State of the Temple

Hindu Samaj Temple: 

Hindu Samaj Temple Annual General Body Meeting January 21st, 2007 For the latest news, upcoming events, schedule and more Visit www.HISTEMPLEMN.org

Temple Administration: 

Temple Administration Executive Committee Board of Directors President: Suresh Chari Vice President: Suresh Kotagal Secretary: Treasurer: Shekar Kaliappan Sub-cmt Heads Finance: Shekar Kaliappan Religious Affairs: Dev Mukhopadhyay Cultural Activities: Suresh K/Suresh C Building & Infrastructure: Suresh Kotagal Fund Raising/Development: Amit Ghosh Scheduling: Mahesh Raghu/ Suresh C Email: Ramesh Rao Web and Media: Diganta/ Shyamala Shyamala Bhat Mukesh Bhatia Diganta Borgohain Suresh Chari Amit Ghosh Shekar Kaliappan Suresh Kotagal Dev Mukhopadhyay Jeevan Rao Mahesh Raghu Ramesh Rao Shridhar Somasekharan Latha Stead Suresh Yanambaka

Board Members: 

Board Members Strongly committed to betterment of our community and the Temple Vocal yet reasonable group Diversified Age Gender Occupation

Board Members: 

Board Members Shyamala Bhat: Recently moved to Rochester Worked for 12 yrs with HP India Now with Mayo Mukesh Bhatia Longtime Rochester resident Family committed to Temple Mayo information services

Board Members: 

Board Members Diganta Borgohain Mayo Clinic Health Solutions Frontage Technologies Suresh Chari Professor of Medicine, Mayo Gastroenterologist Head, Pancreas Interest Group Research Interest: Pancreatic cancer

Board Members: 

Board Members Amit Ghosh Internal Medicine Associate Professor of Medicine Medical education Shekar Kaliappan Information services, Mayo Treasurer

Board Members: 

Board Members Suresh Kotagal Professor of Neurology Head of Pediatric Neurology Director: Peds Neurology Residency Program Specialty: Child Neurology Dev Mukhopadhyay Professor and Consultant Mayo Clinic Cancer Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Tumor Angiogenesis, Vascular Biology and Nanotechnology Laboratory

Board Members: 

Board Members Jeevan Kanthi Rao Owner “Rice N’ Spice” Long time resident of Rochester and Temple supporter Mahesh Raghu Dedicated to community service Mahesh and Ranga run the highly successful “Balagokulam” program for kids and adults Run shloka class

Board Members: 

Board Members Ramesh Rao Mayo, Information technology Long time supporter of Temple Shridhar Somasekharan IBM Media and publicity

Board Members: 

Board Members Latha Stead Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine Director EM Research Founder, Rochester Academy of Science and Arts Suresh Yanambaka Long time Rochester resident Past President Frontage Technology Currently in India

Executive CommitteePresident: 

Executive Committee President Overall responsible for governance of the Temple Oversee/ensure smooth running of the Temple Be in close touch with all committee members Provide vision and direction for growth and expansion of the Temple Interact with community members to understand their needs and involve them in Temple activities

Executive Committee: 

Executive Committee Vice President Responsible in President’s absence Secretary Administrative Head Treasurer In charge of the finances

Finance Committee: 

Finance Committee Track income Hundi collections, Monthly Deposit, General Donation Track expenditure, ensure paper rail exists for all expenses Balance the books every month Internal and External Audit of accounts

Finance Committee: 

Finance Committee Members Shekar Kaliappan Mahesh Raghu Mukesh Bhatia Murali Iyer Vidya Prasad

Fund Raising/DevelopmentDonor Appreciation: 

Fund Raising/Development Donor Appreciation Get the mortgage paid off! Plan for the future Recognize our donors Members: Amit Ghosh Latha Stead

Religious Activities: 

Religious Activities Daily lamp lighting Encourage satsangs Oversee monthly Puja Conduct major religious festivals Special pujas by Priest Shri Jagannadachri Installation of Idols

Religious Activities Cmt: 

Religious Activities Cmt Members Dev Mukhopadhyay Mahesh Raghu Ranga Mahesh Suresh Chari Priest Shree Jagannath Acharya (Adviser)

Cultural activities: 

Cultural activities Holi Summer program Deepavali Cultural program associated with special pujas Members Suresh Kotagal Suresh Chari Need help!

