WAPI History Let it begin with humility, let it blossom with grace and honor, and let it sustain with strength and convictions. In early 80’s, when I started my medical practice in Seattle, there were only a handful of physicians of Indian origin in the entire State of Washington. Consequently, in those days Indian origin physicians mainly socialized in various Indian Community functions. With such small number of physicians, it was impossible to form a separate physician organization. Over the years as our numbers started to swell, it gradually became impractical for such a group of physicians with a common heritage and cultural background to get together on an ad hoc basis. Many Indian origin physicians simply did not know each other and had never met in person. From time to time there were suggestions that it would be ideal to form an organization especially devoted to physicians of Indian origin. My desire to form such an organization remained dormant for many years till April of 2000, when I received a phone call from the Regional Director, Pacific Northwest Region of AAPI essentially underscoring the fact that in the State of Washington there was no organization devoted to the Indian origin physicians and encouraging us to move in that direction. Subsequently, first steps were taken in the direction of forming WAPI. I got in touch with several prominent physicians of Indian origin and arranged a meeting to assess the feasibility of forming such an organization. With the help of a few colleagues we started collecting names and addresses of as many physicians and dentists as we could and decided to arrange a meeting. We invited all those physicians and dentists for whom we had addresses. This meeting was held at the Wood Mark Hotel, Kirkland in October 2001 with about 70 physicians in attendance. Being familiar with his interest in the Indian community, Washington congressman Hon. Jim McDermott was also invited to address this meeting. In his address Jim McDermott emphasized that he had attended several meetings arranged by physicians of Indian origin in other states and often wondered why in our own state we do not have such an organization. Almost all in attendance were in favor of forming an organization. There was an atmosphere of enthusiasm and several physicians in attendance volunteered to work toward forming such an organization. There was a general consensus that we all will benefit from such an organization, which would have several advantages. Professionally, we will be able to share our experience and knowledge. With our common thread of heritage and culture, we will be able to network socially and culturally. It will bring us together as a physician community. It will establish our presence in the Northwest region, and would- consequently will bring credibility to our group. We will be able to sponsor and perform charitable activities on a much broader and organized scale. Medicine is the field where, in our patient’s care, we not only bring our medical knowledge but also our cultural, personal, philosophical experiences and beliefs of lifetime. Having a common heritage, culture and beliefs, we felt that such an organization will bring us a unique understanding and a sense of belonging. Because of such a show of enthusiasm from those attending the meeting, another meeting was arranged in January 2002. In this meeting a slate of officers for the executive body of Washington Association of Physicians of Indian Origin – WAPI was elected. This was the official beginning of WAPI for the State of Washington. During the first two years after its inception several milestones for our organizations were achieved. First and foremost WAPI’S governing body with its executive members was elected and various committee chairs were nominated. The Articles of Incorporation were filed early on and WAPI became a tax-exempt organization. Bylaws for this new organization were written and were approved by the governing body. Please see WAPI’S Achievements page for details. In summary, during the couple of years of infancy WAPI has well established itself for the benefit of its membership and the community as a whole. WAPI is well on its way to achieve its mission. It has been an incredible experience to work with- the dedicated members of WAPI. I want to whole-heartedly thank each and every- governing body member for their hard work, dedication and enthusiasm to make WAPI a success in a very short period of time. I encourage each and every physician and dentist of Indian origin in the Washington State to join our own organization. Let WAPI be the celebration of our professional values and cultural heritage. Please get involved, participate and reap the sublime contentment of service for our community, which is imbedded in our ancient heritage. Sincerely, Raksha V. Trivedi M.D, F.A.C.O.G President WAPI, 2002-2003