OCTAA Year in Review
2004
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~ September
12 ~
OCTAA Holds its General Assembly and Board of Directors Meeting |
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Cihangir (John) Safyurtlu |
Members in attendance |
Sevda Aleckson |
The inaugural General Assembly for OCTAA
was held at Heritage Park Regional Library in Irvine. After introductory remarks
by OCTAA Steering Committee members and ATASC President John
Safyurtlu, an election was held to form OCTAA's Board of Directors. Elected
to the Board were Michelle Deniz Drousé, Nefise
Ahunbay Cleary,
Aydin Aksoy, John Gulsen, and Nilufer
Komili. At
a brief meeting of the new Board, Ms. Drousé was named
Chair. In October, Irfan
Bilgin, first runner-up in the General Assembly election,
became a Director upon Ms. Cleary's resignation. |
~ September
22 ~
OCTAA Board Elects First Executive Committee |
The second meeting of
the new OCTAA Board of Directors saw the election of an Executive
Committee. These are the
folks responsible for carrying out the day-to-day activities
of the organization, including membership, activity planning,
coordinating events, and so on. The first Executive
Committee members were: Sevda Aleckson (President), Ihsan
Cemal Balat (Exec. VP), Sezen
Tumer (Treasurer), Cenap Biyikli (Exec.
Secretary),
Burcu Kayiran (Social Events Chair), and Aydin
Aksoy (Membership
Chair). Later, Sezen regrettably resigned her post,
and the job of Treasurer was assumed by Volkan
Alemdar.
OCTAA Board of Directors and Executive
Committee
(back, from left: John Gulsen,
Sevda Aleckson, Cenap Biyikli, Burcu Kayiran, William Daystrom
[webmaster], Aydin Aksoy, Sezen Tumer)
(front, from left: Ihsan Cemal Balat, Irfan Bilgin, Michelle
Deniz Drousé)
(missing: Nilufer Komili, Volkan Alemdar)
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~ October
22 ~
OCTAA exhibits at the International Twilight Dinner Event in
Mission Viejo |
This event was OCTAA's
first introduction to the public, following our General Assembly.
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OCTAA Exhibit |
OCTAA Exec. Secretary
Cenap Biyikli |
Rakissat Al Zaman
Middle Eastern Dance Troupe |
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~ November
16 ~
OCTAA presents Turkish film UZAK in Irvine |
The
first event in the new OCTAA Film Series was the Turkish
film Uzak, presented as a part of the Irvine Multicultural
Association's program of showing culturally diverse movies
to the public.
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Guests |
OCTAA Chair
Michelle
Deniz Drousé
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Guests |
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~ November
20 ~
OCTAA Kids Club Inaugurated |
OCTAA Director Nilufer Komili organized the members-only Kids
Club to bring together the Turkish-American children
of OCTAA. The goals of this club include ensuring that our
children get to know other Turkish-American kids living around
them, grow up with other friends with similar heritage and
background, practice the Turkish language, learn about the
Turkish culture, learn early in their lives to take part
in the Turkish-American community, and enjoy spending time
together with other children. |
~ December
3 ~
OCTAA presents Turkish film HABABAM SINIFI Merhaba in Irvine |
 The
second film in the OCTAA Film Series was presented at the
University of California at Irvine, as a joint event with
the newly-formed UCI Turkish Student Association. A columnnist
from Mezun.com was in attendance and wrote a column about the
event, reprinted here with kind permission.
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OCTAA Executive
Committee Members |
Guests |
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~ December
19 ~
OCTAA hosts Inaugural & Social
Event in Mission Viejo |
OCTAA's Inaugural & Get Acquainted Social
Event --- see more photos here.
Thousands of miles away from our
homeland Turkiye we call our vatan, this event was a true display of friendship, generosity,
teamwork, and selflessness—all part of our rich heritage. Hundreds
turned out at the Norman P. Murray Community Center in Mission
Viejo, sharing their home-made Turkish delicacies in a potluck,
winning one of the raffle prizes generously donated by community
members and busineses, and enjoying the entertainment by
Gurup Nostalji, Rakissat Al Zaman Middle Eastern Dance Troupe,
Capadokia Folk Dancers of Anatolia, the ATASC School Children’s
Choir, the OC Turkish Classical & Folk
Music Choir, and surprise guest singer Ati. OCTAA gained
30 new members this night, too, and raised important funds
that will be used to further OCTAA's mission of service.
By
any measure, OCTAA's Inaugural was a outstanding success
and a positive note on which to end our year.
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