News Dragon - February 2009

NewsDragon Volume 57, Issue 2 : : February 2009 The Voice of the Honolulu Chinese Jaycees 2009 HCJ Board

HCJ: #1 Hawaii Chapter For 2008!

* Jonathan Cook President

Lily Fung Chairman

Ryan Ng Executive VP

Anthony Sato 2nd Vice Pres.

Ken Sum

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rd

Vice Pres.

Krystal Lee 4th Vice Pres.

Ramy So Treasurer

James Kanda Daniel Cheung Michael Valiente Ross Lee Duc Nguyen Directors

Jesse Hosaka

Yes, it was a big night for your chapter at the Year End Convention! Your chapter came out on top for 2008 – Much Mahalo to all our members and chapter officers for winning that honor! You can read all about the awards we won in our recap on page 4. That same night our chapter gave the highest honor it can give to a lady who undeniably deserved it – read about JCI Senator Yvette Lee on Page 3.

___________________________________________ March GMM We’ll see you at Moiliili Comm Ctr, Rm 202. Come out and get the lowdown on what’s up! Food is provided. Shaka-ing is optional. When? Tuesday, March 17th, 7PM.

HCJ Goal For 2009

Webmaster

______________________________________________________________________________ President’s Message…..…………………………………………………..………………………………. 2 Year End Convention Recap.……………...…………………………………………………….………. 4 Senator Yvette Lee!………………………...….…………………………...…………………………….. 5 Night In Chinatown Recap…………………………….....……...……………..………………………… 6 Pictures!……….……….……………………………………….………………………………..……….…. 7

President’s Message___________________________________________ Aloha! It’s been a big month since we last spoke. The past few weeks have seen: • • • • • • • •

A great Night In Chinatown we can all be proud of Our first ever Night In Chinatown food booth fundraiser that was a huge success! The return of HCJ’s involvement with the Miss Chinatown Visitation for Chinese New Year HCJ taking the top spot: #1 Hawaii Chapter for 2008 The HCJ Board Retreat Speak Up & Write Up Competitions that saw HCJ competitors take many of the top honors 2008 President Lily Fung winning the Watkins Award for Top Chapter President of the Year Ana Che taking both Admin Support Office of the Year plus the Armbruster Award while Kathy Kam took Exec VP of the Year

There were many other moments that would make any HCJ-er, including this one, proud to be a part of this chapter. A big mahalo to all who helped make these successes possible!

Choi Sun & President Jon Wish You A Prosperous New Year!

We’re now looking forward to the coming months and we’d like to invite you to some great events. In the following days we’ll be getting together for some karaoke, which we’re calling Singin’ at The Shore Bird (Sat, Feb 21, 8PM) as well as another great Hiking With Anthony outing the very next day (Sun, Feb 22, Details TBA). We’re also volunteering to help with the Honolulu Festival (March 15) and there’ll be a special training on the Native Hawaiian custom of ‘Awa Drinking, led by the great John Cummings. We want to invite you to come out to each of these great projects. It’ll be a great time. Lastly, I want to thank Jesse Hosaka for his running of our HCJ website.

Sincerely, Jonathan Cook 58h President, “Forging New Leaders” Phone: 342-2737 / Email: [email protected]

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NewsDragon * Volume 57 * Issue 2

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Senator Yvette!

When convention time comes, the vast majority of awards are those given to the chapters and members by the State Jaycees. But there’s always a special time set aside for chapters to give the highest recognition to their own – the JCI Senatorship. This convention, we at HCJ recognized Yvette Lee, making her a JCI Sentator in gratitude, and in acknowledgement, of her great accomplishments and contributions to the chapter. Yvette served her chapter with distinction in such positions as: Membership Development VP, International Development VP, Corresponding Secretary, Executive VP and, of course, as our 53rd President in 2004. She also created and executed many great projects, including the International Youth Art Exchange with Japan. Despite this sterling record, Yvette might be best known for being a National Speak Up winner. The competition for this title is fierce, to say the least. Yet she met all comers and came away with top honors. Yvette went on to represent us at World Congress. It’s a testament not only to the opportunities the Jaycees offer, but also to Yvette’s hard work and determination once given that opportunity. Today, as a proud and loving mother, she continues to support her chapter and the work she believes in. Her reviving of HCJ’s collection for the Hale Ho’omalu shelter is just one example. Congratulations, Yvette, on an honor that’s well earned!

Honolulu Chinese Jaycees Interested in joining HCJ? Contact us!

