The GOPIO-Upper New York Chapter held its eight Annual Dinner and Dance celebrating the arrival of Indian Indentured Laborers to Guyana on April 30, 2016. This well organized event that drew a capacity audience was held at the Starlite Pavillion, Richmond Hill, Queens, New York. The program was coordinated and emceed by Jhairam Persaud, President of the GOPIO-Upper New York Chapter, who was ably assisted by members of the Chapter’s executives.
After introductions and welcome by GOPIO Upper New York President Jhairam Persaud, GOPIO Tri-state Coordinator Lal Motwani delivered greetings on behalf of GOPIO International. In attendance were also Representatives from the Queens Borough President’s Office and the Office of the District’s Congressman, the Honorable Gregory Meeks. Four members of the Chapter received Congressional Certificates of Appreciation at this event. Those members were Netram Rambudhan, Miss Patsy Leopold, Gurdatt Jagnanan, and Premenauth Singh.
The featured speaker for the evening was Author, Novelist and Professor of English and Asian Studies, Marina Budhos, who was introduced by Dr. Jaigobin Shivcharran. Her speech on “Immigration -Then and Now” was a compelling presentation and resonated very well with the audience. Her use of slides engaged the audience and kept everyone focused throughout her presentation.
The GOPIO UNY Community Service Award this year went to Cultural and Artistic Director of the Rajkumari Cultural Center, Pritha Singh, who was introduced by Premenauth Singh and the award was presented by GOPIO UNY President, Jhairam Persaud. Gurdatt Jagnanan concluded the event with appreciation and thanks to presenters and attendees.
Picture Caption: From left to right: Mahendra Sawh, Dev Chedda, Dr. Jaigobin Shivcharran, Savi Narain, Ann Lutchmidat, Patsy Leopold, Gurdatt Jagnanan, Pritha Singh, Tony Roopnarain, Premnauth Singh, Jhairam Persaud, Dr. Thomas Abraham, Keynote speaker Marina Budhos, Lal Motwani and Netram Rambudhan