Australia / Oceania

Media Release

Melbourne , Oct 16 : The 13th Annual General Meeting of the Melbourne Konkan Community (MKC) was held on Sunday - October 13, 2024 in the Parish Hall of St Joseph’s Church, Northcote to elect their 14th President, core committee members, supporting office bearers and general members for the year 2024-25.

Stephen P. D’Souza, the Chairperson and Returning Officer welcomed the gathering and oversaw the Annual General Meeting (AGM) proceedings. The AGM commenced with a prayer and a hymn, thanking the Lord for His choicest blessings during the past year and invoking blessings for the coming year.

The minutes of the previous AGM were read by the outgoing Secretary Maxim Rego which was confirmed and passed. In his President’s report, the outgoing President Vincent D’Costa gave a brief description of the record fifteen activities conducted during the year on a grand scale. Treasurer Valerian D’Souza tabled a detailed ‘financial report’ of the Association that was endorsed by signatories after a short question and answer session. In the Special Resolution that followed, a new Registered Address for the Association was put forward, accepted, passed and updated for all future records.

The following individuals were elected unanimously to the core committee for the year 2024-25:
Rita Fernandes - President;
Mario Tauro - Vice President;
Philomen Fernandes - Secretary;
Elias Mascarenhas - Treasurer;

The members of Core Committee-elect bring with them vast experience. The President-elect Rita Fernandes is the fourth Lady President to step into the coveted post having previously adorned the positions of a Secretary and Cultural Secretary before taking up the mantle of Presidentship of the prestigious Association. The Secretary was one of the past Presidents apart from being in various posts in the broader Committee; the Treasurer is a qualified accountant nominated for the same position in the Core many years ago. They welcome an energetic young Vice-President who was on the broader MKC Committee of the preceding year.

To support the Core Committee in its various activities: Neel Carvalho will be the Media Secretary; Vincent D’Costa, the Sports Secretary; Janet D’Mello, Cultural Secretary and Dolly Cutinho will look after grants. Jeevan Fernandes, Maxim Rego, Stevin Carvalho, Valerian D’Souza, Venicia D’Souza, Vincent Fernandes are the rest of the general members of the 14-member strong unit. Three members could not attend the AGM as they are currently overseas.

A ‘joint oath’ was administered by the Returning Officer to the newly elected core members who pledged to adhere to the association’s by-laws. The President-elect Rita Fernandes in her ‘acceptance speech’ thanked the outgoing committee and outlined her vision for the year ahead with the cooperation of one and all and promised to make it a memorable year.

Melbourne Konkan Community Inc. (MKC) is a registered Association based in the State of Victoria - Australia. It welcomes all Catholics of Mangalorean origin residing in Melbourne to be a part of this growing community. MKC committee members can be contacted by emailing to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

To know more about MKC and its activities, please login to Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/MelbourneKonkanCommunity.

Website: www.mkc.net.au