The Boston Chapter of the Network of South Asian Professionals (NetSAP-Boston) held its annual holiday gala celebration and Executive Board Election at Tantric India Bistro in the heart of Boston's Downtown on Saturday, December 13th. The event featuring a delicious Indian buffet, standup comedy by Corey Manning, music by DJ OM and an awards ceremony was attended by over 106 people.

As people decked up in their best formals and Indian ethnic wear mingled and networked with each other, Corey Manning performed Standup Comedy to entertain the audience. This was followed by dinner and an awards ceremony where NetSAP Boston recognized all their Board members and volunteers for their leadership, most of whom played dual roles in 2008 helping organize the regular local NetSAP events in addition to the National Conference.

The Awards were followed by DJ OM who entertained the audience with some lively dance music.

NetSAP Boston had many achievements in 2008 and the gala marked the culmination of a much successful year. The organization hosted the best NetIP National Conference ever in the recent history. NetSAP also increased its membership by over 51%, organized over 30 events and also increased its financial status by 115% year over year. The Alliance partner program at NetSAP Boston also grew a lot in 2008. NetSAP Boston supported 7 charities by raising over $3,500, members donated their time to 5 soup kitchens locally, and more importantly NetSAP Boston was able to create awareness about different causes among their membership and encouraged them to give back to the community. The partnerships that NetSAP builds allows it to give more value and a wide choice of events to members in areas such as professional development & networking, political awareness, community service and socio-cultural awareness.

The new Executive Board is looking forward to continuing the traditions and chapter legacy of NetSAP Boston as one of the premier professional networking organizations in the New England area. This year, the Board brings in many new faces into the team along with a few experienced officers from the past.

Comments Yash Chitre, Former President of NetSAP Boston and Advisor about new faces on the Board - "I have always found, that the key to NetSAP’s success and the reason why it is so popular and brings in big numbers for events is because of the fact that the board turns over every few years completely. The organization encourages new energy and expansion. Other organizations have lifetime executives that do indeed provide good strategic direction—but it gets old and boring very quick. The whole reason new board members get involved is because they can play a responsible role right out of the gate without creative limitation. They also have a chance to mold the organization and meet other like minded people such as themselves. That’s exciting!"

The group's 2009 officers include: Pallavi Chhabra, President; Chaitali Thakar, Vice President; Swarupa Purandare, Treasurer; Gayathri Arumugham, Secretary; Kunal Mishra, National Liaison; Sanjay Tamhane & Sonia Rai, Membership Chairs; Manoshi Vin & Harish Gulati as Social Chairs; Sonit Seth & Kalyan Bemalkhedkar as Professional Chairs; Rishi Popat & Michael Dwan Singh as Cultural/Theatrics Chairs; Saru Mahajan, Community Service Chair; Rashi Mittal as Sponsorship Chair and Shiva Pattamadai, Website Director.

Outgoing President Tushneem Dharmagadda will continue to serve on the Advisory Board for the organization along with Past Presidents Nishith Acharya, Yash Chitre and Kas Sharma. The creation of a more formal Advisory structure in 2009 intends to help the Executive Board to continue the enormous growth that the organization achieved in the past 4 years. Other longtime Board members such as Usha Govindarajulu, Theatrics Chair (2005 - 2008), Vijay Daryanani, Treasurer & Social Chair (2000 - 2008) and Sheila Rajan, Secretary (2006 - 2008) also intend to help the Board in advisory roles.

President for last 2 years, Tushneem Dharmagadda said, "Serving NetSAP Boston for the last 5 years in various capacities has been a great experience. During my leadership roles NetSAP Boston has grown at an amazing pace. We introduced several unique events catering to Theater, Cultural Awareness, Social and Professional Networking. We were also voted as the Best Chapter 3 times in a row. NetSAP commands respect today and every organization in New England looks upto us including other NetIP chapters. Today, NetSAP Boston is also very strong financially than it ever was in its entire history, thus being in position to support smaller non-profits and charities. I wish the new team luck in carrying this forward and growing the organization further."

Incoming President, Pallavi Chhabra who most recently served as the Vice President of NetSAP Boston remarked "I am excited to lead NetSAP in 2009. It is definitely challenging because of where the organization is today. We need to perform much better and live up to the high expectations of our members that we set in the prior years. I am looking forward to everyone's support next year."

Holiday Gala set the trend for a successful year ahead for NetSAP Boston. The party and socializing continued till late in the night. For more pictures from the event which will be posted soon, visit the NetSAP-Boston website. Promotions for 2009 membership are open and NetSAP encourages people to take advantage of it.

About NetSAP Boston: The Network of South Asian professionals of Boston (NetSAP Boston),which is the leading chapter of NetIP, includes professionals from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and other regions of South Asia. NetSAP is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to serving the professional, political, cultural and civic needs of the South Asian community in the Greater Boston and New England area. NetSAP Boston promotes diversity that is unrivaled by most organizations. For three consecutive years (including 2008), NetSAP Boston has been awarded the "Best Large Chapter Award" by NetIP North America in recognition for its outstanding initiatives.

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