AFVOA Newsletters of Year 2012

Page 49 of 80 As the first President of this great Association, it gives me great pleasure to stand before you as the Patron and greet you on the occasion of our Raising Day that falls on 07 August. Col Bala Swamy and Maj Balachandran germinated the idea of forming an association on the 7 August 1994. Brig VK Raju, Colonel SR Raju and others, ignited an enthusiasm to form the Ex-Service Officers Association (EXSOA). Those who were with him on that occasion, I am told, were Wg Cdr Rajagopal, Col Kasturi Raj, Col A Krishnaswamy, Col Venugopal, Col Viswanathan and some others. A few of these stalwarts are here today and we owe them our gratitude. May I request these good men to identify themselves? Please give them a hand. With an increase in membership, more ideas and greater participation, the activities of the Association increased to the next level. The dawn of the millennium brought about a change in the name of the Association. Maj Gen Aban Naidu, suggested that EXSOA be renamed AFVOA. This was unanimously agreed to by all the members. AFVOA has been active in many community service projects. From providing guidance to aspirants wishing to join the defence services, organizing talks on matters military in civilian and student groups, in raising contributions for the families of Kargil heroes, in helping officers and their wives in need and in distress, in creating awareness about the Armed Forces through the media, AFVOA has done it all. In addition, AFVOA serves as a link between the Serving and Retired Community. The Association also helps in finding jobs for retiring officers, honouring octogenarian veterans, participating and providing support at funerals as required, furthering the objectives of the ECHS so that the veterans and their families get optimum benefits, publishing newsletters, bringing out telephone directories and useful compilations for next-of-kin. Most importantly, assists veterans and spouses in a crisis and see through the entire process of restoring emotional and financial stability. We have grown and over the years the Association has gained status. The Presidents and their teams have done great service to the Association. Many of them are with us today. I compliment the office bearers over the years and appreciate their contributions in making this Association what it is today. We need to grow and make a difference in the lives of our veterans and their families. We have a great future and let us work hard to make this a model organization of veterans. Before I conclude let me bring to your notice the great honour bestowed upon Prof K Vijayraghavan, son of one of our past presidents, AVM V Krishnaswamy, who is unfortunately no more. His wife Jaya Krishnaswamy is here with us. In the recent past Prof Vijayraghavan, Director, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore was conferred the Fellowship of the Royal Society. Founded in 1663, the Royal Society is a prestigious organization in UK recognizing excellence in the Sciences. This honour in the past has been conferred on people like Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, CV Raman, SN Bose and so on. Truly a great