Peoples Club of Nigeria International, Arlington branch Inaugurates and Chartered in Granduer and style, Aug 4th 2007
With the pageantry and ovation reminiscent of hollywood events like Oscar or Grammy award ceremonies, Peoples club of Nigeria International, Arlington TX Branch was launched, chartered and inaugurated in style on Saturday.
In what can only be described as a weekend to remember, peoples club Arlington was chartered with a bang!. It is the most colorful event ever held in Dallas/ Fort worth, as dignitaries upon dignitaries showed for the crowning of the latest branch and the crown jewel of the Elite club. The Grand ball room of the Marriot hotel and resort DFW airport south has seen it’s share of colorful events over the years, but none nearly as impressive as the one it witnessed yesterday, August 4th 2007.
The event actually kicked off on Friday night with a pre-induction party, where the intended inductees and all the old members and delegations from all over the world partied till the pre-dawn hours. As usual there was more than enough to eat and drink. The Nigerian delegation was quite impressive: It included the who is who of peoples Club of Nigeria: Chairman of the Management Council, Chief Fabian Onwuachu (Acharaugo Akokwa),HRM, Eze Desmond Ogugua (Mmiri Na Ezolu Oha). Others include Chief Joe Ilonze (Ichie Eze Ugonna of Ojoto), Chief Anene Ike (Omekaenyi Nnewi),Chief Sam C. Iwuchukwu (Aka Udo Nnewi) and many others. The dignitaries from United states included Chief sir Victor Udorji,(Nwa amuru gba egbe 1), the charismatic Boston Branch chairman and sponsor of Arlington Texas Branch; Chief Dr. Uche Eze, The chairman Emeritus of Houston Branch, Chief Chris Uzuwulu, chairman of Galveston Branch and a whole lot more. Way too many to list here.
The hall was packed and the event surprisingly started early – for a Nigerian event. It started at about 8.20pm. From then on, everything worked like clock work.
The MCs, Dr. Chief Ashibuogwu from Houston and Dr. Charles Maduka seem to be on top of their games as they moved the program along very efficiently.
The Branch was chartered at about 11pm and the new officers were sworn in. 30 new members were inducted into the great club. These include the who is who of the Metroplex. The list included Chiefs, Doctors, Engineers, Lawyers, accountants, realtors, business owners, IT experts and people from all works of life. The diversity of the inductees and their background was also quite striking as it included people from all the core Igbo states, but even more remarkable, several people from other states like Delta & Kogi
The Induction was so impressive, the delegation from Nigeria could not curb their enthusiasm. They called Arlington Branch, the “Jewel” and the “back bone” of Peoples club of Nigeria International; as it embodies everything Peoples club of Nigeria actually stands for: Class, elegance and integrity. There was plenty of The Peoples club Signature left handshake with three quick upward successive lifts of the interlocked left index and middle fingers, indicating unity, love and service – the peoples club motto.
The Inductees did not disappoint either. The appreciation was kicked off by the first inducted member of Arlington Branch, Steve Nezianya(Aka Ego) from Asaba. In his brief speech, he called Peoples club “a family tradition” as his father was the founding chairman of Asaba branch. His donation of $5005.00 seems to set a threshold for the evening donations. And for sometime, it seems no one wanted to go below $5000. Ethelbert Odo supassed it with a donation of $5010 and then Emeka Nnaji $5015, and not to be out done, Chief Nwachukwu, $5020 as it went on and on.
The donations and the subsequent donations from each inductee’s supporters were also very impressive.
With 3 minutes allotted to each inductee, there was no time for much of the endless boring talk that usually permeates events of this nature. RECORD SETTING NIGHT PCNI Arlington inducted 30 new members, in it’s inaugural year. That is a record. No branch had ever done that. In fact, getting 30 members is a feat that took other branches several years to accomplish. It was a night of all kinds of records. More money was raised on this night than in any other Peoples club event of it�s kind as members and supporters gave generously.The delegation from Nigeria was also a record as it seems everyone wanted to see for themselves what makes the Arlington branch great. They were not dissapointed. On top of it all, there was the Day star television crew there to record the event as they Cited the Royal majesty, Des Ogugua for his work promoting peace around the world. The induction ceremony will be broadcast around the world on Day Star television network of over 140 stations. So now Arlington branch will be the first and only peoples club branch induction to be broadcast by a network television – another record. The organization of this event was key to it’s success. Credit goes to the organizing committee chairman, High Chief Sir Eddie Osuagwu (Osinaigwe Obowo 1.), who seems to always be on the fore front of every successful event in the Dallas/Ft.Worth area.
But the ultimate credit goes to the Branch Chairman, Chief Sir Engr Emma Okafor (Ebekue Dike 1) who is in total control of his branch and seem to have a vision that is lacking in most other clubs. He recorgnizes that the strenght of PCNI- Arlington lies on the diversity of it’s membership and not in creating quasi- parochial Association, where people show up with their usual personal hostility and in-fighting. As a social club, you gain more when you have a diverse membership, instead of the same old faces. He has put together a very dynamic, diverse group that is bustling with energy and enthusiasm and the headquarters of Peoples Club in Onitsha has taken notice. There is nothing as infectious as success. The buzz around town now, is that everyone who is worth anything in the area now wants to belong to Peoples Club of Nigeria, Arlington Texas Branch. In fact it seems that the question everyone was asking now is: where can I get an application form?
If Peoples Club of Nigeria International, Arlington Texas Branch maintains it’s current posture, there will really be no other social club to compare with. The sky will be the limit. It will grow exponentially in membership as it seems to be very well organized. Congratulations to Peoples Club of Nigeria International Arlington Tx Branch and it’s leadership. You have done very well!
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Reported on 5th August 2007 By PCNI Arlington Texas Public Relations Office.