Archive for INDO-US In The Community

Chambers to focus on new opportunities for local Asian Americans

November 6, 2007 at 8:39 pm · Filed under INDO-US In The Community, INDO-US Members In The Media

Enhancing the economic potential of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders will be the focus of an upcoming panel discussion.

The Asian American Chambers of Commerce of Tampa Bay will host the presentation on the report to the President from the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

The panelists include Joseph Melookaran, former commissioner of the President’s Advisory Commission on AAPIs and author of the report; Rudy Pamintuan, former chairman of the President’s Advisory Commission on AAPIs and chairman of the United States Asian Center; and Jimmy Lee, former executive director of the President’s Advisory Commission on AAPIs and managing director of the U.S. Asian Business Council.

The AACC is comprised of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Tampa Bay, Tampa’s Indo-US Chamber of Commerce, the Philippine American Chamber of Commerce, and other business professionals.

The event is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. on Nov. 14 at the Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore Hotel at 2225 N. Lois Ave. in Tampa.

More information is available online.

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Attorney General To Attend Diwali Nights on Oct. 27 In Tampa

October 27, 2007 at 8:54 pm · Filed under INDO-US In The Community, INDO-US Members In The Media

By AAKASH M. PATEL

The long-anticipated wait for the Diwali Nights fundraiser is nearing an end. The event, which kicks off the Kamla Project, is set for the evening of Oct. 27. The Kamla Project is a collaboration initiated between Voices for Children, and Rahul Mehra, a board-certified child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist who has been practicing in Tampa for the last 15 years. Voices for Children is a local organization that appoints a community volunteer to become the “voice” for a child in foster care. The Kamla Project is named in honor and remembrance of Mehra’s late mother, Kamla Kapur Mehra. “Her dedication, passion and love for children has been a lifelong inspiration for me,” said Mehra.The mission of the project is threefold. First, provide free one-time psychiatric evaluation services to foster children and foster parents. The specific goal of such evaluations is to significantly shorten the time for finalization of adoptions for the children. Second, the Kamla Project will provide training and resource to the Guardian ad Litem Program in Hillsborough County. Lastly, it looks to promote public awareness in partnership with Voices for Children for the special needs of children in foster care. The Diwali Nights fundraiser is set at 7 p.m. and is open to anyone. The honorary chairman is Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum. For information, visit http://www.kamlaproject.orgAakash M. Patel is secretary of the Indo-US Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee and has been a Khaas Baat contributor since 2005. He can be reached at Aakash.M.Patel@gmail.com

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Community Bank Filled With Indian Investors Opens In Downtown Tampa

October 14, 2007 at 7:21 pm · Filed under INDO-US In The Community, INDO-US Members In The Media

By AAKASH M. PATEL

 
 
NorthStar’s Personal Banker Vinita Mehra poses with Directors Paresh Patel, left, and Dr. Kiran C. Patel at the bank’s grand opening recently. Photo by Aakash Patel

Exactly one year after filing with the Florida Office of Financial Regulation to become an official bank, NorthStar Bank opened its doors to the Tampa Bay community. More than 400 people attended the grand opening celebration held recently at the company’s first office and headquarters inside the cylindrical Rivergate Tower in downtown. While NorthStar is among a dozen startup banks to open in the area since 2005, it is unique because of its ties to the Indian community. Philanthropist Dr. Kiran Patel is the company’s largest individual shareholder and Paresh Patel (no relation) is one of the main organizers of NorthStar. Both are among the 10 founding Board of Directors.”We wanted a community bank owned by local investors for Tampa Bay businesses,” said Paresh Patel in an interview with Khaas Baat. “Marty Traber (also a Board member) and I first discussed the idea in 2004 at an Indo-US Chamber of Commerce meeting (www.indo-us.org) Tampa Bay has a vibrant business community especially amongst Indians, yet we are just a number to the big banks. Why not instead bank somewhere where you are valued as a customer? After much discussion with other community leaders, we felt that time for our opening was now.”In keeping with the community owned spirit the bank has over 100 individual shareholders from in an around Tampa Bay with over 25 percent being Indians. Investors in the bank include a variety of professions such as pharmacists, engineers, doctors and businessmen. According to Patel, NorthStar’s goal is to provide financial services for small to mid-sized businesses and their owners, executives and employees, as well as consumers in general. Aakash M. Patel is secretary of the Indo-US Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee and has been a Khaas Baat contributor since 2005. He can be reached at Aakash.M.Patel@gmail.com

