MS Reddy as President, AP Film Chamber of Commerce

Detroit Telugu Association (DTA) has successfully hosted a dinner reception in honor of Sri. Nara Chandrababu Naidu during his visit to Detroit on Sunday, July 1, 2007. His visit is being coordinated by a group of his supporters under the banner “Detroit TDP” and this group has also sponsored the dinner reception, which was held from 6:00 PM to 12:00 Midnight at Burton Manor in Livonia, Michigan. The event was attended by more than 1200 people, who sat thru the end of the program which was delayed to almost midnight. It is highly unusual for people to stay back that late on a Sunday night.

Sri. Chandrababu Naidu was received at the Detroit City Airport by event organizing committee members Srinivas Chand Gorrepati, Srinivas Gonuguntla and Naveen Yerneni, by TANA President Hanumaiah Bandla and by the hundreds of cheering supporters. There was a festive mood outside the airport with Babu garu releasing a bunch of yellow balloons arranged by IT Professionals from Miracle Software Systems. He was chauffeured in a limousine from the airport to the banquet hall followed by a rally of cars organized by Vamsi Inapuri and group.

Sri. Naidu was received at the banquet hall by DTA Executive Committee, Detroit TDP Members and hundreds of cheering supporters who have been eagerly waiting for his arrival. The anxiousness of the audience to meet and greet him created an atmosphere similar to in India. He was ushered thru the photo exhibits by Smt. Bhavani Koneru and Smt. Radhika Munnangi, who put up the exhibits depicting the growth during his tenure. Photos for the exhibit were provided by Smt. Nannapaneni Rajakumari, which made it a unique attraction during Babu’s tour of US.

Sri. Naidu received a warm and traditional welcome from the women and youth as he walked into the banquet hall.

Ramana Mudeganti, DTA General Secretary and Mehar Velagapudi serving as the Masters of Ceremony introduced Sri. Naidu and all the accompanying dignitaries to the audience, who were called on to the stage. Dignitaries from AP included Nagam Janardhana Reddy, Yerrabilli Dayakar Rao, Garikipati Mohan Rao, Nannapaneni Rajakumari, Uma Madhava Reddy, Peddi Reddy and Chigurupati Vara Prasad. Dignitaries from US and specifically Detroit include Jayaram Komati (TANA Secretary), Mukkamala Appa Rao (President of Michigan Medical Society), Hanumaiah Bandla (TANA President), Madhava Reddy (CEO of HTC), Srinivasa Rao Kodali (Coordinator of 15th TANA Conference), Gangadhar Nadella (Past President of TANA), Srinivas Koneru (DTA President) and Srinivas Chand Gorrepati (Event Organizing Committee).

Srinivas Koneru, President of DTA welcomed the guests and the audience. During the welcome speech, he provided a glimpse of Sri. Naidu’s career in politics including his goals and achievements.

K. Umesh, CEO of NTR Trust described the activities of the Trust along with a video of NTR’s vision to help the under privileged. Venkat Aekka, Member of the NRI TDP National Committee kicked of the fund raising for NTR Trust with a powerful message about the need to help the poor. Venkat’s brief yet motivational speech ended with a quote from Sawmy Vivekananda about educated Indians needing to help fellow brethren.

Srinivas Chand Gorrepati, member of the event organizing committee highlighted the fact that the recent NRIs benefited from the higher education policy of Sri. Naidu i.e. engineering colleges and reminded the audience that it is time for us to pay back thru providing educational funds for the needy.

Dr. Appa Rao Mukkamala highlighted the growing disparity between the rich and poor in India and stressed on the need to help the poor to reach the benefits of the economic growth occurring in India. He motivated the audience with the “We Can, We Must and We Will” slogan to help the underprivileged. On behalf of the NRI Medical College, he pledged to provide free medical support to the mothers and infants in two mandals in AP as chosen by NTR Trust. This generosity translates to $100,000.

Sri. Naidu garu personally acknowledged all the donors and big donors include Naveen Yerneni ($36,000), Gangadhar Nadella ($25,000), Prasad Chukkapalli ($25,000). Total amount of donations pledged by the end of the evening was $225,000, which is the highest so far in Sri. Naidu’s tour.

Dr. Nagam Janardhana Reddy made a feisty speech about the state of affairs in Andhra Pradesh and Telugu Desam Party is keeping the ruling government in check on all fronts.

Sri. Chandra Babu Naidu spoke for more than an hour on various topics that affect the Telugus in India and abroad. His primary focus was on promoting Philanthropy for which he quoted Bill Gates and Warren Buffet as examples. He was philosophical at times reminding the audience that we may earn all our life but cannot take a penny when we die, which according to him was depicted well in the recent movie “Sivaji”. He stressed on the need for education and entrepreneurship to further enhance our lives and put Telugus at the forefront. He recognized Miss Subha Perni, a high school student from West Bloomfield, Michigan; who was recently selected as one of the 2007 Presidential Scholars and will be representing in a delegation to China. Sri. Naidu stressed on the point that his tour to US in not political but it is to promote philanthropy among the Telugus.

Sri. Naidu answered a few questions from audience on topics ranging from violence in movies to need for better health care.

Executive Committee of Detroit Telugu Association under the leadership of President Srinivas Koneru and Vice-President Vaninath Uppalapati presented a plaque to Sri. Naidu honoring him on his first ever visit to Detroit.

The program for the evening was ended with a Vote of Thanks by Srinivas Gonuguntla, member of the event organizing committee. The event was a grand success due to contributions from several volunteers, who deserve an applause and recognition. Guests including Sri. Naidu was very impressed with the arrangements and decorations in the banquet hall, which were done by Sirisha Uppalapati, Kavitha Velagapudi, Sirisha Ravipati, Vaninath Uppalapati, Meher Velagapudi and Raghu Ravipati. Due to the effective publicity of Sridhar Patel and his team, there were more than 1200 people in attendance. Registration process for so many people was smoothly handled by Srinivas Rayapareddi and team. There was also a play area for the children, which was organized by the DTA youth committee under the guidance of Padmaja Talluri. Audio visual effects were superb due to the efforts of Ramana Mudeganti, Jogeswara Rao Peddiboyina, Srinivas Raju Dhenuvakonda and Narendra Seth. All the guests were extremely happy with the delicious food provided by local Telugu restaurants as organized by Satish Mandalapu and team. Photo exhibits were setup by Radhika Munnangi and Bhavani Koneru.

Sri. Naidu spent couple of hours in the morning of July 2nd with CEOs of businesses owned by Telugus, Physicians and the Volunteers that made his first ever visit to Detroit a memorable event. Detroit Telugus are known for their hospitality and we exceeded our past performance in taking care of our guests, thanks in part to Srinivas Gonuguntla, Srinivas Dasari and their team. Transportation and security are very crucial in such high profile events, which were very well handled by Basavendra Surapaneni and Srinivasa Rao Kandela.