ATA 19th Conference Planning Team Meets in Ellicott City to Advance Preparations for Baltimore Convention

March 10 :
The planning team for the *19th American Telugu Association (ATA) Conference & Youth Convention met in Ellicott City, Maryland*, to review committee roles, assignments, and planning milestones for the upcoming conference scheduled for *July 31–August 2, 2026*, at the *Baltimore Convention Center*

Approximately 150 attendees from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia participated in the interactive session. During the meeting, responsibilities, coordination strategies, and timelines for nearly 70 committees were reviewed to ensure smooth planning and execution of the convention.

A draft list of committee assignments, including chairs, co-chairs, and members, was presented to the participants, and feedback was actively invited. Attendees shared ideas and suggestions aimed at improving execution, strengthening cross-committee collaboration, and ensuring efficient coordination among teams.

The meeting also saw strong participation from women leaders and volunteers, taking place just ahead of International Women’s Day, highlighting their important role and commitment to the success of the conference.

*Key committees (partial list) include Advisory, Awards, Banquet (multiple), Budget, Business & Startups, CME & Health, Corporate Sponsorship, Cultural (multiple), Decoration, Finance, Film & Photography, Food, Hospitality (multiple), Literary, Immigration/Overseas/NRI, Political, Sports, Transportation, Venue, Women, Youth, and several others.*

The meeting was organized by the Conference Core Committee, including:
*Jayanth Challa (President), Sridhar Banala (Convener), Sharath Vemula (National Coordinator), Ravi Challa (Coordinator), Sudhir Damidi (Director), Zeenath Kundoor (Co-Coordinator), Thirumal Munukuntla (Conference Area Coordinator), Koushik Sama (Co-National Coordinator), and Kiran Ala (Co-Director).*

Trustees in attendance included *Srinivas Dargula (Budget Chair) and Santosh Reddy (Awards Chair).*

The team also expressed appreciation to the local organizers who coordinated meeting logistics, especially *Raji Reddy and Krishna Reddy,* along with other volunteers who supported the successful gathering.