CHENNAI: After having stepped into their 38th year, The Rotary Club of Ambattur (RCA) recently conducted their annual award function in the city. The club that has been conducting events to support and recognise the contributions of various people from different sectors, this time recognised Suresh Narayanan, chairman and MD, Nestle India Limited, as they awarded him with the ‘For the Sake of Honour Award’.
Rtn. Ram N Ramakrishnan, secretary, who read out the citation, mentioned that the award was a means to celebrate the success of a strong soul who overcame all limitations and instead converted them into opportunities. The awardee who received the recognition for his leadership skills and corporate social responsibility initiatives including his work towards education for girl children, sanitation in schools, nutrition, and breastfeeding practices, thanked the club for the award.
“I am really thankful for the recognition. And more than anything else I consider it a rare honour to be receiving this award in front of my father EV Narayanan,” he said. The club further presented ‘The Triumph of Human Spirit Award’ to Preethi Srinivasan, ex-state level cricketer, and national level swimmer, who became paralytic because of a freak accident, but today is the founder of Soulfree, an NGO.
Explaining the criteria behind selecting the awardees Rtn.
Richard Fernandes, said, “The ‘For the Sake of Honour Award’ is presented to individuals with an outstanding track record and have demonstrated themselves to the community. On the other hand, ‘The Triumph of Human Spirit Award’, recognises the success of individuals who have overcome personal disabilities and recorded extraordinary achievements in their field of work.”
Lakshmi Narayanan, emeritus vice chairman, Cognizant, chief guest for the event, handed over the awards. Speaking about the awards, G Viswanathan, president, said that both the awardees were well deserving candidates and had contributed immensely to the society. “The club too has been focusing on doing good deeds for the society and we felt that it was our honour to recognise people like Suresh and Preethi,” he added.
The Rotary Club of Ambattur has, in the past, also been recognised for its contributions to the society and today has a fully functional funded hospital (Ambattur Rotary Hosiptal), a school (TV Nagar School), and a community centre to train young children. Past presidents Rtn. Yadav Murthy and Rtn. Ramdas were also present at the event.