Respected members:

On behalf of the 2007 Board of Directors & Board of Trustees let me  present this annual report for your approval. The general election of the Board of Directors for the year 2007 was conducted on November 18, 2006. The following individuals were unanimously elected to the Board of Directors.

President:                                                     Mr. Davis Mundanmani

Vice President:                                             Mr. Baby Koduvathu

Secretary:                                                    Mr. Thomas Easo

Joint Secretary:                                            Mr. Philip Chamathil

Treasurer:                                                    Mr. I. Varghese

Joint Treasurer:                                            Mr. Sabu K. Thomas

Arts Director:                                               Mr. Bijili George

Sports Director:                                           Mr. P.T. Sebastian

Picnic and Recreation Director:                     Mr. J.P. John

Education Director:                                      Mr. Alex Mathews

Library Director:                                          Mr. Koshy Vaidyan

Publication Director:                                     Mr. Siju George

Membership Director:                                   Mr. Thomas J. Vadakkemuriyil

Social Service Director:                                Mrs. Jaya Kainur

Youth Director:                                            Ms. Anjali Cherian

Board of Trustees:                                       Mr. Thampy Mathew

The annual general body meeting was held at the Kerala Association Office on January 20, 2007 at 3.30pm. Mr. Chacko Jacob presided over the meeting. Mr. Santhosh Pillai presented the annual report for the year 2006.

Mrs. Remani Kumar presented the audited account for the year 2006. The reports and accounts were passed by the general body with few changes. Mr. Davis Mundanmani,  President for the year 2007 presided over the next session of the meeting and gave the introductory speech. Mr. Thomas Easo, 2007 secretary, presented the tentative dates for all the programs scheduled for 2007.  Mr. I. Varghese, the treasurer, presented the proposed budget for the year 2007. The meeting adjourned at 5pm.

Membership

A total of 863 members were accounted for the year 2007, compared to our goal of 860. This was a record membership year for Kerala Association. Thanks to all the committee members and volunteers who worked hard to help us to achieve this goal.

2007 Financial Report

The balance for 2007 was $6729.41.  Mr. Hari Pillai, CPA, audited the 2007 financial accounts. Thanks to Mr. Hari Pillai for his services.

Musical Concert 2007

On Saturday, April 28^th, the 2007 Musical Concert was conducted at the St. Thomas Catholic Parish Hall.  Mr. G. Venugopal and Miss Joytsna Radhakrishnan were the performers. It was a very successful event. The total income received for this program was $14,675. The total operating expense for this program was $9,664. We have an income over expense of $5,011 and it was transferred to the savings account as per the decision of the half yearly general body.

Kerala Night

The Kerala Night program was conducted at the MGM Auditorium, Garland on May 5^th, 2007 at 6.00pm. The program created an opportunity for artists in our Association to showcase their talents.  Many of our members enjoyed and participated in this event.

Medical Camp and Blood Drive

The Association organized two medical camps and one blood drive for the benefit of our community. The first medical camp and blood drive was conducted on May 19, 2007 from 9am to 1pm. The clinic was held under the guidance of Drs. Marina Vengalil M D,  Sunil Mathews M D and  Thomas Alexander M D. The second medical camp was held on November 17, 2007. Drs. Shibu Thomas M D  ,  Sunil Mathews M D  and  Marina Vengalil M D volunteered for this event. Many people were able to get the doctor’s advice and were able to donate blood to Dallas Blood Bank. For both the medical camps, Primary Care Clinic of North Texas provided the Laboratory analysis.Thanks to all the doctors, medical professional, Primary Care Clinic of North Texas, and Dallas Blood bank for making this a success.

Reception for Alphons Kannanthanam, MLA

Kerala Association of Dallas hosted a reception in honor of Mr. Alphons Kannanthanam, MLA at the Association office on Saturday, May 27^th at 5 PM. More than 100 people attended the meeting. Snacks were provided to all the participants.

Picnic & Sports

On June 2^nd 2007, Kerala Association organized a picnic at Granger Park in Garland. Sports, games and food were the main attraction. Barbeque, hot dogs, and kappa were served to everyone that attended. Winners of the different sports and games were awarded trophies at the end of the day.

Half Yearly General Body Meeting

The half yearly general body meeting of the Kerala Association was held at the Association office on June 23, 2007 at 4pm. President Mr. Davis  Mundanmani presided over the meeting. Secretary Mr. Thomas Easo presented the half-yearly report. Treasurer Mr. I. Varghese presented the six month’s accounts statement. The general body had a detailed discussion about the feasibility of a permanent facility for the Kerala Association. The decision was taken to buy or build a permanent facility to house all the community activities of the Kerala Association. The general body unanimously decided to start raising funds for this purpose and appointed a 51 member committee. The general body also elected Mr. I. Varghese as Convener and Mr. Boban Koduvathu as Co-convener of the Building Fund Project. The general body decided to conduct a raffle to help raise funds for the building project. The general body also approved the following advertisement rate changes for the Kairali publication starting in January 2008.

The meeting adjourned at 5:40pm.

Special General Body Meeting

A  Special general body meeting of the Kerala Association of Dallas was held at the Association office on July 27, 2007 at 3:30 PM. President Mr. Davis Mundanmani presided over the meeting. The general body unanimously approved the Board of Director’s request to defer the raffle and start soliciting funds from well wishers and members. The general body also decided to conduct the building fund kick off during the Onam celebration.

