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AKMG New Jersey: 47th Annual Convention: Update from Dr.Elizabeth Mammen Prasad

Some of the highlights of 47 th AKMG Convention at Hyatt, Jersey city, NJ from August 6- 8th, 2026. A quick summary . We started the convention a Cruise on Majesty along the Hudson River celebrating 250 years of US Independence.
It was nice to see the statue of Liberty up close for a photo op. It was 2 and half days of fun, connecting, networking, excellent 11 CME hours , literary forum, Womens forum on wellness, yoga, bolly wood dance workshop, arts and crafts, myil mystic fashion show to name a few of the activities . We were honored to have AMA president Dr.Bobby Mukumaala as a keynote speaker and his talk on the role of IMG s in US health care was timely in light of physician shortages to be felt by 2030. Dr.Chetan Shah president of NJ board of medical examiners and ENT specialists talked about why private practice matters , and mayor of Trivandrum , Kerala Adv V V Rajesh gave his felicitations.
This list and pictures are by no means complete. It was truly my honor and privilege to host this convention as President of AKMG 2025-2026, along with Convention chair D.Rekha Menon who assisted in various tasks not limited to getting us Tara Arts, Madhu for catering and AV, organizing vallaum kali ,fund raising. Co chair Dr.Liza Protasis ( who literally gave her left arm, fell and broke her shoulder a few days before the start of the convention) , she was not keen on getting to stage but was tremendous help behind the scenes with hotel and registration and anything that needs done along with her Husband Jude Samuel who made several trips to get our printing materials . Their two talented daughters who are in medicine, Nina and Reena Samuel sang the US anthem, Dr Rebecca Varghese sang Indian anthem With Dr Asha Menon.
Registration was handled by Dr. Bikram Kabir , with his wife Dr Priya Pillai , son Kanav , and Dr. Manju Harshan , so attendees could be checked in a timely fashion. Dr.Sarah Easaw, CME Chair , Dr.Tom Thomas co chair for CME , coordinating the CME program which was well received by the audience, felt to be one of the best programs in a very long time for its content and relevance. Importantly getting so many cme credit in a few days thanks to CME coordinator Ruth from Kansas city medical board for all her assistance. Dr. Joseph Prasad was keeping the finances in order and helping out whatever needs done. We had the opportunity to honor two long time NJ life members of AKMG Dr CS Pitchumoni , Dr.Thomas Alapatt, with life time achievement awards. We also had Dr. Hemant Patel, former AAPI president, and Dr. Anshu Garg, who spoke about Dr. Thomas. Dr. Majeed Paduvana representing the BOT, introduced Dr. Putchumoni. We were grateful for Senator Vin Gopal's video felicitation. His AKMG Presidential award was graciously accepted by his parents, Drs. Indu and Krishan Gopal. Grateful for the video felicitations from Lt Governor of New Jersey Mr.Dale Caldwell. I also want to say a big thank you to the following for their assistance throughout my term as President. A very special thank you to Dr. Deepu Sudhakaran for all the support and guidance. Appreciate the assistance in various ways from Dr. Savitha Rajan and Dr. Thomas Rajan, Dr Shelby Kutty, Dr Shaija Kutty , Dr Usha Mondas, Dr Neena Thomas, Dr Neena Kumar, mrs Smitha Haridas, Dr Thompson, Dr Nisha Nigil, Dr Nigil Haroon , Arron Shelby, Dr Arvind Pillai, Dr. Jincey Climent and her two darling children in the fashion show, Dr Reena Kavilveetel, Dr Subra Bhatt, Dr Anu Bhatt. MC Dr Nasim Shajihan , Ms Judith Joy, Dr Manju Nayar did a fantastic job despite time constraints. Dr Venkit Iyer and team , for an outstanding souvenir. Also want to mention Joanna George for volunteering during the convention.
Last but not least, Ms Preetha Nair admin assistant in cochin for all her assistance. It was a truly amazing year, and convention was a culmination of all the planning, making it as perfect as possible. Thank you for attending our convention , and making it memorable with many fond memories to take back. Until we meet again, see you at Niagara Falls in 2027. Please accept my apologies if I missed anyone in this write-up. Dr. Rekha Menon, our convention chair, has done a detailed vote of thanks
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