The awardees included Rev Sr Maria Goretti, Mother General, SRA, Austria (Rachana Outstanding Woman of the Year); Paul Tauro, Madyanthyar, Belthangady (Rachana Agriculturist of the Year); Richard Rodrigues, Mangalore (Rachana Entrepreneur of the Year); C T J Gonsalves, Mangalore (Rachana Professional of the Year); and Lawrence D’Souza, Kuwait (Rachana NRI Entrepreneur of the Year).
Addressing the gathering after conferring the awards, IAS officer Dr Christy Fernandez, the secretary to the President of India, lauded the efforts of Rachana for honouring the deserved.
Stating that he was happy to note that Rachana, the Catholic Chamber of Commerce, has been a source of encouragement to the ‘stakeholders,’ unlike the other Chambers of Commerce which are generally concerned about only ‘shareholders,’ Dr Fernandez complimented Rachana for boosting the morale of the deserving and needy.
Terming stakeholders and shareholders as the two wheels of a chariot, he stressed the need to take stakeholders along with shareholders for a better society.
Presiding over the award ceremony, Mangalore Diocese Bishop Rev Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza too congratulated the awardees and complimented Rachana for encouraging the deserved for their contribution to the welfare of the society.
Earlier, Rachana President Marcel Monteiro, on behalf of Rachana, handed over a cheque for Rs 2 lakh to the Bishop for construction of a house to the poor in the diocese. The diocese has planned to construct 125 houses to the poor as a part of the celebrations of the formation of 125 years of Mangalore diocese.
Jury
The jury for the prestigious awards comprised CA Rudolf Rodrigues, Dr Meera Aranha, Casmir Menezes, Roy Castellino, Marjorie Texeira, Austin Peres, Louis J Pinto, Capt John Prasad Menezes, Ronald Gomes, Joe Coelho and John D’Silva among others.
