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Minutes of the
Thirteenth Annual Meeting
of the Association of Sikh Professionals
Oakbrook
Community Center, Chicago, IL
June 20-21, 1997
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1. The meeting began at 9:15
am. The minutes of the previous meeting were reviewed. A motion was
made by Mr. Guljit Singh seconded by Dr. Pavitar Singh and the
minutes were approved without further discussion.
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2. The
President then spoke of the need to participate in the 300th
Birthday anniversary of the Khalsa coming in 1999. He also
urged members to project their own enthusiasm so that we
could attract other members. Our meeting in Nankana Sahib is
still being planned and this would be a good vehicle to
invoke interest in other prospective members. This trip is
being planned for December '98 through January of 1999
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3. Treasurer’s
Report
The Treasurer presented the accounts as of December 31, 1996
and also our Budget for last year and explained the
variances. The total spent last year was $18,150.54
(including the grant to the SEAF). Although we had received
funds for the Akal Academy, these have not been disbursed
yet and this will be done after further discussion. Our
balances are healthy and are as follows:
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Total
balance at end of December 1996
Balance (Sikh Education Aid Fund)
Balance (Health Care Fund) |
$248,787.62
$84,941.58
$16,244.64 |
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Members who paid dues in 1996
were:
Dr. Harinderjit Singh, Dr. AS Marwah, Dr. TS Grewal, Dr. Daljit S
Caberwal, Dr. RS Kukreja, Guljit Singh, Gurpal S Bhuller, Dr.
Pavitar Singh, Dr. JB Singh, Dr. CS Anand, Dr. CS Thethi, Dr. CS Rao,
Dr. Daljeet Singh and Sukhi Ghumann
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IV. Akal Academy
At our meeting last year some members had pledged $20,000 to be paid
out over three years. The money was to help the Akal Academy school
in Muktsar, Punjab. These pledges were:
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Dr.
Sidhu
Dr. JB Singh
Dr. GS Kanwal
Dr. GS Bhuller
Sukhi Ghumann
Dr. Marwah
Dr. JS Soin
Dr. Harinderjit Singh
TOTAL
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$5000
$1500
$3000
$3000
$1500
$3000
$1500
$2000
$20,500 |
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So far $9,000 has been
collected (including $5,000 from Dr. BS Sidhu) but it has not been
turned over to the Akal Academy. We had requested that ASP be
acknowledged in the form of a plaque and Dr. Sidhu had wished that
the Akal Academy acknowledge his grant in memory of his grandfather.
The Akal Academy, as a matter of policy, does not do that, although
they will acknowledge our grant in their brochures and other
publicity material. The consensus of the meeting was that:
(a) Dr. Sidhu's wishes would be respected and the money would not be
turned over to Akal Academy if they did not agree to his wishes. He
would be asked to nominate or select some other project where his
funds could be utilized
(b) The balance of the funds collected would be turned over to the
Akal Academy but only after a site - visit by Rani Pavitar Singh.
She would make a recommendation to the BOT after her visit there and
(c) In the meantime, those members who had not contributed their
pledges were urged to do so.
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5. Maboli Inc.
The report of S. Jasbir Singh regarding Maboli Inc. & Khalsanet
was noted with satisfaction. The web-page work had been done but
questions were raised as to why it had taken so long to design and
establish it. They were assured this would be essentially complete
within the next few weeks (Payment for web-page services was to come
from the Dalbir Singh Memorial Trust). The meeting then considered a
request from Maboli Inc. for funds to purchase additional computer
hardware (a Power Mac 9600 for video editing). The meeting voted to
authorize a grant to Maboli of $4100 to purchase the computer.
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6. Eye Hospital in Sohana
Dr. Harinderjit Singh reviewed the progress of this Hospital in the
last year. They are now seeing about 300 patients daily and doing
14-15 operative cases. There is a junior ophthalmologist on staff
now and talks to hire a senior ophthalmologist are ongoing. One
ophthalmologist has been brought over to USA for a visit to
familiarize him with new instruments and techniques. The present fee
structure is Rs.10 per out patient visit and Rs.1500 for a cataract
extraction with implant. This provides only for about 50% of its
annual operating budget and no money for capital expenses. A
separate fee-for-service scheme has been introduced recently with
Rs.100 per outpatient visit and Rs.6500 per cataract surgery.
A new facility is now being planned; this will cost about
RS.70,000,000 and will only begin after RS.10,000,000 have been
raised locally. A new Excimer laser is being obtained for corneal
shaping for myopia. Other members congratulated Dr. Harinderjit
Singh and made observations of their visits there. He confirmed that
they are addressing several problem areas and are also working on an
Eye Bank to being corneal transplantation.
