Dear fellow Kfarsghabi and friends

This year has flown by with only 6 weeks until Christmas. The Association has been working hard to meet the expectations of the Community since the acquisition of the new clubhouse at 2a Amos Street, Parramatta. Already we have successfully held a range of functions there including the Mar Awtel Feast celebration, Holy Communions, birthdays including 21st and a 60th. The feedback from those invited to the functions has been one of praise and admiration of the facility and that it was long overdue. I hope that we increasingly use the premises and promote the Club as a venue for good times and camaraderie. Congratulations to all those people who celebrated an important event in their life this year at the Clubhouse and we thank them for their support.

It must also be said that this year has not been easy and the initial expectation of the required community financial support has not been realised. Having noted this, I am pleased to report that the current loan balance has been reduced by just over $500,000 since acquiring the Clubhouse. The current balance as of 2 November 2009 was $1,995,000 and there is still a long way to go. Congratulations to the people who have joined the AKA 1000 Club and to everybody else who has donated monetarily or by works in kind. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed and are very much appreciated by the Committee. Enclosed is the list of the AKA 1000 Club and advise that it is not too late to join these people and contribute to reduce the bank debt to zero. Another positive is that we are currently negotiating with a prospective interested party to buy the property at 9-13 Robert Street Merrylands and are hopeful of reporting more good news in the not too distant future, thereby further reducing the financial debt.

We are currently looking into the possibility of a major prize raffle to conduct over the Christmas period and early New Year involving a car, in an effort to boost the fundraising. We hope that a new car will prove to be a big incentive to all those families who could make good use of an extra car in the household or even that budding young person looking for his or her independence. We trust the incentive to buy a ticket is there and all proceeds will be applied to reducing the loan.

Success is never too far from the AKA and in particular when we talk about Sport. Congratulations to Chris Boulous and Cameron Haddad who both scored Centuries in the Parramatta District Cricket Competition for the AKA Crusaders. Our thanks also go to the 12 Corporate Team Sponsors for this year, many of whom have committed without reservation. Congratulations also go to Simon Boulous, Peter Boulous and Brian Elias for winning the last Euchre tournament.

New Years Eve this year is planned to be a major Family Night function and we look forward to your presence and patronage. It will be the first New Years Function that we have held in our new clubhouse and we look forward to seeing the fireworks from the great vista that our clubhouse offers over Parramatta Park and towards the city skyline. We also will have the large screens and TVs showing the live scenes around Sydney. So let’s make the evening a great success by attending in numbers. Bring your family and friends to celebrate together and see in the New Year and make the 1st celebration one to remember with family and friends.

For the New Year, we have already commenced planning around the many weddings, engagements and 21st celebration parties planned. Already we have 22 private functions booked in the diary of AKA by the Park. I ask the community to be mindful of checking the availability of dates.   Because we are all so closely connected, it severely impacts attendances for both private and club functions, when date clashes occur.  A service the AKA provides is a Dates to Remember Calendar. It is posted on the AKA website, updated regularly and is available in every Agenda. I urge all members of the community to use the service offered by the AKA by consulting it before confirming dates. Notifying the AKA of your planned functions at least helps us to plan and avoid clashing with your function. We will gladly post the information on the website.

Another major function planned for April 2010 is the Debutante Ball. It’s been 3 years since the last AKA Debutante Ball and we look forward to accepting bookings from interested young people wishing to make their Debut. Refer to the flyer in the mail out for more information. It is only a success if we have a reasonable number of debs wanting to participate.

We are also in the early stages of planning a major new event to be known as the Reunion Cabaret tentatively scheduled for February 20, 2010. This would be the last event run by the Committee before the AGM. Please note this date in your diary and look for further details as plans firm for this exciting event.

I take this opportunity to encourage all community members to support and celebrate together with the AKA. In numbers we are indestructible and in unison we can achieve many goals that others dream about and for which Kfarsghabi are renowned.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all for the coming festive seasons.

Yours faithfully

Raymond Haddad

AKA President