Onam

The Onam celebration was held on August 25^th, 2007 at the DFW Hindu Cultural Center. An estimated 1300 plus members attended the celebration.  Dr. Venu Menon, PhD, Vice President for Research and Development, Texas Instruments delivered the Onam message. The Association conducted the building fund kick off during the program.  Mr. Boban Koduvathu building committee co-convener inaugurated the Building Fund Project kick off by receiving the first check from Mr. Varghese Chamathil. During the program, the Association raised $53,000 in pledges towards the building project.  The cultural program and the Onam Sadhya were enjoyed by everyone who attended.

Building Fund

In August 2007, collection of funds began for the Building Project.  Our goal is was to collect a total of $250,000 towards the building fund by the end of 2008.  At the year end of  2007, a total of $28,785 had been collected for the building fund account. We have another $55,000 pledges from members & well wishers. Let me thank all of the members and well wishers for their generous support of this project.

Sahithya Sammelanam and Kavya Mela

Sahithya Sammelanam & Kavya Mela was conducted on September 15^th, 2007 at the Association office.  Mr. J. Mathews was the chief guest. “P Bhaskarante ganangal oru aswadanam” was the topic for discussion. During the program, Mr. J. Mathews released the book “Parudeesayile Chakaravakappakshikal” (short stories) written by Mr. Jose Ochalil, a well known American Malayalee writer. Participants enjoyed the Kavya Mela later that day.

Reception in honor of Mr. Oommen Chandy

Kerala Association of Dallas hosted a reception in honor of Mr. Oommen Chandy, Opposition Leader of Kerala Assembly, on Monday, September 24^th at 7pm at the Association office. Also present for the reception were Mr. Benny Behanan (Secretary, KPCC) and Mr. M. M. Hassan (Ex – Minister). Many people participated in the meeting as well as the questions and answers session.  Mr. Oommen Chandy discussed the economical and social issues facing Kerala. Mr. Oommen Chandy also released a book “Kanivinte Suryathejaous,” a biography about Mr. Joseph Chandy written by Dr. A. R. Gopalakrishnanan Nair.  Snacks were provided to all by the Association.

Senior Citizen Day

Senior Citizen’s Day was conducted on October 20, 2007 at the Association office. Dr. M.S.T. Namboothiri, Dr. M.V. Pillai and Capt. George Kakkanatt were the key speakers. The day provided an opportunity for the seniors that live in the Metroplex to share their concerns and health issues with the experts in the medical field. During the program, Kerala Association recognized Dr. M. V. Pillai for his long service and dedication to the Association by giving him a plaque.

Spelling Bee and Speech Competitions

On October 27, 2007, Kerala Association held Speech and Spelling competitions at the Association office. Many children attended the function. The winners were awarded trophies during the Christmas/New Year’s Program.

Education Awards

The Kerala Association recognized the academic achievement of our members’ children by presenting them with certificates, medals, and cash awards. These awards were presented during the Onam Celebration.  On behalf  of Kerala Association of Dallas let me take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude  to the scholarship  sponsors: Irving DFW Indian Lions Club Foundation, International American University, Mrs. Remani Kumar, Mr. Sunny Jacob, and Mr. Joseph Chandy.

Election for 2008

The annual election of the Kerala Association of Dallas for the Board of Directors for the year of 2008 was held on December 15, 2007. The election committee members were Mrs. Remani Kumar (chief election officer), Mr. Thomas Varghese and Mr. Cherian Churanadu. The new officials were elected unanimously. Mr. Thomas Varghese announced the names of the newly elected Board of Directors as follows:

Christmas and New Year Celebration

The Christmas and New Years celebration was held on December 29, 2007 at the St. Thomas Catholic Church Parish Hall. Rev. C. K. Koshy, Vicar of St Paul’s MarThoma Church, delivered the message. The Board of Directors for the year 2008 was introduced at this function. Christmas dinner was provided to all participants.

Executive Committee

In 2007, the Board of Directors & Board of Trustees met nineteen times to ensure the proper coordination of activities.

Condolences

Last year many members of our Malayalee community in Dallas passed away. Kerala Association sent flowers and sympathy cards to all the grieving families. Association members also attended funeral services and shared the sorrows with the  families  and friends.

Website

The Kerala Association launched a new and improved website in  2007. The website address is http://www.keralaassociation.org.  Thanks to Jason Sani and Niven Mathew for designing and continuous updating the site

Indian Consulate Service – Visa camps

In 2007, the Kerala Association and FIA joined together provided four visa camps at the Association office. This was an excellent service to the Indian Community. Thanks to all the members who volunteered their time and efforts. Unfortunately on October 1, 2007, the Government of India stopped all the visa camps in the United States and began to process all visa requests through Traviasa,  an outsourcing agency. Jointly with FIA Kerala Association is exploring the possibility of getting back the Visa  camp for the Indian Passports, OCI, PIO and other consular services at the Association office.

Kairali

Our monthly publication, Kairali magazine, has a circulation of about 950 copies. Thanks to the many volunteers who contribute their time and talents in publishing and mailing this magazine every month. We appreciate your dedication and service to the Association.

Library

Our library has 7000 Malayalam books and is open every Sunday from 4pm to 6pm. Many of our members are taking advantage of our library and reading room.

Conclusion

To all the committee members, I want to let you know what a pleasure it was for me to work with a team of fine and dedicated people. Without your commitments, hard work and support, we would not have achieved all of our goals. Your desires to help fulfill our duties and responsibilities as Board Members helped make this year a true success. To all of our volunteers and well wishers, we thank you for your sincere dedication and generous support for all our programs and events. Thank you for allowing us to serve you.   Today, let me present to you the Annual Report of the Kerala Association of Dallas for the year 2007, before this general body, for discussion and approval.

Sincerely,

Secretary

Thomas Easo

January 19, 2008