Building and Infrastructure: 

Building and Infrastructure Major role last year Oversee renovation Ongoing maintenance issues Security Members Suresh Kotagal Vidhan Chandra

Scheduling Committee: 

Scheduling Committee Schedule events Maintain web-based calendar Avoid conflicts Members Mahesh Raghu Suresh Chari

Media and PublicityEmail and Web Page: 

Media and Publicity Email and Web Page Advertise Temple events Maintain Webpage current Members Shyamala Bhat Ramesh Rao Diganta Borgohain Sridhar Somasekharan Jeevan Rao

Youth Volunteer Program: 

Youth Volunteer Program Encourages youth to particpare in volunteer activity Maintain lawn and garden Fall clean-up Director: Karpagam Maran

Year in ReviewReligious ActivitiesPresented by: Dev Mukhopadhyay: 

Year in Review Religious Activities Presented by: Dev Mukhopadhyay

Slide24: 

Welcome everyone and also we would like to convey our heartfelt thanks for your genuine support and participation in different religious activities held at the temple throughout the year

Slide25: 

Religious Subcommittee: Mahesh Raghu Suresh Chari Ranganayaki (Ranga) Mahesh Dev Mukhopadhyay Shree Jaganath Acharya (Adviser)

Slide26: 

Religious activities: Daily Weekly Monthly Special Religious Prayers / Festivals

Slide27: 

Daily “Daily Lamp Lighting” in front of the Deities is an important religious ritual. In the absence of regular priest in our temple, you as a community have taken the responsibility to this auspicious service. At least 30 people, individually or as a group, are performing this prayer every evening. All the hard work you have been doing through out the year to preserve this daily prayer is very unique to the temple and we acknowledge this with gratitude.

Slide28: 

Weekly Prayer for Lord Vishnu (Vishnu Sahasranaamam) every week Monday from 7.00 PM – 8.00 PM. Prayer for Goddess Lalitha (Lalitha Sahasranaamam) every 2nd Friday of the month from 7.00 PM – 8.00 PM. Prayer for Goddess Devi (Devi Stotrams) every 4th Friday of the month from 7.00 PM – 8.00 PM Prayer for Sai Baba every 1st and 3rd Friday of the month from 7.00 PM – 8.00 PM Group singing for various Gods and Goddesses every 2nd Saturday of the month from 7.00 PM – 8.00 PM If you would like to start a new session or join with an existing group please contact us

Slide29: 

Monthly Puja Monthly Pujas, third Saturday of each month, is greatly appreciated by our community for several years We strongly believe that the Monthly Pujas are an important platform not only for satsang or singing bhajans, but also to convey our thoughts and educate ourselves about the diversity in our culture and religion After-Puja dinner serves as a great opportunity to taste verities of dishes throughout the year In all aspects, year 2006 was a great success to our monthly pujas and we hope with your intense help and support, the future pujas will continue to succeed as well Please sign up in the Monthly Puja list as a group or individual and help us to schedule ahead for the whole year

Slide30: 

Special Religious Prayers / Festivals 01/04/2006 – Harvest Festival (Sankaranti) was celebrated 02/18/2006 – Saraswathi Puja was conducted 02/26/2006 – Prayer for Lord Shiva was conducted 03/11/2006 – Festival of Colors (Holi) was celebrated 03/20/2006 – Kalyana Utsav for God Balaji and Goddess Devi was celebrated 04/06/2006 – Lord Rama’s Birthday (Rama Navami) was celebrated 08/19/2006 – Lord Krishna’s Birthday (Janmashtami) was celebrated 08/27/2006 – Lord Ganesha’s Birthday was celebrated 09/08/2006 – Lord Hanuman Idol Installation ceremony was performed 09/22/2006 – Goddess Devi Idols (Goddess Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi along with Gods Ganesha and Karthikeya) Installation ceremony was conducted 09/23/2006-9/30/2006 – Prayer for Goddess Durga was conducted 10/01/2006 – Lamp (Diya) Prayer was conducted

Slide31: 

Continued: Special Religious Prayers / Festivals 10/21/2006 – Prayer in connection with Festival of Lights (Diwali) was conducted 11/11/2006 – Prayer for Lord Satya Narayana was conducted 12/16/2006 – Lord Hanuman’s Birthday (Hanuman Jayanthi) was celebrated Again, thank you all for your generous support throughout the year and we strongly believe that working together we will make our temple as well as our community a great place to cultivate our religion and culture

