Dr. Nijher Speaking Tour: Day 7

Tuesday, September 10, 2002
Day 7

Dr. Nijher arrived in Baltimore late in the evening on Monday night from Houston. He went directly from the airport for a television interview taped at a Virginia TV station’s studios. After the interview he met with the Maryland area Sikh community and finally settled into his hotel room around 1 am.

Getting an early start next day, he headed out to the Maryland Chamber of Commerce in Pikesville where he gave a presentation at 7 am. His message of tolerance and diversity resonated very well with the business leaders who, like in other cities, gave him a standing ovation.

Following the Chamber of Commerce speech, Dr. Nijher met with a contingent of firefighters, all of whom were at the Pentagon last Sept 11th. Dr Nijher and the firefighters discussed their experiences and the firefighters thanked Dr. Nijher for his work in helping save their colleagues in New York. The local Sikh community brought lunch for the firefighters and mingled with them. The Sikh community toured the building and developed relationships with the local public safety officials.

After meeting with the firefighters, Dr. Nijher headed out to Washington DC to meet with the DC Public Service commissioners. Over lunch he delivered his message to another audience which was again well received.

Immediately following this speech, he met with employees of the National Weather Service, again to expose the audience to Sikh values and culture. At 3 pm, following the DC engagements, the Doctor was off to Virginia again to conduct another television interview, then driven back to Maryland where he did a live 4 minute interview on Cable News 21 for their six o'clock news.

At 8 pm, he arrived for dinner at a local Sikh’s home for dinner with the Maryland area Sikh community. More than 60 guests attended the event, including the local fire chief and Joe Zogby from the Department of Justice. Also attending were representatives from SMART, Sikh Coalition and the Kaur Foundation.

At 1 am, Dr Nijher settled into his DC hotel. He was to catch an early morning flight next day to Boston.
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Dr. Nijher’s tour provides an ideal opportunity for the Sikh image and values to be clearly articulated to mainstream America. Newsweek and CBS News have recognized Dr. Nijher as a true American hero. He symbolizes the Sikh Americans’ true sprit of courage under fire and putting one’s life on the line to save others. For more information see http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/09/24/archive/main312265.shtml

The Sikh Communications Council (SikhCom) is an IRS recognized, 501c3 non-profit organization funded by the Sikh Community with the goal of educating the American public about Sikhs.