The Benalla Migrants Association concluded its first Annual General Meeting on Saturday, September 2, by electing a new committee of management.
The new committee includes Alice Crichton, Santosh Gairhe (Secretary), Aparajita Talapatra, Sam Epage (Vice President), Mayank Gupta, Manash Das, Punarji Gunaratne (President), Subhajit Saha, Shimla Nand, Surakshya Regmi (Treasurer), Reeta Karki. Parminder Singh and Rumesh Navaratnam.
The group discussed various topics, including events organised by BMA and the supporters who made those possible.
Specifically Benalla Rural City Council, the Victorian Government, the Tomorrow Today Foundation and financial sponsors.
During the past 18 months, the volunteer association has held or supported several events:
International Nurses Day 2022
The Australian Citizenship Day event at the Benalla Lakeside Community Centre on September 17, 2022
Participation at the Bush Diwan Exhibition held at Benalla Art Gallery. Former Treasurer Mayank Gupta delivered a speech in Punjabi and English as part of the exhibition launch
Cooking at the World Kitchen during the Benalla Festival 2022
Pot-Luck Dinners
South Asian New Year Celebration event on April 15, 2023
School Holiday Program 2023-2024 (An ongoing project)
Helping to publish a Siva Singh Book, due for release in October 2023.
At the AGM, the Association thanked volunteers for their support in organising these events.