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Chapter 2008 Annual Business Meeting Luncheon
The final meeting of the season was held at the Singing Bamboo Restaurant, on May 24, 2008. This being the Annual Meeting of the chapter, the financial report as of 12/31/07 was presented to the members. The report was given to the Secretary to file in the minutes of the meeting. With regret the resignation of Stan Schwartz from the position of Vice President due to family commitments was announced. Joy Dupont was appointed by the Executive Committee to fill the unexpired term of Vice President. Chapter elections will take place next year. The membership was advised of the creation of a program entitled Friendship Bridge to accommodate donations received for disasters of any kind in China, earthquake, floods, etc. USCPFA is a tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization. Anyone who wishes to make a donation to be sent to China for the earthquake relief may send a check to the chapter marked Friendship Bridge for earthquake relief, and the funds will be sent to the organization decided upon by the membership, such as the American Red Cross, or the Chinese Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. If preferred, members may send contributions themselves to the American Red Cross or other agencies of their choice. In the spirit of cooperation with our local Chinese community, the chapter made a small donation to the earthquake relief drive conducted by CASEC, a non profit organization in Florida.
The other major program of the chapter is the Polly Feustel Memorial Scholarship Fund. At the meeting awards were given to two students from Olympic Heights High School, Boca Raton, enrolled in the Chinese courses taught by chapter member Yinjie Qian. Mrs. Qian introduced Stanley Chun Ha and Francisco Miranda, the two students selected for this year’s scholarships, as having not only achieved academic success, but both having won many awards at the State Chinese competitions. Stanley has been accepted at University of Florida; Francisco is a Pathfinder nominee, he will attend Florida Atlantic University. They showed leadership and were involved in community services and in promoting Chinese culture. Mrs. Qian congratulated both young men and said they deserved the recognition, and she hoped they will continue to study Chinese and to promote the understanding between cultures and nations. She thanked their parents, who were present, for rearing such wonderful children and for their relentless support. She then thanked Marge, Marty, and Stan, and all the members of the organization for their gracious support that was instrumental in supporting the Chinese program. She recalled when she first started the program at Olympic Heights that the Palm Beach chapter leadership was excited, and wanted to help the program and her students, and she is glad that support came to fruition.
The accompanying pictures show Francisco Miranda and Stanley Chun Ha each being presented with a $100 check and a certificate of recognition for their Chinese studies.
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