{"id":145416,"date":"2015-07-17T04:22:44","date_gmt":"2015-07-17T08:22:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kanglaonline.com\/?p=77067"},"modified":"2015-07-17T04:22:44","modified_gmt":"2015-07-17T08:22:44","slug":"24th-nama-convention-held-in-rockville-maryland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.manipur.org\/news\/2015\/07\/17\/24th-nama-convention-held-in-rockville-maryland\/","title":{"rendered":"24th NAMA convention held in Rockville, Maryland"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NAMA,<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The 24th<\/sup> NAMA Annual Convention Report, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 24th<\/sup> annual convention of the North American Manipur Association (NAMA) marked the largest gathering in NAMA history with nearly 130 participants in attendance. The annual NAMA conventions that take place every year at different locations providean opportunity for all the Manipuris living in North America to reconnect with friends and family and rekindle Manipuri tradition and culture. Manipurisacross North America gathered under one roof on July 3rd<\/sup> and 4th<\/sup>at Washington, D.C., meeting one another, dressing up in traditional attire, joining in traditional song and dance, eating ethnic food, renewing old friendships and making new ones. Members in attendance traveled far and wide from many states in the USA, includingVirginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida.<\/p>\n

Friday July 3rd<\/sup>, 2015\u2013 Social Gathering at Rollins Congressional Club<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 24th<\/sup> NAMA Convention commenced with a social gathering at the Rollins Congressional Clubin Rockville, Maryland on Friday July 3rd<\/sup>, 2015 at 7:00 PM. The convention hall was jam-packed with men, children and traditionally dressed beautiful Manipuri women. The stage was set up with a Manipuri theme. An ethnic potluck was held by the DC Area families (Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC) in the evening. While the dinner was underway, NAMA t-shirts were sold. Romola Kshetrimayum and Monica Laishram sang songs and music was played by Nishi Asem, Martin Haobam, Sagar Sharma, and Chingkhei Akoijam. The slide show compiled by Naba Singhadisplaying the former NAMA members, activities and events was played on the projector. The gathering and the dinner concluded at 11:00 PM.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Saturday July 4th<\/sup>, 2015 \u2013 Main Event at Rollins Congressional Club <\/strong><\/p>\n

The main event took place on America\u2019s Independence Day, the 4th<\/sup> of July. While Americans celebrated their independence, Manipuris in North America celebrated theirreunion at Washington D.C. The registration began at 9:00 AM on Saturday morningwhile breakfast was served. The Mistress of Ceremonies was Babyrani Yumnam. The event started with a welcome address by the President of NAMA, Amom Ruhikant Meetei. The welcome address was followed by an opening song \u201cHo Ima Poknapham Ima\u201d by the President himself, Thoihen Heisnam, Monica Laishram, Prativa Amom and Prety Amom. After the song, the President extended a warm welcome to everyone present and appreciated their support for the association. The Presidenturged the members to continue providing support for future NAMA activities.<\/p>\n

The President\u2019s welcome speech was followed by the General Secretary\u2019sactivity report. Hori Irombham, the General Secretary of NAMA discussed the activities accomplishedin the years 2013-14 & 2014-15. Horifurther attested to how NAMA is actively supporting several organizationsin Manipurthroughdonations and endorsementduring the pastyears. Lily Sharma, the Treasurer of NAMA, then presented the financial report for the years 2013-14 & 2014-15. According to the reportNAMA\u2019s financial standing continues to grow.<\/p>\n

Naba Singha, Delly Adhikarimayum, Lalit Pukhrambam, Surjalal Sharma, P Swornalata each presented a speech. The presenters discussed the evolution of NAMAand how the association has progressedsignificantly in terms of program development and membership size. The presenters also reiterated the history of Manipur and discussedhow Manipur became a part of India. The founders of NAMA were honored. The participants stood in silence for a minute in remembrance of NAMA members who have passed away.<\/p>\n

The newly amended NAMA Constitution was distributed to the participants for their review. Upon strict review of the language, terms, laws and principles of the newly amended NAMA constitution, the members offered their approval. Once approved by the members, Dritha Kumar announced an official final approval of the new NAMA constitution.<\/p>\n

Shilpa Phairembam Weiss, the Assistant General Secretary, as well as the main coordinator of the NAMA Excellence Award program unveiled the NAMA Excellence award program. Shilpa outlined that the award program is a new initiative that aims to reward and motivate the talented Manipuri students in North America who have excelled in the field of academics, sports and arts. There was a good turnout in the inaugural year and more applications are expected in the future.<\/p>\n

The recipient of the 2015 Sports Excellence Award was Adam Laishram, son of Dr. Joy Laishram and Christina Laishram of Ontario, Canada. Adam is a national hockey player. He played for Team Ontario alongside some of the top NHL draft prospects in the league. Adam has achieved many prestigious awards and played at the international level representing Canada. The recipients of the 2015 NAMA Academic Excellence Award were:Prativa Amom, daughter of Amom Ruhikant Meetei and Kebola Wahengbam; and Bosco Chanam, son of Kulabidhu Chanam and Pramodini Chanam. Their applications were evaluated judiciously and the academic excellence award recipients were selected based on their academic performance, overall GPA, voluntary experience, and participation in extracurricular activities.<\/p>\n

Once the awards were distributed, the Chief Guest, Maisnam Riten Kumar who currently works in India as a Superintendent Engineer\/Director, Ministry of Road, Transport and Highway presented a speech. The Chief Guest expressed his joy of being there at the convention and appreciated the effort and time that NAMA has been giving for the betterment of ourManipuri community back at home as well as here in the States. There was a 1 hour lunch break after the Chief Guest\u2019s speech.<\/p>\n

Members assembled around 2:05 PM after the lunch togive their votes for the new 2015-2017 executive members. Listed below are the candidates that were elected:<\/p>\n