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 Less than 18 months after commencing a community-wide rebranding effort, NetIP Chicago earned top honors at NetIP’s 19th Annual National Conference in Seattle, Washington winning the coveted “Best Board” and “Best Chapter” awards. Twenty-four chapters under the NetIP umbrella vied for these awards throughout North America. Aasif Mandvi (comedian, actor, entertainer) and Vijay Amritraj (tennis legend) personally recognized and provided the awards to NetIP Chicago’s leadership. The “Best Board” honor was based on the cohesiveness and unprecedented progress of the 36-person NetIP Chicago Board of Directors in 2010. The “Best Chapter” designation is the highest prize awarded to a NetIP chapter taking into account not only the organization’s leadership, but also chapter membership and community interest. It is often considered a success for a volunteer organization to host one marquee event per year. Over the last 30 days, NetIP Chicago successfully hosted four major events, which received the participation and support of a broad segment of the Chicago community. We kicked off the event spree July 15th with a sold out Professional Development Speaker Series Event featuring Ravi Baichwal, weekend co-anchor for ABC Channel 7 News and 2008 Emmy award winner. Fresh off the heels of the PD event, NetIP Chicago made history hosting the first leg of a 3-City Tour through NetIP Chicago, NetIP New York, and NetIP Los Angeles. The Chicago leg of the 3-City Tour sold out with the participation of over 200 guests from Chicago and beyond the weekend of July 16th. . Only Chicago Ka Andaaz—NetIP Chicago’s First Annual Culture Show—could rival the 3-City Tour. The performances dazzled, the evening glittered and the 500+ audience was left mesmerized by the magical treat that was Chicago Ka Andaaz (“CKA”). Less than a week later, over 150 runners, survivors, and supporters participated in the First Annual “Race Against Cancer” 5K Run/Walk. Taking the expression “no rest for the weary” to heart, NetIP Chicago will be following the July/August marquee event spree with a number of other major events including: As always, the ultimate success of NetIP Chicago is entirely dependent on our members’ active participation and feedback. Make a lasting impact today by joining the “Best Chapter” and “Best Board” in North America. Best regards, Ashwin Janakiram
2010 President
NetIP Chicago
(312) 834-4440
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 As of July 2010, Chicago unemployment rates continue to hover around 10% which is worse than national unemployment rates. Many of us have been affected by a tough economy and an increasingly competitive job market either personally or by our associates. To address this pressing need and to continue to serve our community, NetIP Chicago has teamed with Indo-American Community Services (IACS) and the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) for a job fair to be held on Aug. 28th in Wheaton, Illinois. The job fair is free and open to the public. Early registration is recommended as space will be limited. Job-seekers will have the opportunity to investigate and interview for numerous of employment positions. For a complete list of participating employers and to register, visit http://iacsjobfair.com/ The Job Fair will open with introductory remarks by Raja Krishnamoorthi. Other notable guests include the keynote speaker, Mr. Hardik Bhatt who is the Chief Information Officer for the City of Chicago. Panel discussions will also occur and focus on the following topics: - Upcoming job trends in the healthcare, IT and energies fields.
- Panelists include Ivan Handler (CIO at Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services), Gerry Engardio (Gexpro) and Tracey Johnson representing CAHIMA.
- Building relationships to get a job and advance your career.
- Panelists include Paula Giovacchini (Gio Group, Inc.), Barry Woldman (BMW Enterprises), Cynthia Rogers (Rogers & Associates) and George Montgomery (ITW). Sanjog Aul will moderate.
- Best practices for using online social media and other tools for effective professional networking
- Panelists include Jennifer Irene Janik (Alcatel-Lucent), James Heckman (Little Wolf Online), and Josh Studzinski (Focused Online Marketing). David Deyhle will moderate.
