Day One — UNAA’s 25th Anniversary Celebrations At The Omni Hotel In Dallas
Festivities to mark the 25th UNAA anniversary celebrations begun yesterday in Dallas with what was day filled with activity at the the Omni Hotel. The lobby area and the vendor sections had a hive of activity as UNAA attendees checked in, registered and vendors sold merchandise. Bishop TD Jakes of the MEGA-FEST fame was also sighted on the hotel grounds promoting his Faith and Family Film Fest that saw many black Hollywood actors and actresses show up in support.
However for what is a UNAA campaign year it was quite evident that no campaign material was evident a sign perhaps that this elections have failed to generate the spark associated with either past Chicago or San Francisco elections. But whatever the outcome on Sunday UNAA will be embracing new leadership at both the Executive and UNAA Council level and though the association has weathered many storms this year UNAA faces some huddles within its new constitutions that might need amendment or revision for the organisation to succeed and benefit its membership. After suffering a series of past set backs UNAA was slowly beginning to rebound as the attendance levels at UNAA Dallas showed and this good will needs to be strengthened.
For starters the opening ceremony did not kick off until about 10pm. In as much as the Mcee of the Day Mr. Walter Mulondo tried his best to kick start the evening. The Vice President who was the guest of honor walked in at about 11pm and it was then that the formal program then began with speeches from the Organizing Committee, The UNAA President, New Ugandan Ambassador to the US and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs who spoke about the Diaspora Compendium that was recently launched by the Diaspora Desk.
In his speech the Vice President reiterated the importance of the Ugandan Diaspora promising continued government support as development partners and also congratulated UNAA upon reaching its Silver Jubilee Celebrations. Entertainment then followed after Midnight and this saw the Dallas Kids energize the audience with their unique performance that ended with placards that said DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS!
Other entertainers included Diesel, Sera Lubowa Muhenda and the main headliner of the evening Eddie Kenzo of the ‘STAMINA’ fame who treated revelers to many of their favorite dance hits as many took to the floor! It was then that the audience began to feel that the real convention had began.
Later it was then time for DJ Paddy to spin the wheels as folks who had traveled from all the United States, Canada and Uganda danced the night away. Uganda was also represented by a sizable delegation that included Ministers, MPs and Business leaders.
Earlier in the Day a Business forum meeting had convened that was also attended by many business leaders but Ugandan Diaspora News was not able to attend due to earlier commitments. The Ugandan North American Association was started in the city of Atlanta, Georgia 25 years ago and is by far the biggest Diaspora association of Ugandans residing abroad. We do promise to bring you complete kodak moments of Day Two highlights – In pictures so stay tuned!
About the Author
Welcome to Dallas! 2013 UNAA 25th Convention.
http://youtu.be/k-THOhL3PaM
Why don’t the pictures have captions?
Thanks to my father who stated to me regarding this weblog, this
blog is genuinely awesome.