The Birzeit Society National Board of Directors held its annual meeting in Cleveland, Ohio during the weekend of February 13-14, 2010. The meeting was hosted by the recently established Ohio Chapter and was attended by representatives from all chapters in the United States.
During the two day meeting held at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Cleveland, the Board discussed and voted on a number of resolutions which can be summarized as follows:
1. Executive Committee: The current Executive Committee was unanimously voted for another term, including, Munir K. Nasser (President), Musa Musallam (1st VP), Samar Wahbe (2nd VP), Hani Kaileh (Chief Financial Officer), Mary Kaileh (Secretary), and Haitham Aranki (Historian).
Update: Dr. Munir Nasser has asked to be relieved from his position as National President as of April 8, 2010 due to reasons related to his job with the Federal Government.
2. Scholarships: It was decided to increase the number of annual college scholarships benefiting Birzeiti students from 18 up to 22 with a minimum of 18 scholarships per year. Also, depending on availability of funds, it was decided that up to 4 scholarships will go to students studying at vocational schools and up to 4 scholarships will go to students with special needs. Additionally, up to 4 scholarships will be given to Birzeiti students in the USA, depending on availability of funds. Scholarships in USA will be $1000 per student.
3. Advisory Council in Birzeit: It was decided to increase the number from 10 to 15 members to make it more balanced, diversified and inclusive of all qualified people in town.
4. Birzeit Projects: The Board approved a 2010 budget item to increase the charitable income to $15,000 and the charitable expenses to $15,000.
5. Medical Center in Birzeit: The Board saw the need to start a long term plan to set up a medical center in Birzeit to meet the health care needs of Birzeit and neighboring villages. It was decided to launch a feasibility study for the project and BZS President Musa Musallam was authorized to make the necessary contacts with individuals and organizations in Palestine and the US to initiate such a feasibility study.
6. BZS Status as NGO: The Board approved a plan to enhance the status of BZS as NGO to qualify it to apply for grants from the US government and others. It was decided to allocate a special budget for this purpose and a motion was passed to authorize the new Executive Committee to form an ad hoc committee and to specify the tasks of such committee. George Khoury was assigned to chair this committee that will pursue this task.
7. BZS Convention: The Convention Committee chair Khaled Kassis reported that the Convention program, registration package and all related maters have been finalized. The keynote speaker will be PLO rep Afif Safieh, and other panelists include Palestinian poet Tamim Bargouti, former vice president of Birzeit University Gabi Baramki, and Palestinian American poet and activist Remi Kanazi.
8. Diab Rabie Book: The Publication Committee reported that it has been hard to find a publisher in the Arab world to print and market the book. The Board asked the publication committee to get a quote from a printer and to come back to the national board for a decision. Once a quote is approved, the committee will print a limited number of books and try to market them at the Convention and other chapter and community events.
9. Young Adults Committee: Lubna Asfour of the New York chapter was appointed and approved as new chair of the Committee.
Ohio Chapter Hosts Events for Board Members
The Birzeiti community in Ohio hosted several events in honor of the visiting Board members, including a dinner at the home of Mr. Yacoub Burbar and his wife Maysoon who hosted a great dinner at their home on Friday evening. Additionally, the Birzeiti community in Ohio hosted a special dinner and party to honor the visiting Board members on Saturday night at the Arabic restaurant Layalena, where everyone enjoyed live Arabic music and Dabkeh dance.
The visiting Board members offered their special thanks to the Ohio chapter's Executive Committee, particularly to President Maryland Ubaid, who did an excellent job in being a gracious host and in taking care of the logistics for the meeting and organizing all transportation from and to the airport for all arriving delegates.
