Women achievers on Long Island honored

Hicksville, Long Island, NY:  As US Congresswoman Kathleen Rice (Among many other VIP's) walked into Antun's of Hicksville on friday March 27, she very well immediately would have felt the pride and achievement in the air. Rice was the Chief Guest for the event and also an honoree too.

The grand hall was full of so many accomplished and elite, who's who of the society gathered for one singular purpose, to be part of & celebrate 4th Annual Outstanding Women’s Achievements Gala , part of Women's History Month and International Women’s Day Celebrations. IAF (Indian American Forum) led by Indu Jaiswal, also called "Jhaansi Ki Rani" for her strong commitment & dedication to the community's cause, was the organizing force behind the gala. Evening started with lighting of the lamp by Councilman Santino and the Honorees. Indu Jaiswal, Chairperson of IAF in her remarks welcomed all the guests congratulated all the honorees and praised their efforts in achieving such successes.

American and Indian national Anthem sung by Parth Merai. Master of Ceremonies Renee Mehrra, a well known journalist and TV anchorwoman for ITV and Anuj Rihal, made the evening enjoyable. Mehra and Rihal coordinated a brief Q&A session with the honorees discussing and emphasizing their accomplishments In addition to Congresswoman Kathleen Rice Chief Guest who was also presented with an award; 5 other distinguished women who had excelled in their profession and community service, were presented with "Outstanding Womens Achievements Awards".

Meena Malhotra, owns Akbar Restaurant in Garden city, Long Island. Meena has steered the establishment to become recognized as a brand that equates with exceptional service, Akbar is the 1st fine dining Indian Restaurant. Meena is an active member of the Tri state community, through her involvement as an Indian culture liaison to local and state government officials as well as Girl Scout organizations. Anita Kawatra is executive vice president at Edelman, the world’s largest public relations firm, where she oversees the pharmaceuticals and biotech group. Anita wrote speeches for New York City mayor David Dinkins and New York State Governor Mario Cuomo.

Anita is member of the President’s council of Sanctuary for Families, New York's leading domestic violence organization; Anita also works with other non for profit human services groups, including Association to benefit children, Mothers2Mothers, and Generation Citizens. Roopam Maini is currently the Branch Manager, Indus American Bank, Vice President and founding member of Rotary club of Hicksville South. An active member of the club,she promotes local and international humanitarian projects. Roopam participated in numerous local events and fund raising activities, like IALI, CRY, HCA to help the needy in India and USA and IAF clothing drive.

Dr Sudha Mukhi is the Founder and President of the South Bay Hematology and Oncology. Dr Mukhi is also the founder member if of Arya Samaj of long Island. She is also an executive member of Center for India Studies at Stony Brook University... She is philanthropist and donated generously for health and education causes here and in India She is very active member of American Cancer Society and has volunteered to raise funds for cancer causes and gives numerous lectures on Breast Cancer. Harvinder Bhatia has been a long standing member of the community, giving her time & endless efforts in various capacities. Harvinder is an active philanthropist who has been a volunteer for North Shore Long Island Hospital. She has coordinated successful fundraisers for Adopt a Family Program. This program pairs community supporters with real family families that struggle due to cancer diagnosis and are in financial need... Harvinder also sits on the Board of Directors for Project Real, a Non for profit residential program that services the mental health community in Nassau County, volunteers at Glen Cove Gurudwara, and active member of International Punjabi Society.

Chief Guest Kathleen Rice was all in praise for the efforts of Indian American Forum & Indian American Community. She congratulated all honorees and stressed the importance of role Women are playing in this world. Citations on behalf of Nassau County Executive Edward P Mangano were presented by Zahid Syed, Chairman of Human Rights Commission to all honorees. Syed praised their efforts and congratulated them for all their achievements. Citations were presented from the offices of Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray.

Also proclamations were presented to the honorees by Senior Councilman from Town of Hempstead Mr. Anthony Santino, from Town of Oyster Bay, Town Clerk from Town of Hempstead Nasrin Ahmed. Among those notably present during the event were , Bobby Kalotee, Chairman of Sapient Party, Nassau County Human Rights Commissioner Sharanjit Singh Thind, Satnam Prahar, President India Association of Long Island, Sher Madra and Peter Bheddah, Board of Directors of Nargis Dutt Foundation, , Dr Anila Midha , President South Asian Womens Alliance,, Past President IALI, , Dr Bhavani Srinivasan, , Sangeeta Sethi, President Of Rotary Club, and several other dignitaries were present Dance Performances presented were Ganesh Vandana by Students of Arti Datta, Bollywood Medley Choreographed by Swati Vaishnav, Nartan Rang Dane Academy and Dances by Winners of Miss Teen India New York, choreographed by Shilpa Jhurani from Arya Dance Academy.

Sunita Sadhnani and Dr Mohan Wanchoo enthralled the audience with vocal performance and Bollywood songs. Mr. Animesh Goenka and Mr. Mohinder Singh Taneja gave Special thanks for all our sponsors, media partners. Board of Trustees Dr Bhupi Patel, Dr Azad Anand, Surinder Rametra, Bobby Kalotee, Dr Mahendra Kawatra, volunteers Nirmal Rametra, Jaya Bahadkar, Anu Gulati, Vijay Goswamy,, Nutan Anand, Dr Meena Jaiswal,  and many more helped in making the event a grand success. It was indeed a very successful evening, showcasing and honoring outstanding women achievers who are successful in business, cultural, professional, Education, Medical, community and social services.