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New Pair To Lead EMERGE Tampa For Next Year

September 27, 2007 at 8:41 pm · Filed under INDO-US In The Community, INDO-US Members In The Media

The St. Petersburg Times

Emerge Tampa, the Chamber of Commerce’s young professionals branch launched in 2004 to spruce up Tampa’s sometimes unhip image, unveiled its third generation of leaders on Wednesday: Candace Cusseaux, an associate at Cushman & Wakefield, and Pradeep Vanguri, an instructor at the University of South Florida, will take the reins in January as Emerge co-chairs for 2008. Cusseaux, 26, a 2003 graduate of Florida State, works in commercial real estate and is involved with civic organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Tampa Organization of Black Affairs. Vanguri, 30, a member of the INDO-US Chamber of Commerce, is an assistant professor and program director in USF’s athletic training education program. He graduated in 1998 from East Carolina University, then earned a master’s at N.C. State and a doctorate in instructional technology from the University of Alabama. They will replace Mark Colvenbach, 34, and Nicole Levin, 27, who complete a two-year stint as co-chairs.

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Talk of the bay: New pair to lead Emerge Tampa for next year

September 26, 2007 at 8:45 pm · Filed under INDO-US In The Community, INDO-US Members In The Media

By Times Staff
Published September 27, 2007

Emerge Tampa, the Chamber of Commerce’s young professionals branch launched in 2004 to spruce up Tampa’s sometimes unhip image, unveiled its third generation of leaders on Wednesday: Candace Cusseaux, an associate at Cushman & Wakefield, and Pradeep Vanguri, an instructor at the University of South Florida, will take the reins in January as Emerge co-chairs for 2008. Cusseaux, 26, a 2003 graduate of Florida State, works in commercial real estate and is involved with civic organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Tampa Organization of Black Affairs. Vanguri, 30, a member of the INDO-US Chamber of Commerce, is an assistant professor and program director in USF’s athletic training education program. He graduated in 1998 from East Carolina University, then earned a master’s at N.C. State and a doctorate in instructional technology from the University of Alabama. They will replace Mark Colvenbach, 34, and Nicole Levin, 27, who complete a two-year stint as co-chairs.

Cypress Gardens sale in works

LandSouth Holdings LLC, a Mulberry real estate investment firm, is on the threshold of buying Cypress Gardens for $16.8-million. The firm, which reportedly is signing Cypress Gardens owner Kent Buescher to run the place, is the lone bidder in an auction for the Winter Haven park to raise cash to settle with creditors and help lift Buescher’s Adventure Parks Group LLC out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. A judge in Georgia is being asked to rule today on whether to hand the keys to Florida’s oldest theme park over to LandSouth and sell Buescher’s other park, Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Ga., for $34.5-million to Hershend Family Entertainment. Hershend owns several amusement parks including Silver Dollar City in Branson, Mo., and Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. A committee of unsecured creditors is fighting the sale. The creditors argue the proceeds are $76-million short of paying off the debts. An expert valued the parks at $101-million and Buescher’s links to the winning bidder had not been disclosed.

[Last modified September 26, 2007, 23:30:26]

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Congressman Bobby Jindal Comes To Florida

September 21, 2007 at 8:52 pm · Filed under INDO-US In The Community, INDO-US Members In The Media

By AAKASH M. PATEL

Louisiana gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal made a brief stop in St. Petersburg on Sept. 20, just one month before his election. Jindal, the only Indian-American in Congress, attended a fundraiser at the home of Dr. Akshay and Seema Desai in St. Petersburg. Also in attendance to give his endorsement was Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. Congressman Jindal is considered to be the front runner in the Louisiana governor’s race. Now 36 and making his second bid for the governorship, Jindal is hoping voters see him more as a hard-working team player. To date, Jindal’s overall campaign contributions total more than $10 million with $105,000 being raised at Desai’s fundraiser.“I know how he feels just one month before an election,” Gov. Crist told the audience in his introduction speech. “It’s tough, but Bobby, you will be the next Governor of Louisiana.”During Jindal’s remarks, he thanked all 75 attendees and spoke about his election. If he gets 50 percent of the vote on Oct. 20, he wins the election, but anything less and a runoff will take place Nov. 17. “Florida is Louisiana’s sister state, and we’ve dealt with a lot of the same issues.” “I’ve got a 100 point plan that will benefit the citizens of Louisiana,” said Jindal.

