Lions Club
Our Bureau
Washington, DC
Long Island Indo-American Lions Club hosted its first Annual Gala on August 29th at Leonard’s Palazzo, Great Neck Long Island. It was a full house. The Club President, Indu Gajwani, Gala committee, Executive committee and Club members worked very hard to make this event a success. The Program began with greetings & warm welcome by The Gala Chairs Gobind Bathija & Dr. Sunil Mehra. They introduced the Emcees of the evening Event Chair-Anju Sharma and Program Coordinator Poojaa Makhajani.
The Event was dedicated to Covid victims and Front-Line Heroes. A moment of silence was observed in the memory of victims and also Front-line workers were applauded for their commendable services. A beautiful prayer dance was presented by Khushi Oza, seeking God’s blessing for the wellness of all. As per Lions club protocol Pledge of Allegiance was said by Pradeep Tandon, Lion Club’s prayer was offered by Rita Shah and Toast was given by Sanju Sharma followed by Toast to the Queen by Krishna Maddipatla. President Indu Gajwani was introduced by Anju Sharma who highlighted her life time achievements, her dedication, services and leadership as club president.
Indu Gajwani also welcomed all. She spoke about the club achievements, projects/events organized for community which included Food Drive, Clothes drive, Fight against blindness, Eye sight testing, Donation of Eye glasses, Health Fair etc. The club also made contributions for Cancer Care, Kids toys and to many other organizations. As a whole the club has done a tremendous amount of work in a short period of time despite of no ‘in person’ activities during Pandemic.
Among many honorable guests the event was graced by Lions Club Dignitaries, District governor- Paula Umreiko Immediate past district governor-Terri Oster, 1st VDG- Rupal Sehgal, PCC-Andy Umreiko, PDG-T.J. Anand, PDG-Anthony Paradiso, PDG-NJ-Nancy Jakubezyk & Harish Mehta.
Indu Gajwani recognized her team. The members of the executive committee and chairs were honored for their dedication, hard work and support. Raja Singh who represented Senator Thomas Kevin, were presented to the executive members. The Sponsors whose contribution helped in hosting this event and carry out various projects throughout the year were recognized and honored by distinguish guests. We are Grateful to Dr. Purna Chandra Atluri, Nand Punjwani, Bobby Patel, Kanak Golia, Barathi Reddy, Thulasi Reddy, Naveen Shah, Dr. Jay Sarkar, Meena & Anil Shah, Gobind Bathija, Vijay Patel, Anupam Yadav, Dr. Kalpesh Amin for their generous contribution. A moment of silence was also observed in memory and honor of Afghanistan Martyrs led by Dr. Raj Bhayani and Mukesh Modi. Nimesh Shah- Club secretary gave Vote of Thanks. He thanked the guests for gracing the Gala, Sponsors for their generous contribution, media for the coverage and fellow lions for their dedication and support.
Raffle draw was a fun time. It was handled by Anju Sharma, Poojaa Makhajani and Sanju Sharma. The raffle prizes were donated by our club members. The Raffle team is grateful to Krishna Maddipatla, Kanak Golia, Saurabh Seth, Govind Oza, Indu Gajwani, Anju & Sanju Sharma, Nimesh Shah, Vijay Shah and Pradeep Gosalia for their generosity. A special Note of Thanks to Vandana Kumar & Yogini Oza for handling the sale of Raffle tickets. The winning tickets were drawn in public and winners were handed over prizes. Thanks to Sanju Sharma and Hement Chrisitian for the videos and pictures display during the event.
Our appreciation and Thanks to Reception team-Rita Shah, Shila Shah, Sital Shah for a fabulous job. Thanks to Poojaa Makhajani, Anju Sharma, Sanju Sharma, Indu Gajwani, Vandana Kumar, Vijay Shah, Pradeep Gosalia, Saurabh Seth, Nimesh Shah for help in decoration and organizing Plaques/Awards. A BIG Note of Thanks to Shyam Gajwani-backbone of the whole program. There are no words to express his dedication, contribution and hard work for the club. The DJ iNach deserves big appreciation for playing amazing music. The Dance floor was packed all the time which made it a fun filled evening for all. Heartfelt thanks to Gagandeep Singh for melodious singing. Every one enjoyed the delicious food by Mint. We are grateful to our own BOD Gary Sikka for his tremendous help throughout the year. The events become a memory with the passing of time but if the memorable moments are captured by Camera these remain fresh forever. Heartfelt thanks to the Photographers from Perfect Shot and Mizan Rehman for capturing these moments. A big note of thanks to Poojaa Makhajani for her help in arranging DJ, photographers, seating plan, decoration etc. Media makes it possible for us to connect with community. Heartfelt thanks to our Media from President Indu Gajwani and members of Long Island Indo American Lions Club.
