CACS was the brainchild of Mr. Frank Fat. He felt that there should be an organization that would speak as one political voice for the Chinese in Sacramento. In 1986, he formed an ad hoc steering committee that included Dolly Louie, Kim Lum, Dorine Chan, Baron Lowe, Lonnie Wong, Jerry Fat, Roger Fong, Ray Chan, Ron Tom, Ed Wong, Tom Chin, Jerry Chong, and was chaired by Roy Wong. After several organizational meetings and much hard work, the Chinese American Council of Sacramento was formed in 1987. Prior to that, no organization of this kind existed in our community.
The new mission statement was hotly debated by this committee. The final draft was the following: The Chinese American Council of Sacramento is an organization committed to building a stronger Chinese American presence through leadership in advocacy, civic, and cultural activities. The genius is in the simplicity of this statement.
Seventeen years ago, CACS was one of the first of a new generation of Chinese American organizations. Today there are many. CACS has been proud to share that leadership role with these organizations.
Currently CACS is providing leadership in many venues. Some of the areas where CACS is involved are the Locke restoration project, the Ping Yuen Senior Housing project, the Multicultural Committee of the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau, Pacific Rim Street Fair, the Gold Rush Days event in Old Sacramento, the author/lecture dinLocke restoration project, the Ping Yuen Senior Housing project, the Multicultural Committee of the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau, Pacific Rim Street Fair, the Gold Rush Days event in Old Sacramento, the author/lecture dinners, scholarships, U.S. Federal Courthouse historical display, and historical fieldtrips. We are also in the process of writing a book on the history of the Chinese in Sacramento, hopefully to be published in the near future. If you would like to become involved in any of these activities, please feel free to contact me ([email protected]). We are very proud of the fact that CACS has been the avenue which many of our current leaders have begun their community service careers.
In the year 4701, Year of the Monkey, I am optimistic about the future of CACS. Our board and advisory committee are filled with experienced and outstanding citizens of our community. With their help I am confident that CACS will continue to further the goals set forth by Mr. Frank Fat. We thank you for being a part of this future.
Dr. Douglas Yee