Society of Indo-American Engineers and Architects holds 37th Annual Gala

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The Society of Indo-American Engineers and Architects (SIAEA) held its 37^th Annual Gala on Dec, 16, 2017 at the Grand Hyatt in New York City, which was attended by more than 500 people.

Those who were honored by SIAEA President Shailesh Naik include India’s Consul for Community Affairs K. Devadasan Nair, New York State Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte, Metro-North Railroad Acting President Catherine Rinaldi, New York City Small Business Services Commissioner Gregg Bishop, New York City EDC Executive Vice President Patrick Askew and New York State Director of Immigration Affairs & Special Counsel Jennifer Rajkumar.

The evening began with the cocktail hour followed by the singing of the American and Indian National Anthems by Shimul Sheth.

Then a two minute silence was observed in honor of the former President late Bansi Shah which was followed by the lamp lighting ceremony led by Meenakshi Varandani, Chitra Radin and Anita Asokan, the Gala Souvenir was unveiled by the honorees thereafter.

The Souvenir covered articles on the subject and endorsements from dignitaries and SIAEA sponsors, it also featured letters from the Consul General of India in New York Ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty as well as New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, Connecticut State Governor Dannel Malloy, New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer and New York State Senators Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Roxanne J. Persaud.

The evening featured energetic Bollywood performances by Namrata Dance School and Achievement Awards and Scholarships were given to eleven students.

The Gala Chair Yatish Sharma and President Shailesh Naik welcomed everyone and shared the year’s accomplishments and highlights.

President Naik then thanked the Executive Committee and Gala Co-chairs Yatish Sharma and Avinash Chauhan for creating such a successful event while celebrating the achievements of various Indian American professionals, reinforcing the importance of working collaboratively.

During the evening recognition plaques were presented to gala sponsors Judlau OHL Group, V.J. Associates, Boileroom, Signs and Decal, MP Engineers and Wire and Plastic.

Honoree Awards were presented to nine distinguished Indian American professionals including Bogram Setty, Mahendra Patel, Manish Chadha, Nimesh Shah, Raj Shah, Rakesh Narang, Ramesh Patel, Umesh K. Jois, and Vineet Jain.

2017 Scholarships were awarded to Indian American students pursuing degrees in engineering or architecture, including Anish Jain, Apurva Sawant, Darshan Kataria, Ellisa Khoja, Gaurav Rana, Ishan Shah, Karan Patel, Madhuri Surve, Naiya Patel and Prem Gandhi.

This year a new student scholarship was awarded to SaiAdiVishnu Sanigepalli, named after late Bansi Shah, to honor his accomplishments and community contributions.

In the past year SIAEA has hosted many networking events, participated in several industrial conferences which allowed for the exposure of member firms and offered multiple technical seminars and training sessions on varying topics including “Codes and Controls,” “Pumps and Controls,” and “People, Our Planet and Water.”