The Group of Seven (G,7)
Distinguished Patrons
Chairmen Emeriti, National Officers
Branch Secretary & Executives
Honorable Members of PCNI Galveston Branch
Dear Honorable Members of our great PCNI Galveston Branch,
The state of our club/union is strong as of today. Oftentimes, whenever one hears this sentence from a leader of a country or any other entity such as ours (club), the anticipation from the listeners would point towards that leader to make haste and prove his or her claims to indicate that reality or authenticity. As your hard working, diligent, and a devoted Chairman of our great PCNI Galveston branch, that is precisely what I planned assiduously to do this evening within a specified time limit.
This challenging task may be analogous to the biblical excerpt known as an account of stewardship. However, I would like to thank each and everyone of you from the bottom of my heart, for not only your frantic efforts in being present, but also for your kindness, patience, and attention to hear my presentation/speech on the subject matter, which I consider seriously that the bulk of it hinges upon TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY for the prestigious job which you elected all of the executives etc. and I to do as your TRUSTED SERVANTS. In that regard, I thank the almighty God immensely for keeping most of us alive today and allowing me to deliver this very important speech. For all those who are sick or in distress, I pray for their very speedy recovery in Jesus name. Amen.
First, as most of you will recall on March 18, 2023, I was elected the Chairman along with the other executives to serve our great club for the next three years which will elapse on March 18, 2026. Therefore, according to our by laws, we will hold another election on March 21, 2026 which will be next month.
Essentially, during this period that we served and still serving, I have indeed learned tremendous things regarding our club in general, and I believe almost all of you have learned quite a lot not only from me, but also from all the members as well. In fact, all these things which we have learned from both sides categorically would be narrated from the positive perspectives only, because the negativity aspect appeared very trivial. Second, the reason for this adoption is because all the GOOD things which we accomplished occurred directly from the positive attitude with which we interacted with one another. As a result, we were able to move our club forward in the right direction for almost three years now. This claim potentially brings me to our accomplishments. Quite frankly our accomplishments are as follows;
- Re-registering our club after its original registration had expired over 24 years ago in order to conform with the Texas State law.
- Changing our Bank account to reflect exactly/match our CORRECT NAME ON THY NATIONAL LEVEL, instead of Galveston Peoples Club of Nigeria Int’l, the RIGHT name will be, People’s Club Of Nigeria Int’l Galveston Branch.
- Ability to purchase stereo and loud speakers for our meetings.
- Ability to formulate beautiful neck sashes for our membership identification for both males and females during various important functions. Wearing of pins for men is insufficient. What about the ladies?
- Ability to create a functional welfare committee headed by a national officer, Hon. Tony Enemuo.
- Visiting and distribution of ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($1,000) each to six of our very sick members.
- Organizing and celebrating MOTHER’S DAY event in 2024 at ICCH, 2025 at a reputable Ballroom Hall on Bissonnet Rd.
- Organizing and celebrating END OF THE YEAR PARTY at ICCH in 2023 and 2024 party at the reputable Ballroom Hall at Bissonnet Rd.
- Increased membership from 60 members to 65 members as of today.
- Increased our financial accounts, revenue from fifty eight thousand dollars ($58,000) when I took office to eighty nine thousand dollars ($89,000) before we started paying our benefits 12 to 15 years ago which I did not incur while in office. In spite of all these our bank balance today is encouraging and still growing.
- We have been current with the payment of LCG/MOU Bereavement in our 22 Branches of PCNI in the Diaspora, US.
- The ability to represent our PCNI Galveston branch at the AGM at the HQ Onitsha on a yearly basis of which I have attended 2 out of 3 years in office.
- We are also present at the various conventions and inductions here in the US and I usually attend.
This is just to mention but a few. Keep in mind of course, that all of these achievements were a direct continuation of what the previous administrations did. Certainly, my administration has been striving to ensure that our goals and objectives are completely achieved. In fact, we are almost there, but we need your unwavering contributions and support because we CANNOT do it alone for example, Membership drive.
Third, nevertheless, as all of you can see in the foregoing analysis that I have carefully refrained from mentioning all the names of members who made outstanding contributions to the progress of our club, because doing that will result in too many names to be mentioned in that regard, and I might even miss some names. The fact of the matter is that many members helped me in too many different ways in order to see us achieve our club’s goals and objectives during this period, and I thank all of YOU very much from the bottom of my heart. Certainly, in my effort to move our club forward in the right direction, probably I might have stepped on a few individuals’ toes, that indeed was not intentional.
However, I cannot overlook mentioning the name of our Honorable Josephine Nwachukwu, our able Assistant Secretary for the great unselfish sacrifices which she made in terms of making sure that our meeting minutes in both executive and general levels are properly written, during the early months that I took office. The coverage happened during every absence of our club’s Secretary. We are all cognizant of the fact that effective minutes and very strong accounts serve as a backbone of any viable entity or organization. I am very grateful to our Honorable Josephine Nwachukwu for all of her sacrifices in order to serve our club diligently. (Please may we give her a round of applause.).
I am equally full of appreciation and gratitude to my lovely wife, Dr. Mrs. Ijeoma Uche who not only devoted all of her time and energy as a very resourceful associate, but also ensured that some of the club’s activities, for example, our food MENU is adequate for nutritional values based on her profession. This was due to the fact that our new Social Director was learning the job, and the former one was in Nigeria for many months.
Quite frankly, I value tremendously my wife’s untiring efforts in advising me on most crucial matters. Her contributions together with those of my primary advisers are fruitful and commendable. I sincerely thank all of them very much for their intelligence and thoughtfulness which helped so much to move the club forward in the right direction.
Lastly, before I close, I would like to comment more on our financial status and our revenue balance as of today. Basically, If any one tells you that our Secretary or the Chairman or the Financial Secretary or the Treasurer STOLE our money one way or another, simply tell that individual that he or she is NOT TELLING THE TRUTH. Also, please demand evidence from the individual(s). This false allegation could be from the G-7, Patrons, Ex-Chairmen or any member(s).
In our Financial Department, we have all of our officials, especially the treasurer, to make it very difficult before he writes out a check to any member. Consequently, we had already devised a mechanism in our by-laws for one to produce genuine receipts plus vouchers before our check can be issued out to anyone, even to all the executives as well. In this way, our financial balance is properly maintained as it appears today. Our audit report will show this fact clearly when completed. Therefore, the practice of transparency and accountability will be enhanced. In addition, our club has so far grown from strength to strength in spite of all odds and daunting challenges. Please remember my INTROSPECTION REQUEST from all of you, because I consider all of you as honorable members of integrity.
Indeed, our horizon is very promising and truly together we will always make our club GREAT. Ultimately, our future is very bright and our goals are continuously being defined. Thus, by adhering to our motto, UNITY, LOVE, AND SERVICE, and by practicing those virtues judiciously, with very hard work, many more planned and anticipated accomplishments are in sight. This, of course, is through the help of almighty God. THE STATE OF THE UNION IS STRONG. May God continue to bless PCNI Galveston Branch.
I remain Fraternally Yours,
Sir Dr. Barth Uche
Chairman, PCNI Galveston Branch