October 2018 Newsletter

Fellow Alumni:

It is with great delight and gratitude that I welcome you back to a new fiscal year of our association. Words alone cannot express my utmost appreciation for your participation at our recently concluded and highly successful 2018 national reunion in Maryland. Glory be to God the Almighty! On behalf of the association, I thank you for all your support, dedication, and sacrifice to the progress of our association

I would like to seize this opportunity to give a special thanks to the members of the MD/DC/VA planning committee for a job well done hosting the reunion. I also thank the members of the board of directors and the advisory board for their support, leadership, and guidance especially over the last two years. Your advice, guidance, and cooperation have greatly contributed to the progress of our association. May the good Lord continue to grant you with more wisdom, and may He always crown all your endeavors with great success.

Two year ago, I was privileged to gain your trust and confidence when you elected me as the president of our association. As I said during our reunion business meeting, the opportunity to serve the association has been a great honor and privilege. At our reunion business meeting on September 29, 2018, you bestowed your trust and confidence on me again when you gave the privilege and honor to serve another term as the national president of our association. I am sincerely grateful for your support, trust, and confidence, and I am truly honored to serve the association again. I would also like to thank you for reelecting our incomparable national treasurer to another term.

As I stated at the business meeting, I am delighted to inform you that all goals that we put forth at the beginning of our first term were accomplished with great success. The primary focus of our first term was the need for reorganization of operation and the expansion of membership through active participation so as to achieve all of our goals. As we embark on our long journey of the rebirth of our Alma mater, our guiding principles will continue to be: (a) unity, (b) integrity, (c) humility, and (d) efficacy. Our main areas of focus for the second term will include: (1) increasing the endowment fund; (2) grassroots membership drive; (3) constitution/bylaws reform; and (4) CHSA educational and infrastructural support.

Endowment Fund
One of our major goals is to increase our endowment account to $100,000 by September of 2019, and part of our 5-year vision is to increase our endowment fund to $250,000 by 2023. We hope to achieve our goal of minimum $100,000 by September 2019, and then use the services of a reputable and professional investment firm to invest the fund in the money market. We believe that dividends from such investments will create an on-going source of income which can be used to fund and support our efforts at our Alma mater. An endowment fund committee that is composed of professional and experienced individuals will be assembled to provide advice and guidance. All investment decisions will be first presented to the Board of Directors (BOD) and the Advisory Board for review before any investment is conducted.

We are grateful to all those who have pledged to donate to the endowment fund goal of $100,000 by September of 2019. We are also appealing to those who were not at the reunion but would like to make a pledge towards our endowment fund goal. For your information, your donations are tax deductible. For more information or questions, please contact our financial officers at:

treasurer@aachsa.org
financialsecretary@aachsa.org

Grassroots Membership Drive
One of the primary goals is to increase active membership. In order to achieve this goal, we believe that the establishment of vibrant regional chapters and the grassroots recruitment efforts of alumni are very important. Efforts are already ongoing to establish more regional chapters in all major regions of the country. Our regional officers will continue to work collaboratively with local alumni, and they will organize and host their regional convention in 2019 (non-national reunion year), thus using the opportunity to recruit new members. According to our 5-year plan, our goal is 1,000 active membership by 2023. Contact information of our regional officers will be posted on our website soon.

Constitution/Bylaws Reform
The issue of amending the association’s constitution and bylaws was discussed at the business meeting, and members agreed that a reform of constitution/bylaws is necessary. The main purpose of the reform will be to make all necessary corrections and amendments, and also for the constitution/bylaws to reflect the vison and future goals of the association. In order to address this task, the regional chapters will be asked to reach out and include all local alumni in the reform process. We believe that providing all members to participate in the process of reforming the constitution and bylaws not only encourages a democratic process, but it also allows for better pool of diverse ideas and suggestions for achieving the goal. The members also agreed that it is of great importance that the constitution and bylaws reflect our vision for the association.

CHSA Educational and Infrastructural Support
There was a general consensus by the members that the association should embark in increased support for our Alma mater. The executive board will collaborate with CHSA administrators, the PTA and other stakeholders to provide necessary academic support for better student achievement. Such support will include intervention / tutorial programs, technology, and materials / resources. The issue of infrastructure will be reviewed, and a final decision on what to be done will be presented to the members prior to taking any actions or commitment. Consideration for infrastructural support will be based on many factors such as but not limited to: (1) costs / funding; (2) feasibility and sustainability; (3) maintenance; (4) accountability; (5) duration; and (6) outcome / impact on student academic achievement.

A special newsletter will be posted soon in the coming weeks and it will detail all the achievements and conclusions at the last reunion, recommendations, proposed changes, and strategies for achieving our future goals. We urge you to visit the association website (www. aachsa.org) and also to register your name by clicking on the “Contact” tab.

Finally, I would like to thank my colleagues on the executive board who have worked tirelessly for the success and progress we were able to achieve during the first term. I am very confident that these patriots will continue to serve our association with great dedication. Members of the executive board will be officially presented to the board of directors at the start of the second term in January 2019. May the good Lord continue to crown all their endeavors with success.

Let’s keep hope alive by keeping our eyes on the prize!

Thank you and God bless
Up School!

Shina Oshinuga
President

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