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Twentieth Anniversary Celebration

A remarkable and well-attended event hosted by our Tibetan friends of Lha Charitable Trust marked twenty years in Dharamsala, India for the Louisiana Himalaya Association. Tibetan and Indian officials, LHA board members, honorees and members of the Tibetan community were treated to a celebration which included venerable speakers, a documentary film, awards ceremony, lunch and dancing. It was ensured that no detail was overlooked. Elaborate commemorative books told the story in words and pictures, banners flew high over the Tibetan Institute for Performing Arts where the event took place, plaques and gifts were presented to honorees, and over 300 attendees all received a gift to celebrate the special day. The film created for the occasion provided a comprehensive account of the history, various initiatives, and plans of LHA and Lha Charitible Trust, complete with commentary from around the globe. The event united the whole community to celebrate years of accomplishment and to look forward to a future together.


Ngawang Rabgyal, Director of Lha Charitable Trust,
presented a commemorative book produced for the
occasion to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.


Honorees included (from left to right) Lha Charitable Trust
Director Ngawang Rabgyal, Lha Charitable Trust General
Secretary Dorji Kyi, Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile
Khenpo Sonam Thenphel, LHA President Neil Guidry, Justice
Commissioner of the Central Tibetan Administration Dr. Nawang
Rabgyal, and Lha Charitable Trust Assistant Director Lobsang
Rabsel. Not pictured but also present was Lha Charitable Trust
Advisory Board Members Laura Manley and Dukthen Kyi
.


The auditorium was completely filled. Members of the Tibetan
Government in Exile, officials from the government of India
and LHA and Lha honorees lined the front row, with hundreds
of supporters and Tibetan community members behind them.


LHA Board Members Daniel Winkert (above, right) and
Michele Pacheco were honored for their years of support.


The entire staff of Lha Charitable Trust, some longtime Lha Charitable Trust
volunteers, and a few LHA board members met with His Holiness the 14th
Dalai Lama, who recognized their dedication to the Tibetan cause.


Following the formal event officials, members and supporters of the
Tibetan community celebrated together
. A delicious lunch was served,
and a large circle formed around an impromptu talent show which
included both traditional and contemporary singing and dancing.