Join us for CACS 28th Annual Gold Mountain Celebration, Friday, October 30, 2015, 5:30~8:30pm at the Asian Pearl Restaurant (Stockton Square Plaza),
6821 Stockton Blvd. #165, Sacramento 95823
Seats are $65 per person or $650 for a table of 10.
All Sponsors please make check payable to SCCSC, — Tax ID# 94-2581434
Mail check to:
CACS,
PO Box 22583
Sacramento, CA 95822
RSVP to Joyce Eng at [email protected] or (916) 995-1186
Gung Hay Fat Choy & Sun Nein Fay Lok!
Dear CACS Friends, Members, and Sponsors,
It’s summertime and a heatwave in Sacramento - stay cool. These first six months have passed so quickly, with the Board officers and advisors kept busy attending community events and participating in outreach with our partners. We are delighted to share those stories in this feature newsletter with you: April bus trip to Alcatraz, the Locke Centennial celebration, and the 150th Anniversary Celebration of the Chinese Building of the US Transcontinental Railroad. During my second term, we continue to focus on supporting programs which promote and educate the community about Chinese culture, youth leadership/development, and civic engagement.
I am pleased to welcome Keith Johnson to our CACS Board, who is currently serving as the Secretary. He is an accomplished writer and is involved with nonprofits in the Sacramento community. His passion is to help organizations succeed in whatever mission they are focused with. Please read Keith’s story for more information about his goals. We thank Karun Yee, former Secretary, for her time in serving during the past years. Karun remains on the Board to assist with youth development programs through Cares for Kids and Operation Santa Claus. On behalf of the Board of Directors, Advisors, and myself, we thank the following community organizations who included CACS in their programs and contributed to our mission to educate and promote future leaders. So far this year, CACS reciprocated with financial and other support as follows:
During this year, CACS is endeavoring to raise funds with your generous donations to financially support the Mandarin Immersion Program, which is operated, in part, through the Sacramento Unified School District. The district has two elementary schools which provide Chinese language classes, William Land and Elder Creek Elementary schools.
On October 30th, please join CACS at the 28th Annual Gold Mountain Celebration at Asian Pearl as we award the Frank Fat Founders award to California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, and induct Sylvia Sun-Minnick into the Frank Fat Hall of Fame. Both individuals have contributed immensely to California. I look forward to meeting you at our GMC event. If you have any suggestions about the programs for CACS, please contact me at (916) 261-2118 or at [email protected]
Respectfully,
Honey Lum, President 2014
CACS participated in a Spelling Bee for middle schools held at McClatchy High School on May 1. (Shown left to right) CACS Member June Fong and CACS Board Member Brenda Fong; 3rd Place, Jezrael Zachari Vicente, 7th Grade, Albert Einstein Middle School; 2nd Place, Mya Johnson, 8th Grade, Martin Luther King, Jr. K8 School; 1st Place, Jailen King, 8th Grade, Albert Einstein Middle School; and CACS Board Member and Judge Joyce Eng. Jim Chong, Joyce Eng and Brenda Fong generously donated $25 Target gift cards to the winners. Thank you, Anne Luong, for coordinating this event.
By Honey Lum
The Asian Pacific State Employees Association (APSEA) hosted their annual scholarship dinner on April 21st at the Happy Garden Restaurant that was attended by 300 guests, including many appointed State agency representatives. The President’s Award was given to Darrell Woo, Sacramento Unified School Board, for his outstanding service to the greater Sacramento community. The Members Award was given to Jim Kahue, Hawaii, for being an APSEA Founder and for supporting and developing programs to support APSEA’s members.
CACS awarded a $1,000 scholarship to Alexandria Jang, who happens to be the daughter of APSEA Treasurer Sandy Jang. Sandy’s family grew up in the Delta area near the historic town of Locke.
The Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association (APAPA) held its 11th Annual Capital Internship & Scholarship Gala Dinner at the Sheraton Grand Hotel this past April. The Keynote Speaker of the evening was California State Controller, Betty T. Yee. The Community Service Award was given to Catherine ‘Ofa Mann for her service to the API community. She is currently a member of the CA Commission on Asian & Pacific Islander American Affairs.
