President's Message

Dear FNA members and friends,
We had a successful FNA Nepali New Year picnic in Orlando on Saturday April 18, 2009. Our estimated headcount (including kids) was around 85 but surprisingly we had a total head count of about 125. This is indeed a very positive participation from FNA members and friends. We had participation from the entire state of Florida, Miami to Jacksonville to Tallahassee to Naples. A nice warm day with light breeze and no rain contributed towards a perfect weather and a nice day for picnic.
The local host team headed by Mr. Bikas Devkota along with Mr. Nabin Sapkota, Mr. Rajendra Shrestha and UCF students need to be applauded on making this picnic a grand success. Our Orlando native Mr. Dhan Thapa took some excellent pictures and can be found in his website. Thank you Orlando team.
Pictures from the picnic can be found at http://www.dhanphotos.com (Go to "gallery" and then "FNA New Year 09")

FNA Nepali New Year picnic, April 18, 2009 Orlando FL
We have a new Nepal Study Forum (NSF) coordinator Mr. Dharma Khanal from Fort Lauderdale. Mr. Khanal has also served in the FNA Executive Committee as "member-at-large" from 2002-2004. At this moment I would like to thank the outgoing NSF coordinator Mr. Nabin Sapkota for heading the forum for the past couple of years. We are excited to have Mr. Khanal as the coordinator and are planning to hold the next program sometime during the summer holidays.
Lastly, I would like to thank all the members who participated in the FNA Nepali New Year picnic and making it a success. We look forward to future participation also and help keep up this tradition.
Thank you.
Sanjay Bajracharya
President
FNA Florida-Nepal Association
2066 Nepali New Year Picnic
FNA Nepali New Year 2066 picnic
to be held Saturday April 18, 2009 in Orlando.
Nepali New Year 2066 picnic will be held in Orlando. Turkey
Lake Park is the venue and celebration program will be held
from 11:30 AM till 4:30 PM. Let's welcome the Nepali New
Year with a bang !!
Date and Time:
Saturday, April 18, 2009
11:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Venue:
Pavillion# 4
Turkey Lake Park (Official
website)
3401 Hiawassee Road
Orlando, FL 32835
(407) 299-5581, (407) 299-5594
Park Admission:
$4.00 - per car
$2.00 - if it’s just the driver
When entering the park, please give the pass phrase FNA.
Picnic cost:
The cost for this year’s picnic is as follow:
Children 4 and under FREE
Kids 5-15
$5.00
Students (with Id) $5.00
Adult
$8.00
Donation to Nepalese origin Bhutanese refugees
FNA organized a successful donation trip of computers,
printers, clothes, utensils, electronic items and furniture
to the Nepalese origin Bhutanese refugees in Jacksonville.
Early that morning, a van full of these items started its
journey from Miami making stops in Fort Lauderdale, Boca
Raton, West Palm Beach, Orlando and finally reaching
Jacksonville in the afternoon. This drive had items donated
by the Nepalese community specially concentrated in South
Florida.
In all we had collected 8 computers, 1 printer, 4 bags of
clothes, furniture, utensils and kitchenware. We also
collected $285 cash to cover the expenses for the trip.
These items were handed over to the Nepalese origin
Bhutanese refugees at their premises in Jacksonville in the
presence of Mr. Rajeeb Lamsal.
I would like to thank all the contributors for this event in
making this a grand success. My special thanks goes to
Jacksonville natives Mrs. Kopila Acharya, Dr. Dharma Acharya
and Mr. Rajeeb Lamsal who have been helping the refugees
since the very beginning.

