Being the next weekly meeting after the Board meeting on 13th Feb, this meeting had a closed session in the beginning. Secretary read out the minutes of the Board meeting to the General Body of the club and President explained the important points discussed. With the Board discussion ending, the proceedings of yet another special meeting with the participation of families took off.
The customary Rotary information talk was given away by Community Service Director Rtn. Dr. Mohan Nair. He spoke at length about the values of peaceful co-existence and the importance of caring the needy. His talk was endorsed by a brief speech by Rtn. PP Giri Menon who too stressed on the importance of a strong family. Being the World Understanding month of Rotary these talks were apt and timely.
President then updated the members of the progress of activities during the week. He also informed about the forthcoming visit of the GSE team from New York, USA and our club plans to host them. It was once again time for felicitations as the Grand Stand tournament organised by RC Cochin North also turned out to be a Downtown show! President congratulated all the participants who enthusiastically came forward and also won 4 golds and 2 silvers. Club felicitated all the winners and the Annets of Rtn. Dr. Sunil Mathai came in for lot of praise as they out-classed all others and came up as champions winning both gold and silver in their category. It was a heartening fact that Downtown has come out with flying colors in almost all the major sister club programs organised this year. At Grand Stand too we won the Best Club award for maximum wins. Annet Jethin Issac son of Rtn. Saji Issac also was felicitated specially for his superb winning ways at the various Chess championships for very many months. He has been in the news for winning numerous titles including the championship at the Malayala Manorama Chess tournament.
Rtn. Dr. Mohan Nair then handed over two cheques amounting to Rs. 1,05,000/- as contribution towards Cancure Foundation from two well-wishers who had requested anonymity. Members expressed their gratitude and appreciation at this gesture.
In his announcements Secretary informed that there will be no weekly meeting on 22nd February as many of the members and families will be leaving for Coimbatore to attend the District Conference. He also announced that the next meeting on 1st March will be a family meeting. The meeting was adjourned for fellowship and dinner after the vote of thanks by the Secretary.

Dec 22, Kadamakkudy:
President Rtn. R. Madhav Chandran addressed the gathering of all the 100 selected beneficiaries of the Snehagramam Project in the presence of all the concerned Panchayath Ward members and explained the project without room for any ambiguity or confusion. RCC Secretary Shelju, Panchayath Vice President and Ward members spoke on the occasion. Treasurer Rtn. Adv R. Padmaraj and Club Service Director Rtn. Benny Zachariah accompanied the President. Renjith of Rajagiri CASP clarified all the doubts regarding the implementation of the project. As per the project 50 numbers each of rain-water harvesting units and toilets are being constructed by Rotary. The beneficiaries were carefully selected based on their financial background as well as the degree of necessity of such a support for them. Individual house visits were conducted by Rajagiri CASP to ascertain this.

It was a picnic with a difference. At 9:00 am on 18th December, over 80 members of our Probus Club at Moolampally, all in the age group of 70+, gathered at Chittoor Bus-stand the board the 2 luxury coaches arranged by us. It was the long-awaited one-day picnic coming true for them. They embarked on a pleasure ride to Malayattoor Hill shrine and Kodanadu Elephant training center. President, Secretary and Treasurer made it a point to see them off at Chittoor and to wish them Bon Voyage! Needless to say, they all had a whale of a time, and more importantly, all of them reached back safe!

Dec 28: The Memorandum of Understanding to implement the Snehagramam project was signed between our club and Rajagiri CASP. President Rtn. Madhav Chandran and M.P. Antoni from Rajagiri CASP signed the MoU in the presence of PP Rtn. Thomas Joseph, Rtns. M.A. Sebastian, Benny Zachariah and Adv. Padmaraj and Rtnnes. Sujata, Annie and Lucy.

