My dear colleagues,
It is my honor to be elected as the 16th President of the Indian American Nurses Association of Greater Houston (IANAGH). It is God’s will that I would be here today as the President of this prestigious association, and I acknowledge, thank, and praise him for his steadfast love and mercy.

Gratitude is the foundation of a value-driven life. I am thankful to my family, my friends, teachers, mentors, and everyone who has crossed my path because you have made me a better person. My sincere appreciation to the IANAGH board of directors, governing board and all the IANAGH members for putting your trust in me as someone who can make a positive impact in this organization. I would like to thank the founders of IANAGH: Mrs. Claramma Mathews, Mrs. Mary Thomas, Mrs. Mariamma Thomas, Mrs. Elsy Thottam, Mrs. Mariamma Mathews, Mrs. Mary Abraham, Mrs. Mary Roy and Mrs. Mariamma Oommen who 29 years ago went through many struggles to create a platform and a voice for us Indian nurses to stand together and serve our community. Hats off to all the past presidents and board members of this association, especially our immediate past president Dr. Elsy John who has worked tirelessly and selflessly every day to move this organization to a new level.

I am proud and humbled to work with my talented team. In the Advisory board we have: Mrs. Accamma Kallel (advisory board chair), Dr. Omana Simon, Mrs. Mary Thomas, Mrs. Sally Samuel, and Dr. Alice Neycheril. In the Executive board: Mr. Biju Ittan as the Executive Vice President, Dr. Alice Saji as the Vice President, Dr. Simi Varghese as the Secretary, and Mrs. Girija Babu as the Treasurer. As Joint Secretary, we have Mrs. Cici Poothakary and as Joint Treasurer we have Mrs. Claramma Mathews. In the governing body, we have Election Chair Mrs. Julie Raju; Professional Development Chair Mrs. Lata Mathews; APRN Forum Chair Mrs. Geena Arackal; Research and Grant Chair Dr. Doncy Eapen; Website and Communication Chair Mrs. Anila Sandeep; Awards/Scholarship Chair Mrs. Sheela Mathews; Bylaws Chair
Mrs. Reena Saju, Membership Chair Mrs. Shoba Mathew, Fundraising Chair Mrs. Rema Pillai, Editorial/Journal Chair Mrs. Bindu Charalil, and Advocacy/Policy Chair Dr. Bilja Sajith. Please join me in applauding the IANAGH Governing board!!

A wise man once said, “the secret of change is to focus your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new”. The 3 secrets of change mentioned here are that you must have the energy, and you must use the energy to build new and not to fight the old. We have come a long way from our humble beginnings and now we have a long way to go together as the Indian American Nurses Association of Greater Houston to serve our community. With a strong team and coordinated teamwork, we can achieve this.

As a team, we will be planning many events for the year which will be communicated soon to the IANAGH community. We are optimistic about your wholehearted participation and support and will be looking forward for your ideas and feedback. My dream is to see all IANAGH members working with each other, building each other, and making an impact in the Greater Houston community.

I take this entrusted opportunity very seriously and I will strive to serve you to the best of my ability. Together let’s continue the legacy started by our pioneers!

Thank you!
Reenu M. Varghese, DNP, APRN, FNP-C