Triple Treat!

AYAA’s seventh Anniversary Reunion which was celebrated in the Memorial weekend of May 2010 was simply spectacular and by all counts exemplary. The Washington AYAA Support Committee exhibited unparalleled hospitality and reception by rolling out festivities one after the other throughout the weekend. It was memorable!

This time it was a Triple Treat! It started on the night of May 28, 2010 with a welcome cash-party at Axum Restaurant in the heart of Washington, DC. The welcome party was accompanied by a live band, delicious Ethiopian Dinner and assorted drinks. Guests had the whole night to themselves to reminiscent on old school stories, events, activities and personalities, chat with other guests exchanging information on home-states and life experience in the US, dance around the night with friends and loved ones and relaxing with open bar on hand manned by local AYAA members. The comradery was superb.

The display for the main Treat of course occurred on Saturday May 29, 2010 at the Double Tree Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. The general meeting started a bit late than scheduled due to logistics and technical difficulties. The attendance was much less than desired. But the meeting accomplished it job, nevertheless. The Executive Committee members of the Board delivered reports on program, financial and communication matters. The Advisory Committee reported on the status of the Library Media Center, presenting an awesome and stunning design for the Center. The Committee on Improved Academic Performance and Incentives for Aste Yohannes Preparatory School students reported about science projects accomplished by selected students and set future plans. Click to see the Science and Technology Fair special report. The meeting elected six new Board members. The full Board of AYAA will meet soon to assign offices to newly elected members, per AYAA’s By-Laws.

The Main Reunion Party was held in the same hotel. Participants came from all corners of the United States, Canada, Europe by Proxy and Ethiopia. One of the biggest single donations of the night was made by Ato Tefera Kassa And Weizero Workabebea Woldebirhan from Paris, France. The President of AYAA Mekelle Ato Gebreegziabher Tesfahunegn was the Guest of Honor. The Mayor of Mekelle also gave supportive remarks and encouragements to the AYAA gathering. A very large ballroom in the hotel was filled to the brim. Drinks and food were served by the Hotel. AYAA provided a musical band and a host of fund raising activities, lottery, T-Shirts, Pins and magazine sales and an auction culminating in Annual Fundraising Event. The crowd is estimated to exceed seven hundred. The fundraising results are being tallied and are expected to yield a sizable amount of funds for the project. More specific information will be released soon on this subject.

The third event was a Special Cruise on the Potomac River. An excellent DJ, reasonably priced drinks and free snacks were provided by AYAA. About 150 members danced, laughed, sang and talked for about four hours sailing along the rims of Washington, DC. Many were marveled by the glittering skylines of DC and Virginia. The DC area AYAA Support Committee left no stone unturned to make the Memorial weekend enjoyable, inspiring and fulfilling to AYAA members. Many of those who participated in the Cruise headed to Frezgi’s Bar to continue the celebration in a more private setting.

About 30 former students and friends of Ato G. E. Tesfahunegn organized a thank you dinner in Queen Sheba Restaurant on the evening of May 31 in his honor and presented him with a private modest gift.

More information and details will follow.

AYAA thanks the DC area Support Committee for their hard work and all those who came from near and far to support the cause of AYAA. We will do it again and we will keep you posted!

Disclaimer!

Next morning after our major event, on Sunday, May 30th, 2010, Aiga Forum, had a story about our 7th Reunion. We are very thankful for all the positive remarks they said about AYAA. However, we would like to disclose to our members and supporters that the other views and comments mentioned on the coverage are solely Aiga’s and do not contain AYAA’s input.