DAMMAM, 3 November 2004 — Mathews P. Kurien, an Indian expatriate working as general manager of AZCOME in Dammam, is one of the non-resident Indians to be honored with a “Hind Rattan” award at the 24th international congress of NRIs scheduled to be held in New Delhi on the eve of the country’s Republic Day.
NRIs from all over the world will participate in the congress set from Jan. 24-28 at Hotel Le Meridien.
“I’m delighted and humbled by the award,” Kurien said on receiving a communication from Trinetra Bajpai on behalf of the NRI Welfare Society of India. Bajpai heads the management of the Manso Group in Jubail Industrial City.
Kurien, a “Distinguished Toastmaster,” belongs to Kottayam district in the southern Indian state of Kerala. He is a nominated member of the Higher Board monitoring all eight international Indian schools across the Kingdom.
He has conducted speech craft programs for teachers and has compiled and published a booklet “Responsibilities of meeting participants” which is widely used in the Toastmasters’ fraternity.
He was instrumental in setting up the Gulf Toastmasters Council in 1996 and was elected the first governor of Toastmasters Clubs in the Gulf. He later served as its long-term strategic planning committee chairman.
In 2002, he was adjudged the best toastmaster of the year of district 79P, one of 100 Toastmasters Clubs of the Gulf.
