[UAH] FW: How Does UNAA Stand?

Brian, Thank Mr. Ssennoga for his leadership. You would not have been able to leave Philadelphia with more than 30 registered members as you wrote he had not made the right decisions:   "By the time we left Philadelphia, more than 30 people had already registered for Dallas and as of the end of April more than 300 have already registered for the convention and the hotel rooms we reserved at the discounted rate have almost run out -- All time records for UNAA with more than 3 months to the convention."   Voting for a hotel was soooo urgent for the First Council since the outgoing president did NOT leave a hotel in place for the incoming executive-the first time in the history of UNAA. We lost more than a quarter of the year plus of valuable time with no venue. UNAA could not register people because of that and you know that. There was strong competetion against UNAA at the time. It was very important to get it right.   Mr Ssennoga, made sure that what happened to him would not happen to another. He made sure that the Council approved your Omni Dallas hotel in time so that you were able to start registering. You were also able to showcase your Dallas Convention in Philadelphia...   I am confused, you mean that since the time of the hotel vote you have been busy NOT supporting the president?  I am truly surprised. That is such a long time ago!    B. Wamala From: Brian Kwesiga <brian.kwesiga@yahoo.com> To: beckywamalabrown@sbcglobal.net Sent: Monday, May 20, 2013 6:34 PM Subject: UNAALIST How Does UNAA Stand? Mr. Nyende, That is a very fair question that the UNAA Membership deserves to know the answers to as our two terms in office as their elected representatives come to an end. When Mr. Moses R. Wilson took over the UNAA Presidency in 2009 after Chicago, his administration inherited over $50,000 in debt; some of it from just poor financial management, and some of it just outright abuse of the trust we place in our elected representatives, for example officials at the time ordering movies and billing it to the UNAA Master Account with the hotel.  Mr. Wilson presided over the 2010 Convention in washington DC and the 2011 Denver Conventions without leaving any debts behind and managed to reduce the Chicago debt to just $10,000 (A reduction of over 80%) by the end of his two years in office in Denver 2011. I joined the UNAA leadership for the very first time in Denver 2011 with the desire to serve based on my experiences as a leader in the Dallas community and continue in the footsteps of President Wilson to bring financial discipline to UNAA.  In 2012 for the Philadelphia Convention we had two choices of hotels; A Sheraton which would have given has a ballroom and meeting rooms courtesy of us meeting our food and beverage minimum and a Marriott which did not have the ballroom as another group had already taken up the ballroom for the weekend. To use the Marriott for the convention we would have to pay more than $30,000 extra to use the attached by separate convention center, an inconvenience we would not have to worry about by going to Philadelphia. To put it bluntly, the Marriott was $30,000 more expensive than the Sheraton and was not even giving us a ballroom or meeting rooms. It was black and white to me. When it came to a vote, I was not going to vote for a decision that would allow the organization to spend $30,000 more to get less. I was in the minority, I vote for the Sheraton, and the the UNAA 2012 Philly convention went to the Marriott, and the rest is history. The financial report from the Treasurer was alarming but not surprising, we were $30,000 in debt just as the Treasurer's projections had indicated. To the Treasurer's credit, he had been against the decision to go the Marriott because of the prohibitive costs, it just did not make sense at all. The President, Mr. Francis Ssennoga was an ardent supporter of the Marriott Hotel and how its beautiful lobby would be appealing to the UNAA delegates. It is this decision, among several that made me lose confidence and trust in the leadership of President Ssennoga, and why among several others I decided to run for UNAA President, because I believe we can do better. It has often been said that UNAA is its own biggest saboteur, and this decision could not have made this point much more clearer. From the Philadelphia convention, I knew the task of putting together the Dallas Convention, of which I was serving as the Chairman, just became that much harder. $30,000 harder to put it in dollar amounts. While in Philadelphia, the Dallas team had already began the task of making sure we were going to have a successful UNAA Convention in Dallas irrespective of the debt from Philadelphia. We rolled up our sleeves and got to work, there was not going to be a honey moon. We more than just marketed the Dallas convention in Philly, but we set up a table to begin registering people for Dallas. By the time we left Philadelphia, more than 30 people had already registered for Dallas and as of the end of April more than 300 have already registered for the convention and the hotel rooms we reserved at the discounted rate have almost run out -- All time records for UNAA with more than 3 months to the convention. Back in Dallas, we set to mobilizing the community, we have driven more than 1000 miles to Houston, Texas; Austin, Texas and Tulsa, Oklahoma as we set to make the 25th Annual UNAA Convention a truly remarkable experience. UNAA has a 501(c) status but amazingly has not been using it to its advantage. You ask yourself why did a non profit status organization pay in Philadelphia, Denver or Washington DC. We want to make Dallas special, Dallas is special. I applied and got UNAA approved by the Comptroller's Office in Austin, Texas for UNAA not to pay Sales Tax in Texas; this alone, a process that takes less than one hour will save UNAA more than $10,000 in Taxes at the Omni Hotel. That is the experience and leadership; sound decision making and financial management skills that I will be to the UNAA Presidency if given the privilege of leading this very esteemed organization.       I look forward to seeing you all in Dallas, I look forward to welcoming you home. -- Brian Kwesiga Candidate for UNAA President, 2013-2015 http://us-mg6.mail.yahoo.com/neo/www.unaa2013.org | http://us-mg6.mail.yahoo.com/neo/www.facebook.com/bmkwesiga From: Benzinye <benzinye@yahoo.com> To: "UNAANET@yahoogroups.com" <UNAANET@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Monday, May 20, 2013 7:44 PM Subject: [UNAANET] How Does UNAA Stand? A few years ago, UNAA stood at the cliff edge, facing a financial dilemma. The organization had in its face a huge bill that had to be settled, either burying UNAA six feet under or dragging it to a slow death. A new board emerged and they did a miracle, and UNAA was neither buried nor did it die a slow death, but somehow settled some of the debt. Then UNAA faced those who were aptly called "identity thieves", wanting to bring her to her knees. She survived. What is the update to the story, much as we stand before an election and before a new board takes shape? Many of us want to have an organization that is capable of running, doing what it can for the benefit of all, not limping, nor moonwalking backwards, ever going forward! Sent from my iPhone