CACS awarded a $1,000 scholarship to Belinda Li. She is attending Pomona College in Claremont, majoring in International Relations with a minor in Chinese. Her greatest passion is singing and public service. Belinda is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese.
By Franc Martinez
The Sacramento Chapter of OCA/Asian Pacific American Advocates held their annual Dragon Boat Festival on May 14 at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in downtown Sacramento. Over 500 guests attended this special occasion.
The event was held in honor of commemorating 20 years of advocacy and empowerment. One of the highlights of the evening was the recognition of nine Past Presidents of OCA Sacramento Chapter. Joyce Eng, current CACS Treasurer, and Linda Ng, former CACS Treasurer, were two of the honorees that evening. Over the last 20 years, CACS has supported OCA Sacramento in many of their events and continues to do so as one of the five community-based organizations that provide services to the Asian Pacific American Community in the Sacramento area.
CACS wishes OCA continued success with these partnerships and services.
The CACS Board welcomes new member Keith Johnson as an activist and a true seeker of change and improvement in both the business and the social justice arenas.
Originally from the Denver, CO area, Keith lived in Reno, NV and at the north shore of Lake Tahoe prior to relocating to Sacramento 20 years ago. His first ten years in the area were capped by a four-year stint with what was then the LIFE/AIDS Lobby, a statewide, nonprofit, lobbying association of over 80 health organizations and political groups.
Volunteer work has included the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Multi-Cultural Community Council, the Sacramento County LINKS mentoring program, Sacramento County Alcohol & Drug Advisory Board and Sacramento County Housing and Redevelopment Agency’s North Sacramento Area Project. Keith attended the Council of Asian Pacific Islanders Together for Advocacy and Leadership (CAPITAL) meetings and still participates in the Community Housing and Services Coalition (an informational forum for those with interests in the senior community, sponsored by the Area 4 Agency on Aging and SMUD).
The past years have also generously provided Keith with experiences that have enabled the creation of a new publication in Brazil and a regional arts and entertainment publication in Los Angeles. A bankrupt lighting store in Florida became the best decoration and design store in a regional readers’ survey after just eleven months. A struggling LGBT community center in Sacramento took nine months to grow from one volunteer and few supporters to over thirty volunteers and multiple programs that encompassed partnerships with law schools, Sacramento County Mental Health and others.
Keith feels an open mind, eyes and heart help to guide changes in a business or organization that resonate with a community, not only on a current basis but also for perceived future needs so that countless people may benefit. “In that interest,” he says, “I’m proud to have been approached by CACS to come into the organization so that we may learn from one another and build on our respective journeys.” Preserving the history of the Chinese community in the Sacramento region is important to him, as well as reaching out to other communities that they may understand and appreciate the depth of that history as it relates to them are challenges he wants to share with CACS.
CACS’s benevolence is a feature that encouraged Keith to join. Support of programs that teach youth the history, arts, language and culture of the early Chinese immigrants and of today’s Chinese community reinforce the positive image of CACS and the entirety of the Sacramento Chinese community. Keith is honored and proud to be able to help CACS find more ways to realize its mission.
By Jim T. Chong
One of the last unique small Chinese settlements remaining in the United States is a little-known town called Locke. With a current population of less than 100 people, this small town is worth visiting to appreciate the simpler life lived in the past, but also the humble and peaceful life able to be lived today by the local residents.
Earlier this year, CACS had the wonderful opportunity to join in the 100th Anniversary Celebration of Locke. This year’s event was co-chaired by our own President, Honey Lum and Treasurer, Joyce Eng. This town is an icon and a great reminder of the historical roles played by the Chinese community in developing our life as we know it today, with the agriculture, railroads, and labor provided as a foundation to our communities. There are very few places in the United States where you can truly feel as if you were entering a Chinese community in another time, where life was much simpler and less complicated.
The town of Locke is indeed rich with history and tradition, starting with the first three buildings built on land owned by George Locke, which were a boarding house, a gambling parlor, and a saloon. Being still very close-knit as a community, the town has been able to maintain its historical feel that visitors can enjoy.