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 We're on the eve of the most ambitious 30 days that NetIP Chicago has seen in years. You don't want to miss out! We're kicking off with a sold out Professional Development event with Ravi Baichwal this evening. Professional Development has been our fast growing pillar and it's clear that we've made our mark with a sold out event. If you would like to be notified of our next Professional Development event, email us
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. Next up, the NetIP 3 City Tour is stopping in Chicago this weekend with an assortment of events: Friday evening - A tour of Goose Island Brewery Friday night - Open bar at Y-Bar Saturday afternoon - Navy Pier Experience Saturday evening - Boat Cruise (Open Bar + Food) Saturday night - Party at Crescendo Sunday afternoon - Lunch at Gaylord's The excitement continues with the Chicago Ka Andaaz Culture Show on Saturday, July 31st! Learn more about the show at http://www.netipchicago.org/cultureshow. The team organizing the event has done an amazing job vetting great acts, so buy your ticket today! Finally, we'll be closing off the cavalacade with our Cancer is Colorblind: Race Against Cancer 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, August 7th. You can register today at http://bit.ly/cancer5k! The Cancer is Colorblind campaign is the largest concerted community outreach effort in the history of NetIP Chicago, and it's success is dependant on you! Learn more about the campaign at http://www.canceriscolorblind.org. NetIP 2.0 is in full gear and we want you to come enjoy the experience! Come find me at any of these events and let me know your thoughts! Amit Varia
Co-VP of Technology
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 Take eighteen South Asian acts, add seven hilarious masters of ceremony, a pinch of Chicago flavor and what do you get? Chicago Ka Andaaz! NetIP Chicago’s culture show promises to be one magical event and with over one thousand guests expected, it’s set to be Chicago’s biggest South Asian culture show! Obviously no large-scale show is possible without the dedication and hard work of several individuals. From coming up with the theme, holding auditions, coordinating details of the event, to marketing and finding sponsors, our cultural committee has put in a lot of hard work to make this event a reality. The show will feature dance performances by UIC Dangeraas, Bollyritmo, and singing acts by Susmita De and Anand Iyer. Tantalizing appetizers will be served courtesy Tiffin restaurant. There's also an exclusive after-party at a popular Chicago's hot spots to continue the festivities. Check out our website at http://netipchicago.org/cultureshow. Tickets are selling fast. Don’t miss out on the excitement!
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Professional Development
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Written by Reema Kapur and Marina Isaac
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Tuesday, 25 May 2010 20:07 |
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 Last month we told you about the launch of NetIP Chicago’s Professional
Development Workshop Series. This month, NetIP launched the Professional
Development Speaker Series. The goal of the Speaker Series is to invite
Chicago’s business, political, and community leaders to talk about their
practice areas and to discuss with NetIP members and guests their unique paths
to professional success. The Speaker Series events are designed to provide
NetIP members and guests one-on-one access to high profile Chicagoans in a
relaxed and professional setting.
It was NetIP’s honor to present Raja Krishnamoorthi, former Deputy Illinois
State Treasurer, as the featured speaker to kick off the Professional
Development Speaker Series. During a cocktail reception before the featured
event, guests engaged Raja in lively one-on-one discussions, networked with
NetIP members and enjoyed cocktails and hors d’ oeuvres provided by the event
sponsor Sidley Austin LLP. Raja spoke regarding his past experience as a
Partner in the Commercial Litigation Department at Kirkland Ellis and his
transition to public office. He also discussed the successes and challenges of
his 2010 record-breaking campaign for the Illinois State Comptroller and his
consideration for the position of Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. Following
brief remarks, Raja invited guests to ask questions and provided candid and
thoughtful answers during an informal question and answer session. After the
presentation, guests continued to network and enjoy the beautiful Chicago
skyline view from the 37th Floor of the Sidley Austin building. Conversations
touched upon leadership styles, political awareness, presentation material, and
future NetIP events.
For those interested in learning more about Raja Krishnamoorthi, you can do so
through Facebook. You can access that link here:www.facebook.com/rajaforillinois or through his personal fan page.