Mail: Honolulu Chinese Jaycees, P.O. Box 957, Honolulu, Hawaii 96808 Email:

[email protected] Tel: (808) 342-2737

Online: MySpace.com/HonoluluChineseJaycees / Facebook: Search ‘Honolulu Chinese Jaycees’ Web Site: HcjHawaii.com 3

NewsDragon * Volume 57 * Issue 2

State Year End Convention__________________________________ The Year End Convention is the culmination of 12 months of hard work, paid out in blood, sweat and tears. Yes, folks, Jaycees is serious business. So it was with guarded optimism that your chapter showed up at the Oahana Airport Hotel. Our #1 placement at last Convention was no guarantee we’d be on top for the entire year. Friday night was dedicated to fun with a Casino Night, manned by the JCI Old Timers. The play was fast and furious, the chips being turned in for tickets in a drawing. New member Allan Wu was our big winner, taking 4 prizes, including a UH Seat Cushion! The fun was soon replaced by complete terror, though. Saturday morning brought on the competitions. Your chapter representatives went in to interviews for the Armbruster, Watkins & Brownfield awards. Imagine being given an Advanced Algebra test by Atilla The Hun – and you had to write your answers in Swahili. That’s nothing compared to the trials of a Jaycees Award Interview.

HCJ took such honors as: R. Allen Watkins (Outstanding Chapter President/Lily Fung), Outstanding Exec VP (Kathy Kam), Outstanding Admin Support (Ana Che) and, yes, #1 Chapter In Hawaii for 2008! Congratulations to HCJ, our members and our 57th President, Lily Fung!

AWARDS WON BY HCJ CHAPTER AWARDS #1 Chapter In Hawaii, 2008 1st Place, Annual Report 

PROJECT AWARDS 2nd Place ID: Fast Eddie 3rd Place ID: Animal Grossology 2nd Place FM: 50th State Fair 1st Place, International Involvement Commission: Dragon Boat Festivities 1st Place, Membership Services Commission: HCJ Halloween Party  1st Place, Community Services Commission: 55th Annual Healthy Baby Contest  1st Place, Community Fundraising Commission: Save The Aloha Week Parade 

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS 1st - Speak Up Pro: Thayer Goya 3rd - Speak Off: Thayer Goya 1st - Speak Up Novice: Jon Cook 3rd Place Write Up: Ana Che

One of the HCJ Tables at the banquet In addition, HCJ proudly fielded competitors such as Thayer Goya, Ryan Ng & Ana Che in the Write Up & Speak Up heats. The outcome of all of these fine efforts wouldn’t be known until the banquet that night. Luckily for you, the reader, the wait to hear the results is much shorter.

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R. Allen Watkins Award: Lily Fung  Masato Kamisato Award: Lily Fung  John H. Armbruster Award: Ana Che Outstanding Admin Support, 3rd Trimester: Ana Che Outstanding Admin Support for Year: Ana Che Outstanding Exec VP for Year: Kathy Kam  Outstanding Director, 3rd Trimester: Jon Cook Outstanding Director for Year: Jon Cook Outstanding New Member of Year: Anthony Sato Outstanding New Member, 3rd Trimester: Anthony Sato Outstanding New Member, 3rd Trimester: Ken Sum Outstanding New Member Of Year: Ken Sum Outstanding New Member, 3rd Trimester: Daniel Cheung Outstanding New Member Of Year: Daniel Cheung Top Recruiter: Daniel Cheung

NewsDragon * Volume 57 * Issue 2

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HCJ Board Retreat

& Events

Your HCJ Board got down to business with their Beginning of the Year Retreat, kicking things off with a Jaycees history lesson. Past President Wes Kam brought the noise AND the funk, relating many significant facts about our great organization. Did you know that the Jaycees were the prime movers in the creation of Air Mail service? That the Hawaii Jaycees started both the Aloha Festival & the 50th State Fair & helped Hawaii get statehood? Or that Elvis considered his Jaycees’ ‘Ten Outstanding Young Americans’ award to be his greatest honor? His award is still displayed in the place of honor in Graceland today. The 2nd half of Wes’ presentation was dedicated to teaching parliamentary procedure so both GMMs and HCJ Board Meetings will now be all ‘legal-like’. Especially valuable were Wes’ tips on dealing with loud talkers and cell phone use during meetings. These tested techniques, though technically only legal in Libya, will be coming soon to an HCJ meeting near you! Up next was the always-entertaining Karen Lee Sur. Her subject for that day: Membership Recruitment. Ms. Sur is a Past President herself, known for recruiting so successfully that many claimed she somehow put them into a trance, waking them up only after they had written a check to HCJ. Karen gave the Board excellent training from her years of experience, which we plan to put to work effectively this year. It was apparent why Ms. Sur was so successful in bringing members into the fold. If we’re half as good as her, we will be doing very well indeed.

