BY MAHADEV DESAI

AAACSA held its inaugural session at the Indian Professional Network (IPN) Atlanta Meeting sponsored jointly by Diplomat Companies and AACSA at the Impact Conference Center, Global Mall, Atlanta on Thursday, August 25. The President of AACSA and social activist, Upendra Patel welcomed all in the packed hall and thanked the Guest Speaker, Attorney General, Georgia, Mr. Thurbert Baker for gracing the event with his presence. He further recognized dignitaries including the former India Parliament, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Parliamentary Affairs Bhavna Chikhaliya, Hon. Consul for India in the US, , Kenneth Cutshaw, President, Atlanta Retail Association, Board Director, American United Bank, attorney Chandler Sharma; President Kadwa Patidar Samaj, Kantibhai Patel and representatives of various other organizations. He said that AACSA was long overdue but its formation had been thought of long time back by former President of Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA), Mike Patel. AACSA was formed to present a united front for collective bargaining and to redress member’s problems. The object was not to compete with other similar associations or to intimidate the system but rather to educate its members as has so admirably been done by AAHOA. He quoted from Vedas “Anywhere we are repressed or suppressed, we will fight till the end.” He however, reassured Mr. Baker that AACSA intends to work with the Government to make Georgia a better place to live and work in.

Mike Patel said that it is fitting that an eminent person like the Attorney General Thurbert Baker is present at the inaugural session of AACSA. He complimented AACSA Chairman Kenny Patel, Vice-Chairman Dilip Patel and Secretary Harshad Patel for assuming the responsible posts in AACSA and wished them well. He recounted the growth of AAHOA since it was founded twelve years ago. As the mainstream American community is not familiar with the culture, traditions and language of the new entrants into hotel industry, the latter were subjected to discrimination and unfair practices. AAHOA began to educate its members and also fought for justice and fair play in hotel franchising.” Today even White House recognizes AAHOA. Indian-Americans are major franchisees owning 65% of the economy hotels. Next generation will move into upscale Hiltons and Marriott Courtyards” he asserted. AACSA likewise will educate not only its members but also lawmakers. New Indian immigrants have strong work ethic but because they lack credit records, find it difficult to obtain loans for businesses or houses. Community banks like Horizon Bank and American United Bank, with SBA Guarantees try helping such immigrants. “And who knows, the next generation might decide to move into banking sector!” he said. Introducing the AG, Mike said, “ AG Baker, who was appointed Georgia’s 52nd AG by then Governor Zell Millar in 1997, has prodigious talent and a glowing track record .In 1998, he was elected to serve a four-year term as AG and re-elected for another four years in 2002. As AG, Baker has focused on fighting crime, corruption and consumer fraud. He has also toughened penalties for domestic abusers and child pornographers. He will be President of the National Association of Attorney Generals(NAAG) in 2006.He is also active in the community and is one of the State’s most influential citizens.”(Applause)

In his informative speech, Baker said he felt honored to be part of the kick-off of AACSA and thrilled to meet the Indian community “ It’s a real treat for me” he said, because Mike Patel, R.C.Patel and Jeff Smith have spent months organizing this meeting .The experiences of African-American and Indian-American communities have been very similar. Like you, we also had to overcome many obstacles but we never gave up and nor should you, he advised. He lauded the Indian community for its immense contribution in progress and prosperity of Georgia. He recounted how he fought and won two elections, and silenced his skeptics. He said he believed in strength of diversity and on being inclusive. He went on to explain the role of AG and staffing of his office and touched upon some of the current crimes to guard against in Georgia. 

Identity theft: It is the fastest growing crime in the nation. To tackle this, his office now has “Stop I/D Theft “network.
Mortgage Loan fraud: Unscrupulous scamsters manipulate property prices to dupe innocent buyers. He said Georgia is number one state in such crime. It includes 
Flipping properties where a fraudulent investor buys property at a low price, colludes with a dishonest appraiser and quickly resells it to a straw buyer at an inflated market value.
Drive-offs: Because of skyrocketing price of gas, customers drive off without paying for the gas. Many gas stations are shifting to pre-pay policy, as a result but it is not a perfect solution. Law enforcement agencies are stepping up their efforts to apprehend the culprits.
Expungement: It is a short process that can clear criminal convictions from a person’s record and help his chances of employment, education or citizenship, he said, and explained how one can do it.

During the interesting Q and A session Mike Patel asked him about video poker. Baker replied that long time back comprehensive statute banned video poker, but there was a leeway as it did not ban all forms of video poker. Consequently, each county makes its own determination whether there is any violation of the law. His office is working on ensuring uniformity in implementation of the law in all counties.

Mike Patel also asked AG Baker’s advice on how to deal with a situation where a SWAT team, profiling convenience stores, carries out arrest on a Friday evening or on a Saturday. Baker advised that in such a situation, community representatives should immediately contact their elected official or the US Attorney, seek an audience, and create a dialogue. “With collective voice, open up a line of communication to resolve the matter’ he advised. He concluded by urging the attendees to contact Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs and report any deceptive trade practices they encounter. He gave the phone numbers as below:

Office of the Attorney-General 404-656-3300
Office of Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) 404-244-2600

His speech was greeted with a standing ovation. AG Baker clearly won the hearts of his audience with his genial and cheerful personality. Upendra Patel thanked him and requested him to attend AACSA training seminars in the near future. A commemorative plaque was presented to the AG. by AACSA officials. 

IPN Founder member and CEO, Paalam Inc.Narsi Narasimhan complimented Mr. Baker on his riveting speech. MLK. Jr. in Atlanta was deeply influenced by the philosophy and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. The Indian-American and African-American communities have strong relationship here. “Well, if not here then in which other State?” he asked. 
On behalf of IPN, Upendra Patel and R.C. Patel (Diplomat Companies) presented a plaque to American Red Cross, Atlanta officials, Bill Reynolds and Suresh Kumar, for conducting two highly telethons in Mid-January and raising over a million dollars for the tsunami relief fund. Narsi who sent out many e-mail broadcasts complimented the American main stream public as well as IACA; Greater Atlanta Tamil Sangam and other organizations for their generosity.

Upendra Patel concluded by thanking Mustafa Ajmeri and Sanjay Patel for the excellent organization of the Impact Conference Center Hall. He further thanked Sanjay Patel, and Pannaben Patel for catering a sumptuous dinner.