February 03, 2011

Dear Fellow VPA Members,

We are very excited to update you about the upcoming 12th Vokkaligara Parishat of America (VPA) Convention to be held at the Sheraton Baltimore City Center Hotel, Baltimore, in the Washington-Baltimore Greater Metro Region. As in the past, the convention will be held during Independence Day weekend (July 1, 2 & 3) and is hosted by Members of VPA-East.

This Convention will be an exciting event with a focus on cultural and entertainment programs, dedicated activities for youth, social & professional venues for first generation vokkaligas and sessions to address women's issues of the community. Also planned are the activities dedicated to business and Continuing Medical Education. We plan to invite eminent members of our community who have made significant contribution to education, literature, social service, etc. to share their experience. From their words of wisdom, we hope we can all learn from their experiences, as well as be inspired to further develop ourselves and our community for the future. To top it all, the attendees will have the opportunity to taste authentic Karnataka food during the three day weekend.

One of our objectives of this convention is to facilitate our Vokkaliga youth and first generation professionals to attend in large numbers to network amongst themselves to further their personal, social, professional, and entrepreneurship aspects. The focus is to make sure that they have an opportunity to network with their peers as well as identify mentors who they can relate to, learn from, and share ideas with so that the foundations for even more achievements can be built. Another objective of this convention is to invite vokkaligas from Australia, Canada, UK and other contries to join hands with us. Finally, with this convention we want to extend special invitation to non-Vokkaliga spouses who are married to our Vokkaliga children and create an opportunity to experience rich Vokkaliga tradition and culture.

This year's Convention theme is "From Cauvery To Chesapeake" with a focus on the contributions and success stories of our fellow VPA members in the United States as well as back in our home land. Indeed, no one can dispute the fact that our community has played a key role in helping our home country become a household name around the world. As such, our Convention's goal will be to explore these successes as well as use the opportunity to uncover new ones.

The Sheraton Baltimore City Center Hotel has 17 floors, 800 guest rooms and space for all planned programs under one roof. We have blocked 150 rooms each night at a discounted price and we urge you to reserve rooms as early as possible. Up-to-date information and attractions of Baltimore-Washington greater metro area can be obtained by visiting our website (www.myvpa.org). Please let your family and friends know about our website, urge them to attend and participate in the convention. We request you to update your contact information (address, phone, and e-mail) by clicking on the Submit Contact Infromation. Every effort has been made so that you can submit your registration electronically.

As a not for profit organization, VPA must depend on you and other financial support to conduct convention successfully. We urge you to consider advertising your business or family greetings in our colorful Vishwamaanava publication that we plan to release before the end of year 2011. Our plans are to use the proceedings of the convention for charity organizations and to set up follow-up procedures.

No event of this magnitude will be successful without your input and participation. Please contact us (info@myvpa.org) with your suggestions to make this event a memorable one. We are grateful to our members and friends across the country working assiduously in this endeavor.

We urge each and every one of you to attend the event and make sure to spread the word. Please keep visiting our website www.myvpa.org for up to date information.

We guarantee you that this will be one reunion not to be missed!