Executive Committee 2013-2014

President: Ranju George

President-Elect: Sudeep Chawla

Secretary: Anita Patel

Treasurer: Yunus Ghoghawala

Directors: Namita Singh Karuna Verma Rattan Ripudaman Anujah Balachandran

Upcoming Events 2013-2014

⇒ Diwali Celebration October 19, 2013 Bishop Verot High School 5598 Sunrise Drive, Fort Myers, Florida 33919

⇒ Republic Day/ Sports Day Picnic, January 26, 2014 Lakes Park, Shelter C1

⇒ India Fest, February /March 2014

A Message from the President

Dear Friends, I am extremely honored to have been elected as the President of India Association of Fort Myers, Florida. I want to thank Mrs. Sapna Mathur, previous IAFM president, her team and all the other volunteers who supported IAFM through every event and together brought tremendous success to IAFM. It is with great eagerness and excitement that my team begins this year. I can say with great pride that I have an excellent committee that is eager to begin working on new initiatives and I am confident that together we will bring fresh ideas to the table for the benefit of our Indian community. We will continue to strive to in-crease awareness among our children about our rich Indian culture and heritage through various programs. This year we will bring sev-eral new initiatives to our community for all age groups. We will keep our website updated with the event calendar and use social media to inform the community of these events, just be sure to check your emails and visit www.iafortmyers.org Please email your sug-gestions & ideas to: iafortmyers@gmail.com.

We want to hear from you and will love to dis-cuss any suggestions or ideas you may have that we as an organization can bring to the community. In closing, I’d like to take a mo-ment to thank all of our life members, annual members and volunteers for making IAFM what it is today. My committee and I are look-ing forward to the next year with great antici-pation as we continue to lay down the frame-work from which IAFM will continue to grow.

Once again, thanks a lot for your support and cooperation.

Best Regards,

Ranju George President, India Association of Fort Myers, FL

Board of Trustees Permanent Board of Trustees:

◊ Kunwar Jain, Chair Person (2006 - 2013), President-1997

◊ Rajiv Varshney, Chair Person (From January 1, 2014), President 2004-05

◊ Atiq Ahson, President-1991

◊ Subhash Kshetrapal, President-2000

◊ Harshad Bhatt, President-2002-03

◊ Hina Sanghvi, President 2005-06

Rotating Trustees: ◊ Sunita Sharma, Co-Chair

Person (2013-14), President 2010-11

◊ Prasad Kasireddy, President 2011-12

◊ Sapna Mathur,

President-2012-2013

In this Issue

Message from the President P.1

Message from the Chairman P.2

Diwali Function Details P.3

IAFM Executive Committee P.4 & 5

IAFM Mentor & Youth Committee P.6

Membership Details P.7

Tech Times Issue 00 Month Year

India Associa�on of Fort Myers, Inc. P. O. Box 07183, Fort Myers, FL 33919

Serving Southwest Florida since 1987

www.iafortmyers.org

India Association of Fort Myers, Inc. P. O. Box: 07183 Fort Myers, FL 33919

Volume:11 Issue:1

October 2013

Youth Committee 2013-2014 President: Bhuvna Mahajan

President-Elect: Varun Varshney

Secretary: Jaiya Lalla

Directors: Suhas Penukonda

Niki Singh Tarini Chandok Shivani Patel

DINESH “DENNY” SHARMA Lee County REALTOR Since 1983!

PH: 239-770-7427 1-800-274-7979 X 6732

“For Sales resulting from your business or referrals, I will donate a portion of my com-mission to the Hindu Temple or the IAFM – your choice!” Denny.Sharma@FloridaMoves.com www.FloridaMoves.com/Denny.Sharma

A Message from the Chairman IMPORTANT

NOTE: Diwali Program

Participation

♦ Entry Submission Deadline: Wednesday October 9, 2013

♦ All entries must be received

by the deadline. Every en-try must include: Title of the item, names of participants, primary contact person’s email and phone number, and the approximate length of performance. Please email complete info to: karunasverma@gmail.com or anujah2015@gmail.com

♦ Only two items per person

will be accepted ♦ No Solo performances ♦ Only IAFM members or

members’ children can per-form at the Diwali function. If you or your child are per-forming, please make sure your 2013 dues are already paid or be prepared to pay at the entrance on the day of the event

♦ Please make sure to pro-

vide 2 copies of the CD (song) one week in ad-vance. The copies should be labeled with the primary contact’s name. At the end of the function, please see Karuna or Anujah to retrieve your CDs

♦ Stage rehearsal is on Octo-

ber 18th 6-8 PM. Each En-try ‘s rehearsal time will be communicated to the prima-ry contact for each group via email. Please be on time with your entire group

For any questions/comments/concerns regard-ing the entertainment, you may call or email Karuna or Anujah

CARE * CONNECT * CELEBRATE There can't be India association of Fort Myers (IAFM) without its members, so please join IAFM by becoming either an annual or life member.

