Immigrants honoured for their amazing efforts

More than 600 guests gathered at the Westin Calgary March 9 to honour immigrants and refugees who have inspired the community with their passion, dedication and perseverance. Hosted by Immigrant Services of Calgary, the 22nd Annual Immigrants of Distinction Awards (IDA) Gala saw 13 awards presented — including five scholarships — to those individuals and corporations who have done so much to contribute to the cultural, social and economic prosperity of our beloved city.

Kudos to all who supported the event and congratulations to the recipients of the 2018 awards: Hyder Hassan on being honoured with the Achievement Under 35 Award; Business Award recipient Marjan Eggermont; Miroslav Reljic on being presented with the Community Service Award; Dr. Rupinder Toor in the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Award category; Dr. Kamal Botros and Dr. Thomas Brown winners of Lifetime Achievement Awards; Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Award recipient Dr. Gobal Achari; Organizational Diversity Award winner Trico Homes; and Youth Scholarship recipients Mehul Gupta, Jannu Liao, Ruth Legese, Kevin Lin and Kirsty McGowan.

Others in attendance at the gala included: a plethora of politicians from Premier Rachel Notley and Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci to Mayor Naheed Nenshi and Alberta Party Deputy Leader Greg Clark; Immigrant Services Calgary CEO Krystyna Beil; IDA chair Paul Avender; board chair Rolannd Osske; Sue McMaster; directors Anita ReMartinez and Haritha Devulapally; Bow Valley College’s Mario Siciliano, Tas Rahim and Stacey Smith; UCP Calgary-Beddington nominee Josephine Pon; 2016 Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Award recipient Dr. Janaka Ruwanpura with his wife Senani and their son Seniru; Arts and Culture Award nominees Tayebe Jookaki and Olga Semenova; Community Service Award nominee Atul Thanki and his wife Madhu; Entrepreneurship and Innovation Award nominees Jane Eruchalu and Swarochish Goswami with his mom Priya; Njide Harris-eze and Moji Taiwoo.

PHOTOS: BILL BROOKS Pictured at the 22nd Annual Immigrants of Distinction Awards (IDA) Gala held March 9 at The Westin Calgary are Youth Scholarship award recipient Ruth Legese, right, and her mom Hamelmal Negash. Legese founded the Habesha Students’ Society (HSS) at the...

Immigrant Services Calgary board members Paul Avender, Anita ReMartinez, Haritha Devulapally; CEO Krystyna Biel; Rolan Osske and Sue McMaster.

Joining Alberta Minister of Finance Joe Ceci, left, at the gala were Bow Valley College’s Stacey Smith, Tas Rahim and Mario Siciliano.

Janaka Ruwanpura, U of C vice-provost, international, right, his wife Senani and son, Seniru, were among the hundreds of guests at the Immigrants of Distinction Award Gala at The Westin Calgary.

Njide Harris-eze, Moji Taiwo and Jane Eruchalu.

Arts and Culture category finalist Tayeb Joodaki with Ethan Soleimany. Thirteen people were awarded for community involvement.

Premier Rachel Notley with Jane Eruchalu, a finalist in Entrepreneurship and Innovation award category.

Alberta Party Deputy Leader Greg Clark and Alberta Minister of Infrastructure Sandra Jansen were among the many politicians at the gala.

Posing for the lens is Arts and Culture category finalist Olga Semenova.

UCP Calgary-Beddington candidate Josephine Pon and Mayor Naheed Nenshi.

Community Service Award finalist Atul Thanki and his wife, Madhu Thanki.

MLA Richard Gotfried and his wife Kathy were among the hundreds of guests in attendance.

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Award category finalist Swarochish Goswami and his proud mom Priya at the gala. Swarochish, or Swish as he is affectionately known, is an accomplished entrepreneur, speaker, businessman and university student. He has...