ACDC’s 15^th Anniversary Celebration

Nearly 300 guests celebrated ACDC’s 15^th Anniversary at the Radisson Hotel on January 18, 2003. The guest of honor for this evening was Lieutenant Governor Kerry Murphy-Healey, who presented ACDC with a proclamation from the Governor’s Office. In the proclamation, ACDC was recognized for its accomplishments in building affordable housing, as well as creating access to housing and economic opportunities for the community in the past 15 years. ACDC’s co-founder Jacquie Kay was presented the Neil Y. Chin Community Service Award for her contributions to the development of Oak Terrace and the Metropolitan. Stephanie Fan, a long-time community activist, delivered the evening’s keynote address. In her remarks, she stressed the importance of community participation. Honorary co-chairs for the event, Mayor Thomas Menino and Karen Fish-Will, Peabody Properties, Inc., generously donated artwork and other items for the live auction, which raised over $5,000. Other highlights of the auction included an autographed shirt donated by tennis star, Michael Chang (provided through Octagon Corporation), and a ski weekend at ACDC board member Nick Chau’s house in North Conway, NH. The bidding, hosted by ACDC President, Jeffrey Wong, and Celebration Committee member, Mary Truong of Fleet Bank, was lively, humorous, and fiercely competitive at times. Friends of ACDC and merchants donated items for raffling, which contributed to part of the $56,000 total raised for the event. The evening’s proceeding was deftly guided along by WCVB newswoman, Janet Wu, and enlivened by dance performances from the Traditional Chinese Dance Troupe of the American Chinese Arts Society. Musical performances contributed by the Kwong Kow School Chinese and the Dulcimer Ensemble were culminated with a wonderful Asian fashion show, featuring the fashion designs of Kim Pham and Rohan Thomas. The evening’s theme was to honor the people who made ACDC’s first 15 years a success. In his welcome letter, ACDC president said, “the future calls for more involvement on the part of all citizens...” He urged that more people should help “to improve the community for every person.”

Mary Truong, Jeffrey Wong, and special guest Yoke Wong auctioning off “The Frog Pond”, a limited Print by Artiste Nancy Fox,, donated and autographed by Mayor Menino. The print fetched a high bid of $1,700.

 Acknowledgements:

• State Street Bank (The Metropolitan sponsor: $10,000)

• Fleet Bank and Goodwin Proctor LLP (The Oak Terrace sponsor: $5,000)

• Peabody Property, Inc. (Chinatown Banquet sponsor: $3,000)

• Citizens Bank (Berkeley Street Garden sponsor: $2,000)

• Edward A. Fish & Associates and Shanghai Printing (Community Enterprise sponsors: $1,000)

• Raffle donors: Corselle Salon, American Repertory Theatre, Kowloon Restaurant, Shabu Zen restaurant, Mei Mei of Lexington, Lawrence Wong, and Carol Thomas

 Press Release (January, 2003)

CONTACT:   Douglas Ling, Executive Director
                                                                                               Tel: 617 482 2380 x 203
                                                                                                www.asiancdc.org/15years/

The Asian Community Development Corporation of Boston is pleased to announce a celebration on Saturday, January 18, 2003 to commemorate our founding 15 years ago and to honor the community which has supported us throughout our existence.  Our theme for this celebration is “Honoring our Community.    “It is the community which sustains and supports us and provides valuable guidance as we develop our projects to expand housing and economic opportunities.” according to Jeffrey Wong, President of ACDC.

 “This event is particularly timely because 2002 has been an extremely productive year for ACDC” says Douglas Ling, Executive Director.  In the past year we observed the groundbreaking for The Metropolitan, an $87 million mixed-income development project which will contribute significantly to the affordable housing stock in Chinatown.  This major development  follows ACDC’s first housing development, the opening in 1994 of Oak Terrace, our 88-unit mixed income housing complex which was the first major affordable housing resource added to Chinatown since the early 70's.

ACDC’s mission is to develop community assets such as affordable housing for rental and ownership, promote economic development, build capacity within the community, and advocate with the community to improve the quality of life for Asian Americans in Chinatown and the broader Asian American community in Greater Boston.

The Celebration Co-chairs are Mayor Thomas Menino and Karen Fish-Will of Peabody Properties, the future property manager for the Metropolitan.  The gala event will feature dinner and dancing, performances by Asian American artists, a fashion show, and a raffle and live auction. In keeping with the theme, various individuals and organizations in the community will be recognized and honored with awards.

 “As ACDC continues our mission to work for a better quality of life for our members and our community, we want to take the time to celebrate what we have already achieved so we can be recharged and re-energized,” said Wong.

Honorary Chairs
Mayor Thomas Menino
Karen Fish-Will

Honorary Committee
Asanta & George Cha
John Fan
Duyen Le
Long Nguyen
Nam Pham
Madeline & William Wong
Paul Watanabe

Event Chair
Sandra Ng

Planning Committee
Corporate Sponsorship
Mary Truong, Jeffrey Wong

Programming
Aya Kimoto

Public Relations
Caroline Chang, Sandra Ng

Silent Auction
Nick Chau

Ticket Sales
Mary Soo Hoo, Ervin Tu

Volunteers
Frances Chin Hau, Anna Wong Yee

888 Washington Street, Suite 102 | Boston, MA 02111-1426 | 617-482-2380 t | 617-482-3056 f | info@asiancdc.org