The organizers of the 2010 Ghana Athletes Abroad Reunion (GAAR) lead by Timothy Hesse would like to thank its supporters and sponsors for making the event possible. The event was held in Virginia, USA from the 2nd through the 4th of July 2010. The gathering was billed as an effort to bring various generations of athletes together and enhance the connection between members and athletics in Ghana. The organizers acknowledge that although there were lots of participants, many former athletes around the world were not able to attend due to the absence of communication channels. Thus, they would like to encourage all former Ghanaian athletes, irrespective of level, to send an email to athletesghana@gmail.com. They will be added to the mailing list and kept abreast of current and future activities of the group. A summary and links to pictures and videos of the activities that took place over the weekend are provided below.
Friday July 2nd 2010
The majority of participants arrived on the 2nd of July. Transportation and accommodation arraignments were handled by Timothy Hesse, Edmund Aggrey, Eugene Koranteng and John Myles-Mills. Those who chose to stay in a hotel were put up in the Residence Inn by Marriot next to the Ashburn (VA) area mall. Others where hosted by colleagues living in the area.
Saturday 3rd July 2010
Morning/Afternoon
The group met formally for about 4 hrs at the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Myles-Mills. The meeting was opened with a prayer by Cynthia Quartey. Timothy Hesse gave a brief opening address welcoming participants and expressed his joy at seeing this gathering come to fruition. He then introduced Andrew Owusu as the meeting moderator and handed over to him. Andrew gave the guidelines/framework for the meeting including protocol for discussions. Participants were informed of greetings from the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA) sent by Prof. Dodoo (GAA, President). Andrew went on to provide a summary of GAA events and changes since July 2009. This included but not limited to 1) IAAF/IOC issues with executive board appointment in July 2009, 2) creation of a new GAA constitution, 3) 1st ever GAA congress to elect executive board, 4) creation of a national team selection policy and qualifying standards for international competition, 5) Changes in GAA protocol to enhance communication, finance, governance, transparency and accountability, 6) development and recruitment efforts and, 6) GAA fund raising activities. The summary of GAA activities was important because it provided useful context for the discussion session of the meeting.
Discussion Session:
There were three broad areas of discussion including clarifying aim of the group, support for GAA and, professional/social support for active and former athletes.
. The primary goal of the group as agreed to by participants is to help revive athletics in Ghana working in collaboration with GAA.
. Participants agreed to elect representatives for the following positions within the next 4 weeks; chair, vice-chair, secretary and, treasurer. There was a brief discussion about immediate appointment of interim reps but several attendees thought we should try and get the elections done quickly and that doing it later will allow a lot more folks to participate in the process. Nominations will be sent to Tanko Braimah.
. Participants committed to annual membership dues of $200 a year to help fund group's activities. This will go into effect after election of representatives.
. There was a brief discussion about making sure that elected reps be willing and able to dedicate the necessary time to help advance the group's agenda.
. Participants agreed that the group should set up a scholarship scheme at the Senior High School (SHS) level with a maximum of 2 awards per year (total at peak on a 4 year cycle will be 8 athletes). Amount to be agreed upon later.
. Participants acknowledged that Leo Myles-Mills running shoe program in support of the Maria Tsakos high school competition was a laudable effort. Andrew Owusu indicated that the group could expand the running shoe program by soliciting used running shoes and spikes from schools in the Sunbelt Conference.
. Participants agreed to actively pursue the creation of a website for the group within the next 4-5 weeks.
. A number of ideas were floated around including helping raise funds with/for GAA for specific events such as the national championships. At the very least, group will consider sponsoring specific events (e.g., 100m or High Jump etc) at nationals.
. Participants agreed to start a yearly award for coaches i.e., coach of the year as indicated by GAA. Since GAA may have a plan to honor the top coach(es) starting in 2010, there is a possibility to pool funds for the award i.e., chip in towards the award.
. Participants committed to paying SAT registration fees for qualified student athletes who seek to continue their education and sports career in the US. "Qualified" means acceptable performance and academics [pass SSS core subjects]) and make it through the NCAA clearing house.
. Participants discussed the possibility of pairing athletes who come over from Ghana with appropriate mentors.
. Participants also discussed aggressively recruiting good athletes abroad whose parents are Ghanaian.
. Participants also discussed post collegiate (university) support primarily through mentoring and offering/connecting athletes with members who have relevant knowledge or experience.
. Participants agreed to hold a monthly telephone conference on the first Saturday of each month
. Participants agreed to an annual general assembly.
o The 2011 general assembly will be in Virginia
o There was a discussion about holding the 2012 general assembly in Ghana to coincide with the 2012 Olympic trials in Ghana.
Evening/Night (July 3rd)
The reunion party was hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Joe Kumi from 10pm until wee hours of the 4th of July. The party was open to all former athletes including friends/family and fans of Ghana athletics in the Tri-State area (Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC). A few individuals from other sports (Football and table tennis) were in attendance. It started with a prayer by Marc Anthony Awere. This was followed with a short address by Timothy Hesse and a recap of the afternoon meeting was given by Andrew Owusu. The party featured a serve yourself buffet, a well stocked bar and dance floor. Music ranged from highlife to reggae to hip-pop to pop .. and some good old JAMA.
Sunday 4th July 2010
Early to Late Afternoon
A barbeque/cookout was hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Joe Kumi on Sunday. There was plenty of food and drink. It was an opportunity to catch up on old times and get to better know colleagues from different eras.
Links to Pictures and Video
Pictures (meeting and party):
http://picasaweb.google.com/andrewowusu/2010GhanaAthletesAbroadReunionPublic ?authkey=Gv1sRgCKjH5ZyUnvyS_AE
Video (party --- videos on dark side (lighting):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipKX4N9mqro
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DOR2I3aOfU
