It has to be difficult for the child of a highly accomplished father or mother to not be dwarfed by the parent.
In the case of Suresh Chawla, rather than being crushed by his father’s legacy, he has built upon it.
Chawla has grown into a successful businessman and community leader in his own right. The family’s hotel business, which his father, V.K., started in 1989 with a single property in Greenwood, now includes 19 hotels, 13 of which are overseen by Suresh, the rest by his older brother, Dinesh. In each of those Delta cities where Suresh Chawla operates a hotel, he has taken a leadership role, whether it be in tourism development, community building or recreation. He has been a strong supporter of education in all of its forms, both public and private. He doesn’t just talk a good game. He puts his time and money behind those endeavors that make a community better.
For all of this, we honor Chawla with the newspaper’s Community Service Award — 15 years after we did the same for his father.
The award, presented in conjunction with the Profile edition, recognizes an individual who has made a significant, lasting contribution to the betterment of this community. It is also intended to encourage others to follow that example.
Chawla inherited a legacy, then created one of his own. He is to be admired for it.
