Three Indian Americans to be Honored at Ellis Island

Three Indian Americans will be awarded the prestigious Ellis Medal of Honor for the year 2003 by The National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO) during a very special Ceremony at Ellis Island, New York on Saturday, May 17, 2003. The Awards Ceremony will be followed by a gala dinner and fireworks under the shadow of the Statue of Liberty. The announcement was made by the Board of Directors of NECO.

NECO, the largest representative of ethnic and heritage organizations with over 5 million family members in the United States of America is presenting Subash Razdan of Atlanta, Nirmal Sinha of Columbus, Ohio and Raj Soin of Dayton, Ohio. These awards are being presented for their exceptional leaderships, life long humanitarian services and outstanding contributions in the field of ethnic and heritage recognition in the United States of America.

Previous awardees include such great notables as President Jimmy Carter, Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani, Frank Sinatra and a host of many distinguished citizens of the United States of America.

Ellis Medal of Honor, established in 1986 by NECO is named after the Ellis Island, New York, to pay homage to the ancestral groups that passed through the Island’s gates prior to their admission as immigrants in the United States, and these ancestral groups over the years had created the unique ethnic and cultural tapestry in the United States of America.

	Subash Razdan, is a well recognized Community Activist and the Acting Chairman of the Gandhi Foundation of USA. A graduate of IIT, New Delhi, Razdan is a Civil-Environmental Principal Engineer for the City of Atlanta. In the community arena, Razdan served as the President of the India American Cultural Association (IACA), Vice President and President of the National Federation of Indian Associations. From 1991 to 1998, Razdan’s efforts and leadership resulted in the installation and dedication of the Statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the Martin Luther King National Historic Site, Atlanta. In 1997, Razdan was one of the key coordinators of the 50^th Independence Day Anniversary celebrations in Washington DC by India and Indian Americans in the USA which had First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton as its Chief Guest. In 1996, Razdan was appointed an Attaché’ for the Government of India for the Olympics held in Atlanta that year and also served as the acting Chef de Mission for Indian contingent. Razdan is an as an advisor to the Coca Cola Company’s Procurement Advisory Council for Minority and Women-Owned Supplier Development Programs. Razdan also owns Asia Pacific Broadcasting Network (APBN) which produces the weekly television show, Namaste Bombay.
	Rajesh K. Soin is Chairman of MTC Technologies (a NASDAQ listed company) and also is Chairman and CEO of five privately held companies in the USA and India. Raj is the founding trustee and past president of Asian Indian business group of Dayton, Ohio, as well as the Ohio India Foundation. He serves on a number of community boards in Dayton, Ohio. The business college at Wright State University has been renamed to “Raj Soin College of Business” in honor of his accomplishments and support to the University. Raj and Indu are residents of Florida and they have three children, Vishal, Melissa, and Amol, residents of Ohio.
	Nirmal Sinha is a founding member of GOPIO, former NFIA Director and President of FIA Columbus. He is a longtime community activist, extensively involved locally and nationally for over 15 years. Currently he is very involved with the various business groups, political organizations like IAFPE, and serves on several boards and commissions. He was appointed to the Ohio Civil Rights Commission by the Governor of Ohio in 1991. He was a White House delegate during President Clinton’s visit to India, received many awards and recognitions. In 1998 the Governor of Ohio presented him the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. award for his service in the Ohio community.

GOPIO-New York is hosting luncheon reception to felicitate the awardees at the Maharaja Restaurant, 230 East 44 St. in Manhattan on Saturday, May 17^th. Indian Consul General Pramathesh Rath will be the chief guest. For information or reservation, contact GOPIO New York president Lal Motwani at 718-470-1026 or e-mail: gopio@optonline.net