[Miami, Florida - August 25, 2008] OCA-South Florida Chapter, one of 80 chapters and college affiliates of a national Asian Pacific American organization, won the Chapter Excellence Award for Community Involvement at the annual National Convention and 35th Anniversary celebration this past July 31 through August 3 in Washington, D.C. This is its 5th award since 2000.

The OCA National Convention 2008 was a great success with over 600 attendees across the country. There were various workshops, exhibits, job fairs and mini film festival. During the convention, Chinese American Women: A History of Resilience and Resistance was exhibited by National Women’s History Museum. The Chapter Awards Luncheon recognized 11 chapters for their services in their local communities. The Youth Recognition Luncheon was to recognize eighteen Summer Interns and various scholarship recipients. At the Gala Awards Banquet, GM Unsung Heroes awarded ten members for their contributions, State Farm Insurance Companies received the Corporate Partner of the Year Award, and the OCA Pioneer Awards went to Grand Master Jhoon Rhee, Oscar-nominated director Arthur Dong, international actress Nancy Kwan and OCA founder Kung-Lee Wang.

Throughout the years, OCA-South Florida Chapter has built strong partnership with numerous national and local organizations. Their support enabled OCA – South Florida Chapter to provide programs (Citizenship and Voter Registration Drives, Breast Cancer Awareness, Crime Prevention Forum and Career Fairs), events (Asian Lunar Festival, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month celebrations and Miss Florida Asia) and share information with the South Florida community and beyond.

OCA-South Florida Chapter takes this opportunity to express its gratitude to all business partners, supportive organizations such as Chinese Cultural Foundation, Coral Springs Chinese Cultural Association, NANAY, Polynesian Culture Association, Thai-American Association of South Florida, United Chinese Association of Florida, and many others from South Florida, as well as the Farooq Family, Swaroop Family, Mieko Kabota, Zizi Zabaneh and all volunteers.

Most importantly, OCA-South Florida Chapter extends special thanks to its media partners – United Chinese News of Florida, Miami Gardens Observer, the Epoch Times, Korean News, Asia Trend Magazine, Caribbean Today and the Basta Pinoy – for their continued support and coverage to share its services and programs with the South Florida community.

“It was a great honor for OCA-South Florida Chapter to win the Excellent Chapter Award for Community Involvement for the fifth time and to be one of eleven finalists to receive recognition at the OCA National Convention,” said Winnie Tang, President of OCA-South Florida Chapter. “It is with the support of our partner organizations, businesses and friends that OCA-South Florida Chapter can accomplish this.”

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[Miami, Florida - August 11, 2008] OCA-South Florida Chapter, one of 80 chapters and college affiliates of a national Asian Pacific American organization, proudly supports Asian Pacific American Bar Association of South Florida (APABA) to host the first non-partisan Miami-Dade County – “APABA’s Meet the Candidates” event.

The “APABA’s Meet the Candidates” will be held from 7 to 9 pm on Wednesday, August 13, 2008, at the Rusty Pelican – 3201 Rickenbacker Causeway, Key Biscayne. Admission is free for all attendees.

APABA is a non-partisan organization and does not espouse any political beliefs. It is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to representing and furthering the interests of South Florida APA attorneys and advocating for the APA community at large.

APABA creates this event to increase the APA community’s interaction with the judicial and political system and to help judicial and political candidates gain a greater understanding for the concerns of South Florida APAs.

“APABA is inviting over 100 local, state and federal political and judicial candidates to meet the APA community,” said William Simonitsch, President of Asian Pacific American Bar Association of South Florida. “This is a great opportunity for Asian Pacific Americans to meet the candidates to have a better understand of the candidates’ platforms and to cast their votes accordingly for upcoming elections.”

“Asian Pacific Americans have increased to nearly 400,000 in Florida — six folds since Census 2000 — but too few APAs vote. OCA actively promotes civic participation of Asian Pacific Americans in the electoral and public policy processes at the national, state and local levels,” said Winnie Tang , OCA – South Florida Chapter President. “OCA puts tremendous efforts in voter education and “Get Out The Vote” programs and encourages South Florida APAs to attend the APABA’s Meet the Candidates to fully participate and gain access to the democratic process.”

