The Indian American Kerala Cultural and Civic Center, Inc will honor eight Indian American Malayalees for their outstanding achievements in their field of specialization and for their service to the society at its 31st Annual Awards Banquet.
Government officials and leaders from the USA and India are expected to attend this prestigious event on Oct 28 at the Kerala Center, 1824 Fairfax St, Elmont, New York. according to a press release.
The Kerala Center has been honoring outstanding achievers since 1992, according to Dr. Thomas Abraham, Kerala Center’s Trustee Board chairman and award committee member.
“Kerala Center is very happy to honor American Malayalees who excel in their professions and who work for social progress — their examples should be an inspiration for others,” said Dr. Madhu Bhaskaran, chairman of the board and award committee.
This year’s honorees are Dr. Shyam Kottilil (Baltimore, Maryland) – Life Time Achievement Award; Sajeeb Koya (Pickering, Ontario, Canada) – Entrepreneurship; Dr. Anna George (Long Island, New York) – Nursing; Shelby Kutty (Baltimore, Maryland) – Medicine; Gopala Pillai (Dallas, Texas) – Community Service; Ajay Ghosh (Trumbull, Connecticut) – Media and Journalism; Jayant Kamicheril (Reading, Pennsylvania) – Pravasi Malayalam Literature; and Lata Menon (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada) – Legal Services.
Kerala Center presents 2022 annual awards (October 31, 2022)
Kerala Center President Alex K. Esthappan said that the Center has recognized over 170 American Malayalees in the last 31 years and it is great to see that they have continued to rise further in their careers and serve the society.
Dr. Shyam Kottilil – Life Time Achievement Award
Kottilil is a world-renowned virologist and immunologist who has made pivotal contributions in the field of Hepatitis and HIV. He is currently the Interim Director of the Institute of Human Virology in Baltimore, Maryland, the first and foremost Virology Institute in the world.
Sajeeb Koya – Entrepreneurship
Koya, a North American Malayali, is the man behind the LED Façade lighting that lights up Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. Koya and his team are proud to be part of this project which has won Guinness World Records.
His company 3S International Inc. which has its headquarters at Pickering (Ontario, Canada), has executed numerous vibrant architectural and media façade LED projects all over the world.
Hailing from Trivandrum, Koya is an electrical engineer. He graduated in 1987 from CET Trivandrum. He held key positions with several multinationals before starting his own business in Canada in 2001.
Kerala Center honors six outstanding achievers (November 26, 2021)
Dr. Anna George – for Nursing
George is the current President of the Indian Nurses Association of New York (INANY). She works at Molloy University as an Associate Professor, teaching the Nurse Practitioner Track and as a Nurse Practitioner at Northwell Health.
Dr. Shelby Kutty – Medicine
Kutty is a physician scientist and academic leader, serving as the Helen B. Taussig endowed professor and director of pediatric and congenital cardiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Kitty also chairs the analytic intelligence program at Johns Hopkins. He is of the world’s preeminent experts on multimodality cardiovascular imaging with over 400 peer-reviewed publications,
Ajay Ghosh – Media and Journalism
Ghosh is the Chief Editor and Co-Publisher of The Universal News Network (www/theunn.com). He serves as the Media Coordinator for the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) and ITServe Alliance. Ghosh was the founding President of the Indo-American Press Club and is its Secretary of the board of Directors.
Prior to coming to the United States, Ghosh was the Chief Editor of The Voice Delhi and contributed articles to several national publications in India. Ghosh has a Master’s Degree in Journalism from Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Kerala Center gala honors six Indian Americans including Pramila Jayapal (November 6, 2017)
Lata Menon – Legal Services
Menon has become a recognized name in the legal community in Ontario, as well as the Indian states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala, where she practiced as a lawyer before immigrating to Canada.
In addition to her professional activities as a lawyer, Lata devotes her time to the community at large and has become an active supporter and champion of women’s equality and rights. She is actively engaged in several social and community programs.
Jayant Kamicheril – Pravasi Malayalam Literature
Kamicheril is a recipient of the Kerala Sahithya Academy award for 2022 for his book “Oru Kumarakom Karantay Kuruthamketta Likhithangal.”
He won LANA Award in 2019 for his book “Kumarakathu Oru Pesaha.” His essays and stories in English and Malayalam have been published in North America and India.
Gopala Pillai –Community Service
Pillai has served as the president and board member of several organizations in Texas and Detroit and has been with the World Malayali Council from 1995 as its secretary, president and chairman.
Pursuing a successful career in Information Technology in the USA since 1975, Pillai’s work reflects his unwavering commitment to both the local community in the USA and the betterment of the less privileged in Kerala, India.