Those such as Desai who have watched Jindal’s career believe that his years in Congress could serve him well if he gets elected governor. “Bobby is a young, dynamic, intelligent person,” said Desai in an exclusive interview with Khaas Baat. “He is a problem-solver, believes in good governance, and his skill sets will benefit the citizens of Louisiana.” Desai serves as a member of the Florida Board of Education.

Aakash M. Patel is secretary of the Indo-US Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee and has been a Khaas Baat contributor since 2005. He can be reached at Aakash.M.Patel@gmail.com
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Indian-American Investors Clout Rising In Bay Area

July 26, 2007 at 10:00 am · Filed under INDO-US In The Community

By MICHAEL SASSO, The Tampa Tribune
Published: July 26, 2007

TAMPA – Indian-American businessmen from across Florida, including an East Coast hotelier, a Largo pharmaceutical executive and a Tampa mortgage broker, appear to be financially backing a Tampa company’s plan to build two Westin hotels, a W hotel and possibly even a Ritz-Carlton in the Bay area.

The company’s ambitious plans may be a sign of the increasing clout of the area’s Indian community, particularly in hotels and resorts. At least two other developers who are from India or of Indian descent are planning high-end hotels in Tampa’s Rocky Point area.

This week, news slipped out that Fuel Group International had purchased the former Best Western hotel on Tampa’s West Shore Boulevard, now called the Westshore Hotel. County property records show the purchase price as $17.4 million.

Meanwhile, the company’s Web site, at www.fuelgroupinternational.com, revealed a series of proposed hotel projects:

•Redeveloping the Westshore Hotel into a Westin hotel/office project.

•Building a high-end boutique W hotel near the Tampa Convention Center.

•Building a 22-story Westin hotel/condo building in downtown St. Petersburg.

•Building a W or Ritz-Carlton as part of the Kiran Grand Resort & Spa in Clearwater Beach, which is being developed by businessman and philanthropist Kiran Patel.

The company’s Web site shows that its entertainment arm owns two Fuel nightclubs in Ybor City and the Channel District. The company is controlled by J.S. Lalwani and his father, Jiwat Lalwani, a former energy industry executive in Nigeria who is on the board of the Indo-US Chamber of Commerce, a local Indian-American business group.

A Fuel Group official, Richard MacKizer, declined to say where the company is getting the millions it needs to pull off its ambitious plans.

However, Florida corporation records list several Indian-American businessmen who are partners in the companies that Fuel Group has created to invest in the hotels.

Among them are:

•Shubh Hotels. Led by Atul Bisaria, this Boca Raton-based hotel company owns four hotels across the country, including a Hilton hotel in Pittsburgh and a Doubletree Guest Suites in Boca Raton. It also manages five other hotels across the country, its Web site says. Bisaria did not return calls Wednesday.

•Jugal Taneja. A New Delhi immigrant, Taneja is chairman of a Largo company called GeoPharma that manufactures generic drugs and nutritional supplements. Federal securities filings show the company had revenue of about $60 million and profits of about $2.2 million in its 2007 fiscal year, which ended in March. However, Taneja said recent acquisitions may bring the company’s annual revenue up to $200 million within months.

Taneja said he has a 50 percent interest in the Westshore Westin hotel project, a 20 percent interest in the downtown St. Petersburg project and a 2.5 percent interest in the W hotel project in downtown Tampa.

Taneja said the real estate market is in a state of flux, and the company is taking its time in developing the hotel projects.

