Profound leadership change takes place at ISCA
Who says strange events occur in fiction alone! At the recent AGM of the Indian Senior Citizens Association, the implausible took place right in front of our eyes. Dr Dinesh Sood, Secretary (and a proficient one at that), and member for a comparably trivial four years, in a two-horse race for the position of President, convincingly defeated serving President Dr Prem Phakey, who was the founding ISCA President 21 years ago.
While Dinesh – double PhD, winner of various educational awards, Professor of Physics and a devoted volunteer – presented his credentials to the membership by e-mails, Prem presented his via printed sheets on tables during the AGM. Professor of Physics, PhD, his tenures in India, North America, Africa and Melbourne, testing moon rocks at NASA plus an enviable AM, an accolade only three other Indian-Australians enjoy. Although the general consensus of members I approached was ‘if it’s not broken, why fix it’, 160/120 voted in favour of Dinesh which astounded pedants.
In his Presidential speech, Dinesh pledged to ‘clinically pursue’ dictates of the Constitution and to be an ‘active listener’ to all 410 members. Disputes, if they arise, he pledges to settle via the Disputes Resolution Program set out in the Constitution. Dinesh pledges respect for Prem Phakey, his guru, and for all past and present Working Committee members for hoisting ISCA to its present level.
Pledging to serve the membership selflessly, Dinesh but begs for time for his dreams to materialise.
To the Friday program, Dinesh is introducing English Conversation classes for seniors to benefit from. He has already approached Lord Mayor of Monash for extending their Tai Chi program to ISCA. Two years ago, when he took over as Secretary, Dinesh told me in a subsequent conversation, he contacted some eight members by e-mail. Thanks to the computer classes he started in the Friday program, for this AGM he informed 276 members by e-mail.
Indeed trounced, Prem enjoys the rewarding distinction of being ISCA’s longest serving president, an accolade unlikely to be repeated for some time. Krishna Arora is the second longest serving.
To add to evolving elation and to standing ovation, Adi Vajifdar, second oldest ISCA member at 98 years of age, was presented to the membership.
The new era dawning, the hawk-eyed are watching if grants will continue to pour in, and if VIPs will offer ISCA similar deference as they did earlier.
Dinesh may be contacted on sood.dinesh@gmail.com or on 9876 2446.
