A Year In Review

Sathya Choodamani, Immediate Past President
Indo-US Chamber of Commerce NE FL

It has been an absolute honor and pride for me to lead a team of professional and talented individuals these past 12 months for the Indo-US Chamber of Commerce of NE Florida. Unlike the prior years of Indo US, we wanted to change the paradigm by getting our basics right. We have, over the last 15 years, moved away from the original intent of the organization, which is to partner and help the small and medium businesses in Jacksonville. In order to get back to the core of our business vision, we had to make quite a few changes.  Quoting Socrates “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old but on building the new”. This is exactly what we did. Indo US needed a facelift, a new branding and to be able to plant the seed for a complete transformation.

Between August 2019 and January 2020, we held multiple events including our signature event – Women’s Forum, Tax Planning for Individuals and Small Business, & Pitch your Business. We had to refocus our energy for the second half of the year with more information and online sessions due to COVID-19. COVID  really made us think and operate differently. We needed to ensure that our community members, partners, sponsors, and able to provide the needed service and to that effect we decided to host LIVE webinars. This was the first time Indo US used the social platform this effectively. We hosted 3 back to back online Town halls starting with a Panel of 4 board-certified doctors sharing with us the do’s and don’ts of COVID. With this successful event under our belt, we turned our focus to our school system, their way of operations in the new normal, and the impact on the everyday life of parents. Thanks to Dr. Diana Greene – Superintendent of the Duval County Public schools to join us in the LIVE Townhall and answer tons of questions from the general public. Following this was our focus back on small and medium businesses. This time we were able to bring in Congressman John Rutherford, who helped us answer questions on impact to Small Business and government aid. This was also very well received by our community.

All this would not have been possible if not for the excellent support from each of my Executive Committee Members and the Board of Directors. I would like to take this minute and thank our Board Chair, Mr. Janak Desai, for his outstanding thought leadership and support throughout the past 12 months. I also want to take this opportunity to thank all our sponsors, corporate members, and all small and medium business owners who have supported us all these years.

As the new executive committee takes on, I wish Ms. Amudha Sundaram, the President for the year 2020-21 and her team, the very best and to take the baton and continue to run the organization with the same vision that we had laid out last year. These are challenging times but this is when leaders raise up to the occasion and use the best available options/platforms to continue bringing Indo US to new heights.  Before closing – quoting Robert Frost  “…… the woods are lovely dark and deep, but I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep.”

Wishing you all the best of health during these tough times.

Sathya Choodamani
President – 2019-20
Indo US Chamber of Commerce of NE Florida