It is my honor and privilege to serve as president of the Indo-American Cultural and Religious Foundation of Arizona.  As a community, we all come from different backgrounds, professions and religious beliefs, however, we all share one common trait... WE ALL ARE PROUD TO BE PART OF THE INDIAN COMMUNITY!  We take pride in our culture and rich heritage.  As president, I hope we can explore and experience these rich traditions together as a united Indian community. 

My goal and aspiration this year is to increase IACRF membership to an all time high. Over the past few years, my predecessors and previous boards have worked extremely hard to leave us with a strong membership base and growing community. I know that we can continue this trend and strengthen our organization even further.  To our members, I kindly ask that everyone bring a friend this year...just one family that is not a part of IACRF to become a member.  Not only will this ensure the longevity of our organization, but it will benefit each current and future member by fostering more friendships and creating larger personal and professional networks.

One of our primary goals should be to preserve our rich culture and traditions and I believe we can accomplish this by investing in our next generation.  I urge all parents to bring their children and participate in our cultural events.  Additionally, we need to form a youth committee and ask all parents to encourage their children to join IACRF youth committee.  The youth committee can focus on events more appealing to them, such as forming competitive sports teams or hosting youth only movie nights. By doing this, we can help their well-being while teaching about the importance of their history and background.  We can also help them to be leaders, not just in our community, but in all walks of life. 

The board of directors and board of trustees met last year to discuss the Indianization of Ekta Mandir.  I believe that the board will be moving forward with the project, and I look forward to sharing your input with the respective boards.  This will be a major undertaking and having our members input will result in a the better outcome for the project.  Our Ekta Mandir 2015-2016 calendar is full of exciting cultural and religious activities. I encourage the entire community to participate and make each event a huge success. 

I am excited to lead IACRF this year with the support of such a dedicated core of committee members, board of directors and board of trustees.  This truly is an organization that the more time and effort each member puts into it, the more they can get out it, while finding their contributions a rewarding experience.  I believe that with your help, we will achieve all our goals and take IACRF to a higher level.