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GIACC's Tenth Annual
Gala showcases the enduring spirit of India
By Ravi R. Ponangi
Atlanta, GA: The much awaited 10th Annual Georgia Indo-American
Chamber of Commerce (GIACC) Gala was held at Westin Atlanta on
November 21 when over 450 guests received a red-carpet welcome.
Keynote speaker Benjamin De Costa, Aviation General Manager of
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Inter-national Airport, said that
providing world-class customer service and security was on top
of his priority list. He detailed the current facilities offered
to travelers at the airport and the future projects on the
anvil.
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Attendees in the fully packed banquet hall burst into applause
when he announced that the new international terminal would
streamline the process for bringing bags into Atlanta. The
cumbersome baggage recheck process for Atlanta-bound
international travelers would become a thing of the past. The
terminal would be connected with the rental car center by an
airport sky train that would take passengers on a five-minute
ride to the 137,000 square-foot customer service center. The
center would unify the operations of all the rental car agencies
under one roof.
It is estimated that 13 million international travelers would
pass through the airport by 2015, up from the 9 million in 2008,
said Benjamin De Costa and added that the Maynard H. Jackson Jr.
International Terminal was being built to accommodate this
almost two-fold growth in traffic.
He forecasted that the terminal built at an estimated cost of
$1.35 billion would be opened for business in the spring of
2012.
De Costa also stated that his development team would be meeting
in Mumbai with representatives of India-based Jet Airways,
Kingfisher Airlines and state-owned Air India, to discuss the
delineation of routes between Atlanta and Mumbai.
Tushar Singh, a comedian, and Suchita Vadlamani of FOX 5 Morning
News and Good Day Atlanta emceed the program.
Earlier, the festivities commenced with a melodious rendition of
the national anthems of USA and India by Dr. Arti Pandya.
Welcoming the guests of the evening, Ritesh Desai, GIACC
president, acknowledged the contributions made by the GIACC
founders and the successive Presidents in making the GIACC as a
vibrant organization.
Vice Consul General of India in Houston D.K. Sharma conveyed the
greetings from Sanjiv Arora, Consul General of India Houston.
Sharma spoke briefly about the importance of biracial trade and
claimed that Indo-US trade had doubled in recent years. He
expressed happiness at the surge of Indian investment in the US
and vice versa.
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President-elect of GIACC Stan Sthanunathan thanked the outgoing
team and looked forward to working with his new team. He
mentioned that GIACC aimed at focusing on specific areas to
attract Indian companies to set up businesses in Atlanta. "Wipro
for example currently has 400 employees and is expected to
employ close to 1,000 people in three years," he added. "Good
thing about Atlanta is the weather," he smiled. He also added
that the GIACC would facilitate the growth of Indian
entrepreneurship in Georgia and American investment in India
such as Coco Cola.
Narsi LS Narasimhan, chairman of the GIACC Board, honored and
bestowed awards in corporate category to GA Ports Authority with
GIACC member of the year (corporate), ICA Institute founded by
Dr. Jadish Sheth with friend of GIACC (corporate), MS
international, an Indian company that made contributions to
trade with Georgia with Peach Award, GE Energy, a Georgia firm
that made major contributions to trade with India, with Chakra
award, Danielle Fernandes with GIACC member of the year
(individual) award, Craig lesser with friend of GIACC
(individual) award. A special award was also presented to
Kamlesh Patel, an amazing dancer who "dances on hands."
Kamlesh Patel, whose is physically challenged from waist down,
danced on his hands. He came especially from India for this
purpose and the amazing feat kept the audience in rapt attention
and he deservingly received a standing ovation. The gala also
included performances of traditional and modern Indian dances by
local groups - Silent Killers, Apsuras and Karma Bhangra besides
a welcome reception with Jazz performance. Dancing with DJ Sahil
at the end added vibrancy to the event.
This reporter spotted at the gala at least four candidates
contesting for Georgia's gubernatorial positions. State Senator
Eric Johnson and Congressman Tom Price were at the gala.
Narsi Narasimhan told us about the august presence of various
dignitaries of the city at the gala. He said: "This shows how
the India and Indian community are getting a lot of attention.
India is the fourth largest economy in the world. India is
growing. Even in this time of recession India's growth rate is
7.9 percent."
Tracing the history of nearly nine-plus years of GIACC presence
in Atlanta, Narsi recalled that the idea of an Indo American
chamber started with the encouragement received from the then
Consul General of India in Houston, Rinzing Wangdi. He was very
much the driving force behind pushing the local Indian business
community to start Chambers of Commerce in different cities
within his jurisdiction. During the tenure of Rinzing Wangdi,
many Indian Chambers of Commerce were started including those at
Houston, Dallas and Atlanta. Tampa and Birmingham started the
Chambers subsequently.
On the advice of the then Consul General, 20-plus Indian
community business owners in Atlanta came together to launch
Georgia Indo-American Chamber of Commerce. GIACC organizes
several noteworthy programs and among others are an annual gala
— their signature event; an annual golf tournament; and an
annual Indian film festival.
Delta Airlines and Coco Cola Company, the platinum members, have
been topnotch companies supporting GIACC all through these
years. GIACC is having 15 gold members, 30 silver members,
several individual members and sponsors for various events.
Ritesh Desai, GIACC president, told us that GIACC hosted a grand
reception to a high ranking delegation led by the Chief Justice
of India K.G. Balakrishnan. GIACC also hosted a dinner to
50-member CII delegation that came to attend International Bio
Convention held in Atlanta. As a follow-up to the bio
convention, a delegation, which is supported by GIACC but led by
the Atlanta Development Authority, will be making a trip to
India in January/February 2010 on a two weeks visit.
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