•Santosh Govindaraju. Chairman of the Indo-US Chamber, Govindaraju is head of a Tampa mortgage lending business called Paragon Capital Partners. Florida corporation records show that one of his affiliated companies is involved with the downtown Tampa W hotel project. He declined to comment Wednesday.

Across the country, hoteliers of Indian descent nearly dominate some sectors of the industry. Indians own 39 percent of midmarket hotels in America, according to the Asian American Hotel Owners Association.

Dilipkumar ‘Danny’ Patel is chairman of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association. Combined, its members control 24,000 hotels, Patel said. Indian-American hoteliers today control about 39 percent of the U.S. midmarket hotel industry, typified by Holiday Inn Express and Comfort Inn. They command 50 percent of the economy segment, typified by Travelodge and others, Patel said.

Most often, Indian-Americans enter the industry through small economy hotels and acquire higher-end hotels as they grow more successful, Patel said. Locally, hotel developer Dilip Kanji is planning a Westin hotel and condo project along the Courtney Campbell Causeway in Tampa. Meanwhile, Clearwater developer Sandip Patel is hoping to replace a Radisson hotel on Rocky Point with a Ritz-Carlton.

Reporter Michael Sasso can be reached at (813) 259-7865 or msasso@tampatrib.com.

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INDO-US 6th Annual Golf Invitational – Friday, July 27th, 2007 (The Eagles Golf Club)

July 1, 2007 at 11:00 am · Filed under INDO-US In The Community

INDO-US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
6th Annual Golf Invitational

Friday, July 27th, 2007

The Eagles Golf Club
16101 Nine Eagles Drive
Odessa, FL 33556Registration 11:30am | Lunch 12:00pm | Shotgun Start 1:30pm

$100 Entry Fee Includes: Green Fee & Cart, Lunch

Awards Dinner, Foursome Photo, On Course Beverages, Range Balls, Goody Bag and Much More


Format: Four-Player Scramble

Prizes will be awarded to the 1st and 2nd place team in 3 divisions from low handicaps to high handicaps along with longest drive and closest to the pin prizes. There will be seperate competitions also.

Form your own foursome, sponsor a foursome or be placed on a team.

Other Information:
In case of inclement weather on the day
of the event, contact The Eagles Golf Club at (813) 852-1323

Contact Tournament Coordinator:
Samant Sharma, call or e-mail for Registration & Sponsorship Information:
(727) 799-5615 or Samant_Sharma@ml.com

 INDO-US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 6th Annual Golf Invitational

Click here to fill out registration form.

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Free for all, Indo-U.S. Chamber sees 34 percent growth

June 9, 2007 at 4:52 am · Filed under INDO-US In The Community

Tampa Bay Business Journal – June 9, 2006
by Agustina Guerrero
Staff Writer

What does it take to grow a bi-national chamber in the Bay area?

Ask officials of the Indo-U.S. Chamber of Commerce and they will answer: young professional leaders.

Established six years ago, the Indo-U.S. Chamber saw its membership grow 34 percent in the last year alone, taking its total membership to 2,000. Unlike other chambers, its executive committee’s average age is only 33 years old.

Not only are they young, but they also are all professionals in senior levels of management, college graduates and from countries as different as India, the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Guyana, Jamaica, China, Kenya, and Trinidad and Tobago.

“Our common ground is that we are all Indian-Americans who happen to be business professionals in Tampa,” said Jill Isaac, media relations’ officer at the chamber. “We bring experience from diverse business areas.”

Vishal M. Mathani, VP of business development at interactive advertising firm iMarketer in Tampa, credits the chamber’s executive committee and president for the group’s success.

“Prash Pavagadhi is an excellent leader and has many of the same interests, goals and aspirations as the rest of the executive committee, which allows him to relate to all of us on many levels,” he said. “The time he has committed to the chamber blows all of us away.”

No one, not even Pavagadhi, receives a salary. “We are all volunteers,” said Rajeev Ratra, founder of outsourcing firm Arnima in Tampa.

The chamber also employs a business model that is different than every other chamber in Tampa Bay.

“It’s free to become a member,” said Pavagadhi. “Members receive a free monthly newsletter, it’s free to attend our monthly meetings, and we also provide free dinner at our meetings.”

