View the complete photo gallery.

Read the article in the Tri-City Voice

IACF Celebrates Unity with Awards and awareness – Mar 26, 2010, Shehjar

FDA Dietary Supplements talk of the night at IACF dinner

FREMONT: The who is who of Northern California, whether in the community or in the political arena came together with seriousness and elegance at the 9th annual Indo-American Community Federation (IACF) unity dinner at the Fremont Marriott on March 26.

The theme for this year’s dinner was ‘Unity Though Diversity: A New Change for America’s Children which it showcased appropriately by educating the politicians and community leaders about the dangers of over-the-counter-supplements.

Sharan Dhanoa, a law student at the University of Santa Clara, set the tone for the evening by introducing The Last Smile, A father’s love story – a journey of hope authored by the IACF Founder Jeevan Zutshi. The book has in it a detailed chapter researched about Dietary Supplements and “A system overdue for reform.” It reads: “In a medical system that is dominated by drug companies and with the increasing expense of healthcare, people are naturally looking for preventative measures and a way to take their health into their own hands. Healthcare is driven by the pharmaceutical industry, known as Big Pharma. The drug companies are in a position to fund the studies and they have influence over both doctors and the government, which approves and oversees the medicines that are distributed through the FDA. Big Pharma’s influence over doctors, however, is most likely reason that more and more people have become disenchanted with our current medical system. Drug companies attempt to influence the medical decisions of doctors from the time they enter medical school.”

Next speaker was Mary Ellen Taylor, Public Affairs Specialist of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) who spoke extensively about Dietary supplements. She went over the facts about dietary supplements and their future.

Jeevan Zutshi expressed some hope because Senators John McCain and Byron Dorgan recently introduced the Dietary Supplements Safety Act of 2010 (DSSA) that if passed will restrict Americans’ access to nutritional supplements.

The cultural Program was dominated by Chinese and Indian dances, which ran the gamut of different cultures and allowed the audience to view small cultural vignettes.

Bill Lockyer, Treasurer of the State of California and a great supporter of the annual dinner was the chief guest. His keynote speech focused on community, healthcare and education.

Nancy O’Malley, District Attorney, Alameda County spoke about the law and order situation in the county and her efforts in understanding the social and economic aspects of the crime, not just the nature of crime.

Cheryl Cook-Kallio, the Vice-Mayor of the City of Pleasanton was another speaker who spoke about Youth engagement. “It is so important to model civic engagement early. A good citizen means more than just showing up at the voting booth periodically, it is constant participation in the community.  Young people who learn these civic skills and dispositions become the leaders of tomorrow”, she said.

As a tradition of honoring outstanding individuals every year, this year 2010 IACF Honorees were Organization of the year – One Child founded by Bernie Dutra; Kuldip Thusu, Ph.D., for Community Service and former Fremont Vice-Mayor Steve Cho as the Citizen of the Year.

The IACF awards were Presented by California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer, Former Assembly member John Dutra, Mayor City of Cupertino, Kris Wang; State Senator Ellen Corbett and some community leaders, as decided by the IACF Awards Committee, headed by Tim Reilly and Jeevan Zutshi.

Honorable Mention of the Roman Reed Foundation, Park Central Nursing homes and Ron Demetro were made by the IACF Youth President Rahul Zutshi, who traveled from Washington D.C, his new home, to attend the event.

Shashi Sharma, IACF President (2004-2008) gave vote of thanks, and The Carmen Milagro Band of San Francisco provided the DJ dancing.

Dr. Naresh Sharma, the current IACF President said in his address that IACF was focused in serving the community by addressing very important issues, one of reasons that the event is always sold out to the fullest capacity of the big ball room year after year. All the organizations including Fremont Chamber of commerce, Indo-American organizations, Washington Hospital, Palo Alto Medical Foundation and numerous non-profits support the event every year. 

Unity through Diversity: A New Change for America’s Children

‘A unity in diversity dinner’
9th Annual event

Date: March 26, 2010 (Friday)
Time: 6.15 PM to 11:30 PM

Fremont Marriott
46100 Landing Parkway
Fremont, CA 94538

Keynote Speaker:
California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer

Read the article in the Tri-City Voice

Dinner Menu

Qabeli Palow (No Meat)
Sabzi Challow
Chicken Kabob
Shami Kabob
Vegetarian Dish
Dal (Mong)
Ferni
Bread
Torshi
Salad
Iced Tea
Starbucks Coffee and Tazo Teas Coffee,Decaffeinated Coffee and Tazo Herbal Teas

Supporting Organizations

Ohlone College Foundation
Washington Hospital Foundation
Fremont Chamber of Commerce
Citizens for Better Community (CBC)
Roman Reed Foundation
Hispanic Unity Council
Hindu American Foundation (HAF)
Federation of Indo-American Associations (FIA)
American Association of the Physicians of Indian origin (AAPIO)
Global Organization of People of Indian origin (GOPIO)
FIA of Northern California – FIANC
National Federation of Indian Associations (NFIA)

Grand Sponsor

Alta Family Clinic, Dinuba

Silver Sponsors

Dutra Enterprises
Park Central Care and Rehabilitation

Sponsors

Pete Stark Foundation
Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty
Washington Hospital Foundation
Nancy O Malley, District Attorney, Alameda County
Rajan Bhandari, M.D., Physician in Chief, Kaiser Permanente, San Jose
Sarbjit Hundal, MD, Mission Valley Eye Medical Center
Basil E. Besh, MD, Inc.
Ohlone College Foundation
Fremont Chamber of Commerce
Fremont Education Foundation
Citizens for Better Community (CBC)
Federation of Indo-American Associations (FIA)
National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA)
FIA of Northern California – FIANC
Hon. Kevin Dowling, Hayward City Council
Hon. Liz Figueora, Former State Senator
Dr. Harmesh Kumar, SABH Foundation
Dr. Deepak Sachdev, San Mateo Dental services
Roman Reed Foundation
Chandru Bhambra Real Estate
IACF Board of Directors
Jerry Ahuja, Paramount Builders
Hindu American Foundation (HAF)
Ron Demetro