IAFM provides social, networking, community and cultural development & other ser-vices to all its members.

IAFM cares for the community we live in and helps our caring members contribute back to society. IAFM is run by volunteers who want to give something back. We want you to volunteer your own time and effort based on your own commitments.

IAFM provides year-round events for Indian community to stay in touch with our Indian Culture & Heritage :

⇒ INDIA FEST

⇒ DIWALI ⇒ INDIA REPUBLIC DAY ⇒ SPORTS CHAMPIONSHIPS ⇒ HOLI ⇒ INDIA INDEPENDENCE DAY ⇒ TALENT NIGHT

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

Membership dues for 2014 are as follows: Individual $50 Family $75 Life Membership Individual $750 Life Membership Family $1000 Membership forms (new/renewal/update) can be

downloaded from our website:

http://www.iafortmyers.org

We will be happy to collect your Annual dues for 2014

at the Diwali function on October 19, 2013. You can

also mail your membership dues check to reach us

before Dec 31 2013.

Please make checks payable to:

India Association of Fort Myers, Inc.

P. O. Box: 07183,

Fort Myers, FL 33919

Please note: As per the new by-laws, Membership dues not paid by Dec 31st will be considered delinquent, resulting in removal from the Mailing List and Membership Directory of the IAFM.

CLASSIFIED ADS

If you are interested in advertising in our Newsletter, please send a soft or scanned copy of your advertisement along with the check payable to:

India Association of Fort Myers

P. O. Box: 07183 Fort Myers, FL 33919

(Max size should not be larger than standard business card dimensions.)

Classified Ad Rates: Business Cards inside the News-letter: $25 per Issue/$100 full year

Business Cards outside the News-letter: $50 per issue/$150 full year

I am very proud of the fact that we are successfully running in the 27th year of this Association and have observed membership increase from 36 in the year 1987 to 200+ now. A significant shift has taken place during these years, that is, my generation is getting older and the new ones are continuously replacing us which keeps the organization rejuvenated and invigorated. Let us strive to aim an increase in the membership this year by additional 100 to a total of 300+ in the year 2014. This aim can be achieved if the younger members encourage their friends and acquaintances to become members in this great sec-ular organization which promotes the Asian-Indian cultures.

All along we have been successful in making India Association an established and well-recognized name within the greater Lee County citizenry by participating in various local community activities and donating to a number of charities from local to international organization. We have made significant con-tributions to help during many local, national and overseas catastrophic events. This Association has also promoted for the betterment of the local community by contributing towards scientific research. We are proud of participating in some 37 community activities and charities thus far.

Due to the demographic shift in our membership, we have made recent changes to further strengthen the Association by bringing in the younger leadership. The Founder- President Kumar Nandur, who has been a continuous source of inspiration through all these years, has retired from the Association in July, 2013, as he felt he had contributed all he could. I never knew I will be Chairman for some seven years when I had accepted the position.

Rajiv Varshney, a successful and responsible young man who grew-up locally, known to majority of the membership, had willingly accepted to take over the Chairmanship on a future date during the Board of Trustees annual meeting held in June, 2013. I am very happy to announce that he will be installed as the Chairman to the Board effective January 1, 2014. Until then, he will continue to be an ongoing Board Trustee and a Mentor to the new Executive Committee.

India Association’s savings are securely kept in local banks. The Board of Trustees has intended to purchase a suitable piece of real estate that may suit its membership’s activities. However, these funds have to be significantly augmented by donors for a meaningful acquisition. India Association may appro-priately honor those donors who come forward towards this goal of having our own “Headquarters” in Lee County. Please contact Rajiv Varshney or Ranju George if you wish to be a donor to this civic cause.

I am sure of a bright future for the India Association. I congratulate all the new Executive Committee officers recently elected and installed. I wish them a successful term.

Sincerely,

Kunwar Jain, Chairman, Board of Trustees

Become a member or renew your membership today!

