Barack Obama Vinai Thummalapally India
President Barack Obama’s affinity with Indian culture goes back to his early college days, thanks to Vinai Thummalapally, an Indian-born friend, who went on to become a significant fundraiser for his 2008 presidential campaign bringing in more than $100,000.
Thummalapally’s association with Barack Obama started in 1979 at Occidental College, located just 25 miles from Amritt headquarters in Cerritos, California. He and “”Barry” as Obama was known would often get together with other college friends watching basketball games, discussing foreign politics and eating South Indian food cooked by Thummalapally and a cousin. In the summer of 1980, the two friends became college roommates. They remained friends when Barack Obama moved to New York in 1981 to attend Columbia University. Thummalapally recalls that his friend ‘Barry’ always aspired towards a life in public service, and in particular of wanting to help the disadvantaged. He also remembers him as a man of moderation, who loved to jog, play sports, hit the gym, read books, and socialize.
Hailing from the Southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and a mechanical engineer by profession, Thummalapally has worked as general manager at WEA Manufacturing, managing partner of Clines Office Products and plant manager for Mitsui Advanced Media Inc. He is President and owner of MAM-A Inc., a CD and DVD manufacturing company in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Thummalapally and his wife Barbara attended the wedding of Barack and Michelle Obama in 1992. They also worked as fundraiser and volunteer respectively during the 2008 Presidential campaign. Thummalapally fundraising efforts collected $100,000 to $200,000 for the campaign. In recognition of his efforts and long-standing association with the President, in 2009, Thummalapally was appointed as the US ambassador to Belize. Thummalapally is the first Indian-American to become a US Ambassador.