Much Mahalo to Wes & Karen for their time and most especially for sharing their knowledge and experience with us!

Upcoming Projects__________________________________________________ Saturday, Feb 21, 8PM

Sunday, Feb 22, 11AM

Singin’ At The Shore Bird

Hiking With Anthony Info: [email protected] Karaoke & 1/2 Price Food DIRECTIONS: Take exit 10 on H1 from Honolulu, stay to the at the Shore Bird Restaurant! right of turn. Go down to the 3rd stoplight Located in the Outrigger (Waimano Home Road), take a R. Go down to Reef Hotel (2169 Kalia Rd). Parking is free at the Reef Komomai street, take a L. Go to end of this street and park. OR with validation. See you Take exit 10 towards Waimalu, keep left at the there! fork. Follow signs for Pearl City. Turn L on Waimano Home Rd.  Take a L on Komomai St.  Go to end of this street and park.

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Friday, March 6

First Friday Trip We’re getting up a group to head down to Chinatown for 1st Friday. Details on meeting time/place to come. Email to let us know you’re interested: HonoluluChineseJaycees @gmail.com

NewsDragon * Volume 57 * Issue 2

Night In Chinatown!_________________________ Night In Chinatown always kicks off the year in style and this year was no different! Where to start? How about with the fact that HCJ, for the very 1st time, ran their own food booth fundraiser?

As any experienced HCJ member will tell you, 4PM at Night In Chinatown means one thing – time for the Parade. President Jon was given the honor of riding in his own Corvette down the route.

Board members Ryan Ng & Krystal Lee put together the project, running it like clockwork. We were blessed with the great help of members and friends who pitched in to make the booth a huge success! Best of all, the delicious food was catered by Eastern Food Center, so we didn’t have to do any cooking ourselves.

Gordon & Kathy At ‘Night In Chinatown’ HQ Chapter members and friends could be seen the entire parade route, keeping the streets clear and the crowd safe. If you’ve ever seen the size of the crowds at an NIC Parade, you know it’s a big job.

(L to R) Ramy, Krystal & Ken Serve Up Da Grindz While our faithful workers served up ono dishes all, the always-inspiring NIC festivities were also going on. HCJ members showed up as early as 5:30AM to man the streets and help set-up for the big day.

After the parade our workers began the evening shift. Along with pitching in at the food booth, our people took on such jobs as: performance stage security, NIC Headquarters duty, standing guard on Pauahi St, trash removal and a wide variety of other jobs.

Shortly after the official street closings at 8AM, a special team met up at headquarters, ready to revive a tradition: the HCJ-Miss Chinatown Visitation. The Miss Chinatown Court was escorted once again around Chinatown for the presentation of oranges to merchants and societies to wish them good luck for the coming year. In addition to HCJ President Jon, Mayor Mufi Hanneman also joined the Court for some stops. Deanne Morimoto kept the team moving, while JERRY provided valuable service as our Cantonese translator. Ace photographer Ross Lee took pictures for us and 2009 NIC Project Chairman Anthony Sato took on the most grueling job of all: pushing the orange cart.

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Back at the food booth, we finally ran out of food at 10PM. Despite that, we still had customers coming over asking us for more! It was a great way to kick off the year and raise some money for our chapter work. Members, Roosters and friends – take a bow for your great work and for helping to put on another great ‘Night In Chinatown’!

NewsDragon * Volume 57 * Issue 2

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Jerry, Jon & Ross With Miss Chinatown Court

Pictures Page

Ramy & Jason At ‘Night In Chinatown’ HQ

Ramy & 2 of HCJ’s Most Eligible Bachelors

Allan With 1 of the 4 Prizes He Won

Ana Wins The Armbruster! President Lily Takes The Watkins Award!

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NewsDragon * Volume 57 * Issue 2

HCJ Schedule of Events – FEBRUARY / MARCH Saturday, February 21st

Singin’ At The Shore Bird Outrigger Reef Hotel, 2169 Kalia Rd

Friday, March 6th st

1 Friday Outing, Chinatown Contact: [email protected]

8PM

Sunday, February 22nd

Hiking With Anthony, Again! Manana Valley Hike Meet Up 11AM Call Anthony, 554-3651 For More Info/Directions

Sunday, March 15th

Honolulu Festival Parade 5:00PM

Tuesday, March 17th

HCJ GMM Moiliili Community Center, Rm 202 7PM

Stay tuned for announcements on activities, projects & sports! Look for HCJ emails and check our website: HcjHawaii.com

Honolulu Chinese Jaycees PO Box 957 Honolulu, HI 96808