ICCC’s 2010 Annual Awards & Gala Night

Keynote Speaker Dr. Indira V Samarasekera, Chief Guest Phil Fontaine & ICCC President Asha Luthra at the Annual Gala

A host of dignitaries from a cross-section of the Canadian business and social life cheered a dozen Indo-Canadians who were recipients of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce’s awards at the Chamber’s 2010 Annual Awards & Gala Night on June 12.

Phil Fontaine, the former Chief of the First Nations Assembly was the chief guest at the event and Indira V. Samarasekera, President and Vice Chancellor of University of Alberta was the keynote speaker at a dazzling, star-studded event that saw participation from the who’s who of the Indo-Canadian Diaspora in Canada.

S. M. Gavai, High Commissioner of India in Ottawa; Vim Kochar, the first Indo-Canadian to be nominated to the Senate of Canada; Deepak Obhrai, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Foreign Affairs; Preeti Saran, Consul General of India in Toronto; several members of parliament and the provincial parliament attended the ICCC’s gala at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

The 12 Indo-Canadians honoured that evening are:

	Hon. Baljit Chadha, PC:	Lifetime / Outstanding Achievement
	Dr. Gagan Bhalla:	Humanitarian of the Year
	Hon. Harinder Takhar:	President’s Award
	Guru Gobind Singh Children’s Foundation:	Young Achievers
	Dr. Harinder Ahluwalia:	Technology Achievement
	Zabeen Hirji:	Corporate Executive of the Year
	Anita Gupta:	Female Entrepreneur of the Year
	Shirish Chotalia:	Professional Female of the Year
	Pyarali Nanji:	Male Entrepreneur of the Year
	Dr. Prabhat Jha:	Professional Male of the Year
	Harjit S. Kalsi & Satish Thakkar:	Jointly, Member of the year

The theme this year was Exploring Possibilities, Achieving Heights. Emmy Award winner news anchor and reporter Ravi Baichwal was the master of ceremonies for this premier social and business event that hosted more than a thousand elite of Canada including Federal and provincial leaders, leading business entrepreneurs, professionals and others. The evening was interspersed with entertainment skits by Toronto Tabla Ensemble and Shiamak Davar’s Dance Troupe along with Zameer Rizvi’s musical mélange.