Founded in 1973 as the Organization of Chinese Americans, OCA is a national organization dedicated to the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans in the United States .

OCA-South Florida Chapter was founded in 1987.

Please show your love and donate to American Red Cross.

http://donate.zhongda.org

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Celebration 2008
Leadership, Diversity, Harmony – Gateway to Success

[Miami, Florid: 5-13-2008] OCA-South Florida Chapter and NANAY are proud to support the first-ever APIAVote National Presidential Town Hall at the University of California, Irvine and to be one of the multiple town halls that are being hosted around the country.

We would like to invite you to this historic Presidential Town Hall featuring Presidential Candidates addressing issues that impact the Asian American and Pacific Islander Community.

The Electronic National President Town Hall will be held on Saturday, May 17, 2008 from 5:30 pm at NANAY Community Center – 659 NE 125 Street, North Miami, FL (305-981-3232). The parking is available at the back of the building on NE 126 Street.

The National Presidential Town Hall will be on Saturday, May 17, 2008 and start from 10:30 Pacific Time (PT) which is 1:30 Eastern Time (ET) with national community capacity building agenda and the National Presidential Town Hall ceremony schedule at 5 pm ET.

With the support of various national Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) organizations, we will be expecting 2,000 community leaders, elected officials, voters, and students representing this diverse community from across the country to participate at the first National Presidential Town Hall hosted by our Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

Join us for this historic event and learn about the candidates before voting in the general election in November, 2008.

Invitations to each campaign were received and APIA Vote is working with the campaigns to schedule each candidate’s appearance.

“We are so happy that NANAY Community Center has the technology support to host this historic event in Miami,” says Joy Bruce – MD, Founding President of NANAY Inc. “Through this opportunity, we can learn more about the Presidential candidates and their policies for the APIA community and community-at-large, so that we can make informed decisions when choosing the next president.”

“We are excited to be able to support this historic National President Town Hall in Miami so we will be part of this important affair in our Asian American and Pacific Islander community,” says Winnie Tang, President of OCA-South Florida Chapter.

What:
Electronic National Presidential Town Hall

Where:
NANAY Community Center
659 NE 125 Street, North Miami, FL 33161

When:
5:30 p.m. Saturday, May 17, 2008

For information and RSVP, call 305-753-8791 or 305-981-3232.

Organized by:
APIAVote

National Supporting Organizations of APIAVote’s Presidential Town Hall:
Over 25 National organizations, for example:
National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA)
Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA)

Local Supporting Organizations of APIAVote’s Presidential Town Hall:
Nationwide, many local organizations
Florida: Florida Chinese Federation, OCA-South Florida Chapter, NANAY Inc., United Chinese Association of Florida and many others

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APIAVote
Building American… One Vote at a Time
The Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that encourages and promotes civic participation of Asian Pacific Islander Americans in the electoral and public policy processes at the national, state and local levels.
| www.apiavote.org | 1666 K Street NW, Suite 440, Washington, D.C. 20006 | 202-223-9170 | F 202-457-0549 |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OCA
EMBRACING THE HOPES AND ASPIRATIONS OF ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICANS
Founded in 1973 as the Organization of Chinese Americans, OCA is a national organization dedicated to the social, political and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans in the United States, with its headquarters in Washington, DC.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OCA-South Florida Chapter was founded in 1987.
| OCA-SFL@juno.com | http://khuang.com/OCA-SFL |
| P O Box 562124, Miami, FL 33256 | 305-753-8791 | F 305-278-8775 |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NANAY, Inc.
NANAY, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) community-based organization that provides supportive services to elders and youth.
| www.nanay.com | 659 NE 125 Street, North Miami, FL 33161 | 305-981-3232 | F 305-981-3231 |
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Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Celebration 2008
Leadership, Diversity, Harmony – Gateway to Success

[Miami, Florid: 5-9-2008] OCA-South Florida Chapter is delighted to cosponsor the Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan dance troupe presents “Memories of the Mountain, Calling of the Sea”.

