President’s Address – Shibu Nair
I am happy to take up this second stint in the COMA Executive Committee in 2023. I feel it is a much-needed give-back to the Malayalee community in Columbus that has been a significant part of my immigrant Malayalee life in the United States, my home away from home. I am very excited to share that my team has a myriad of events and ideas planned for this year.
In addition to bringing you cultural, sport, and entertainment events, my team would like to take the opportunity to reassess COMA as a cultural organization, the values we uphold and its relevance to the Columbus Malayalee diaspora. We have made leaps and bounds since our formative years. However, as an organization, there is room for further growth, including but not limited to better managing the upkeep of our organization’s assets, promoting youth member participation, enhanced use of our website and social media presence to better engage and communicate with our members. A lot of thought is being put on those lines and you will see some major steps being initiated on these fronts.
Coming back to the planned events this year, in addition to our annual Picnic, Onam, and Christmas events, we plan to have a Valentine’s Day event and several sporting tournaments (Cricket, Soccer, Shuttle Badminton, also involving other Indian association members). Weather permitting, we plan to have an outdoor entertainment event as well. Also in the works are the development of communities for outdoor activities such as hiking and biking.
We hope to seed initiatives that the community can take advantage of not just this year but in the coming years too. I trust that each and every one of you will support us in achieving our goals as one big family. I wish you all a happy, prosperous, and healthy 2023.
2023 Events
| Event | Date/Proposed Month | Description | Link | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valentine’s Day | February 11th | Games (Twenty-eight, Carrom, Chess, Rummy) and evening event with Stand-up comedy, dinner, DJ night, and more | Event video | |
| Badminton Tournament at Supreme Sports – Badminton, Darby Township, OH 43064 | Apr. 29 | Register Team Here | ||
| Outdoor Gaana Mela (featuring Franco) | June 17 | Coming soon | ||
| COMA Float (FIA event) | July 4 | Coming soon | ||
| Cricket Tournament (at Busch Fields) | July 22 | Coming soon | ||
| Picnic | Aug. 12 | Coming soon | ||
| Onam Celebration | Sep. 9 | Coming soon | ||
| Soccer Tournament | Sep. 30 / Oct. 7 | Coming soon | ||
| Christmas Party | Dec. 2 | Coming soon |
Upcoming COMA Charity drive
COMA will be setting up a donation link through which you can contribute funds to Different Art Centre, led by Professor Gopinath Muthukad. Different Art Centre educates and empowers specially abled children with various disabilities, and expands the focus of training from concentrating on magic to art forms such as music, dance, drama, cinema making, painting and skills in various musical instruments, all blended with a magical touch.
A mission that focuses on boosting self-confidence of specially-abled children by unleashing, recognizing and sharpening their raw talents through scientific methods involving various artforms – all leading to their empowerment in multiple ways.
This is a video of Professor Muthukad meeting with the COMA EC team and Trustees when he visited Columbus in March.
