Dear INAOK family, 

Greetings to all the members. I am delighted to begin this year, as your President of the Indian Nurses Association of Oklahoma. It is a first for me to take up a position of responsibility as the President of a professional organization. I am thankful to each of you for this opportunity and for the confidence you had shown in me. Special thanks go to the previous board members that have introduced and promoted our organization in our Indian community. Personal gratitude goes to our previous president Divya Joykutty for helping me with this transition. I hope I can follow her legacy and continue on the route she has set for this chapter in Oklahoma. 

As nursing professionals, we are going through one of the greatest challenges our profession has ever faced. Coronavirus and its impact on our work and home environments have been unprecedented.  What was once normal was deemed to be unacceptable practice within a matter of weeks. As nurses, we continued to show our ability to adapt and cope with such difficult situations. We have learned how to move on with our incredible inner strength and self-confidence. It is the need of the hour that we work together as an organization during these trying times, inspiring and encouraging each other to move forward. Though we are unable to come together as a group due to the pandemic, we can do our own little part in helping each other get through this difficult journey. 

As your President, I envisage your full support in the growth of our organization in Oklahoma. The first step would be to enhance our efforts towards increasing the membership of our Chapter. All efforts should be made to ensure that our fellow Indian nurses realize how important it is to stay and grow stronger together. The opportunities that our organization provides to nurses should be known to all nurses in our Oklahoma Indian community. 

Along with the governing body members, we would like to thank God Almighty for giving us this opportunity to make our chapter grow. Last but not least, I also would like to thank my husband and my two kids for their overwhelming support in this endeavor. 

I conclude with a quote from Dr. ABJ Kalam: “Dream is not what you see in sleep, the dream is something that does not let you sleep.”

 Let us all dream together that our chapter will grow stronger and more successful in the coming years. 

Thank you, 

Annie Zachariah