When the tall pedestal lamp was ceremoniously lit on the 28th December at Rajagiri College Auditorium it was the auspicious launch of our first ever RYLA being organized. The fact that all the participants of our RYLA were from the economically backward section of the society and being financially supported by Rajagiri added more significance to our program. A befitting RYLA matching the true ideals of Rotary! President in his address enlightened the children on the importance of Rotary and how the Rotary leaders shared their talents and resources to meet the needs of the community. President-elect M.A. Sebastian in his true style motivated the students on their career goals and how they should shape their objectives in life. The 3-day camp also saw our Annes Annie Sebastian and First Lady Sujata taking sessions on Self Motivation and Leadership Skills respectively. President gave away the awards and certificates to the participants during the valedictory ceremony held on Sunday 30th December.

The 22nd weekly meeting of the year started off with the invocation rendered by Rtn. Dr. Ramesh Nair. President welcomed the guest Mr. Birdie to the meeting. The customary Rotary Information talk gave way to a traditional New Year message by Rtn. L.M. Jacob. He wished the very best for all in the coming year and hoped that the differences between the haves and have-nots diminished even further in the coming year. President then updated the members on the activities that took place during the week. He briefed on the meeting we had with the beneficiaries of Rainwater harvesting & toilets at Kadamakkudy Panchayath on 21st December. He expressed delight over the launch of our first ever RYLA being conducted at Rajagiri College of Social Sciences the same day. He also explained the request that has come up from Kadamakkudy Panchayat for supporting them in the upgradation of the Govt. Ayurveda Hospital there. The highlight of the meeting was the Classification Talk by Rtn. VT Thomas. He spoke on the interesting topic of 'Consumer India'. VT showed his tremendous expertise in the field of Retail Sales Management by presenting the topic so effectively that held all the members keenly listening to him. He eloquently explained the manner in which the poorest community in the country is fast diminishing and the poorer getting elevated to the next higher levels of economy. He also touched upon the huge buying power of the lower strata of our population, which accounts for over 650 million people. Secretary-in-charge Rtn. Adv. Padmaraj then made the Club announcements for the week as well as the Birthdays celebrated during the week. After the vote of thanks by the Secretary-in-charge, the President once again wished the members a happy and prosperous 2008 before he adjourned the meeting for fellowship and dinner. The meaningful special meeting came to an end with the President adjourning the same for fellowship and dinner.

The 20th weekly meeting of the year was also the 2nd Special Meeting of the year, where Anns and Annets were also invited to a Guest Speaker meeting. The meeting was special, as it had Dr. Jose Chacko Periyapuram as the guest speaker and he was giving a practical demonstration of CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation) which was to be seen by our Anns and grown-up Annets, had it to be of any use in real life.

Meeting started at 8:30 pm and the President invited Inner Wheel Club of Cochin President Padmaja Menon, who had come in as a guest, to share the dais. The week’s Rotary Information talk was delivered by Rtn. Dr. Sunil Mathai, and he stressed upon the importance of families’ role in Rotary, a message that was well received by all.
President Rtn. Madhav Chandran updated on the activities during the past week and informed the members about the confirmation of the beneficiaries’ list of Rain-water harvesting and Sanitation project at Kadamakkudy. He also released the first brochure of the mega event - Youth Festival 2008. He informed the members about the first RYLA to be conducted by the club on 28-30th December at Rajagiri College.

Inner Wheel Club of Cochin President Padmaja spoke about the possibilities of forming an Inner Wheel Club of Downtown and explained the advantages of having such an outfit for our Anns. Her speech was inspirational to the Anns who were present in large numbers at the meeting.
Dr. Jose Chacko Periyapuram in his highly involved and effective presentation explained the various ways of heart and lungs resuscitation. Members and families were so engrossed that a stoic silence prevailed even after the 30 mts. speech by the doc. On behalf of the Club, President thanked Dr. Jose and his Heart Care Foundation for the useful session and promised all possible support to the Foundation.

Jt. Secretary Rtn. Vivek Govind made birthdays and formal announcements of the week before he delivered the vote of thanks. Rtne. Lucy Zachariah who celebrated her birthday the same day was felicitated in the traditional Downtown way by the singing of birthday jingles and Lucy cutting the birthday cake.

