NEW YORK (TIP): Association of Indians in America-NY Chapter’s new executive committee for the current term 2013-2014 was inaugurated in Long Island on Sunday, March 3rd . Outgoing president, Ranju Batra was felicitated for her great work and community service over the years and especially during her presidency spanning the past two years. She handed over the presidential duties for the 2013-14 term to incoming president, Sunil Modi.

Ranju Batra, on the occasion, relived the joyous and historic event of her presidencythe silver jubilee Diwali last year. She also recalled fondly the support she had received from many. She said, “…. supporting me in this history making adventure were my committee and our sponsors like State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, India Tourism, Star TV, Air India, McDonald’s, PepsiCo, Toyota, New York Life, Habib Bank and many others…”.

Speaking of her resolve to hold timely elections, she said, ” Right after that emotional high, I acted in November 2012, 1 yr. and 5 months into my tenure, to start the election process, so my successor could take over in January – as this would better serve the interests of AIA as well as the community – happily putting community above self.”

Ranju also mentioned her favorite project on hand- Diwali commemorative stamp. “I am equally committed to achieving my pet project of getting the Diwali Stamp issued, and I will continue to lead, pull and push until it is issued”, she said and mentioned gratefully the support she had got of some lawmakers in her effort. “I requested Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, a dear family friend, and she introduced a House Resolution – HR47- and joining her were Congresswomen Grace Meng and Tulsi Gabbard, Congressmen Steve Israel and Ami Bara to name a few.”

The new President Sunil Modi has been active at AIA for the past many years serving in the capacity of executive member, Vice-President as well as the Deepavali Festival chair. Prior to that he served on the Board of Directors at the largest YMCA in Queens, Cross Island YMCA, and served on the UN Committee of YMCA International.

National President of AIA, Dr. Ghanshyam Pandey flew in from Chicago especially to attend this event.

AIA is the oldest association of the Indians in America. The Association was founded on August 20, 1967. The New York Chapter of AIA was established in 1968 and is well known for its social, cultural and educational activities.

AIA-NY Chapter is a non-profit organization which is involved in many community, charitable and social events that embody the spirit of its members and its motto, “Indian Heritage and American commitment”. The NY chapter has members from all over the tri-state region. It prides itself on being completely secular and open, with members representing all regions and religions of India, as well as of varied professions, backgrounds and occupations

For the last four decades, the mainstay event of the organization is the widely popular Deepavali Festival, held at the South Street Seaport in New York City, organized on the first Sunday of October (this year on October 6th, 2013). This Deepavali festival is the most prominent and one of the most well-known festivals of the Indian community across the country.

The Vice-Presidents for the new executive board are Dr. Sunil Mehra, Harish Thakkar, Sham Gajwani & Divya Shah. The Secretary is Avinash Suri. The Treasurer position is handled by Dr. Bal Gilja. Members at Large is comprised of Asmita Bhatia, Abhijay Goenka, Gitanjali Anand, Neelam Modi, Dr. Pushpa Shah, Indu Gajwani, Swati Vaishnav, Neena Sahani, Divya Tandon, Beenu Sabharwal, Usha Kapoor, Govind Munjal, Jyoti Gupta, Dr. Urmila Shivram, Dr. Swarn Gupta, Sudeep Jay Modi, Dr. Tarun Wasil, Sumit Arora, Dr. Ami Bhagat, Dr. Neeta Jain, Rajiv Kedia & Dr. Bhagwati Mistry.