Indian American Kerala Cultural and Civic Center, Inc. (The Kerala Center) honored eight Indian Americans with its prestigious annual awards for their contributions in their professions and to the society with their selfless dedication, during the 32nd Annual Awards Gala at the Center’s Auditorium in Elmont, New York on Saturday, October 19, 2024.
Honorees who werechosen to receive the award are: Johnson Samuel (Long Island, NY), Humanitarian and Social Service; Suja Thomas (Albany, NY), Nursing Leadership; Wesley Mathews (Trenton, NJ), Public Service; Dr. Sunanda Nair (Houston, TX), Performing Arts; Hashim Mooppan (Washington, DC), Legal Services; SamcyKodumon (L.I., NY), Pravasi Malayalam Literature; Sibu Nair (Buffalo, NY), Community Service; and Varkey Abraham (Long Island, NY), Business Leadership.
The gala began with the American and Indian national anthems by Ms. Riya Alexander. Raju Thomas, General Secretary of the Kerala Center introduced the Emcee for the event, Daisy Stephen Pallipparambil.
Alex K. Esthappan, President of the Kerala Center welcomed everyone and provided a brief description of the activities and goals of the Kerala Center. “Over the past32 years, Kerala Center has established a name for itself as a secular civic institution providing services to the Indian American community and we are recognizing those who are achievers and contributors to the larger society,”Esthappan said.
New York Senator Kevin Thomas and Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages were the guests of honor and offered their felicitations and presented the awards to the honorees. Both of them were presented with special recognition awards for their support to the Kerala Center and the larger community. Also present were Ragini Srivastava, North Hempstead Town Clerk and John Isaac, candidate for NY State Assembly from Yonkers.
Wesley Mathews, in his keynote address praised the Kerala Center’s activities promoting our culture and making aware us of our civic duties. Sen. Thomas, a prior awardee himself, praised the Kerala Center for honoring individuals who excelled in their professions and serving society with dedication. Assembly woman Solages expressed her appreciation for the Kerala Center and the ceremony and declared herself a Malayalee for the evening.
The award for excellence in public service went to Wesley Mathews, President & Chief Executive Officer of Choose New Jersey, the State’s leading nonprofit business attraction organization. He was a career diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service, he served as a federal executive to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, is Chair of the New Jersey-India Commission and serves on several boards, including the New Jersey Innovation Institute and the FIFA World Cup 26 New York New Jersey Host Committee. Mathews was introduced by Dr. Thomas Abraham and Sen. Thomas presented the award.
The award for excellence in business leadership went to Varkey Abraham, Founding Director of Hanover Bank U.S.A. He is also the CEO of the A and S Leather Company, V A Smith Shoe Company International, Chairman of the Pravasi television channel, a member of Loka Kerala Sabha (Invitee), a former president of Indo-American Malayalee Chamber of Commerce and is well known in the South Indian community as a philanthropist. Abraham was introduced by Samuel Joseph, Secretary of Kerala Center Youth Forum, and Sen. Thomas presented the award.
The award for outstanding contribution to Pravasi Malayalam Literature went to SamcyKodumon, who has published several books of Short Stories and Novels. He has been actively involved with LANA (Literary Association of North America) and KCANA (Kerala Cultural Association of North America). He founded the literary forum known as Vicharavedi NY. Samcy was introduced by Manohar Thomas, coordinator of Sargavedi at the Kerala Center. Abraham Philip, CPA presented the award.
The award for community service went to Sibu Nair, Deputy Director of Asian Affairs for NY State in Governor Kathy Hochul’s administration. Mr. Nair is CHAI’s founder and Executive Director (Council of Heritage and Arts of India, Inc.). He was the past president of the India Association of Buffalo, served as the Vice President of the Hindu Cultural Society of WNY in 2018, and is a recipient of the prestigious Overseas Indian Award, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman. Mr. Nair was introduced by Joel Thomas, youth forum Treasurer of the Kerala Center, and Sen. Kevin Thomas presented the award.
