Events
18th Sep 2010
TIPS Presents
**Shanti: Avatars of Peace
Second Annual TIPS Charitable Gala
.. More details...Sponsorship
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History of TIPS SW Chapter
1990-1999
In June 1990, the eighth annual conference was held in Chicago. The AAPI Board of Trustees (BOT) was created to safeguard the patron fund. Dr. Kakarala was elected as its first chair. Dr. Sarjit Singh took over as AAPI President. The ninth annual convention was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in June 1991. Dr. Singh traveled around the nation to spread AAPI’s message. Seventy associations joined the AAPI and the Patron Fund grew to $750,000. The charitable foundation, under the chairmanship of Dr. R. Vijayanagar, established free clinics in India in the states of Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Dr. Vijay Kulkarni was elected president and Dr. Enas Enas chairman of the board of trustees.
The 10th annual conference was held at AAPI’s birthplace, Detroit. Vice President Dan Quayle was the chief guest at the inaugural function. Sen. Glenn and Dr. James Todd of AMA were the guest speakers at the gala banquet. All the past presidents of AAPI were honored for their dedicated service and contribution. Eighty member organizations came under the fold of AAPI. The convention was very successful and was able to generate a net income of $65,000.
MAPI donated funds to Rotary International polio project in India through AAPI Charitable Foundation. Dr. Mukkamala AppaRao was elected president and Dr. Nuthi Krishna was chair of the board of trustees. The election process in AAPI followed a delegate system through member organizations, where one delegate represented 10 members. As a result, bigger organizations had a major say in the election process. In addition, each patron member also carried one vote. So, this arrangement resulted in duplication, confusion and room for manipulation.
In October of 1992, n a historic meeting held in Springfield, Illinois, the governing body transformed itself into general body and adopted a resolution to reduce the number of delegates allotted to each member organization from one-to-ten to one-to-twenty five, thereby reducing undue influence of big member organizations. For the first time, direct individual membership was created and 4,500 members joined AAPI directly by the end of the presidential year.
In June 1993, the 11th annual conference was held in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dr. George Thomas was elected president and Dr. Chander Kapasi the chair of the board of trustees. The 12th annual convention was held at Atlanta, Georgia, in July of 1994. House Speaker Newt Gingrich was the chief guest. Dr. Deepak Chopra attracted a large crowd for his inspirational talk. A ‘brainstorming session’ of the AAPI leadership was held and a consensus was reached to manage the AAPI office professionally. Both direct and patron memberships continued to grow.
Dr. Gopal Lalmalani was elected president, and Dr. Radhu Agrawal chair of the board of trustees. The trustees and the executive committee had a retreat in the fall of 1994 to redefine the role of the board and came up with an investment strategy for the Patron Fund, which had reached $1 million. The Charitable Foundation organized successful music concerts with the help of S. P. Balasubramaniam and raised more than $100,000. The AAPI headquarters was moved to Chicago.
On June 30, 1995, the 13th annual convention was held in Chicago. President Bill Clinton addressed the gathering of 5,000 people. Dr. Lonnie Bristow and Sen. Bill Frist were the guest speakers. The Foundation raised $200,000 with the help of Lata Mangeshkar, the ‘Nightingale of India’. On behalf of AAPI, Dr.Ranga Reddy and Dr.Satya Ahuja were invited to the White House to meet President Clinton in December 1995. Dr. Venkata S. Ram took over as president and Dr. Bhimsen Rao as chair of the board of trustees.
In July 1996, the 14th annual convention took place in Boston. Rep. Dick Gephardt was the chief guest. The AAPI had to endure some more growing pains during this period. There was a lot of misperception about the election process, which created a big uproar in the general body. AAPI got a lot of negative publicity, but it withstood all these troubles and bounced back stronger. A PAC office was opened in Washington, D. C., with a full-time director. Dr. Vinod Sawhney was elected president and Dr. Krishan Aggarwal the chair of the board of trustees.
A bi-monthly AAPI journal was started in order to improve the communication with the membership. Dr. Kalpalatha Guntupalli, vice president, AAPI, appeared before the AMA House of Delegates and spoke about the physician work force and graduate medical education issues. The AAPI played a major role in creating the AMA’s IMG section. The whole election process was streamlined. The delegate system was abolished and replaced with a one-member-one-vote provision.
The 15th annual convention was held in Orlando in June 1997. Sen. Tom Harkin was the chief guest. The convention was a huge success and brought in more than $250,000. This was the starting point for large corporations to take note of the AAPI. Dr.Ranga Reddy of Springfield,IL took over as president and Dr. Vijayanagar was elected chair of the board of trustees.
To comply with the regulations under 501-©(4), the PAC was replaced with a Legislative Affairs Committee with an office and full-time legislative director. The AAPI ‘Legislative Day’ on the Capitol was initiated. The first legislative conference in conjunction with the governing body was a huge success. More than 65 senators and congressmen attended the reception.
Rep. Frank Pallone introduced the Patient’s Bill of Rights based on the AAPI’s position paper and commended the AAPI and Indian Physicians on the floor of Congress for the first time. The AAPI became part of the WEB under the chairmanship of Dr. Vijay Koli. A Patron Trust was created for the Charitable Foundation for long-term financial freedom. The theme for that year was ‘Tomorrow is Today’, and every effort was made to encourage second-generation physicians into AAPI’s fold.
The 16th annual convention was held in the beautiful Anatole Hotel in Dallas. Rep. Pallone, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Nancy Dickey, the first woman president of the AMA, were guest speakers. This convention was a great success and set the standard for future meetings and also brought in profits of more than $200,000. Dr. Guntupalli became the first woman president of the AAPI and Dr. Surendra Purohit was elected chair of the board of Trustees. An effort was made to partner with other mainstream medical organizations. Provisions were made in the bylaws for medical students and residents to have representation on the AAPI’s executive committee.
In June 1999, the 17th Annual convention took place in Los Angeles. Indian Member of Parliament, Sushma Swaraj was special guest. Dr. Satya Ahuja took over as president and Dr. Dharmapuri Vidyasagar was elected chair of the Board of Trustees. During this period, efforts were made to improve patient care in India in collaboration with the Hinduja Foundation. Centralized verification for license reciprocity and internship on the Capitol Hill were initiated.
Ranga Reddy, M.D.