With the celebration of fifty glorious years, OSA made history and we, the members have been a part of it. This convention will always hold a special and memorable place in my heart as here, I, alongside my team, have received the responsibility of being the new executive team who will serve this beautiful organization for the next two years. Personally, it was an overwhelming experience for me after receiving all those congratulatory notes, the good wishes, the blessings, the trust and the confidence of the members. That means a lot to us. Let me thank all the members for that love and support.
I feel lucky to have Dr. Anil Patnaik from Ohio as Vice President, Mr. Vivek Das from Michigan as Secretary and Mr. Utkal Nayak from Maryland as Treasurer in my team. The organization could not have expected a more diverse team of executives who came from such different backgrounds and experiences. The energy, enthusiasm and inclusiveness are a few of the characteristics of these officials at the first glimpse that excited members of the society during the General Body Meeting held on July 6th, 2019.
"Synergy, Engagement and Empowerment" will be our mantra.
Our team envisions an OSA that will support generations to come, believes that the mission is to synergize, engage, and empower (SEE) tomorrow's Odia leaders and visionaries, which is of utmost importance for a stronger and more advanced organization. Also, empower smaller chapters to build stronger communities.
We will accomplish this through the following actions:
- Connect – transform OSA to be the bridge that connects generations
- Outreach – facilitate promotion of Odia culture by developing strategies for cultural events, encouraging collaboration, and team up with both in-house and Odisha’s cultural icons in this endeavor
- Youth Engagement – encouraging millennials to participate in social and cultural service projects of OSA to increase and diversify the decision-making process
- OSA 2.0 – advancing technological interfaces to bring the members for a more connected community.
We would like to introduce the initiative of focused care for seniors, women and students under a new scheme of OSA Care, which will be the integral part of our mission.
Our team takes up commitment towards the initiative of Senior care as the fraternity’s gratitude towards its founders and early days members who have devoted time and energy to build this solid platform , to preserve the rich heritage of Odisha as well as put it on the growth path , despite being far from the native land.
Women are not only going to be more involved in decision making process, but also have more initiatives focused on building a voice to support concerns of women such as providing support towards preventing or defending domestic violence, and building a women's network. It's very important for the women in the society to step into various leadership roles within the organization to be engaged and involved in its activities.
The team shares the vision regarding membership growth by providing a value perspective. Through its activities and engagement with the Odia Diaspora, it should become the default network for every new Odia person that enters North America. The team is committed to work on an initiative that would help newly migrated Odias in providing support, help during emergencies, access to local chapters and needed support in terms of social connection. This initiative would make the students and immigrant workers aware of the OSA platform before coming to North America. This early engagement would benefit new migrants settle down in a smoother way providing a much-needed value out of the membership to the community.
Hundred days have passed since we took the office to serve the organization. Countless hours have already been spent in meetings, building committees and taking small steps towards our goal. Following are few glimpses to show how we have used those hours.
Finding a host for the fifty-first convention was our first task. We are very grateful to OSA Southern Chapter, which has graciously accepted to host the 2020 OSA Convention at Nashville, Tennessee. Members are very supportive and excited about the decision and are volunteering to take on various responsibilities. Dr. Geeta Misra was chosen as Convener for the 51st OSA convention and the Co-Conveners are Manoj Senapati and Dilip Dalei, apart from Dr. Anil Patnaik (OSA ex-officio).
Fani Fund Disbursement was our next target. With BOG’s consent we’re able to send it to the right destination.
Under OSA Care, we are trying to streamline OSA Impact by connecting more youth to the project. Deepak Sahoo, President of OSA Ohio, is spearheading the movement. OSA is discussing the possibilities of forming a Health and Wellness group under the OSA umbrella. The group under the leadership of Dr. Devashish Ray is formed from a network of doctors, who are OSA members. Their primary goal is to conduct health care activities in Odisha as well as in the Odia Community in North America.
Currently EC is working on proposed standardization of OSA website. It would enable chapters to make chapter specific information available for easy access by members. It will also help the upcoming convention to use the previous year website instead of creating another one all over again.
Through our cultural outreach program OSA is under the process of a collaboration with Department of Culture and Tourism of Govt. Of Odisha to showcase the Odia talents from North America in Odisha. At the same time the youth from here will have an opportunity also to get a glimpse of our culture and heritage. The goal is to connecting our youth to their roots.
Many thoughtful, critical, analytical and important inputs have been brought to the executives’ attention by OSA’s esteemed members. I’m thankful to those thoughtful members especially to Mr. Amiya Nayak and Mr. Manoj Padhi who had spent many hours to prepare a list of proposal to improve OSA as an organization.
Last but not list I’m very thankful to the following individuals for their guidance and support.
The previous OSA executive team under the leadership of past president Mr. Lalatendu Mohanty.
- Dr. Ajay Mohanty, Dr. Bigyani Das. Mr. Sushant Satpathy as advisors
- Mr. Gyana Pattanaik, Ms.Leena Mishra of OSA Grievance Committee
- Dr, Annapurna Pandey, Dr Durga Mishra and Dr. Chitta Baral advisor Students & Higher Education
- Mr.Gagan Bihari Panigrahi & Mr. Dhirendra Kar of OSA PR Team
- Mr.Bikash Panda as Web Master
- Mr. Prashant Padhy and Mr. Sunil Sabat as OSANet moderators
- Mr.Babru Samal, Mr. Prashant Bhuyan and Mr. Nagesh Rajnala of OSA Editorial Board.
- Abhishek Panigrahi and Amisha Paul of OSA Impact.
Many other committees are under reformation and need to get activated. We are working on that.
My sincere appeal to all who are keen for the betterment of our community and culture to come forward to help us in achieving these goals. Nothing will be impossible when we join hands together. Let's believe in synergy and empowerment! If you would like to share any constructive thoughts, please reach out to me at president@odishasociety.org
I wish the OSA family joy and happiness during this festive season and throughout the year. May Almighty take away all your worries and bless you with health, wealth and prosperity.
Om Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu.
Sincere Regards,
Kuku Das
President, OSA
Leave a Reply