UFPID & Pakistan Link Hold ‘Appreciation Night’ for Sponsors and Volunteers of Independence Day Celebrations
Pictures by Nomi & Omar
Glimpses of the Appreciation Night organized by UFPID and Pakistan Link at Shahnawaz Restaurant
Lakewood, CA: On December 21, 2008 United for Pakistan Independence Day (UFPID) and Pakistan Link hosted an Appreciation Night for the sponsors and volunteers of the 61st Independence Day celebrations held at the Exposition Park in Los Angeles.
Approximately 200 guests attended the event at the Shahnawaz Restaurant. A majority of the sponsors and volunteers attended the program and were manifestly appreciative of the initiative shown by UFPID and Pakistan Link in recognizing their contributions.
Among the grand sponsors in attendance were: Hamid Malik, Adnan Khan, Hamilton Brewart, Pervaiz Lodhie and Bob Din. Most of the gold sponsors and silver sponsors also attended the evening. The event was well attended by the who’s who of the Pakistani-American Community. Several owners of the restaurants which participated in the Independence Day Festival were delighted to be part of the Appreciation Night. It was a special night for the volunteers as all of them who had supported the UFPID and had assisted in any way were recognized and were presented with Certificates of Appreciation.
Zainab Gulraiz was the emcee for the night. The audience were delighted to hear the recitation of Al-Hamd Sharif and Lab-Pay-Aati-Hai-Dua by seven-year-old Jazmyn Mansuri, daughter of Arif Mansuri. Her pronunciation was perfect and won the spontaneous applause of the audience. UFPID core members - Ismail Keekeebhai, Zubair Rawda, Sameer Moosani and Yousuf Keekeebhai (YKKD) - addressed the audience and thanked the sponsors, volunteers, restaurant participants and other non-food booth participants for their continued support.
Consul General of Pakistan, Syed Ibne Abbas, delivered a short speech on the occasion and recognized UFPID, all its sponsors and volunteers for their contributions.
Pakistan Link’s Excellence in Community Service Award plaques were presented to the members of the organizing committee of UFPID. Mr. Ibne Abbas was requested by Mr. Arif Mansuri, President of PL Publications, to present the awards to the organizing committee members, namely, Ismail Keekeebhai, Zubair Rawda, Sameer Moosani, Yousuf Keekeebhai, Hashir Malik, Majeed Sheikh and Mrs. Sofia Altaf.
Ismail Keekeebhai in his speech on the occasion said that it would not be fair if due credit was not given to members of the Advisory Committee of UFPID, namely, Qazi Asad, Irfan Murtaza, Arif Zaffar Mansuri, Jamil Bhatti, Samin Faruqui and Waqar Ali Khan. He said that without their help and advise such a great event would not have been possible to organize.
Mr. Arif Mansuri also spoke on the occasion and thanked everyone for their support and participation. He specially thanked the youth for its participation in the community events. He stressed the need for the Pakistani-American community to educate itself about the global events and drew the audience’s attention to the Pakistan-India Rally and its aims and objectives.
Following youth volunteers were recognized for their selfless devotion and help in organizing the event:
Naeem Akhtar , Shan Patel, Basil Patel, Ikram Mailk, Omar Mirza , Omar Rehman, Shahrukh Mohsin, Saad Siddiqui, Aamira Ali Mir , Nelofer Mohammad, Mahera Altaf, Saira Altaf, Hassan Mukhlis, Bilal Mukhlis, Yousuf Sephernia, Ali Sephernia, Adnan Yousuf, Fahad Shaikh, Mariam Siddiqui, Seemi Siddiqui, Maryam Gulraiz, Anam Gulraiz, Mubashir Memom, Nirmeen Mohsin, Ahmed Bashir, Atif Mumtaz and Saboor Ismail.
Throughout the evening, glimpses of Pakistan Independence Day celebrations held in the Exposition Park in 2007 and 2008 that were organized by UFPID were shown by Yousef Keekeebhai. The delightful evening was enjoyed by all.
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