IACA-Georgia elects its 2016 Executive Committee.

India-American Cultural Association (IACA) held its annual general body meeting on Sun, Dec 6 and elected its new officers for the term 2016.

The newly elected executive committee are as follows: President Rina Gupta; Executive Vice President Chaitanya Bhatt; Vice President Geeta Gupta Talukdar; Secretary Sanjay Prakash; and Treasurer Rajan Vedak. Outgoing President Vish Ganti, while congratulating the new team on their election success said earlier, serving IACA was a rewarding experience.

President Rina Gupta is a veteran of community service with more than a decade of experience in various cultural organizations like Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, Greater Atlanta Punjabi Society, Georgia Association of Physicians of Indian Heritage and India-American Cultural Association (where she served as Secretary-2012, Vice P-resident-2013, Executive Vice President-2015).

Executive Vice President (EVP) Chaitanya Bhatt has been a volunteer with IACA for several years and been very active with the activities of IACA’s Sanatan Mandir.

Vice President (VP) Geeta Talukdar a Programmer Analyst by profession, is an accomplished musician /singer performing with eminent artists like Anup Jalota and Mehdi Hassan. She has been a part of IACA in North Carolina and Augusta for more than two decades and is presently the Cultural Chair person of Bengali Association of Greater Atlanta (BAGA).

Treasurer Rajan Vedak, a founding member of Maharashtra Mandal, Atlanta is also active as one of the organizers within Indian Professionals Network (IPN).

Secretary Sanjay Prakash has lead several cultural associations in New Jersey, North Carolina and Georgia.

IACA, which currently has over 10 acres of land in Smyrna, was informally founded in 1972 in metro Atlanta. A decade later, in 1983-84, IACA bought a pre-existing Church building in Smyrna to convert it into an Indian Cultural and Religious Center (ICRC), greatly benefiting the community as a Center for socio-cultural and socio-religious activities and bringing the community together.

President Gupta has promised to support all the relevant projects of IACA including the Sanatan Mandir temple project while endeavoring to invigorate the member base by including the young and old and bringing in fresh ideas for fund raising with the ultimate goal of expanding IACA’s footprint across metro Atlanta. To realize that, she and her team plan to go back to the members, respond to their needs as her team plans their short-term agenda and long-term goals including upgrading of the current facilities.

Rina on her election, thanked IACA members for their support and assured the IACA will not only follow where the current path may lead, but also go where there is no path so far for the good of the Indian American community. She added, “with the continued support and confidence of the members, IACA shall strive to leave a trail for the future to surpass the accomplishments of the past in service of the community.”