Soba.America.E-Newsletter.2017

MESSAGE FROM
THE PRESIDENT
Fellow Sobans,
Happy New Year to you all! On behalf of the
NEC and the National Leadership Team (NLT),
I would like to congratulate the Chair of the
Editorial Board, Prof. Ngassa and his entire
Team for making this first Midyear Newsletter
a reality. Thank you all for your time and
dedication to SOBA America.
2016 was a very eventful year with lots of achievements
and memorable moments. We also had some heartbreaks with the loss of our brothers
Dr. Roland Iboni and Kenneth Ndelle a few days back. However as resilient as we are,
there is no challenge we can’t overcome. I am convinced our better days are ahead and
2017 will be even more productive. Given this is our maiden Midyear Newsletter, it gives
us the opportunity to reflect on what we have achieved and what we can look forward to.
Last year, we celebrated our first SOBA America Day in Sasse. It was a massive success
and built on SOBA America’s usual leadership in giving back to Sasse College. The
event graced the cover of several newspapers as well as made TV headlines on CRTV
and several other networks. We also had the most successful convention in SOBA
America’s history. The one-stop concept and convention profit set new records and standards.
Chairman Fote’s strong leadership led to significant progress with our fundraising
for the Endowment Fund. Our first edition of our Policies and Procedures Manual Version
1.0 was released last year. I also travelled with the President General of SOBA, Professor
Ngwafor to witness the launch of SOBA Nigeria in Akwa Ibom State. It was a great
success.
However, one of the most important milestones we achieved was in getting our membership
to over 300 registered members within less than a year and a half! We are still
however faced with the challenge of ensuring full participation from all members in our
activities. During the mini convention, I laid out the groundwork for the expansion of our
SOBA America professional networking tool ”SOBALIS” to Sobans worldwide. This will
help connect Sobans/ex-students and improve our networking around the globe.
As we start this New Year, my fervent wish is for all members to stay engaged and do
their best in helping us achieve our shared goals and aspirations for our august association.
May St. Joseph continue to guide us ALL!
Sobanly,
Frederick Itoe
President, SOBA America.
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