Dear Friends & Families of the ADS DC Chapter,

It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm for myself and the new ADS DC Chapter Board that we continue to serve you, our community and our faith, for the next two years. A sincere and heartfelt thank you goes out to the previous board and all volunteers for their hard work and dedication. The past board's success is evident in both traditional events as well as in new programs that were initiated. They were exciting and unprecedented. So, to members of the board, WELL DONE and thank you!

As we begin our new term, our community has witnessed several generational transitions and the time could not be more fitting to welcome the next generation. With that said, our mission and that of the board is to "Pass the Torch" onto a vibrant, empowered, proud and aspiring generation. Our children are the present and future, they will define the new ADS. Our vision is to enrich, embrace, and engage the youth, so that together we will promote a sense of pride, belonging and ownership. We look forward to forming a sense of social cohesion among generational gaps that will extend to and build toward the success of the following programs (in no particular order):

• Negotiating discounted Arabic School rates to members of the community;
• Junior Achievement Program;
• 5K Run;
• Ladies Auxiliary;
• Spiritual Seminars;
• The celebration & observance of our Eid Al-Adha;
• Stay In Touch Program.

Lastly, with the availability of social media outlets, no one should ever feel out of touch and out of reach. We will work together as a board to initiate a "stay in touch" program. We will strive to expand our existing database of addresses, emails and phone numbers to include everyone and establish a secure way to communicate and always remain connected.

I am excited to serve the same community in which I grew up. I ask for your support and contribution wherever possible. Individual members are valuable assets to our community and the ADS as a whole. We need YOU to achieve the mission. So please reach out, share your thoughts, bring your ideas and if you are able to volunteer on a committee, let us know.

God bless the ADS and God bless the USA.