Five Keralites honored at Annual banquet

By siliconindia   |   Thursday, 18 November 2010, 10:32 IST
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New York: The Indian American Kerala Cultural and Civic Center honored eight Indian American Keralites for their outstanding achievements in their field of specialization or for their service to the society at the annual banquet held in Queens, reports Desi Talk. The program which was launched by Jose Chummar, Kerala Center President had the Rev. Kuriakose Bharanikulangara, counselor and deputy head of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Vatican to the United Nations as the chief guest and Dr. Abraham George, Founder and Chairman of The George Foundation gave the keynote speech. Gopalan Nair, chairman of the center's board, introduced Bharanikulangara, who spoke of the success and impact of Indian-Americans on society. He also called upon the Keralites in America to participate in the political process of their adopted country. Venture capitalist Sreedhar Menon, the center's founder grand patron, introduced keynote speaker Molly Easo Smith, president of Manhattanville College, who also won the award. Smith who was brought up in Chennai traced her many trips to Kerala during her school and college days and how much she enjoyed those visits. Others who were honored were Dr. Madhu Bhaskaran, medical director of the Kidney Transplant Program at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y.; Captain Stanley George, New York City Police Department; Ragy Thomas, founder and CEO of Sprinklr, a social media marketing company in New Jersey; and Dr. Vinod. M. Menon, associate professor of physics at Queens College and Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Other guests for the evening included political leaders from Long Island and Deputy Consul General of India in New York Mr. Ashok Tomar, who will soon join as India's Ambassador to Panama. An entertainment and mega show is planned for the evening by Knanaya Social Club