PISCATAWAY, NJ: Namam, a cultural organization based in New Jersey, honored five highly accomplished individuals who have made valuable contributions to the Indian-American community with Excellence Awards at a glittering ceremony on December 13 at the Deewan Banquet Hall in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Dr Sreedhar Kavil, Anju Bhargava, Padmakumar Nair, Paul Karukappillil, Dr Rasiklal Patel were the recipients of Namam Excellence Award 2014.
“Namam has established a tradition of celebrating its annual day by presenting Excellence Awards at a magnificent banquet. Five extraordinarily accomplished individuals who have made significant contributions to the community were honored with Namam Excellence Awards at the banquet,” said Madhavan B Nair, Founder and President of Namam.
Dr Sreedhar Kavil, President of Kavil Consultants, served as the Chairman of the Department of Marketing at St. John’s University and continues there as a Marketing Professor. He is the Chairman of The United States Indian American Chamber of Commerce in Washington DC.
He was the President of Kerala Center in New York and he is currently the Chairman of the Advisory Board of World Malayalee Council. Dr Kavil has won several research awards and has to his credit over 70 research publications, including books. He has traveled to over 40 countries on business and has represented the U.S. Department of Commerce on Trade. He is a Life Member of the Republican Senatorial Inner Circle. In 2006 he was awarded a Congressional Order of Merit by President George Bush.
Anju Bhargava, a well -known figure in the Indian-American community served as a member on President Barack Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. She is the founder of Hindu American Seva Charities (HASC).
She serves on the Department of Homeland Security’s Faith-based Advisory Council and assists the President’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge. She played a key role in co-hosting historic conferences with the White House to help the community and the government connect more, to serve and strengthen America.
She is currently on the Board of Trustees of The Council for Parliament of the World’s Religions and Odyssey Networks.
She blogs frequently for Huffington Post and Washington Post and is a sought after speaker at many forums. Anju Bhargava was named as one of the 10 inspiring women religious leaders by Huffington Post.
Padmakumar Nair (aka: Matt Kumar) is the CEO of Software Incubator Inc. He is a serial entrepreneur with decades of experience in delivering Real Estate Big Data, insights, advisory services and software engineering to market leading Real Estate digital sites, service providers and lenders.
Headquartered in New York with major operations in USA and India, Software Incubator has grown over the last 14 years under his leadership.
His new ventures such as InDunia and InDuniaInt are expected to transform Real Estate, Healthcare, Auto and Chemical & Petroleum markets. As a strong believer in social entrepreneurship, his offices in Trivandrum, India provides full time employment to over 300 people out of which more than 70 are females from below poverty line. He has been engaged with charitable organizations in US and India.
Dr Rasiklal A Patel MD, a very senior and accomplished physician and a prominent personality in the Indian community in New Jersey has been practicing Internal Medicine since 1977. He was the Chairman of the Department of Medicine in Irvington General Hospital in New Jersey. Right now he is affiliated with Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark and the East Orange General Hospital.
He is the founding member of the Indo-American Cultural Association in New Jersey and he has served as its Chairman for 20 years.
Indo-American Cultural Association is a non- profit organization engaged in community service, such as conducting free medical camps and organizing social and cultural activities and events in New Jersey. Dr. Patel is on the Board of Trustees of the Krishna Heart Institute in Ahmedabad, India and offers voluntary service to the Institute.
Paul Karukappillil, leading figure in the Kerala community in US for more than three decades is one of the founding members of the Federation of Kerala Associations in North America (FOKANA) and served as its President, Treasurer and Trustee Board Chairman for several years.
He is the treasurer of Indian Chamber of Commerce in New York. He is a member of the Congers Civic Association and serves on many social and political organizations in Rockland County. He is the patron of several philanthropic organizations, including the FOKANA Global Foundation that has contributed generously to select causes in India, including the rehabilitation of Tsunami victims. Paul Karukappillil is the Chairman and Publisher of Kerala Times Media. He is one of the Directors of Jaihind Television USA and Orthodox TV.
“It was a phenomenal event with the participation of more than 400 people from the Indian community in the Tri-state area. It was an honor to have Dr. Manoj Kumar Mohapatra, Deputy Consul General of India in New York as our Chief Guest. We are extremely grateful to the public officials, community leaders from across North America and members of various media outlets for their participation in the event”, said Vineetha Nair, Public Relations official and Convener of the annual day event of Namam.
Dr Geatesh Tampy, Vice President of Namam welcomed the gathering. In his keynote address, Dr Manoj Kumar Mohapatra,
Deputy Consul General of India in New York announced that the Consulate will be offering new and improved systems to avail its services. A helpline is opened to immediately address any issue faced by the Indian community. He explained the new developments with PIO and OCI card merger and the visa on arrival program.
In his Presidential address, Madhavan B Nair said that the focus of Namam is on preserving family values, Indian culture and heritage and making children responsible citizens. “It is our responsibility to develop positive attitude and leadership qualities in children.
For that, critical thinking skill is a necessity but unfortunately it is not visible in the school or college curriculum. So, this needs to be addressed and practiced at the community level.
“We as a community must engage our children with thinking and intellect developing processes and activities. Namam recognizes this and is aiming to develop enough tools and resources to promote this cause. We have conducted and will be conducting activities based on this”, he added.
“Upendra Chivukula, Commissioner on the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, G. K Pillai, President of Nair Service Society of North America, T.N Nair, President of the Kerala Hindus of North America, Sasidharan Nair, Former President of Federation of Malayalee Associations of Americas, Vinod Kearke, General Secretary of Federation of Kerala Associations in North America and Ganesh Nair, Secretary of Kerala Hindus of North America General addressed the gathering”, said event coordinator Sanjeev Kumar.
“The evening featured mesmerizing entertainment programs by Anakh E Gabroo, Daksha arts, Malini Nair, Sowparnika Dance Academy and Suma Nair”, said Arun Sharma, executive committee member of Namam. “Special activities and games were arranged for children. The Gala Banquet was an enjoyable event with DJ, fine dining and a lot of fun”, said executive committee member Ajith Menon.
Namam, formed in the United States in 2010, under the inspiring leadership of Madhavan B. Nair, a successful entrepreneur and one of the most senior community leaders in New Jersey, organized the Gala Banquet and Award Night as part of its 5th anniversary celebrations. Namam Souvenir 2014 was released during the function. Bindu Sanjeevkumar, Secretary of Namam proposed the vote of thanks.
Vineetha Nair
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