It was yet again Downtown all the way!! Close on heels of the “Anthakshari 2007” of RC Greater Cochin,“Sruthilayam 2007” organised by RC Midtown turned out to be a true cultural extravaganza as promised by the organizers. But the night once again belonged to Downtown, as we excelled in every event, and celebrations reached a peak with our President leading the jubilant team to lift the championship Bobby Hormis Memorial Trophy.The scintillating Group Dance of Rtnes. Anne Thomas, Durga Govind, Sujata Madhav, Deepa Santosh & Annets Nimisha Zachariah & Ann Thomas won the first place with their well choreographed and lively erformance. Adding to the glory was the other first prize for the Group Song team of President himself, Rtns. Thomas Joseph, and Benny Zachariah and Rtnes. Dr. Nandini Nair, Major Susie Paul, Molly Thomas & Durga Govind, with their melodious rendering of a relatively-lesser known song interspersed with pieces of classical notes. Rtne. Major Susie Paul won the third place in Solo Song event with her foot-tapping Asha Bhonsle number which was hard to distinguish from the original. The music quiz team of Rtnes. Dr. Nandini Nair and Mary Jason sang through to the final round where they were placed fourth. The cheering and supportive family crowd from Downtown ensured the best participating club award for themselves. Lady Luck was also shining on Downtowners as Rtne. Molly Thomas won the bumper prize of home theater in the lucky draw and Rtn. Dr. Mohan Nair too won another lucky prize. So when IPDG Baby Joseph handed over the Bobby Hormis Memorial Championship Trophy to a jubilant team lead by our President it was the culmination of a well orchestrated team work in the true family spirits unique of Downtown! Hip hip hurray! Downtown has arrived!!

One month and two inter-club events – Anthakshari and Sruthilayam! Different venues, different organizers; but the winner remained the same at both the shows – Team Downtown! Yes, November was an extra-ordinary month for us. When President Madhav Chandran & Secretary Paul Raj decided to host a gala dinner for the families at the picturesque lawns of the Yacht Club on Sunday, November 25, 2007, it was a well-deserved celebration of sheer team work and family spirits. The championship is not as important as the preparation for it. Even if they had not won, the Downtown team had achieved their goal of working seamlessly as a dream team and proving to be the envy of many. What brings together a group of grown-ups to sing & dance after a hectic day at work?! And what brings others who are not even participating to spend equal amount of time in designing costumes or hosting the participants in their homes or just being the needed critics. Well, one good reason is that they are all Downtowners with the common goal of doing their club proud. Organising team events hold many lessons - how the weakest link is the strength of the chain, the realisation that individual performance will fade out without coaching others to reach the expected level, why it is important to recognize your individual limitation and work on it, and most importantly how movements in tandem are eye-catching while notes out of beat are jarring to the ear.The entire Downtown family enjoyed an evening of music & fellowship
where President & Secretary thanked each member, contestant & supporter with special mention of the Club Service Director Benny Zachariah & his Anne Lucy Zachariah who had left no stone unturned to ensure the practice sessions went off without a hitch. Kudos to the winners, and of course, thank you President and Secretary for a memorable treat! Long live our friendship, fellowship and long live the Downtown’s winning ways!!

Our Probus Club at Moolampally is one of its kinds in the District. For the past seven years we have been nurturing this club with over 100 active members. The 7th Anniversary celebration was held on the Sunday, 14th October. Many of our members attended the function with their families.

Annual Day celebrations are a festive occasion for these elders who meticulously plan and prepare their cultural events to exhibit their enormous talents. Some of their performances like Vanchipattu, Fashion show and Punchiri contest could even test our own such performances in the club! The kind of energy and enthusiasm with which they gyrated and danced had our members spell-bound. A hearty lunch was also served after all the cultural activities were over. President and Club Service Director spoke on the occasion. The winners of the various competitions were given prizes by the President.

July 14th Rtn madhav Chandran and his team took over the affairs of Cochin Downtown at a glittering function held at Hotel Renaissance on 14th July 2007.