“Message from Youth Wing President”

Being involved in the India Association has made a huge impact on my life and taught me the importance of being a servant lead-er in our community. I am delighted and honored to accept the position of President of the Youth Wing. With this position comes many responsibilities that I know I will be able to successfully achieve through the help of my wonderful committee. Our committee this year includes Varun Varsh-ney as President-elect, Jaiya Lalla as Sec-retary, and Suhas Penukonda, Niki Singh, Tarini Chandok, and Shivani Patel as our four directors. Our goal for this year is to foster a sense of unity and family within our diverse community through a variety of service and volunteer projects. We hope the Youth Wing will learn the importance of finding the needs within the community and fulfilling them. I encourage all children ages 12 and up to join the Youth Wing and be-come dedicated to helping the community. With constant support provided by the members of India Association, the Execu-tive Committee, and the Board of Trustees, I am confident that we will have a success-ful year ahead of us! Be sure to look for upcoming Youth Wing events on the IAFM website. Let's get involved! - Bhuvna Mahanjan

WHENWHENWHENWHEN

Saturday,Saturday,Saturday,Saturday,

October 19, 2013October 19, 2013October 19, 2013October 19, 2013

6PM6PM6PM6PM————midnightmidnightmidnightmidnight

27th Annual

DIWALI CELEBRATIONS - 2013

Festival of LightsFestival of LightsFestival of LightsFestival of Lights

WHEREWHEREWHEREWHERE

Bishop Verot Bishop Verot Bishop Verot Bishop Verot

High SchoolHigh SchoolHigh SchoolHigh School

5598 Sunrise 5598 Sunrise 5598 Sunrise 5598 Sunrise

DriveDriveDriveDrive

Fort Myers, FL Fort Myers, FL Fort Myers, FL Fort Myers, FL

MembersMembersMembersMembers

0-5 years: Free

6-12 Years: $10 per person

12+ Years : $25 per person

TTTToooo RRRReeeeggggiiiisssstttteeeerrrr ffffoooorrrr eeeennnntttteeeerrrrttttaaaaiiiinnnnmmmmeeeennnntttt eeeevvvveeeennnnttttssss,,,, ccccoooonnnnttttaaaacccctttt::::

Karuna Verma: karunasverma@gmail.com 239-826-1826

OR OR OR OR Anujah Balachandran: anujah2015@gmail.com 713-298-6573

Non Non Non Non ---- MembersMembersMembersMembers

0-5 years: Free

6-12 Years: $20 per person

12+ Years : $30 per person

Youth Committee 2013-2014

Program Details Program Details Program Details Program Details

6 PM6 PM6 PM6 PM————7777PPPPMMMM:::: AAAAppppppppeeeettttiiiizzzzeeeerrrrssss,,,, FFFFaaaammmmiiiillllyyyy PPPPhhhhoooottttoooossss****,,,, aaaannnndddd WWWWeeeellllccccoooommmmeeee

7 PM7 PM7 PM7 PM----9PM: Entertainment Programs9PM: Entertainment Programs9PM: Entertainment Programs9PM: Entertainment Programs

9PM:9PM:9PM:9PM:----11pm Grand Dinner and Dancing11pm Grand Dinner and Dancing11pm Grand Dinner and Dancing11pm Grand Dinner and Dancing

10PM10PM10PM10PM----Close: Dancing Under the StarsClose: Dancing Under the StarsClose: Dancing Under the StarsClose: Dancing Under the Stars

*Free Family Photo for each 2013 member family. Extra photos available at a nominal *Free Family Photo for each 2013 member family. Extra photos available at a nominal *Free Family Photo for each 2013 member family. Extra photos available at a nominal *Free Family Photo for each 2013 member family. Extra photos available at a nominal ccccoooosssstttt))))

Entrance FeeEntrance FeeEntrance FeeEntrance Fee TTTTiiiicccckkkkeeeettttssss ccccaaaannnn bbbbeeee ppppuuuurrrrcccchhhhaaaasssseeeedddd aaaatttt vvvveeeennnnuuuueeee eeeennnnttttrrrraaaannnncccceeee:::: CCCCrrrreeeeddddiiiitttt CCCCaaaarrrrdddd,,,, CCCCaaaasssshhhh oooorrrr CCCChhhheeeecccckkkk

(Non-Members can pay Member prices only if 2013 membership dues are

paid at the gate. Note: Must be a 2013 IAFM member to perform) Bhuvna Mahajan Fort Myers High School, 12 grade Varun Varshney Canterbury School, 11th grade Jaiya Lalla Fort Myers High School, 10th grade Suhas Penukonda Canterbury School, 12 grade Niki Singh Canterbury School, 11th grade Tarini Chandok Fort Myers High School, 11th grade Shivani Patel Fort Myers High School, 10th grade

Please see opposite page for Please see opposite page for Please see opposite page for Please see opposite page for

important notes regarding performing important notes regarding performing important notes regarding performing important notes regarding performing

in the IAFM Diwali Celebrationin the IAFM Diwali Celebrationin the IAFM Diwali Celebrationin the IAFM Diwali Celebration

