Monday, January 12, 2009

Traditionally, networking in the Washington area Sikh community has been centered around religious activities. Lakhinder Vorha, president and chief executive of the new Sikh Chamber of Commerce, aims to change that.

The chamber, which launched in December, plans to announce itself with a party coinciding with the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, Vorha said. It's designed to bring together members of the Sikh Indian religious minority.

"Because of the economy taking the turn that it did and the change in the White House, many Sikhs are feeling that to deal with the realities of today they can no longer just go run the store, lock it up and go home," said Vorha, executive director of a news portal for local Sikhs, http://Sikhcommunitycenter.org, and founder of the new chamber. ''They've got to be involved."

He is inviting doctors, lawyers and other professionals to the group, but the chamber also will be reaching out to tech entrepreneurs, bookstore owners, printing companies, and public relations and other firms, he said. He has heard from Sikhs who are home builders and in the construction field who are looking for ways to network in new industries.

"We want to create a place where business people can come, meet others and bounce ideas around," he said.

The group will host the Sikh Inaugural Ball on Jan. 20 at the Ascot Indian Restaurant, just a few blocks from the White House. The event will be a fundraiser to help get the organization off the ground, Vorha said. Tickets are $150 to $250.

"Even when times are so tough, more and more new people want to get into business. I've got at least 20 business cards on my desk from people who started companies in the last six to eight weeks," he said. "We have been very proud of our culture, but we cannot function in isolation. From a commerce standpoint, a lot of people are getting into new areas that they don't know a lot about, so it's important that we network."

-- Anita Huslin