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7. 1999 celebrations
Mr. Balwant S. Hansra from Chicago then spoke at the meeting and
presented the list of projects that were being planned for the 1999
300th Anniversary of the Khalsa. These projects were identified at a
meeting of representatives called at Chicago on May 3, 1999. Among the
projects were:
1. A proposed march in Washington, DC of 100,000 Sikhs or more on
April 13, 1997
2. Encourage Sikhs to hold similar marches in all capitals
3. Promote and make a video on Sikhism
4. Create scholarships
5. Promote an essay competition
6. Explore the establishment of a residential Sikh school
7. Promote donation of blood in 1999 as our "gift to the
world"
These and other projects were reviewed. The sense of the meeting was
that we would continue with our SEAF (for scholarships) and the Junior
Achievement Prize (for essays).
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8. Museum Project
A proposal from Dr. Kapany was then considered. The Victoria &
Albert museum in London will be holding an exhibition on Sikh Art
starting on April 13,1999. This will be opened by Her majesty Queen
Elizabeth. It is proposed to bring the exhibit (consisting of about
300 objects) to the Smithsonian museum here in Washington for a period
of about three months and then have it travel to San Francisco for
three months.
Such an exhibition would have a positive impact on the Sikh community
here. The cost would probably be in excess of $300,000. It is
anticipated that the community would be asked to fund up to $100,000
of this amount. All of these expenses would only be used for the
Washington DC exhibit and the San Francisco exhibit would be funded
separately - probably by the Sikh Foundation.
The ASP was asked to fund part of the $100,000. The rest would
hopefully come from private donors, Gurdwaras, and other
organizations.
A sum of $10,000 was authorized for this project pending a letter from
the Smithsonian confirming that such an exhibit would take place and
that the funds would be spent only on the Sikh exhibit.
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9. School of Optometry in
Puniab
Dr. Harinderjit Singh and Dr. Kapany then spoke about the proposed
school of optometry in Punjab. There is only one school of optometry
functioning in India at present and that is in Madras. A second school
in Punjab would serve all of North India. Dr. Enoch who helped with
the Madras School is willing to help in setting up the school in
Punjab. It was proposed that this would be located at the present Guru
Harkrishan Eye Hospital in Sohana. They would be responsible for the
buildings equipment would come from India and abroad; technical
expertise would mainly come from here.
The meeting endorsed this concept and authorized Dr. Harinderjit Singh
and Dr. Kapany to pursue this further.
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10. Sikh Education Aid Fund
The report of the SEAF for 1996 was presented to the ASP. This Fund
received a grant from ASP of $7500 and collected further funds from
the public. A total of $18,500 was given out in scholarship to 20
students. The names of the recipients were presented to the meeting.
Since there is no regular newspaper for the community now, the Fund
will post its Annual report and future announcements on the web and
the report was approved.
The meeting voted to grant a further $7500 to the Fund for 1997.
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11. FATEH
Kulmeet Singh, a Sikh youth who works in the consulting field then
made a presentation to the group about his plans of encouraging
young Sikhs to work in Punjab for 6-12 months on the model of the
Peace Corps. He had recently spent four months in Punjab with
another associate. They had identified an urgent need for this type
of activity and requested funding for this venture. This had been
tentatively labeled as FATEH: (Fellowship of Activists To Embrace
Humanity). Those involved would give up their jobs/positions and
move to Punjab. They would receive only living expenses and board
lodging. They presented a budget which would fund their travel to
Punjab, repayments of loan obligations of those students who would
be working in Punjab, living expenses, and costs involved in running
their projects. They would work with the Institute of.Sikh Studies
and newly formed orphanage "Gurasra."
At the budget session, the meeting voted to allocate $10,000 to this
request.
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12. Ethnic Retirement
Community
Dr. Harinderjit Singh outliner a proposal for a retirement community
to care for elderly. A Consensus agreed that such a facility was
needed particularly for special needs of the Sikh community. The
choices are:
a. a sub-division where Sikhs live
b. a retirement community
c. assisted-living facility
d. a traditional nursing home
The costs a present in an assisted-living or retirement community in
the Augusta, GA area are about $1800 per month for a one-bedroom
unit. The meeting felt that such a concept needs to be developed
further. Dr. Harinderjit Singh was delegated to do this. The four
issues that his project will address are fellowship, food, language,
and spirituality.
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13. Hem-Kund Foundation
The activities of this group were reviewed be Dr. Simrata Singh. ASP
has helped them in the past with grants and prizes. They run an
essay / speech competition yearly. No further funds have been
requested ans ASP will continue to support their efforts.
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14. Support for Sikh Youth
At last year’s meeting Dr. S.S. Sibia had been entrusted to develop
guidelines to help Sikh youngsters attend camps when they were not
able to do so for financial reasons. The program he has come up with
was presented. This would be in the form of an application requesting
aide. The forms would be distributed to camp directors who would then
forward it to us with their recommendation. A two member committee of
Dr. Sibia and Dr. G.S Bhuller was formed to begin this venture.
At the budget meeting, $2000 was allocated for camp aide for 1997.
Further donations from individuals would also be solicited for
contributions. Dr. Sibia also informed the group of other projects
being run by Youth groups including Letter campaigns and support for
Hem Kunf Foundation.
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15. Invited presentation
The meeting then listened to a very thoughtful speech by Dr.
