IPN Awards Recognize Diversity of Talent and Leadership
November marked the 9th anniversary for the Indian Professionals Network (IPN). Rather than celebrating its longevity and success as an organization, IPN opted to maintain the tradition of honoring community members who promote and epitomize its values.
The candidate pool for the 2002 IPN Awards saw 16 unique candidates up for nomination. Out of this pool, the Awards Committee, which consisted solely of previous winners and this year?s IPN meeting conveners, selected 5 outstanding individuals: Dr. Joyce Flueckiger, Dr. Bhagirath Majmudar, Mr. Deepak Raghavan, Mr. Narender G. Reddy, and Dr. Ashok B. Thakker.
Dr. Joyce Flueckiger, who is the director of the Program of Asian Studies at Emory University and co-chair of Friends of Emory India Studies, has been very active in ?building bridges? between the Atlanta?s Indian Community and Emory University through various initiatives such as the Friends of Emory India Studies and community programming via the Asian Studies Program at Emory. She has served host to numerous Indian authors, musicians, dancers, political leaders, theorists and scholars.
Dr. Flueckiger received her B.A. from Goshen College and her Ph.D. in South Asian Language and Literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She specializes in performance studies, with a particular interest in gender and teaches courses in modern Indian religious traditions, women and religion, and anthropology of religion.
She is the author of Gender and Genre in the Folklore of Middle India, which concerns the folklore of Chhattisgarh. She is also co-editor of and contributor to Oral Epics in India (1989) and Boundaries of the Text: Epic Performances in South and Southeast Asia (1991). At the moment, she is finishing her latest book Amma: Healing at the Crossroads in South India, which is about a female Muslim healer in Hyderabad with whom she worked closely with for over a decade. The central questions addressed by the book pertain to the construction and permeability of religious and gender identities and boundaries at this level of popular practice in South India.
Dr. Bhagirath Majmudar, who is the Chief of Surgical Pathology for the Grady Health System and is a Professor of Pathology and Gynecology-Obstetrics at the Emory University School of Medicine, was recognized for his contribution to the academic, civic, and religious communities.
Dr. Majmudar is a recognized community elder who has served as both President and Chairman of IACA. His stellar service in this area has earned him an award from Mayor Andrew Young.
Dr. Majumudar has written extensively on the topic of Gynecologic Pathology. His teaching style has led to numerous ?Outstanding Teacher? awards at Emory University. He has been an active member in State Government; having served on the Cervical Cancer Committee for the Health Department as well as a member of the Interfaith Committees for the both the Olympic Games and the State of Georgia. In addition, Dr. Majumadar has been a spiritual leader for the community for 27 years. He is credited with presiding over 125 interfaith services and weddings.
Mr. Deepak Raghavan is a founder, mentor, and current President of the Atlanta Chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE). He is also on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (GIACC), and a board of advisor member at the Atlanta CEO High Tech council.
New Delhi-born Raghavan holds a bachelors degree from the highly acclaimed Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and a MBA from Georgia State University. He put his education and work ethic into action in 1990 by co-founding Manhattan Associates (MA).
He is credited with conceptualizing, designing and developing Manhattan Associates? PkMS� solution, the industry?s first ?packaged? distribution management software system for the consumer supply chain. Raghavan?s contributions to the growth of Manhattan Associates resulted in the company enjoying a track record of over 10 years of consecutive growth and profitability to achieve revenues of over $155 million in 2001.
Mr. Narender Reddy has demonstrated success as both a businessman and a community leader. He has been in the commercial real estate business since 1989, where he specializes in apartment complexes, shopping centers, motels and speculative land investments. In 1995, he successfully co-founded ?Quantum National Bank? in Suwanee, Georgia.
Mr. Reddy has served as President of Indian American Cultural Association, Atlanta?. and Telugu Association of Metro Atlanta, and is A founding member of American Telugu Association (ATA), in which he has served as Trustee and Regional Vice President. He is also a founding member of IPN and has successfully organized and sponsored four of its monthly meetings.
On the political level, Mr. Reddy has come to be known as one of the strongest representatives of the Indian American community within the Republican Party, of which, he has been actively involved as an organizer and fundraiser in since 1991. He is currently serving as President of the Georgia Chapter of the Indian-American Forum for Political Education (IAFPE).
Dr. Ashok (Ash) Thakker, who is the CEO, Global Technology Connection, Inc. as well as Director of both the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (GIACC) and APAC, is no stranger to recognition as a business and community leader.
In the business world, Dr. Thakker has held leadership positions in Fortune 100 companies such as: Roles Royce of North America (Aerospace), United Technologies, and Aluminum Company of America. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Materials (FASM) and is listed in both Who?s Who in America and Who?s Who in Business and Finance. Dr. Thakker is also a member of the Leadership Atlanta-2002-2003.
This 20-year resident of Atlanta has also served his community as: President, Asian American Pacific Council, Executive Vice President of the Indian American Cultural Association, Member of the Board of Directors of the The Vinings Club, and is a founding board member of the Georgia Indo American Chamber of Commerce.
Khabar Magazine congratulates this year?s IPN Award winners and encourages them to continue leading and serving the Indian-American Community. Furthermore, we hope that many more will be inspired by their accomplishments and follow their example.
- Mathew T. Mathews
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