Slide32: 

FUTURE ACTIVITIES AND DIRECTION Other tentative religious events for the temple. Saraswati Puja Saturday 01-27-2007 Maha Shivaratri Friday 02-16-2007 Holi Saturday 03-03-2007 Ramanavami Tuesday 03-27-2007 Hanuman Jayanti Monday 04-02-2007 Krishna Janmashthami Tuesday 09-04-2007 Ganesh Chaturthi Saturday 09-15-2007 Durga Puja Friday 10, 19 -21, 2007 Deepavali (Diwali) Friday 11-09-2007 Tentative plan to coordinate special Pujas, at least alternative month, conducted by Shree Jaganath Acharya

Slide33: 

Hiring a full time Priest for our temple: a future perspective New Deities Sthapana: an ongoing effort on behalf of community We also need your positive thoughts for betterment of our service and improvement of our religious activities God bless you all

Year in Review Cultural ActivitiesMahesh Raghu: 

Year in Review Cultural Activities Mahesh Raghu

Slide35: 

REGULAR ACTIVITIES Bharathanatyam Class conducted every Tuesday from 5.30 PM – 6.30 PM by Raagamala Dance Theater Kathak Dance Class conducted every Sundays from 1:00 PM -3:00 PM by Katha Dance Theater

Slide36: 

Yoga Class conducted every Wednesday from 7.00 PM – 8.00 PM by John Smith Yoga Sutra Lecture Series were given every other month through out the year by Dr Steven Parker

Slide37: 

Hindi Language Class conducted every Sunday from 10:30 AM -12:00 PM Malayalam Language Class conducted every 3rd Sunday from 4:00 PM -5:00 PM

Slide38: 

Balagokulam Conducted every Saturday from 10.00 AM – 11.30 AM It enables Hindu children in US to appreciate their cultural roots and learn Hindu Values. This is done through Games, Yoga, Stories, Songs, Arts & Crafts, Contest and special educational projects. It is being conducted in more than 100 centers in the country. A special quarterly magazine called “Balagokulam” is also published with contents for the kids and by the kids. For details, visit www.balagokulam.org

Slide39: 

Kaun Banega Ramayan Expert - (KBRE) Ramayan Quiz Contest was conducted from Jan 2006 – April 2006 Around 3000 kids participated from all over the United States and 33 kids from Rochester, MN Ganashyam from Rochester won the special prize for Midwest Region Weekend Ramayan classes were conducted for around 3 months Brought more awareness about our Great Epic to our kids and it was a super success project

Slide40: 

Conducted on 06/18/2006 from 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM. Inaugurated by Shri Tridandi Jeeyar Swami from Tirupathi. This exhibition was a bird's eye view of the vast Hindu cultural heritage and the traditions of India. There were 30 posters on different themes. Some of the topics were: Basic concepts and way of living Temples, ancient roots and Architecture Art, Dance and Music Hindu Diaspora and its influence Contributions in Mathematics and Science Yoga and Ayurveda Dharma in nature and service Role of Hindu Women Exhibition on Hindu Culture and Dharmic Traditions

Slide41: 

Indian Music Concert was held on July 30, 2006 from 2:00 PM -5:00 PM by Nirmala Rajasekar Indian Music Recital was held on Oct 8, 2006 from 3:15 PM -5:00 PM by Chand Mallick

Hindu Heritage Family Camp: 

Hindu Heritage Family Camp Conducted on Aug 26 & 27 at Caledonia Camp Site 1st overnight camp for Rochester Residents More than 70 participants – (Age range from 3 month baby to a 70 year old adult) With a perfect blend of cultural activities, games and sports and religious lessons, this camp proved to be an effective medium to impart Hindu values to the children and elders while they made many friends and enjoyed their vacation Kids made clay models of Lord Ganesh and every one enjoyed the joint celebration of Ganesh Puja also

Slide43: 

First time Diwali fireworks was held on Oct 21, 2006 from 7:30 PM -9:00 PM Mega Cultural Event was conducted on Oct 28, 2006 from 4:00 PM -10:00 PM at Peace United Church Overwhelming response from the community with active participation from more than 300 residents. Thanks to everyone for putting their efforts in making this function a huge success. Next time – even more better. Deepavali

Annual contest: 

Annual contest Conducted on 12/16/2006 to test the efficiency of the Balagokulam kids on all the cultural and religious lessons they had learnt through out the year. Certificates and prizes were given for all the participants.