The award for excellence in Nursing leadership went to Suja Thomas, President of the National Association of Indian Nurses of America (NAINA) and an Advisory Board Member of the CGFNS Alliance for International Ethical Recruitment Practices. Suja was introduced by Dr. Anna George, a past awardee and Assemblywoman Solages presented the award.
The award for outstanding legal services went to Hashim Mooppan, who is nationally recognized as a leading appellate litigator and legal strategist. Hashim is currently a partner at the law firm of Jones Day, previously held leadership positions in the U.S. Department of Justice, as Counselor to the Solicitor General and Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Appellate Staff, was a former law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia, and has argued five cases in the U.S. Supreme Court and dozens more in the lower federal courts, including several high-profile cases concerning the scope of the President’s authority. Hashim was introduced by Samantha Joseph, Joint Secretary of Kerala Center Youth Forum, and Attorney Appen Menon, Kerala Center Trustee, presented the award.
The award for outstanding contribution to performing arts went to Dr. Sunanda Nair, a distinguished Mohiniattam dancer, teacher, and choreographer. She is widely recognized as the “Global Ambassador of Mohiniattam,” promoting its nuances and practices through her dance school, SPARC, and with numerous performances on national and international stages. She is an A-grade artist for Mumbai Doordarshan and has performed at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York and the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Sunanda was awarded the Kerala Sangeetha Natak Akademi Award in 2010 and the ‘Kala Ratnam’ Award by Kerala Kalamandalam in 2016. Sunanda was introduced by Dr. Benzy Thomas, founder patron of the Kerala Center, and Asha Ramesh, CEO of Sabinsa Corporation, presented the award.
The award for excellence in Humanitarian service went to Johnson Samuel (Sam/Reggie), the Founder of Life and Limb, an organization established in 2013, dedicated to serving the needs of amputees throughout Kerala, by providing the highest quality of prosthetic limbs to them. Johnson was introduced by Annie Lachhander, youth forum member of Kerala Center, and G. Mathai, Kerala Center Trustee presented the award.
The ceremony was attended by leaders of several community organizations including FOMAA, FOKANA, Pioneer Club, KCANA, and SACSS. As part of the Award Ceremony, a souvenir was released by the souvenir committeeconsisting of P. T. Paulose, G. Mathai and Mary Philip. A copy of the souvenir was presented to Gemini Thomas, president of Staten Island Malayalee Association. Entertainment for the evening was provided by students ofNoopura Dance School, directed by Mrs. Chandrika Kurup.
During the event, Kairali TV’s short film competition winners were presented with the prizes. Best short film was Oasis and the award was presented to its director Sreelekha Haridass by Paulose Palatti, best actor award was presented to JosekuttyValiyakallunkal by Jose Kadapuram and best actress award was presented to Deepa Menon of Oasis by Daisy Stephen, Vice President of the Kerala Center. Sarah Stephen was the MC of this program.
Abraham Thomas, founder patron, was the chairman of the Awards Gala. Committee members Mathew Vazhappally and John Paul coordinated the event. The Emcee of the program, Daisy Stephen Pallipparambil, impressed everybody with her outstanding performance.
Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman of the Kerala Center Board of Trustees, earlier while announcing the 2024 honorees to the media, explained the process of selecting the awardees and introduced keynote speaker and one of the awardees, Wesley Mathews. “Kerala Center has been honoring outstanding achievers since 1991 and every year we invite nominations, and the committee has to make a unanimous choice for a candidate in a category to receive the award and this year is no different from previous years in terms of their achievements,” said Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman of the Kerala Center Awards Committee.
Indian classical dances performed by Chandrika Kurup’s Noopura School of Dance made the awards night a colorful one. Secretary Raju Thomas concluded the ceremony with the vote of thanks to honored guests, awardees, sponsors, photographers, audience and everyone worked so hard to make it a successful event. With dinner catered by Cotillian, the 2024 Award Night came to a glorious conclusion.