It was great to see thousands of people gathered together at Locke to celebrate its 100th anniversary. Throughout the year, this town is definitely one to visit to escape the hustle and bustle of what life has become in the bigger cities, and to appreciate the things we have today as a result of the sacrifices of the Chinese. There was plenty of wonderful entertainment from locals as well as other Sacramento-based groups such as Eastern Ways, which provided the famous Lion Dance and the various styles of martial arts.
At the event, there was a wonderful sense of gratitude towards the rich history provided, not just by the museum and performances, but also through the town’s presence and culture. We are reminded in a very good way that sometimes the simple things in life are to be cherished and appreciated. We are also reminded not to forget our heritage, which is the root from which come the good things we have today.
By Joyce Eng
This year saw the celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Chinese Immigrants’ Building the U.S. Transcontinental Railroad, and CACS was part of this historical event. It’s called the Silent Spike – the Chinese contributions to the building of the world’s first transcontinental railroad. The story of these immigrants has been glossed over in history for far too long, until now.
Starting on May 15th, CACS President Honey Lum and Board Directors Alex Eng, Joyce Eng, Brenda Fong, Kingman Louie and Karun Yee attended the opening Ceremony Gala held at the Sacramento Railroad Museum. This event was sponsored by APAPA, Union Pacific Railroad, the Sacramento Railroad Museum, and many corporate and Chinese American organizations, including CACS, who donated $1,000 to this event. The Gala dinner was catered by the renowned restauranteur Lina Fat, with unique dishes prepared especially for the Gala by six of the region’s finest Chinese restaurants. The exquisitely crafted, fine Chinese cuisine was inspired by the 150th Anniversary Celebration and has never been served before.
On May 16-17, Honey Lum and Joyce Eng went on a Journey Back in Time on board one of Union Pacific’s most historic trains for an once-in-a-lifetime journey along the rails laid by Chinese workers. The scenic train trip covered the most challenging section of the transcontinental railroad – up 7,000 feet in less than 100 miles over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Needless to say, this was an historical moment neither of us will ever forget.
By Joyce Eng
Fifty-five passengers boarded the bus at 8 a.m. to Alcatraz on Saturday, April 18 for a special exhibit by internationally renowned artist Ai Weiwei. A special slide show by CACS board member Dr. Kingman Louie is presented on our website at www.cacsweb.org.
The weather was perfect and the day was filled with a very special tour lead by Greg Hood, a native of Sacramento. Delicious snacks and lunch from Sprouts were enjoyed by all our passengers. What made this trip so special was the information provided by Mr. Hood on the history and surroundings of Alcatraz Island.
Special thanks to all the board members that supported this event and made this day very special for all our members and CACS friends. We received nothing but positive comments from all who attended this trip, and CACS plans to host another trip to San Francisco next year, so stay tuned for more!
By Brenda Fong
This past April, I had the privilege and pleasure of traveling with members of the Florin Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) and the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) to the historic Manzanar National Park in Independence, CA.
The purpose of this three-day journey was to bring together local members from our API community (high school/college students, 60 former WWII incarcerees, their family members, young people from the Muslim community, educators, business people, and first time travelers like me) to visit and experience, first-hand, what Japanese-Americans endured and sacrificed during their time of forced removal. Internment camps such as Manzanar were typical, a place located in a desolate, hot, windy, and arid desert approximately 350 miles from Sacramento. We also joined 1,000 people at the Manzanar Historic Site for a pilgrimage program and interfaith religious service that featured Dr. Satsuki Ina, PhD, the keynote speaker, who was born at the Tule Lake camp. Dr. Ina’s shared her insights and perspectives on what it was like to endure incarceration and being deprived of one’s civil rights.
We experienced an incident of bigotry while in the town of Bishop. A group of our young people (Asian and Muslim) were denied service by employees of a bowling alley that night. Sadly, this kind of treatment is still confronted today, but the Florin JACL and CAIR-SV have organized a campaign to protest this racism and religious discrimination.
A big thanks goes to the 2015 Manzanar Committee, led by 23 very experienced and committed individuals, (Andy Noguchi, Twila Tomita and Marielle Tsukamoto, to name just three). The committee met all of our needs, from organizing the bus trip, booking our hotel accommodations in Bishop, providing delicious meals and plentiful snacks, the itinerary to Manzanar, and even entertainment. For me it was an once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will never forget!