The performance is part of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, celebrated in May.

Dancers with the Indigenous Youth Social Service Association of the National Pingtung University of Education are headed to Miami – this is one of their stops for a month-long U.S. tour.

“The performance is more than just dancing,” said Winnie Tang, President of OCA-South Florida Chapter. “Through the astonishing performance, you may enjoy the fascinating world of indigenous peoples and their unique cultures.”

Dance and music are among the richest legacies of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples. Group dances that are performed at a wide variety of ceremonies and rituals consist mostly of simple but harmonious walking and foot-stomping movements.

The dancers will perform traditional pieces from 13 tribes.

What:
The Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan dance troupe presents “Memories of the Mountain, Calling of the Sea”

Where:
North Miami Beach Performing Arts Theater
17011 NE 19 Avenue, North Miami Beach, FL 33162

When:
7:00 p.m. Friday, May 16, 2008

How much:
$30 – VIP; $10 General; $5 Children and Students

For information and ticket RSVP, call 305-753-8791.

Organized by:

South Florida Taiwanese Association of America
Miami Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce
and Formosa Association for Public Affairs – South Florida Chapter

Co-sponsored by:

TECO in Miami,
Global Alliance for Democracy and Peace – Florida Chapter,
World Kwong Tung Community Association,
On-Leong Chinese Merchant Association,
Taiwan Business Association of Florida,
South Florida Chinese Cultural Association,
Coral Springs Chinese Cultural Association,
Chinese School of Doral,
Miami Chinese Language School,
OCA-South Florida Chapter and others.

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It’s now available: OCA State Farm Scholarship Application ( 80k pdf download)

OCA Community Job Fair – Where New Opportunities begin

Saturday, April 12, 2008
11:00 am – 3:00 pm

NANAY Community Center
659 NE 125 Street, North Miami, FL 33161
(Parking Lots are located on NE 126 Street, directly behind the Center)
(305) 981-3232

Are you looking for a great career or a new job? Then, you don’t want to miss the OCA Community Job Fair at the NANAY Community Center.

Presented by:

State Farm Companies
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Federal Bureau of Investigation
U.S. Secret Service
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
and others…

For more information: 305-753-8791 / OCA-SFL@juno.com

Co-sponsored by:

Florida Chinese Federation
LEASA Foundation
NANAY, Inc.
NANAY Housing Resource Center
State Farm Companies
United Chinese Association of Florida
United Chinese News of Florida

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Creating a Nation of Readers

[Miami, Florida -- October 30, 2007] OCA-South Florida Chapter is delighted to work with Coral Springs Chinese Cultural Association and United Chinese Association of Florida to support Florida Center for the Book & Broward County Library for The Big Read: The Joy Luck Club 2008 from November 1 to November 30.

Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America, a 2004 report by the National Endowment for the Arts, found that not only is literary reading in America declining rapidly among all groups, but that the rate of decline has accelerated, especially among the young.

The Big Read kick-off will be held on Saturday, November 3, at 2pm at North Regional / Broward Community College Library –1100 Coconut Creek Boulevard, Coconut Creek, FL 33066 — with Chinese Lion Dance and cultural program. Miss Florida Asia 2007 Xiaozhen You will perform at this Kick-off event. The first 50 people to arrive at the program will receive a free copy of Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club. A Chinese Calligraphy exhibit will be on display at the library throughout the month of November.

During Novermber, a Mah Jong Exhibit will be shown at Southwest Regional Library — 16835 Sheridan Street, Pembroke Pines, FL 33331 — and a Feng Shui presentation will be held on November 4, 2007 at 2 pm.

Join us for THE BIG READ, the community-wide reading project funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and focusing on Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club.

For more information on these two events, please contact OCA-SFL at 305-753-8791 or Tara Zimmermann, Florida Center for the Book Literary Events Coordinator, at (954) 357-7386 or tzimmerm@browardlibrary.org for more details on The Big Read activities throughout Broward County or visit http://www.broward.org/library/bigread.htm.