Sponsorship Thanks to:Sponsorship Thanks to:Sponsorship Thanks to:Sponsorship Thanks to:

♦ Ajay & Karuna Verma:

Kids Pizzas

♦ Rattan Ripudaman &

Sandy Madhar : Sodas

RAJIV VARSHNEY MENTOR FOR 2013-2014 Executive Committee

Born & Lived: Born in India; Moved to US in 1974 - Chicago, IL. Moved to Fort Myers 1978 Family: Wife – Dipti, Son – Varun, Daughter- Simrun Education: BBA, MBA Profession: Local manufacturing of outdoor furniture “I am proud to call Fort Myers my home for more than 35 years. That

length of time has allowed me to serve in multiple positions within India Association

– Treasurer, President-Elect, President, and BOT member. I have enjoyed every

minute of it. My role as mentor is to pass on my experience to the current EC.

Their energy and passion for our community ensures a great year ahead.”

YUNUS GHOGHAWALA — TREASURER

KARUNA VERMA — DIRECTOR

Born & Lived: Born in Detroit, Michigan and lived all over the US. Lived in California for 19 years and moved to Estero in 2004

Family: Husband- Bipin. Son- Samir, Daughter- Maya Parents-Nagarbhai & Rukshamaniben (Estero), Sister-Usha (Naples)

Education: BS in Chemistry and Biology, Texas A&M University Profession: National Sales Manager for medical device manufacturer

Born & Lived: Born in India. Moved to US in 1986. Resident of Fort Myers since 1999 Family: Husband - Ajay, Sons-Neal and Krish Education: BA in Human Resources from Temple University. Profession: Currently working with my husband at Ameriprise Financial

RANJU GEORGE — PRESIDENT

Born & Lived: Born in Chennai, India. Moved to Ft Myers in 1982 Family: Wife- Suja George Education: Criminal Justice

Profession: Law Enforcement

“I am looking forward to a great year serving the Indian community as well as spreading our rich culture all over Southwest Florida.”

Born & Lived: Our family has been in Fort Myers for 37 years Family: Wife -Farida (worked as a Physician ) Daughter -Sabiha , Son -Shahid . Both married and working as

professionals. We are proud grandparents of four grandsons Profession: Accountant (retired)

NAMITA SINGH — DIRECTOR

RATTAN RIPUDAMAN — DIRECTOR

“I am very excited to be a part of IAFM and looking forward to serve the Indian Community.”

"Excited to be part of the new IAFM team. Looking forward to a wonderful & fun year."

Born & Lived: Born in Jabalpur; raised in New Delhi, India Moved to N.Y in 1990 and to Fort Myers in 1994 Family: Husband- Late Dr. Rampaul Singh; Children- Neil, Nikita, and Arjun Education: B.A Delhi University, Art degrees: 3 years of Graphic design & 2 years at The Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T) NYC Profession: Visual Arts instructor at Canterbury School, Fort Myers

I am honored to be giving back to our wonderful community, that I have been a part of, for so many years. “It’s nobler to give than to take. The thrill of taking lasts a day; the thrill of giving lasts a lifetime.” –Joan Marques

Born & Lived: Born in Punjab, India and Moved to Fort Myers in 2010 Family: Eldest of 2 siblings, sister Sandy lives in Fort Myers. Education: Bachelors in Hotel Management Profession: Business Owner

SUDEEP CHAWLA — PRESIDENT ELECT

Born & Lived: Born and raised in Michigan and moved to Daytona Beach in 2009 for my Chiropractic Studies. I am a recent resident of Fort Myers but have had family here since 2006. Family: Youngest of 4 siblings. 1 Brother in Ft Myers, 2 Sisters Education: Doctorate in Chiropractic (D.C) Profession: Chiropractor

“I am very happy to join the new IAFM committee and hope to contribute new ideas to our community. My ethnicity is Punjabi and during my undergraduate studies I was a dholi and a member of the Michigan State University Bhangra Team. My experience as a competent President-Elect , comes with my 3 year experience as a Student Council Representative for my graduating class in Chiropractic School and serving the Student Government at my Chi-ropractic School. Looking forward to working with the new committee and having lot of fun”

ANITA PATEL — SECRETARY

ANUJAH BALACHANDRAN — DIRECTOR

“Looking forward to serving our community and helping share our culture and heritage through our upcoming events.”

Born and Lived: Born in Sri Lanka and has been a resident of Ft. Myers for over 28 years Family: Mother, Father, and one younger sister Profession: Background is in public health and administration

"Legacy is not what's left tomorrow when you're gone. It's what you give, create, impact and contribute today while you're here that then happens to live on.”