New Leadership at ICC Rings in the New Year
The new Executive Committee of the ICC, from left, seated: President Rajiv Bhavsar; Vice President Falguni Gandhi and Treasurer Ajit Patel; standing from left: Secretary Sanjay Sohoni and Past President Charlie Patel.
Photo: Jawahar Malhotra
By Jawahar Malhotra
HOUSTON: Just over a month after the election of new Board members and Trustees, the India Culture Center held elections for the Executive Committee at India House this past Sunday, January 11. A large number of ICC board members and Trustees were on hand for the brief elections in which none of the nominees was opposed and all were elected unanimously.
The ICC is the oldest community-wide organization in Houston, having started in 1973 and has been the organizer of the two events most emblematic of India – Republic Day and Independence Day – for the past four decades.
The new Executive Committee is– Rajiv Bhavsar, President; Falguni Gandhi, Vice President; Ajit Patel, Treasurer and Sanjay Sohoni, Secretary and Charlie Patel who will continue as Immediate Past President. The Election Committee was made up of this reporter, Girish Pandya and Sam Merchant. Two unopposed Trustees were also confimed: Sangeeta Pasrija and Parul Fernandes.
The rest of the Board of Directors are Col. Raj Bhalla; Veena Kaul; Nirmala Patel; Sapna Shah; Harshad Patel; Nisha Mirani; Keka Kar; Dilip Dadhich; Pramod Bengani; Manisha Gandhi and Sangita Dua. Two The rest of the Trustees for ICC are Swapan Dhairyawan, Meera Kapur, Vijay Pallod, Hasu Patel and Lachhman Das.
The next signature event for the ICC is the day-long 67th Republic Day celebrations, themed Vibrant India, at Stafford Centre on Cash Road and has activities planned for one and all. The essay competition “What is it like growing up as Indian American in Greater Houston?” will be for ages 10-15 years on. The ICC quiz will be for kids ages 10-15 years covering the topics of:geography, history, culture, sports, music, Bollywood. The event will have 45+ booths and the cultural program will be showcasing a versatile local talent of over 250+ participants and a “The Mom and Me” talent contest will also be first of its kind.
For more information about the event visit www.icchouston.org or call 832-423-7979/; 713-557-2536 or 281-382-0348