A call to all Josephites !!!!
Vinod Negi
Dear Josephites,
The elections to the first representative body of the Alumni Association of St. Joseph's Academy, our Alma Mater will be taking place within the next few hours. It is a matter of great joy for all but for me personally, it is indeed a moment of bitter sweet yet happiness and rejoicing, albeit the fact that I will not be able to vote due to the postal ballot not reaching me till date.
This creation of the Alumni Association is the hard work of many. Before this one was formed, a few others were created and closed. This one is for keeps. The hard work that went into this one was initiated by Josephites from all over the country and overseas and carried out in good faith by the local residents in Dehra Dun. They have obviously done a good job for it to come along this distant. Our appreciation and congratulations to them.
By holding the first of the Alumni Association election on December 17, 2011, we move on to a new chapter in the future of the AA. The choices are wonderful and the responsibility of casting that vote in favor of the best candidate is now upon you. You will determine who are the new officials and whether they have the vision, values and ambition to take the AA of one of the best academic institution in the land to a regional, national and global level.
Josephites live in Dehra Dun and also are spread all over the country and globe. We want and wish for a similar representation in our officials selections. The last nominated body was one such body but due to pettiness and power hoarding by a few local officials, the representation went askew. This is an opportunity to correct the balance again.
If the AA wants to increase its membership, it needs to have within its official body a fair representation of members from Dehra Dun as well as from other parts of the country. To be truly representative of ALL Josephites, this is an important step forward. Today, the election is taking place and gives an extremely unfair advantage to 100% local Doonites to vote and approx. only 10 to 15% non residents Josephites who will attend the AGM and the annual dinner. This is not the vision we pursued. Our vision was to have EVERY willing Josephite, no matter where they live, in Dehra Dun or away, to become a full member even if they cannot attend these functions. It was our hope that once they become a member, they would come at least once in two, three or five years to attend these function and see the school they so fondly remember and love all their lives. They will meet and mingle with the old, young and their peers!
How can we make this into a reality?
One of the team has some seasoned Josephites who have been for the past two years working diligently to achieve this objective. They have the experience and the expertise to put together an overreaching program in place within a short time and start building up the membership base within Dehra Dun and all over the country. A big number of Josephite have been attending the various functions they have holding in Delhi. We need your support to help elect them so that they can take this even further.
Besides, the membership buildup.. We have to attend to other issues too. I am positive that whoever is elected will build a good communication system for all Josephites. The lack of a good communication system has made us dependent on Facebook groups. Do you think that this is how the Alumnus of one of the most prestigious institution in the nation be communicating with each other. The social media has been great to put us all together but the official dialogue has been constrained to printed paper newsletter once a year!!! What a travesty in the age of world class technology where India is already a leading power. The same for elections ... India's premier education institution ponders almost two years on first holding an election and when it finally does, it selects and settles on a retrograde postal and physical ballot system!!!! Laughable. Yes... Indeed.
To attract world class Josephites from all over the country and globe, it is imperative that Josephites think well and decide what they want from this Alumni Association - snail pace, feet dragging, retrograde systems with pettiness and bickering or World class modern ideas, good and efficient management, use of world class modern and effective technology for communication, social causes that helps the Alumnus and the school bridge the weak with the strong, old with the new, seniors to their juniors, lost with the found and effective use of the experience of the well placed executives to mentor the dynamism of the youth and newly graduated students of St. Joseph's Academy?
Please cast your invaluable vote for the best candidate and not just because he is your neighbor, friend or relative. Think of what you want and wish for your Alma Mater in the future!
Good luck and good wishes,
Vinod S. Negi