The function began with a cheerful hour of socializing, with the guests enjoying the appetizers and exchanging pleasantries. Several of them pledged their commitment and support for the cause of providing medical care to the less privileged sections of society in Andhra Pradesh, as envisaged by APNA Foundation.

The presence of Smt. Savithri and Sri S.P. Balasubramanyam as the Chief Guest of the evening lent a special aura and importance to the event. Sri Balasubramanyam lit the ceremonial lamp to inaugurate the function along with other dignitaries. They included Dr. B.K.Mohan, Dr. Mangaraju Vanampalli, Dr. Sujata Reddy, Dr. Srihari Malempati, the office-bearers of TAMA and APNA. In his opening speech Mr. Ramesh Chaparala, President, TAMA welcomed the office-bearers of APNA and introduced them to the audience. The President of APNA Foundation, Dr. Sadasiva Reddy, Vice-President Dr. Adisesha Reddy, Secretary Dr. Subramanyam Boya, Treasurer Dr. Raghurama Sundaram and Mr. Bala Indurti, Executive Director made individual speeches outlining the important aims and objectives of APNA Foundation. The main thrust of APNA will be in various areas by improving the provision of water, food, health, shelter and awarding scholarships.

The Chief Guest Sri S.P. Balasubramanyam and the Keynote speaker Mr. Artur Davis, the US Congressman from Alabama were honored by APNA. Mr. Artur Davis was presented with a plaque by Sri Balasubramanyam. Mr. Davis formally felicitated Sri Balasubramanyam. Dr. Adisesha Reddy thanked the office-bearers of TAMA for their unstinted support and co-operation in hosting APNA Day in such a grand style. He offered to make a donation of $1000 each on behalf of APNA Foundation towards any cause of their choice by the two invited dignitaries. Mr. Bala Indurti pointed out that the experience gained by TAMA in raising funds for social causes has prompted the idea of making a similar effort nation-wide, through an organization like APNA.

APNA honored Dr. Haranath Policharla, Dr. Jagan Ailinani, Dr. Prabha Kamath, Dr. P.V.Rao, Mr. Ravi Ponangi, the executive members of TAMA, all the participants in the cultural events of the day and everyone else who contributed to the success of the program. The commendable job done by Siri Yellamraju, Sheila Vedala, Lakshmi Vedala, Smitha Yellamraju, Anita Bhagavathula, Namrata Sathuluru, Durga Yerramilli, Ramesh Duvvuri, Pushyami Lanka, Venkat and Radha Chennubhotla as MCs, Mr. Pramod Sangawar and Mr. Ram Durvasula in managing the audio system, Mr. Venu Polisetty for video systems, as well as all the volunteers, registration and reception, transportation (Ramakrishna Nemani, Venkatrama Atukuri, Hanumanth Rudra) and media co-ordination committees was recognized and gratefully acknowledged. 

Dr. Adisesha Reddy and Mr. Bala Indurti requested the guests to pledge their donations to the noble causes of APNA and the response was immediate. There were several guests who came forward with large donations. They included Dr. Sadasva Reddy ($11,000), Dr. Premsagar Reddy ($10,000), Mr. Chowdhary Yalamanchili ($10,000), Dr. Adisesha Reddy ($10,000), Dr. Renuka Reddy ($10,000), Dr. Gandhi Yalamanchili ($10,000) and many others. It was very gratifying to note that the total exceeded $100,000. The donation by Mr. Srinivas Lavu on behalf NTR Trust was greeted with loud cheers.

In his keynote address, Mr. Davis strongly endorsed the aims of APNA. The Congressman pointed out the importance of individual effort in poverty alleviation programs in India as well as in USA. Sri Balasubramanyam, the cynosure of all eyes, addressed the gathering with several significant observations. Stressing the importance of the ideals set forth by APNA, he exhorted the audience to not only contribute financially to this noble effort but also make sure that the hard-earned money reaches the needy people of AP. He commended the talent of local performers and wound up his speech by a melodious song that depicted his humility as a devotee of fine arts. He received a standing ovation.

Items featuring cultural programs were conducted with verve and appropriate commentary by a competent team of presenters and MCs led by Ram Durvasula. A brief presentation was devised by Mr. Syam Yellamraju about the past 25 Presidents of TAMA. A program of cultural items that followed began with a brief but attractive sitar recital by Dr. Kodavatiganti Rohiniprasad, ably accompanied on the Tabla by Anjaneya Sastry.

There was a spirited presentation of lambada dance by 16 Telugu children of Atlanta. The item was well-choreographed by Sreedevi Dadithota. The well-known Ghantasala number from the B&W classic film Velugu needalu, penned by Mahakavi SriSri and set to music by Pendyala, was enacted on the stage by Neelima Gaddamanugu, Ram Durvasula and a team of good dancers. Excellently choreographed by Neelima, the item received kudos from one and all.

Dr. Haranath Policharla, presented video clippings from his Telugu movie Chandrahas. Dr. Jagan Ailinani made a MS Power Point presentation on Adopt-a-village and strongly outlined the importance of making efforts to spread health and awareness amongst the poor villagers of AP.

Mega Hangama, a medley of spirited dances by the youthful damsels of Atlanta was jointly choreographed and presented by Neelima Gaddamanugu and Madhavi Korrapati. The item was based on popular melodies from Telugu movies, old and new.The audience then took part in a banquet following which, Dr. Prabha Kamath made a presentation on ‘Coping with Success’. Even as the guests enjoyed their dinner, they were entertained by popular light songs sung by talented singers like Ram Durvasula, Seshu and Ramesh Duvvuri, Kaushiram and Prasad Kommaraju. Mr. Ravi Ponangi (India Tribune), Khabar, Namaste-Bombay, Atlanta Duniya, TV Asia and TV5 covered the event. APNA offers its sincere thanks to all volunteers and participants who strove to conduct this memorable event. The general impression gathered from the audience was that the entire program was a grand success.