BY JYOTHSNA HEGDE
Photos by Sayali Shinde Tilwankar
Atlanta GA, March 19, 2024: As the world celebrated International Women’s Day with various activities highlighting women, Vee Events and Maharashtra Mandal of Atlanta (MMA) felicitated 62 women in recognition of their achievements and/or contributions to society on March 9, 2024 at Rang Sip & Dine in Cumming, GA.
Awardees hailed from various backgrounds including media, legal, medical, public service, county officials, education, art, dance, vocal, theatre, fashion, business, event promoters, content creators, influencers and representatives of nonprofits such as Sewa, Raksha, LeapTo Shine, IACA, GTF, VHPA, Vibha etc.
The awards were presented by presiding guests of honor including Renugadevi Subramaniam, wife of CGI, India, Atlanta, Laura Ohnsman Semanson, Commissioner, Forsyth County, DIst.5, and Narender G Reddy, Republican candidate for Georgia’s House of Representatives, District 50.
“Felicitating these women role models with the annual Iron Lady Awards on Women’s Day serves several purposes, including recognizing their achievements, promoting gender equality, raising awareness about women’s issues, and celebrating their contributions to society, politics, economics, and culture. It’s a way to honor their resilience, highlight their successes, and advocate for gender parity and women’s rights,” Veena Pothula of Vee Events said.
Titled MVP and Iron Lady Awards, Pothula said she is “extremely happy and grateful for the success of the event.” The partnership with MMA she said was a unified and shared purpose of bringing the community together and grow together regardless of size, status, language, religion and boundaries. On a broader reach, she said it is a step towards fostering a sense of unity, belonging, and mutual support among its members. “By organizing such initiatives that involve the community, we aim to strengthen social bonds, promote collaboration, and create a supportive network. This can lead to a more cohesive and resilient community, where people feel connected, valued, and empowered to work towards common goals and address shared challenges.”
“Maharashtra Mandal of Atlanta started celebrating Women’s Day from 2023 with an objective of appreciating the women of Georgia community. It’s a small step towards our main objective of Unity in Diversity to bring the community together,” Milind Bavadekar and Tanvi Rajiv Ghangrekar of MMA said.
The awardees in the MVP category included Mini Nair, Bhavya Jha Chaudhary, Deputy Patterson, Deputy Leonardis, Lauren Semanson, Jayashree Laddu, Nisha Kapil, Vindali Vartak, Kusum Khurana, Anamika Pol, Anu Ganesh and Anjali Chabbria.
Recipients of the Iron Lady Awards included Veena Rao, Jyothsna Hegde, Dr. Syamala Erramilli, Dr Paddy Sharma, Rashmi Singh, Sharmila Hudda, Kamlesh Chugh, Garima Gupta, Manisha Mehta, Baljeet Kaur, Geeta Buttan, Lakshmi Rao, Mehtab Nasir, Sarika Mahatme, Swapna Kumthekar, Rashmi Chaudhary, Bhawna Bhardwaj, Komal Patel, Nandini Patel, Seema Garg, Krupa, Jyoti Darshane, Rina Gupta, Hetal Mehta, Lakshmi Mandavalli, Bhrushira Vyas, Sruthi Chittory, Shwetha Kiran, Swetha Pakala, Sunanda, Shruti Gupta, Bhawna Jaggi, Neelima Sen, Shahneela Memon, Saadia Raza, Arpita Vemula, Sunitha Potnuru, Swapna Kaswa, Kavya Gullipalli, Swathi Chennuri, Aparna Pingle, Geeta Talukdar, Seema Damale and Archana Reddy.
The organizers thanked sponsors Shekhar Realtor, Aarty Events LLC, photographer Sayali Shinde Tilwankar and MMA committee members Mrunmayee Kadam Jyoti and Hemant Thombre.
As women walked away with the awards, the significance of International Women’s day was amplified as a powerful reminder of the remarkable progress that has been achieved, despite ongoing struggle for gender equality. International Women’s Day (IWD) has a long and impressive history, going back to the early 1900s. In 1908, 15,000 people marched through New York City, advocating for shorter work hours, better pay, and voting rights. After this rally, in 1909, the 1st National Women’s Day was observed across the United States on February 28th. Just two year later, IWD was honored in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland on March 19th, 1911, before moving to its current day of March 8th in 1913. Many decades later in 1975, IWD was celebrated for the first time by the United Nations.