Marching ahead in 2007 : 

Marching ahead in 2007 16 day Sun Salutation Marathon from Jan 13th – Jan 28th 2007 Live coverage from KTTC and 6 News New Music class from Feb 12 hour Shiva Ratri Marathon event in Feb Grand Holi Mela in March And many more to come…

State of the TempleFinancial StatusSuresh Chari: 

State of the Temple Financial Status Suresh Chari

What did we start with: 

What did we start with The organization has been in existence for 20+ yrs It was Incorporated in 12/6/2000 HIS Temple MN, Inc Temple purchased in September 2004 Bank balance before fund raiser: $22,000

Temple Purchase: 

Temple Purchase Fund raiser: Summer of 2004 Purchase: September 2004 Price: $240,000 with $10,000 for repairs $50,000 down payment made Balance: $190,000

Bank Balance over the Years: 

Bank Balance over the Years Without Capital Campaign Funds Balance as of 12/29/06: $ 63,656

Monthly Expenditure & Income: 

Monthly Expenditure & Income

Average Monthly Expense$2063: 

Average Monthly Expense $2063

Average Monthly Income($3335): 

Average Monthly Income ($3335)

Electronic Monthly Deposit: 

Electronic Monthly Deposit $/month

Year in ReviewBuilding and RenovationSuresh Kotagal: 

Year in Review Building and Renovation Suresh Kotagal

Renovations & AdditionsDownstairs: 

Renovations & Additions Downstairs Remodeling of basement: Created a large area for dining Dance flooring Tear down Dry wall New floor

Renovations & AdditionsUpstairs: 

Renovations & Additions Upstairs Bringing the building up to fire code (Circuit breakers, handicapped egress, emergency exit doors, inspection of fire extinguishers, lawyer’s fees, etc.) Energy efficient windows Front lobby shoe rack Ceiling fans

Outside: 

Outside New front door Repaving the parking lot New lawn mower Storage shed

Cost of renovation and repair: 

Cost of renovation and repair Gutter Electric work AC/Heater Parking lot Building Anderson Law firm Fire Extinguisher Signs Temple Sign Board Total Cost: $ 38,982.85

Email, Webpage, Blogs and more…..: 

Email, Webpage, Blogs and more…..

Donor Appreciation - 2006: 

Donor Appreciation - 2006 I would start by thanking all members of our community who have made generous contribution of their time, talent and money to make 2006 a successful fund raising year.

Where do our donors come from?: 

Where do our donors come from? Minnesota Michigan Iowa Rochester Bloomfield Fairfield Mankato Crystal North Dakota Kansas Zumbrota Bismarck Lenexa Faribault Texas Stewartville Corpus Christie St. Cloud Illinois Northfield Danville Maple Grove Wisconsin New York La Crosse Commack

Donor Appreciation - 2006: 

Total donor collection: $55,477 [ 109 families] Average per family: $508.96 Range: $5.00 - $5392.00 28 families donated $42,455 (76.5% of all donation) 11 monthly donors - $50-100/ month Donor Appreciation - 2006

Donor Appreciation - 2006: 

Amount per year($$) No. of Families $ 501- 1000 18 $1001-2000 4 $2001-3000 2 $3001-4000 2 $4001-5000 1 $5001-6000 1 Donor Appreciation - 2006

Donor Appreciation – 2006Monthly donation scheme/year: 

$25/ month X 12 = $300 $ 50/ Month X 12= $ 600 $ 75/ Month X 12= $900 $ 100/ month X 12= $1200 $150/ month X 12= $1800 Donor Appreciation – 2006 Monthly donation scheme/year

Slide65: 

*Adapted from the model suggested by Hindi Temple- Minneapolis MN *

Questions?: 

Questions? An hour-long Q and A session followed the presentation Issues discussed: Hiring of Priest: After vigorous discussion of pros and cons it was decided that: The financial implications of such a hiring should be further clarified Temple should identify families who would be willing to at least partially underwrite the monthly expenses of a priest for the first 12-18 months (there were at least 3 volunteers present at the mtg) INS regulations for hiring (especially re salary and benefits) should be further investigated

Acquiring Land for Future Development: 

Acquiring Land for Future Development This issue was raised but could be fully discussed due to lack of time