Attending any of those meetings, geared to business development, education, and networking is “like attending a business seminar that covers topics such as leadership, team building, management, marketing and much more,” said Mathani.

So how does the chamber cover its expenses?

“Our expenses are covered by three major financial contributors: our board of directors, corporate sponsors and fund-raising events (like our annual golf tournament and our annual social),” said Pavagadhi.

And people don’t have to be of Indian origin to join. “Everybody is welcome,” he said.

Pavagadhi became a member two years ago because he didn’t feel that mainstream chambers of commerce were doing enough to support his professional needs.

“It almost seemed like they were competing with each other to get membership fees from professionals and beyond that they offered very little,” he said. “Because the membership is free with the Indo-U.S. Chamber, I felt that I had nothing to lose. When I attended the events, it became very clear that the ethos is directly focused on member needs rather than chamber needs.”

The businesses that participate in the Indo-U.S. Chamber have combined revenue that exceeds $1 billion. They employ more than 5,000 people in the Bay area, nationwide and abroad.

agguerrero@bizjournals.com | 813.342.2463

 priorityreception Kathleen Cabble
Members of the Indo-U.S. Chamber of Commerce meet. Sitting, Ravi Seepersad, Prash Pavagadhi, president of the chamber, Shiven Ramji, and Francis Vayalumkal and standing are Santosh Govindaraja, Samant Sharma and Rachana Dinkar.
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3 Florida Indian Physicians Awarded Ellis Island Medals of Honor

May 12, 2007 at 5:01 am · Filed under INDO-US In The Community

By AAKASH M. PATEL

Dr. Kiran C. Patel
Dr. Akshay Desai

Seven Indian Americans received the prestigious Ellis Island Medals of Honor on May 12 for 2007, up from five last year, reflecting and increase in influence of the community in mainstream America. Among the seven were Florida physicians Akshay Desai, Kiran C. Patel, both of the Tampa Bay area, and Mammen Zachariah in South Florida. All three were presented the award at a ceremony for 100 recipients in New York.

The award was established by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO) in 1986 to pay tribute to U.S. citizens who have made important civic, artistic, scientific and commercial contributions to America. Four U.S. presidents, several senators, congressman and Nobel Prize winners are among the remarkable group of past recipients. The Ellis Island Medals of Honor are sanctioned by the U.S. Congress and recipients’ names are listed in the Congressional Record.

A St. Petersburg-based physician and entrepreneur, Desai is founder and CEO of Universal Health Care Inc. He serves on the state’s Board of Education and is a member of the Indo-US Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.

Dr. Kiran C. Patel
Dr. Kiran C. Patel

A Tampa-based physician and philanthropist, Patel is chairman of the nonprofit Dr. Kiran C. Patel Foundation for Global Understanding that develops and funds a wide variety of programs in health, education, arts and culture. He serves on the board of trustees of the University of South Florida and is a member of the Indo-US Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.

Dr. Mammen Zachariah
Dr. Mammen Zachariah

A Fort Lauderdale-based physician, Zachariah is a cardiologist at Holy Cross Hospital. The hospital’s Zachariah Family Wellness Pavilion promotes heart-disease prevention. In 2004, then Florida Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Zachariah to the Florida Board of Medicine, a position in which he serves today.

“2007 marks another great year for achievement in many fields by a diverse group of individuals,” NECO co-chairman Nasser Kazeminy said. “NECO is proud to honor those who make a difference in all of our lives, and who embody those core human values which we as Americans cherish.”

For Zachariah and Patel, the Ellis Island Medals of Honor award seems to run in the family. Zach Zachariah, the brother of Dr. Mammen and also a Fort Lauderdale cardiologist, received the award in 2004. Dinesh Patel, the brother of Dr. Kiran and a founding managing director of vSpring Capital in Utah, received the award last year.

The other Indian Americans included in the list were: Kirti Desai of New Jersey, president of a construction company; Jacob Eapen, a pediatrician from California; Smita Shah of Illinois, president of an engineering and construction management firm; and Daniel Thomas, a periodontal specialist from Kansas.

Aakash M. Patel is secretary of the Indo-US Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee and can be reached at 813-936-5100 or Apatel@bankonparagon.com

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