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State Farm Holds Career Open House
August 11 for Job Candidates in various Asian Languages and others

[Miami, Florida - August 8, 2007] OCA-South Florida Chapter, along with NANAY Inc., is delighted to work with State Farm to recruit new associates and will hold a “Career Open House” for people interested in starting a career with State Farm.

The “Career Open House” takes place Saturday, August 11, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., at the NANAY Community Center, 659 NE 125 Street, North Miami, FL 33161.

State Farm has career opportunities available at all levels, including entry-level associates, college graduates and those applicants with experience in claims.

State Farm® was founded on June 7, 1922, by George J. Mecherle, a retired farmer. It initially concentrated on meeting auto insurance needs of Illinois farmers through a mutual organization owned by the customers. In a little over 80 years, State Farm has grown from a small, farming-community-based mutual auto insurer to one of the world’s largest financial institutions.

Since then, the office has been a large part of the community through State Farm corporate community citizens. Associates donate their time and talent to local organizations such as OCA, United Way, the Southeast Asian Resource Action Center and the Leukemia Society. That is why their ads say, “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.®” It’s a philosophy they embrace and try to live by every day.

They have received numerous recognitions and awards such as Outstanding Corporate Partner Award – The Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) and the National Business Advisory Council (BAC) honored State Farm at the OCA National Asian American Corporate Achievement Awards (2002). This second annual award was presented for having an exemplary record of support and commitment to OCA’s mission and the Asian Pacific American community (2005).

“On the national level, State Farm supports numerous OCA’s projects and initiatives including APIA 101: College Leadership Conference and recently $500,000 grant for education programs in the areas of financial literacy for families and business development for entrepreneurs,” states Winnie Tang, President of OCA – South Florida Chapter. “We are honored to work with State Farm local offices to recruit more Asian American associates so our community would be better serve for all levels of insurance, investment and financial services.”

For more information: www.StateFarm.com/Careers, or flor.exec-asianet.812o19@statefarm.com, or 786-394-9643, or 954-240-1380.

For information about OCA: 305-753-8791 or http://khuang.com/OCA-SFL.

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Xiaozhen You crowned as the first Miss Florida Asia

[Miami, Florida - July 31, 2007] Last Saturday, July 21, 2007, OCA – South Florida Chapter and United Chinese Association of Florida successfully co-hosted the first Miss Florida Asia Pageant at the North Miami Beach Performing Arts Theater, drawing over 500 attendees to witness the crowning of Miss Florida Asia.
 

Despite two contestants having to withdraw prior to the contest due to angle injury and final exams, seven contestants competed at the first Miss Florida Asia to celebrate Asian culture with beauty.  They are Marisa Moolsiri [Thailand], Hong-Thuy Nguyen [Vietnam], Ching-Ya (Julia) Ni [Taiwan], Bao-Ying (Amy) Wang [China], Yueting (Jade) Wu [China], Dongfei (Rita) Shang [China] and Xiaozhen You [China].
 

The categories were Miss Florida Asia, 1^st Princess, 2^nd Princess, and awards of Miss Photogenic, Miss Congeniality, Miss Talent, the best National Costume, Best Swimsuit and Best Evening Gown.
 

The Mistresses of Ceremony for the first Miss Florida Asia are Mee Pang and Indra Bosko.  They both are outstanding professional woman and very active in the community services.
 

The six distinguished pageant judges were the Honorable Ricardo Allicock – Counsel General of Jamaica Consulate in Miami, Korean-American surgeon Dr. John Chang, Chinese-American family practice physician Dr. Antonio Wong, Vietnamese-American Quan Anh Cao – English professor of Palm Beach Community College, Chinese-American global financial advisor Al Yee – Vice President of OCA – Phoenix Chapter and Albert Posillico – Executive Director of Miss Latina International.
 

The pageant auditors were Tony Mok – CPA and Susan Xu – Taxation MBA. who assessed all scores for accuracy and legitimacy.
 

