FREMONT: Glittering with elegance and the presence of Californian and Tri-City (Fremont, Newark and Union City) who’s who of politics, the 6th annual Indo-American Community Federation (IACF) dinner was held at the Hilton Newark Fremont on March 23.

The theme for the dinner was ‘Unity Though Diversity: A Model For America in the Twenty First Century’ which it showcased beautifully through its 2007 honorees and their acceptances and the performances by Chinese, Mexican and Indian artists which ran the gamut of different cultures and
allowed us to view small cultural vignettes. John Garamendi, Lt. Governor of California and a fifth time returnee to the annual dinner was the chief guest. His keynote speech focused on community, immigrants and education.

He said there are “things you can do as individual, as a family but some things you can only do as a community”. He also said it is difficult to be a first generation immigrant and in the debate over illegal immigration, “we forget the incredible power that immigrants bring to the nation”. According to him,
“there are many keys to California’s success but the most important is education”. Every young individual in California is not handed the key to or does not have equal access to education.

However, “we should be prepared to make the investment in education so we can pass on to the next generation the best society” we can. State Senator Ellen Corbett said, “People come from around the world” to California “in a rainbow of colors. To see this entertainment we would have to go around the
world many times”. She said this is a very special microcosm of what the US is about- freedom. E Pluribus Unum (Out of Many, One) is so important a concept that we put it on our money and that is what we see in action today.