Media Release
New York, May 3: APNAFEST’06, a social and cultural event took place on 29th April 2006 at St. Raphael's School Auditorium, 600 New Bridge Road, East Meadow, NY 11554. The event was organized APNA - Aloysians and Partners in North America, a newly formed organization of the alumni and friends of St. Aloysius College, Mangalore, currently residing in North America.
APNAFEST ‘06 was a memorable celebration of St. Aloysius College alumni and friends with the attendance of over 200 guests from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Boston and Detroit. By all standards, for a premier event, it was a resounding success.
APNA created this event to provide a networking opportunity for the alumni and alumnae of St. Aloysius College, Mangalore, and to showcase the current expansion and outreach projects of the College. The current APNA plan is to make APNAFEST an annual event.
The highlight of APNAFest’06 was the cultural entertainment program featuring traditional Indian and modern Bollywood dances and a traditional dress competition presenting a few of the rich tradition of Indian costumes from different regions of the country. Professionally-trained young artists made voluntary contributions to APNAFEST’06 and displayed their talents.
The program included a power-point presentation by Bill Green IV, a young American who recently voluntarily visited St. Aloysius College and its satellites campuses, including its outreach projects and shared with the guests a sample of the photographs taken at SAC’s main and satellite campuses. With a live commentary, he emphasized the need for help for the educational and general economic development of the people in the villages covered by St. Aloysius College.
A sumptuous dinner with a mix of north and south Indian dishes followed the cultural program. The program concluded with the young and the old dancing to DJ Mike’s music. Overall, the guests felt it was a memorable treat for a nominal ticket price for the whole event and congratulated the APNA team for the enjoyable evening.
The cultural program, dinner and dance was preceded by a formal Annual General Body Meeting of APNA, wherein Dr. Dinker Rai, a distinguished physician based in Long Island, New York and an alumnus of St. Aloysius College, was elected as Vice Chairman of APNA. Currently, Fr. Ozzie Mascarenhas, SJ, Ph.D, Professor of Marketing and Ethics, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, MI is the Chairman of APNA.
A souvenir was released at APNAFEST ’06 that included messages from key people in APNA and St. Aloysius College. Mangalore. The souvenir included articles with information about the various SAC outreach projects that require help. Advertisements by APNA benefactors and commercial sponsors helped raise funds for SAC projects. A copy of the APNAFEST ’06 souvenir can be downloaded at the APNA website http://www.apnanet.org/souvenir
APNA is a newly formed organization of the alumni and friends of St. Aloysius College, currently residing in North America. APNA’s goal is to promote strong networking among the alumni and alumnae and simultaneously assist their alma mater in its growth as a “deemed university” and especially in its thrust to make the quality educational opportunities available in the remote rural areas of Karnataka, particularly in Mundgod, Bijapur and