution was reviewed and adopted by the members of AKKA
at the time viz. the members of the steering committee in a tele-conference
call meeting in February 1999.
•
The group of Kannadigas attending the Sammelana was so enthused
by the great synergy generated in the Phoenix Sammelana, they
volunteered under the leadership of Jayram Nadig to conduct the
World Millennium Kannada Conference, WMKC-2000 in Houston Texas.
AKKA approved Houston Kannada Koota’s request for the next
world Kannada sammelana in the millennium, and under the leadership
of Jayram Nadig and Houston Vrinda. We had more than 2000 people
attending this Sammelana, one of the most talked about events
for kannadigas with a most successful sammelana in Houston.
• AKKA became a household word both in USA and Karnataka and became
a symbol of pride for Kannadigas everywhere. In recognition of
AKKA's successful efforts in promoting Kannada arts and culture
in America, the Government of Karnataka awarded the Rajyothsava
to AKKA in December 2001.
• Enthused by the success of the Houston Sammelana another group
of enthusiastic Kannadigas pledged at the Houston Sammelana to
host the second AKKA Sammelana in the year 2002, in New York.
Due to various reasons known and unknown, the New York Kannada
informed AKKA about six months later that they would not be able
to host the 2002 World Kannada Sammelana.
• This left us with just about one year to prepare for the world
Sammelana. Against heavy odds, and great doubts, the Kannadigas
from the Detroit Area extended their full support to me and to
AKKA and pledged to hold the 2002 sammelana in Detroit, Michigan,
which even scaled greater heights, with more than 4000 kannadigas
attending the conference. We all owe a great debt of gratitude
to the Kannadigas of Detroit area.
And we are carrying forward the momentum generated by the gathering
and networking of such large number of kannadigas, and are planning
very earnestly to have the biggest and best sammelana in the
magical city of Orlando in September 2004. While a committee
under Dr. Renuka Ramappa has already been setup for that event,
we also took care of some housekeeping work in AKKA. While AKKA's
constitution served well for the success we have achieved, all
Kannada Kootas were not on the Board of Directors of AKKA and
there was a strong movement in AKKA to include all Kootas on
the Board.
In
recognition of this AKKA Board appointed a By-law committee
under the chairmanship
of Dr. Keshav Babu. In a very short time,
this committee came up with recommendations for amending the
constitution to include all Kootas on AKKA's Board of Directors.
The amendments were discussed in AKKA’s board meeting of
July 9, and voted upon. The new constitution incorporating the
approved amendments to the original constitution is now being
presented to all of you for approval.
This
is a very significant step in our progress and we strongly
urge you,
the member, to take time to look at the new constitution
and vote "yes" to ratify the changes. Please note that
if the majority of members like you do not approve this amended
constitution, the old constitution will stay in effect.
Immediately after that we shall put through a process of elections
to the board and your participation in that process is also very
critical in the democratic functioning of this body of Kannadigas.
The salient features of the new amended constitution are as follows:
• Every
Kannada koota that is a charter member of AKKA to get a representation
in the AKKA board of directors:
• Proportionate representation to the board from general membership.
For every 3 charter members, there will be 2 board members that
need to be elected by the general membership. This serves the
very important mission of AKKA to network and bring together
Ameri-kannadigas and Kannada Kootas of America.
Besides these there are some minor changes, which we feel will
make it easier for AKKA to function as an organization.
If you have any questions regarding the constitution amendments
please feel free to contact any of us by email or phone. Your
help and cooperation in this regard is greatly appreciated. Let
us all rededicate ourselves as proud kannadigas to unity of purpose
and celebration of our heritage.
Sirigannadam Gelge.
Inti Nimma,
Amarnath Gowda
President
AKKA
