After the usual banter as members joined the meeting, proceedings started at 7:40 pm eastern standard time. The President Mr. John Epie welcomed members who had taken the time to participate at the conference. He asked for a prayer before we start deliberations. Dr. Zac Nchinda led us in Christian prayer, calling on the Lord to be in our midst as we discuss matters that concern the wellbeing of our alma mater. The President then presented the agenda for the day:
• The Nexsa Website
• Membership registration and annual dues
• Planning for the upcoming NEXSA-USA national convention in 2013
The president then called on Mr. Jackson Nanje, the NEXSA Diaspora Vice President to update members on the progress of our website project.
The website:
Mr. Nanje informed the group that he has held conversations with the national exco in Cameroon on this issue and by and large they agree that a website will be a good tool for NEXSA to advertise itself. He, however, came away with the impression that there may be some lingering doubt about the necessity of a website by some members in Cameroon as this technology has not deeply penetrated the consciousness of the average person in Cameroon. In order to bridge the gap that exists between the website enthusiasts in the diaspora and the average Cameroonian membership Mr. Nanje volunteered that he plans to do a write up on this matter through our e-group to help sensitize members on the value of a NEXSA website.
On the website design, Jackson also mentioned the recent message we received from Elvis Ewane, a Nexsan with computer training from Finland who has presented his bid for the contract to do our web design. This came as some members, championed by Ms. Olive Ada, had suggested that we consider a Nexsan for this contract. Jackson reported that after discussions with Elvis and some members, he proposes that we go with Elvis Ewane. The discussion was then guided in the direction of “trust but verify” as Mr. Cho Stephen asked whether we know the quality of Mr. Ewane’s work before we give him this contract. Mr. Nanje confirmed that he is aware of some of Mr. Ewane’s work, and taken together with their conversation, and Mr. Ewane’s credentials, he believes that we have the right person. The assembly agreed that we go with Mr. Ewane.
The discussion shifted to the domain name. Should we have a Nexsa.com, Nexsa.org, etc. The president John Epie suggested that because we are a non-profit entity we should go with Nexsa.org and his suggestion was echoed by Dr. Zac Nchinda and Mr. Cho Stephen. The assembly accepted Nexsa.org to become our domain name.
Mr. Nanje proposed June 2013 as the timeline to get the website running and solicited ideas on content and format from members as well as financial support. The following members pledged financial support:
Mr. Epie Nabola – 50 dollars
Ms. Epie Evelyn –50 dollars
Dr. Nchinda Zac –50 dollars
Mr. Forka Dominic –50 dollars
Mr. John Epie –50 dollars
Mr. Jackson Nanje –50 dollars
Mrs. Mercy Esambe Manga –50 dollars
Other members who wished to offer any kind of financial support were advised to make direct deposits to the Nexsa-USA account and/or send checks to the treasurer Mrs. Assumpta Ebung Alobwede.
Membership registration and annual dues
The president called on members to pay their one-time registration of 25 dollars and annual dues of 50 dollars before the end of April 2013 to give us a head count on the strength of Nexsa-USA. For those who wish, checks can also be sent directly to the treasurer Mrs. Assumpta Alobwede. The president encouraged members present to remind those who did not participate in the conference to meet their obligations and consider the timelines for payments.
NEXSA-USA national convention in 2013
On this matter the president was a little hesitant considering what is observed as subpar participation by Nexsa-USA in conferences. He (the president) has wanted to start making preparations for the convention including securing a hall before it becomes too late. At this point Ms. Evelyn Epie uplifted the discussion by reminded us that we are proud Nexsans and that we are going to have our convention and encouraged us to go ahead with preparations for the convention. This intervention energized the assembly and we agreed that the president should go ahead and make preparations for the convention. The assembly agreed that each member contribute a minimum of 100 dollars towards hosting the first Nexsa-USA convention and the contributions should come in before the end of June 2013.
The Nexsa-USA Inc. President and the Diaspora Vice President informed the group that the convention will have as its main theme the plan for GSS/GHS Nyasoso 40th anniversary celebration due to hold in Nyasoso in 2014. The Diaspora Vice President floated the idea of giving recognition awards to some staff members who had great impact on many batches that passed through our alma mater, citing the name of Mr. Esambe James (Grand Jimmy) as an illustrative example.
Closing
Before signing off the diaspora vice president, himself a member of Nexsa-USA frowned on the lack of commitment by some office holders of Nexsa-USA, observing that they have been missing in action and called on EXCO members beside the president to show commitment to our alma mater. Mr. Nanje requested that we sing the school anthem to close the meeting but most members did not know the tune and/or the lyrics. Our sister Ms. Evelyn Epie rescued the group with a beautiful rendition of our anthem to close a joyful meeting.
The following members participated in this conference:
Epie, John Nkede (6th batch) - Nexsa-USA President
Epie, Felix Ajebe (7th batch)
Epie, Evelyn (8th batch)
Epie, Elias Nabola
Nchinda, Zac (Dr)
Nchinda (Mrs), Jacqueline Pungong (5th batch)
Nanje, Jackson (7th batch) – Nexsa diaspora Vice President
Alobwede (Mrs), Assumpta Ebung – Nexsa-USA Treasurer
Forka, Dominic
Cho, Stephen
Teke, John
Manga (Mrs), Mercy Esambe
Done by:
Felix Epie, Boston, Massachusetts, March 11, 2013 AD.
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