NetIP Chicago's next Professional Development event will be held on June 17th at Bevi
Amo. As part of our ProDevelopment Workshop
Series, Koushik Subramanian will present strategies on identity protection
as informational security becomes an increasing priority in our lives. Please
join us for this exciting event.
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Written by Kesha Parikh
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 On National Rebuilding Day, April 24th, NetIP volunteers put in a great deal of hard work and time commitment in helping one elderly woman in rebuilding her home. The purpose of the event was to renovate the homes of elderly, disabled, or low-income residents by pulling together electricians, carpenters, plumbers, painters and volunteers.
This year, NetIP volunteers woke up very early on a Saturday morning and spent 8 long, hard hours re-painting and re-flooring an elderly woman's house on the south side of Chicago. The woman had lived there for over 30 years and was recently disabled due to a hip fracture. A special thanks goes out to all the volunteers, Sujata, Bobby, Kesha and Amit for going above and beyond their duties. Together, we de-greased and painted two bathrooms, a kitchen, a hallway and a living room. Sujata was on her hands and knees helping clean and re-floor the kitchen. Bobby did the tough job of painting all the ceilings and removing a dusty carpet from the living room.
The house captain who was responsible for managing the project was so pleased with NetIP volunteers that he has asked us to collaborate with him again next year to help a new home owner transform their house. The granddaughter of the woman whose house we rebuilt also had some kind words to say on behalf of the volunteers as she was touched to see total strangers spending their free time helping her rebuild her grandmother's home.
Please join us in expressing a special thanks to all the volunteers for their hard work and dedication that day!
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 It's a couple days late, but I wanted to recap the great effort by all the NetIP volunteers that showed up last week at Mt. Sinai Hospital. Chicago's Sinai Health System was originally founded to serve the needs of Eastern Jewish immigrants in the community and today, it primarily serves the African-American and Latino population.
On April 3rd, 17 NetIP volunteers woke up eager and excited to spend the day at Mt. Sinai's Kids Club Easter event. At 10am, the kids poured in and we got to work handing out Easter baskets and other crafts for the children to decorate their homes with. We helped these young artists put together Easter door handles and decorate their baskets with pipe cleaners! Pipe cleaners!
But we couldn't end the day until we got to the games! Starting off with a couple rounds of Simon Says, the kids showed off their skills and beat our volunteers pretty easily. So we moved on to a game of musical chairs and the kids loved it. With all of the voices shouting in different languages and bodies moving in different directions, it was clear that regardless of age, everyone was having a great time.
As the event came to a close, the volunteers gathered around the pipe cleaners (yes, the pipe cleaners again!) and made parting presents for the children. We made flowers, planes, and balloons, but the most requested was the butterfly (although Spiderman came in a close second).
The children and Mt. Sinai enjoyed having everyone and send along their appreciation! My personal thanks, as well, to everyone who showed up!
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Is everyone ready for our next dinner circle? It's next Saturday (April 17th) at Grand Plaza Apartments. If you haven't noticed already, we're making some changes this month that I'm excited about.
First, our proceeds will be benefiting the Grameen Foundation. This foundation helps the world’s poorest, especially women, improve their lives and escape poverty through access to microfinance and technology. It's an amazing organization that have help over 9.4 million people with over 1 million microloans, and there's no end in sight.
Second, this month the NetIP board will be preparing dishes from around the world for everyone to enjoy. We've got some great cooks that are ready and excited to show off their skills! So far we're working on cuisines from countries like Thailand, China, Italy, Japan, and India. Make sure to bring an empty stomach, so you don't miss out any of the great dishes.
Finally, we want to get you involved in the 'Around the World' theme! So make sure to dress in your country's favorite attire, and bring along a bottle of wine from there too. We can't wait to taste your selections!
Make sure to register online so we know how much food to make for Saturday and remember all our proceeds are going to the Grameen Foundation!
Members can register here for $30
Non-member can register here for $35
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