Shelby's Social Diary
Houston's special India connection draws praise from a powerful senator at heavy-hitter gala
Fifteen years of building relationships between Houston's business community and India were celebrated in high style at the Hilton Americas-Houston during the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston annual gala.
More than 650 prominent businessmen, physicians and community leaders attended the evening that featured Sen. John Cornyn as keynote speaker. Cornyn praised the chamber for its role in strengthening "the critically important U.S.-India partnership." In remarks to the gathering, special guest Harris County Judge Ed Emmett noted that India "is not just an economic partner but a spiritual partner as well.”
Welcoming guests to the "Building Bridges for Business" gala were IACCGH president Sanjay Ramabhadran and executive director Jagdip Ahluwalia. Gala chairs Sushila and Dr. Durga Agrawal, Dr. Neil Badlani and Rekha Muddaraj, Peggy and Avinash Ahuja and Preeti and Umesh Verma oversaw the evening that featured Indian cuisine from Dawat-Madras Pavilion.
Numerous honors and awards were presented including Pioneer Awards given to Sonal Bhuchar for Education, Pinakin and Pallavi Dinesh for Entrepreneurship, Dr. Devinder Bhatia for Healthcare and Judge R. K. Sandill for Public Service. GAIL and its U.S. partners – Carrizo Oil & Gas, Cheniere Energy and Dominion Cove Point LNG — were honored for their pioneering efforts in securing India’s energy future.
The heavy-hitter turnout included Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, Nobel Prize Winner (1996) Robert Curl, University of Houston chancellor Renu Khator and professor Suresh Khator, Gina Bhatia, Gwen Emmett, Fred Whipple,Keith Teague, S.P. "Chip" Johnson, Jayanta Sinha and Donald Raikes.