NEW YORK (TIP): Indian American Kerala Cultural and Civic Center (The Kerala Center) has honored eight individuals for notable contributions in their professions and to society with selfless dedication.

Dr. Shyam Kottilil from Baltimore was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contributions in the field of virology and scientific research by New York Senator Kevin Thomas at the Center’s 31st Annual Awards Dinner in Elmont, New York on Oct 28.

In his keynote speech, Kottilil explained the successes and failures of managing the Covid outbreak and how to prevent future outbreaks which according to him will certainly happen sometime in the future, according to a media release. The award for entrepreneurship went to Sajeeb Koya, the man behind the LED Façade lighting that lights up Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. His company 3S International headquartered in Pickering, Ontario, Canada, has executed numerous vibrant Architectural and Media Façade LED projects all over the world. Koya said that his goal is to complete 100 such projects all over the world.

The award for Media and Journalism went to Ajay Ghosh, Chief Editor and Co-Publisher of The Universal News Network (www/theunn.com). He serves as Media Coordinator for the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) and ITServe Alliance. Ghosh was the founding President of Indo-American Press Club and is Secretary of its Board of Directors. The award for community service went to Gopala Pillai who has served as the President and Board Member of several organizations in Texas and Detroit and has been with the World Malayali Council from1995 as its Secretary, President, and Chairman. Through these organizations, he has been able to provide many services for the good of society.

The award for outstanding achievements in Medicine went to Dr. Shelby Kutty, a physician-scientist and academic leader, serving as the Helen B. Taussig endowed professor and director of pediatric and congenital cardiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

He also chairs the analytic intelligence program at Johns Hopkins and is one of the world’s preeminent experts on multimodality cardiovascular imaging.

The award for contributions to Pravasi Malayalam Literature went to Jayant Kamicheril, a recipient of the Kerala Sahithya Academy award for 2022 for his book “Oru Kumarakom Karantay Kuruthamketta.”

The award for excellence in Nursing went to Dr. Anna George, current president of the Indian Nurses Association of New York (INANY).

She is a Nurse, a nurse practitioner, a human rights advocate, and a social activist. She is a leader who transformed the nursing professional organization INANY into a professional entity.

The award for legal service went to Lata Menon, an accomplished barrister and solicitor and active community member, who has become a recognized name in the legal community in Ontario as well as the Indian states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala, where she practiced as a lawyer before immigrating to Canada.

Kerala Center president Alex K. Esthappan provided a brief description of the activities and goals of the Center.  New York Senator Kevin Thomas and Nassau County Legislator Carrie Solages presented the awards. They were introduced by Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman of the Trustee Board and Award Committee member.

Sen. Thomas, a prior awardee himself, praised the Kerala Center for honoring individuals who excelled in their professions and served society with dedication.

Legislator Solages remarked that students of Indian and Malayalee descent made him a better student and that helped him to go to George Town University.

Dr. Madhu Bhaskaran, the chairman of the Award Committee and Board of Directors, explained the process of selecting the awardees. The ceremony was attended by leaders of many community organizations including FOMAA and FOKANA. As part of the Award Ceremony, a souvenir was released by the souvenir committee consisting of P.T. Paulose and Jose Kadapuram, by giving a copy to U. A. Naseer.

Inaugurated in 1993 Kerala Center has honored over 200 individuals of Keralite descent who excelled in their profession and/or made great contributions to the larger society in the last 30 years.