Dear BANA member,
First, I am proud to start this Banavani with well-earned congratulations to our young BANA members on their awesome academic accomplishments. Shalika Shetty of Austin, TX is the winner of the prestigious Kolkebail Mahabhala Shetty award for outstanding performance in 2009-10 SAT exams. Shalika, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Ashok and Lalitha Shetty of Austin, TX. is currently an Architecture major at the University of Texas. I am also proud to recognize and congratulate our two other high scoring finalists, Rahul Rai, son of Dr. & Mrs. B.C. and Pavithra Rai of Warren, NJ and Chiraag Shetty, son of Dr. & Mrs. Anand and Sucheta Shetty of Yorktown, Va. Rahul is a freshman at Emory University pursuing Pre-med studies and Chiraag is a junior at Tabb High School in Yorktown, VA. Shalika will be presented with her award at the 2011 Washington, D.C. Bana convention.
I am pleased to report that BANA members have responded to my appeal to support Saanidhya http://www.saanidhya.org, an institution based in Mangalore, India that cares for mentally challenged children. With your generosity, we have collected an estimated $3000 so far! My sincere thanks to everyone who donated to this worthy cause. However, we are still short of our goal to collect $10,000. Please act now and mail your tax deductible donation today. Your generous action is needed to make a meaningful difference in the lives of these needy children.
The countdown has begun for the BANA convention in Washington, D.C. for July 2011! Please mark your calendar and reserve the dates, July 1 – 4, 2011. We are looking forward to welcoming you all to the biennial convention to be held at the beautiful Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in our nation’s capital for an incredible room rates starting at $99 per night! Please start thinking about regional performances to showcase BANA talent. Let us encourage our youngsters to showcase their talents for family and friends. Please share your plans with your regional representatives to help our team in planning the activities. Additional details will follow.
It is time to start thinking about electing the next BANA President for the 2011-2013! Please send all nominations via the nomination form to BANA secretary, Shreenath Shetty. In addition, I ask all members to read the proposal about creating a board of directors, included in this Banavani issue, as mandated in the 2009 general body meeting. If you vote to create the board of directors at the general body meeting, we will also hold an election for the Board of Directors. We are voting on the proposed election of BANA Board of directors as mandated in the 2009 general body meeting.
Thanks to our hard working and dedicated regional representatives for helping with the membership drive. Your active participation in community affairs and input is critical in keeping our community organized. Let us continue our efforts in identifying newcomers/non-members and encourage them to join our organization!
Wishing you all a very happy Diwali filled with a world of joy, prosperity and peace.
Satish S. Shetty
BANA President, Washington, D. C.