ICCNY Networking Dinner - September 26, 2007

Garden City NY - More than 100 ICCNY members gathered at Akbar Restaurant convention facilities for business networking, to hear prominent local speakers and for a traditional Indian cuisine dinner, at the monthly meeting of the Indian Chamber of Commerce of New York.  Photos by Joseph T. Conway.

The event for the Indian Chamber of Commerce of NY kicked off the autumn quarter, bringing together business owners, professionals and administrators from nonprofit organizations for high energy networking.  Representation from the New York metro area added to the event, across counties and community borders:  Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

For Daniel Herzka, President/CEO of ColorPre Promotions in Mineola, the event was a vibrant and pleasant surprise.  "I am so glad I was invited to this event - the speakers were excellent and I met several new promising business contacts."

The event was organized by Sumeet Sondhi, President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce of NY.
"The monthly events we hold, like this networking dinner, create synergy in the business and professional communities.  We do business better when we work together.  Our larger holiday parties give us, the business community, an opportunity to celebrate our successes and our holidays, and to enjoy socializing.  We always make sure a delicious lunch or dinner is served."

Past president of the ICCNY, Billy Singh, introduced the Hon.Andrew M. Engel, District Court Judge of Nassau County, Second District as the evening's first speaker.  Remarking that since Judge Engel's last speaking engagement for an ICCNYevent, Judge Engel was subsequently elected for a term 2007 - 2012, Mr. Singh went on to welcome Judge Engel back to the chamber and his many supporters.

Judge Engel spoke on the complexities of the New York Unified Court System and plans for its simplication. 

From Town & Village courts up to the New York State Supreme Court, Judge Engel detailed the advantages of courts separations, but also the inefficiencies and fiscal waste that is unavoidable with a splintered system of individual court jurisdictions, rosters, and calendars. 

His positive approach gives NYS residents as much hope as is feasible to long-standing goals for court system reform, both within and outside the NYS judicial system.

Judge Engel opened the floor to field questions from the interested ICCNY members.  Besides the lively exchange that followed, congratulations and appreciation were expressed for Judge Engel's placing his depth of experience at the service of the membership.

Sumeet Sondhi, President of the ICCNY, introduced chamber member Daniel O'Connor as webmaster of the ICCNY, and the second speaker.  His topic, "Demystifying the Internet for Business", rang true to the membership of varied backgrounds in business and as professionals.

Generating a few smiles in the audience, Mr. O'Connor defined computer systems in whimsical terms and went on to compare search engine optimization to labeled vs. unlabeled file folders - but on a scale as vast as multiple sports stadiums filled with manila files. 
 
"Our mission at GreatWebsitesNow.com is to make the internet serve the business owner, professional or not for profit administrator - not the other way around..." stated Mr. O'Connor.

Akbar Restaurant's catering facilities provided a sumtuous meal after an open bar, including Bhindi Masala (stirfried Okra in mild North Indian herbs and spices), Tandoori Oven Chicken, Jeera Aloo, Palak Paneer, Fresh Roti breads and many more favorites.

Indian Chamber of Commerce of New York meetings and events are scheduled monthly at popular venues in the NYC metro area.  As events are scheduled, details are posted on the home page of the website, www.TheICCNY.org

If you are interested in hosting an ICCNY event please contact the president of the ICCNY, Sumeet Sondhi, at president@theiccny.org