Indian-born named for Republican convention
Narender Reddy, a real estate broker in Georgia, has been named by Republican Party as a delegate to national party convention.
Narender G Reddy, a real estate broker of Indian origin in Georgia, has been nominated by the state Republican Party as a delegate to the national party convention scheduled for August in New York City.
The Osmania University (Hyderabad) law graduate who went on to do his Masters in Business Administration from the University of Evansville, Indiana, was drawn to Republican politics by President Ronald Reagan's charisma, he said.
"I came to understand that the Republicans were closer to Indian values -- education, religion, family. So I decided when I become financially stable, I would become active," he said.
And sure enough, since 1991, he has held several positions and is designated a "pioneer" having raised more than $100,000 for the party.
This year when US president George Bush was scheduled to visit Georgia, "the party asked me if I wanted to co-host the fundraiser", which meant he had to raise a minimum of $20,000. He raised $40,000 before the deadline.
The party then suggested that if he raised $60,000, he could be recognised as State Vice Chair of the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign. He did and is now Vice Chair.
He also got face-time with the president, "who pronounced my name like an Indian, which means he worked on it. He signed my daughters' picture and he seemed a real down-to-earth guy", Reddy said.
At the state party convention May 14 and 15, Reddy spoke of his background and about Indian Americans: "They are everywhere... over 2 million in this country... with about 60,000 of them living here in Georgia."
He said Indian Americans made up 10 per cent of American physicians, owned 35 per cent of the hotels in this country, and they created jobs for others.
On the second day of the convention, Reddy was elected as one of the delegates to represent Georgia at the New York national convention.
An entrepreneur himself, he and four other Indian-American partners ventured into banking business in 1995, apart from his real estate ventures.
The "Quantum National Bank" at Suwanee, Georgia, was the first Indian-American owned bank opened in the South East US, he said.
Among several other organisations, he served as president of the Indian-American Cultural Association, Atlanta, Telugu Association of Metro Atlanta, and Indian American Forum for Political Education Georgia Chapter.
He is a founding member of Indian Professionals Network, Georgia Indian American Chamber of Commerce, and American Telugu Association.
In 2003, he founded the Georgia Indian American Republican Council.
Last year, after Republican Governor Sonny Perdue got elected Governor of Georgia -- the first Republican in 150 years -- he appointed Reddy to the Board of Georgia Regional Transportation Authority in September 2003 for a five-year term.