Padma Lakshmi, host of popular reality show ‘Top Chef’, added a new feather to her cap last week when the author and model was named a recipient of 2016 Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
According to the latest list of honorees for this year, announced by the National Coalition of Ethnic Organizations April 28, Padma Lakshmi is among six South Asian- Americans who have been selected for the 2016 Ellis Island honor to be awarded to a total of 88 distinguished immigrants to the United States at a colorful ceremony on Ellis Island May 7. Besides the 88 national honorees, there will be three international honorees as well.
The award pays homage to the immigrant experience and the contribution made to America by immigrants and their children. The medals are awarded to native-born and naturalized U.S. citizens.
Besides Lakshmi, the other Indian-Americans in the list of this year’s honorees are Ajay Lodha,. Rekha Bhandari, Akkaraju V.N. Sarma, Prerna Mona Khanna, all of them medical doctors, and Pakistan-born medical professional Mehmood Khan who is the vice-chairman and chief scientific officer of PepsiCo.
“I’m so pleased to announce the names of the 2016 Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipients. This year we had an overwhelming number of nominations and have been working since January to select the most patriotic, compassionate, accomplished Americans to honor. On May 7 all honorees will join me on Ellis Island for a ceremony that will be remembered for a lifetime,” Nasser J. Kazeminy, Chairman of NECO said in a statement.
Each medalist will receive their honor on stage in front of family and friends, before retiring to the Great Hall for an elegant dinner where the festivities will continue. Finally, the honorees will be ferried back to Battery Park while fireworks provided by the world-famous Grucci family light up the sky above the Lady Liberty.
The medals were established at the time of NECO’s founding in 1986. This year marks the we 30th anniversary of Ellis Island Award ceremony.
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