MINUTES OF THE

AMERICA NEPAL MEDICAL FOUNDATION

ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MEMBERS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK

8:30AM ET, SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 1998

 

Participants

Anita Adhikary	Richard N. Hirsh, MD	Jyotshna Rimal (Neupane), MD
Gaury Adhikary, MD	Arjun Karki, MD	Binod Shah, MD
Arun K. Amatya	Rukmani Karki, RN	H.E. Narendra Bikram Shah
Mark Barsoum	Bhogendra N. Khanal, MD	Hari Har Sharma, MD
Binod Bista	Janak Koirala, MD	Sachin Sharma
Jill Basnyat	Tulsi Maharjan, PhD	Sharad Sharma, MD
Soorya Basnyat, MD	Scott Meskin, MD	Sunil Sharma, MD
Amar Bista, MD	Hom Neupane, MD	Binaya Shrestha, MD
Donald C. Blair, MD	Padam Neupand, MD	Rajendra Shrestha
Donald P. Copley, MD	Prakash Neupane, MD	Roshan Shrestha, MD
Tom Cumbo, MD	Savitri Niraula	Vijaya Sigdel
Ramesh K. Dhungel	Tara Niraula	Rajpal Singh
Bhargab Dixit, MD	Toni M. Panciera	Kristin Stueber, MD
James E. Fanning	Kamal Pandy, PhD	Mohan C. Thakuri, MD
June M. Fanning	Mukti Pandy	Shreejana B. Thapa
Girija Gautam	Prativa Pandey, MD	Umesh Thapa
Min P. Gautam	Earl H. Parrish, MD	Brendan D. Thomson, MD
Ashok Gurung	Kamala Paudyal (Neupane), RN	Janani Tara Tuladhar, MD
Jean Hatcherson	Charles A. Richert, MD	Libby Wilson, MD

 

Minutes

The session started around 8:30am and was attended by several ANMF board members, executive committee members, special representatives and other participants. Dr. Gaury Adhikary was the moderator. Key issues were discussed and decisions were reached on most of the issues raised.

1) By-laws:

• The By-laws draft, was circulated among the participants and was unanimously endorsed as the current official ANMF By-laws.
   
• To improve upon the current by-laws, Tara Niraula, ANMF general secretary, obtained some additional suggestions from a lawyer. He will coordinate and incorporate those suggestions into a revised draft which will be reviewed and possibly voted on at 3^rd annual convention. The revised draft of the by-laws will be sent to all bona fide ANMF members 3 month before the next convention. Members will be asked to review and comment on the draft so that legitimate suggestion can be incorporated before it is presented for adoption during annual convention.

2) ANMF election:

• Dr. Arjun Karki, current ANMF president will be returning back to Nepal in about a year, it was as felt that somebody who could provide continuity should replace him. Dr. Karki proposed Dr. Gaury Adhikary, the current vice president for ANMF president. The proposal was unanimously approved and adopted.
   
• It was felt that representation from Nepal side must be increased i the ANMF executive body. The concept of two vice presidents (one from Nepal and one form North America) was discussed and agreed upon by all the participants. Dr. Prativa Pandey. The current coordinator in Nepal was proposed for the post of vice president from Nepal side. However due to her extremely busy administrative and clinical responsibility (Dr. Pandy is currently director of CIWEC clinic) she declined the request and proposed Dr. Shankar Rai from Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) instead. Since TUTH is our current focus the proposal was felt reasonable and agreed. Dr. Rai agreed to assume the position.
   
• Dr. Roshan Shrestha was proposed to represent North American as a vice president and he agreed.
   
• The meeting also endorsed the addtion of the following new members to the ANMF Executive Committee:
   
  1. Dr. Bhargab Mani Dixit (New York)
  2. Dr. Subarna Pradhan (Chicago)
  3. Dr. Janak Koirala (Chicago)

3) ANMF letterhead and logo:

Two ANMF logo were presented. Voting was done to select one and the majority voted for the logo currently used on the ANMF letterhead.

4) Updating the mailing list:

There are currently close to 250 recipients of ANMF correspondence. The concern was raised that not all of them are really interested in receiving ANMF mailings. A proposal was made to send a questionnaire while distributing the 2^nd annual convention proceeding asking whether the addressees wanted to continue to receive ANMF correspondence. This was felt to be an extremely cost saving activity.

5) Third ANMF annual convention:

It was unanimously decided that the third ANMF annual convention would be held in Chicago, IL on 12^th and 13^th of June 1999. Dr. Janak Koriala (newly elected ANMF executive committee member and infectious disease fellow, Chicago) will take the responsibility of being chief organizer for the event.

A proposal was made that the ANMF annual convention be held on the second weekend of June every year. The proposal was unanimously accepted and welcomed. No firm conclusion was reached regarding how long the convention should last.

Following this meeting, Dr Adhikary presented an overview of the conference and a conclusion. He thanked and praised Dr. Arjun Karki for his very successful and productive leadership during his tenure as president of the ANMF. He also thanked Tara Niraula for organizing a flawless and successful convention. After the meeting group photographs were taken. Tara Niraula, ANMF general secretary, delivered a vote of thanks to all the participants, speakers, and everyone who helped him to make the convention a grand success. The 2^nd annual convention of ANMF was adjourned officially around 12:00 noon the 14^th day of June 1998.

ANMF thanks Rajpal Singh, Sharad Sharma, Jyoti Shrma, Janak Koirala, Hom Neupane, Arjun Karki, Tara Niraula and Donald Blair for their contributions to this report. Particular thanks also go to Bharghab Dixit, for compiling and Robert Gerzoff for taking editorial responsibility.