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Three people honored at the Asian American Heritage Dinner

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The Asian American Republican Committee hosted the 28th Asian American Heritage Dinner, attended by several members of the community and Republican Party leaders, at the Royal Palace in White Plains, New York.

The event endorsed the candidacy of Donald Trump for President.

Three people were honored for their services to the community and party. Dr. Nagai Rajendran, chief of urology at St John’s Riverdale Hospital in Yonkers, was given the Person of the Year award, while Raj Singh, partner of wireless outlet ICON, received the Entrepreneur of the Year award. Barbara Tubiolo, executive director of Westchester County GOP was also honored with a special recognition.

Harry Singh, chairman of AARC, welcomed the gathering. Dr. Precilla Parameswaran, founder of the organization, said more and more Asians are embracing the Republican party and leaving the Democrats. Trump will win the presidency and the Indian community would support him, she said.

Rob Astorino, Westchester County Executive, asserted that there was a need to bring a Republican government to Albany. He also suggested a need to implement term limits for holding elected positions. He said that people may remain in the same position for decades creating room for corruption.

He said the county administration is run like a business, thus cutting expenses and staff. This benefited the community since the administration functioned without increasing taxes. He also thanked the Indian community for giving him its unstinting support.

Ed Day, Rockland county executive, described the many contributions of the Asian community, asserting that they were patriots who consider America first. He also asked the community to get involved in politics since the country needs good leaders.

In his keynote speech, Edward F. Cox, chairman of the New York State Republican Committee, said the GOP is in a winning streak. The party will win the presidency and will control both houses of the Congress, he said, also pointing out the important role played by New York in the Republican Primary, where Trump beat two other competitors and won 60 percent of the votes, with his subsequent win in Indiana assuring him the candidacy.

The mood of the whole country is for the GOP. In 2017, the party will defeat Mayor diBlasio of New York City and in 2018, it will defeat New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, he said.

He also noted that the values of the party are the same as that most Asians follow. Asians believe in family, education, financial discipline and small government like the GOP. These values are important for the progress of the country and will benefit all Americans, he said.

Dr. Nagai Rajendran said his own family was the foundation of all his success. He said he married his American wife 41 years ago in Chennai in a Hindu wedding ceremony.

The event was coordinated by AARC leaders, including Ven Parameswaran, (vice chair) John Issac (secretary), Sunny Chacko (treasurer) and Thomas Koshy (dinner chair).