Our Bureau
Chicago, IL
Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) organized its Annual Board Meeting and a splendid Diwali Celebration on November 5th at India Foodie Restaurant and Banquet, Downers Grove IL. The meeting was attended by the 100-strong FIA team as well as the advisory board members. It was an event for the ages, one of the best in the decade-plus of existence of the FIA. The evening opened with the singing of devotional songs by all, followed by the traditional aarti.
Richa Chand, Vice President invited Chairman and Founder President Sunil Shah, Current President Vinita Gulabani, Founder Member and Past President Onkar Singh Sanga Neil Khot to the dais. and called the meeting to Order. She called upon the Chairman and Founder President, Sunil Shah to address the meeting. Chairman and Founder President, Sunil Shah welcomed the members and their guests in his opening remarks and mentioned the growth of FIA and services done this year, and thanked every member for their contribution towards the success of the FIA and its activities during the year. Vinita Gulabani, President of FIA 2023, spoke to the gathered members thanking them for their efforts through the events of the year that were organized, taking the FIA to new heights scaled, setting a higher bar compared to previous years, and the achievements during the year 2023. Founder Member and Past President Onkar Sanga spoke about the expectations that the community has from FIA, and Past President Neil Khot spoke about the democratic functioning of the FIA reiterating the fact that the FIA is committed to its core values of serving the community.
FIA Team 2024 will be spearheaded by Incoming President Pratibha Jairath strongly supported by 100+ members (each one a leader) comprising of Executive Board Members, Directors, and advisory Board Members.
Founder President Sunil Shah then announced Team 2024
Incoming President 2024: Pratibha Jairath
Executive Vice Presidents: Altaf Bukhari and Anu Malhotra
Vice Presidents: Richa Chand, Sonia Luther, Mukesh Shah, Chandini Duvuri , Murugesh Kasilingam and Jessie Singh
Treasurer: Suresh Bodiwala
General Secretary: Nilabh Dubey
Joint Treasurer: Vaishal Talati
Joint Secretary: Falguni Sukhadia
Cultural Secretary: Pika Munshi
Joint Cultural Secretary: Priyanka Parekh
A Public Relations and Communications team comprising Abir Maru, Harry Sidhu, Kamlesh Kapoor & Vijay Muralidaran has been added to the executive committee for the year.
A new Disciplinary Committee was proposed and accepted. The Committee members are Keerthi Reevori, Mukesh Shah. Sunil Shah, Neil Khot, Vinita Gulabani, and Pratibha Jairath.
Given fantastic growth and anticipated future growth, it was recommended to have a position of Vice-Chairman. Past President Neil Khot’s name was proposed as Vice Chairman of FIA by Chairman and Founder President Sunil Shah and was seconded by current President, Vinita Gulabani. The proposal was passed by unanimous consent of the entire Executive and Board of Directors.
A special announcement was made regarding the recognition of Sunil Shah being given a Lifetime Achievement award and Neil Khot being given the Volunteer Award by the Lions Club under the auspices of the President of the United States of America.
The program was then followed with live entertainment by Swapnil Sahu, Jitendra Bulsara, Payel Ganguly, Pratibha Jairath, and Pinky Thakkar, and dinner catered by India Foodie Lounge.
We wish the new team all the best for the year 2024.
—Asian Media USA