Ratanjit Sondhe from Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Sondhe is the CEO of
Polycarb Inc. He congratulated the ASP on their activities and
discussed his vision of "Sikhi.". Dr. Sondhe had two ideas
for BASE (Business Association of Sikh Entrepreneurs) and SEWA (Sikh
Entrepreneurial Venture Associates). These were to be run according
to Gurbani principles just as he runs his present business. A
handout on the "Philosophy of Quality" was also
distributed. The meeting was appreciative of Dr. Sondhe’s remarks
and invited him to join the ASP and offered to help him in his
projects. Dr. Sondhe was invited to stay for the rest of the meeting
and participate in our deliberations.
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16. Activities on the West Coast
Mr. Kuldeep S. Sethi from San Francisco then spoke on the
activities taking place in the California area. He covered three
projects:
a. The teaching of Punjabi at U.C Berkeley. This has been put in
place with the help of the local Sikh community in the Bay area, the
Punjabi cultural society, the Sikh Foundation and the Sikh Students
Association. Dr. Atamjit Singh from Punjab has been on the faculty
there and this project appears to be running well although further
funds are needed.
b. Chathdikala is a Sikh Youth & Community Center that was started
in San Francisco to create a place where Sikh youth could meet on a
regular basis to form links. They have a computer center; classes on
the Net, Gurbani in English, and youth programs for picnics, for
hiking, and for Sewa. The plan is for this to expand into a
Community Center that would be self-sustaining and generate its own
funds. Most od the support present has come from Dr. InderMohan
Singh of Lynx Software.
c) Gurbani on CD-ROM is a project that has now grown from its
initial limited utility to a sophisticated project with four
different types of CD;s having varying accessibility and graphical
interface. This is likely to grow further as technology alloes
more data to be stored on discs.
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17. Mr. Ravi Singh
Ravi (the son of Rani and Singh)an aspiring politician then spoke to
the group and solicites their support. He is at present working with
the Treasurer of the state of Illinois and has previously worked with
the Lt. Governor. Ravi went on to explain his relationship with the
Republican party and a window of opportunity that he sees arising. An
elected state representative is on the verge of retiring and he is
working to get a nomination to that seat. Although the election to
the State Legislature is in March 1998, Ravi felt that there was a
possibility of him being nominated to that post if the incumbent
resigned. Even if the resignation did not materialized, he wanted to
stand for election in March of 1998 as the Republican candidate if he
could secure the party’s nomination. He asked the members to spread
the word and to help him in his endeavors.
If successful, he would be the first elected Indian Representative in
the USA and alsothe first Sikh.
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18. Dr. Harinderjit Singh
then presented a new slate of officers for the next two years. They
were:
President: Guljit Singh
Secretary: Dr. G.S. Bhuller
Treasurer: Javinderbir Kaur
Members at large: Sukhi Ghumann and Dr. A. S. Marwah
The slate was accepted by acclamation.
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19. Hosital Project
Dr. A. S. Marwah, on behalf of the Atlantis Corporation, then spoke
about the Hospital Project in Punjab. Although no land has been
obtained yet, they have been working diligently and have had several
meetings with the Punjab Government. Dr. Marwah felt that they would
be no involvement of the Government after the land had been
acquired. The project, when it matures, will be a for-profit
hospital starting out with cardiology and Diagnostic Imaging
service. It will be located near Chandigarh and hopefully will grow
into a full-fledged hospital in the future.
(Although the ASP is not involved in this project at present, we had
initiated it and continue to monitor for possible participation at a
later date.)
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20. Future Membership
Dr. Soin spoke about the nees to increase our membership further.
The idea is advertising was discussed. But members felt that it was
preferable to continue in our present manner, recruiting members on
a "word of mouth" basis. The group did suggest that our
activities be publicized further through Print media and also on the
web. Two papers that were mentioned are Asia-on-line and LA India.
It was felt that the Sikh Heritage Award should be re-instituted
next year. Mr. Ghumann felt that having a few committed people was
better than having too many and trying to comply with all their
wishes.
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21. Junior Achievement Prize
There was no action taken in this category last year. We will shift
this to the Net and solicit contributions by E-mail. Funding will
remain the same.
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22. Budget Session The
following is the budget approval for 1997-98:
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SEAF:
Administration:
Brochure (full color):
Museum Project:
Sikh Youth Project with
Kulmeet Singh:
Travel Expenses for
Children to camps:
Junior Achievement Prize:
Khalsa Net:
TOTAL
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$7500
$2500
$2400
$10,000
$10,000
$2,000
$500
$4100
$39,100 |
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23. Next Meeting
Tentatively scheduled for the third week of June 1998 in Los
Angeles.
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24. Visit to Nankana Sahib
This was tentatively set for Dec. 98/Jan 1999. No final arrangements
have been made pending expressions of interest from the other
members. Mr. Guljit Singh, the President will coordinate this.
Meeting Adjourned at 1:00 P.M. on the 21st of June, 1997.
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