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Dr. Sippi Khurana, Andy Cerota KPRC Channel 2 Anchor and LCA Houston International Society News Editor and TV Host/ Founder of the International Mothers Day Soiree Ruchi Mukherjee |
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| Rita Garcia and Award Presenter Rohit Vyas he is the Senior News Director of TV Asia and the face of Indian American North American television. |
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| Rekha Muddaraj KHOU Anchor was one of our honoree this year. She walked the ramp with her two daughter Laxmi 5 and Lara 2. |
KPRC’s Andy Cerota and Dr. Sippi Khurana served as the evening’s co-emcees. They introduced special guest, New York based TV Anchor Rohit Vyas who presented awards to the Honorees. Rohit Vyas is the longest serving Indian-American journalist in the US with 40 years of experience covering the entire gamut of international affairs, US politics, US-India relations, the infancy and growth of the Indian American community, and more. He serves as Senior Vice President, News Director, and English News Anchor for TV ASIA, and is a member of the United Nations Correspondents Association.
The night's honorees were some of Houston's most philanthropic wonder moms, often holding down full-time careers and society positions. all while raising kids and maintaining households. Each year the Soirée chooses a new set of women to honor, and to walk the ramp with their kids. This year's picks included:Merele Yarborough, Dr. Monira Kundi, Toni Tate, Denise O'Brian, Ishwaria Mohan Subbiah, Shabnam Shaikh, Jill Shull, Carrie Brandsberg Dahl, Brigitte Kalai, Jane Seam, Rekha Muddaraj and showstopper Y. Ping Sun.
LCA Houston also presented few special awards this year in celebration of their fifth year. Media Appreciation Awards were presented to Rita Garcia of FOX 26 and Clifford Pugh of Culturemap and special elite sponsors: Howard Tate, Rob Todd of Amplifies Solutions, Teresa Reading and Bashar Kalai of Amerapex Corporation.
Immediately after the Honorees walked the ramp, a very special surprise announcement stunned the crowd and the Host herself. Co-chair Shawntell McWilliams presented Ms Mukherjee with a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from US Congressman Al Green honoring her, and LCA Houston, for Outstanding Service to the Community. Ruchi, a seasoned international journalist, has dedicated her career to social causes concerning women and the underprivileged.
LCA Houston’s Founder, and the event’s host, Ruchi Mukherjee focused on a Bollywood theme for this year’s Soirée. The Asia Society was adorned with Indian elements including an auto-rickshaw photo space and a wall size image of the streets of Mumbai. Guests were treated to Indian street foods and a Bollywood-inspired dance by the Sunrise International Dance Company. Sari-clad models, a live henna station, spinach and feta samosas were a few of the things that filled the upstairs lobby of Asia Society for the perfect Indian-inspired evening. Kiran's Restaurant, Raja Sweets, Ginn’s Gourmet, and Radio Milano were the food and drink sponsors for the evening and kept guests full with a number of East-meets-West concoctions. Every guest in attendance came dressed to impress, many even sported their finest Indian regality while others came in stylish cocktail attire.
Since it first began in 2013, the International Mother's Day Soirée has become a staple of the Houston society event scene. Decked in the finest Bollywood looks were: Staci and Quan Henderson, Sobi Qazi, Ella Markovsky, Kanchan Singh, Logan Lester, Rebecca Brinkley, Sameera Faridi and Anas Ahmad, Farida Abjani, Dr. Vanitha Pothuri, Dinah Lin, Keith and Shawntell McWilliams, Mehrnaz Gill, Donatella Bendkenstein, Mika Rao, Robert Tijerina, Rita Garcia, Janine Iannaelli, Mario Gudmundsson, Maha Rasheed Khan, Yasmine Haddad, Sharron Melton, Shaila Patel, Anika Jackson, Michael Pearce, Melissa Rascon.
(This post was taken from a release sent to me by LCA Houston)