The Anta Hung Gar Defense & Fitness Academy kicked off the Pageant with the traditional Lion Dance.  During the pageant, Lena Ung from Tampa sang three songs in Cantonese, Vietnamese and English, and Miami Temptation Tees performed three Motown hits:  “Get Ready”, “I Can’t Get Next To You” and “My Girl”.
 

The Contestants also scored points for post-Pageant Interview (25%), National Costume (10%), Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit (15%), Talent (25%), Evening Gown (20%) and On-Stage questions (5%).
 

The Pageant officially began on Friday evening (July 20) when the judging panel interviewed each contestant individually to score the Post-Pageant Interview.
 

The contestants welcomed the audience with a modern Chinese group dance.  The on-stage contest began with National Costume and Self-Introduction by each contestant.  All contestants are currently attending college and/or senior high school.  Thai-American Marisa Moolsiri received a volley ball scholarship and is currently enrolled at the University of Central Florida (UCF) majoring in Marketing in Orlando.  Ms. Nguyen was born in Vietnam and is a senior at Florida International University (FIU) majoring in Marketing and International Business.  Ms. Wang graduated with a Master Degree in Civil Engineering at FIU.  Ms. Ni is senior at Palmetto Senior High.  Ms. Wu is a senior at Killian Senior High.  Ms. Shang is majoring in Mathematics at UCF, and Ms. You is in her second year of a Ph.D. program in Biomedical Engineering at FIU.
 

After all competitions, the results are Ms Nguyen won the best National Costume with her beautiful and elegant Vietnamese outfit, Ms. You won the Best Swimsuit & Physical Fitness, Ms. Shang is Miss Photogenic and won the best Evening Gown.  Ms. Wu won Miss Talent with her outstanding  traditional Chinese music performance with her Guzheng.
 

Ms. Nguyen, the 2^nd Princess was crowned by Diana Morejon [Miss Teen Latina International]; 1^st Princess Ms. Wu and was crowned by Esther Dollar [Miss Latina International US]. Ms. You won the Miss Florida Asia title and was crowned by Vivian Perez [Miss Latina International 2006].
 
Along with the title, the winners received scholarship prizes of $1,500, $1,000 and $500, respectively partially sponsored by State Farm.  In addition, they received tickets to the 12 Girls Band World Tour from Broward Center for the Performing Arts.  Ms. Angela Posillico, President of Miss Latina International Pageant System, offered an invitation to Miss Florida Asia to participate at its upcoming Miss Latina International Pageant in November.
 

“In addition to Ms. You winning the Miss Florida Asia title, all contestants are winners by participating at the pageant to develop unforgettable relationships with other Asian American women in the community and a memorable experience,” says Winnie Tang, producer of Miss Florida Asia.  “The success of the first Miss Florida Asia goes to Director Johnson Ng, Stage Manager Tommy Lam, Pageant Manager Ann Yu, Artistic Director Wendy Fong, Image Director Sunny Tsai, Hairstyle Consultant Ann Luu, Contestant Coordinator Harriet Young, Logistics Manager Igor Ellis, Audio/Visual Manager Kam Wong, Photographers Bertho Boman and Gene Li, Judge Panel Coordinator April Chang, Mistresses of Ceremony Mee Pang and Indra Bosko, Auditors Susan Xu and Tony Mok, all local and out-of-town judges and all volunteers.”
 

“We would also like to express our gratitude to our sponsors for their generous support:  State Farm, Doctors Plus Medical Center, Gaylaine Lanctot Clinques, Chinese Cultural Foundation, Fashion Village, Broward County for the Performing Arts, Dr. Stephen Vernon, LEASA Industries Co., Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in Miami, World Printing,” continues Tang, “and NANAY for its tremendous support to provide us with a training facility at the NANAY Community Center.”
 

For more information about Miss Florida Asia 2008, please call 305-753-8791, email MissFloridaAsia@aol.com, or visit at http://kaibo2.com/missFLasia/.

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