Welcome to Texas Chapter
Halloween Gathering
New President Larry Lee
From Chairperson's Desk
Trustees' Plans for 1999
SOAR Committees
Saturday, March 20, 1999
Cupertino Library, Community Room
10400 Torre Avenue, Cupertino
In another giant step forward, on December 8, 1998, the SOAR Foundation welcomed to its ranks its Texas Chapter. The addition of the Texas Chapter carries the SOAR Foundation's membership outside of the State of California for the first time. As such it represents a giant stride toward the national organization which the founders of the SOAR Foundation visualized at the time of the Foundation's organization. As the need for scholarships for needy children in rural China is great, the desirability of greatly expanding the outreach and membership of the SOAR Foundation is evident.
The organization of the Texas Chapter is the culmination of the labors of SOAR's Julia Tung, who chairs its Membership Committee, Patricia Chao and Lisa Ahnert of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, aided and abetted by President Larry Lee. Late in 1998 Lisa Ahnert was introduced to the SOAR Foundation while visiting the Bay Area. She was immediately drawn to its goals, recognizing that the challenge of assisting worthy but needy youth in rural China to continue their education would be as pleasing a prospect to the Dallas-Fort Worth area as it has been in the Bay Area. Accordingly, Lisa Ahnert, the Acting Director of Asian Studies and Lecturer in Chinese at Southern Methodist, brought together a group of Chinese professionals from the Dallas-Fort Worth area to join in the work of the SOAR Foundation. The group, after reviewing the program of the SOAR Foundation, enthusiastically concluded that it would join in the work of the Foundation and organize a SOAR chapter. Drawing upon its remarkable pool of talent, it selected co-chairs, co-secretaries, a treasurer and Membership and Mentorship chairs. Serving as the co-chairs of the chapter are Lucheng Mailloux, a senior vice-president of American First National Bank and Jim Chen, a computer engineer and President of the Association Chinese Professionals. The co-secretaries selected are Lisa Chang Ahnert and Rong Lin Gao, an engineer and author of numerous articles. Stacey Chou serves as treasurer, and Linda Kao and Jia Huan Ding oversee Membership and Mentorship respectively for the Chapter.
Originally conceived of as the "Dallas-Fort Worth" chapter, the chapter looks to a broad and ill-defined geographical area from which to draw its membership. As a result it was concluded that it would be more fitting at this time to call the chapter the Texas Chapter of the SOAR Foundation.
Reflecting its enthusiasm and vitality, the Texas Chapter has already released seven articles about SOAR and the chapter to its local Chinese press and has arranged a fund raising activity, namely, a silent auction, for January 30,1999. Plainly the Texas Chapter of the SOAR Foundation is off to a strong start. It is also evident that the officers and trustees of The SAOR Foundation will enjoy working with their new friends in Texas and that the Foundation will be strengthened and better able to serve its constituency in rural China as a result of the addition to its ranks of the Texas Chapter.
While goblins and witches cavorted elsewhere, the members of the SOAR Foundation celebrated Halloween in the Community Center of the Cupertino Public Library. Under the bright yellow banner of the SOAR Foundation, the meeting of members opened with a keynote address delivered by Chairperson Siu Fong Chang.
Ms. Chang pointed with pride to the rapid growth of the Foundation and its ever widening circle of service. As she observed, the Foundation currently grants over eight hundred scholarships to deserving middle school children in rural China, many of whom without its aid would be unable to continue their education. This would have been impossible, she declared, were it not for the dedicated service of the many members and supporters of the SOAR Foundation. Acknowledging that time did not permit the recognition of all who had served, Chairperson Chang cited as particularly meaningful the contributions of the Program Committee chaired by Faith Zhao, the Mentor Committee headed by Shirley Chen, and the Fund Raising Committee led by Dr. and Mrs. Leong Tan.
Ms. Chang pointed to the active interest of people in other parts of the Country in forming SOAR Foundation chapters as a measure of the Foundation's success. Currently, she stated there is interest in the organization of chapters in Vancouver, Dallas, Atlanta and New York. With the anticipated expansion of the SOAR Foundation into other areas of the country, it will be possible to increase the number of scholarships granted and increase the effectiveness of the important mentor program by recruiting of additional mentors. Moreover, additional chapters will provide expanded opportunities for meaningful dialogue and fellowship among persons sharing the aspirations of the SOAR Foundation.
With a nod to the Foundation's bright future, Ms. Chang introduced Larry Lee, President-Elect of the SOAR Foundation. Mr. Lee expressed his appreciation of the honor bestowed on him in his selection as President-Elect and acknowledged his wholehearted enthusiasm for the work of the SOAR Foundation in supporting rural education in the People's Republic of China.
On behalf of the nominating Committee, Ms. Julia Tung nominated the following members of the SOAR Foundation to serve as its trustees in 1999: Faith Zhao, Youzi Ma, Leong Tan, Margaret Tan, Siu Fong Chang, Angela Cheng, C. Roy Fong, Irene Sun Fong, Albert Tso, Christina Pai, Julia Tung, Shirley Chen, George Chao, John Macmeeken, Larry Lee. There being no further nominations, the committee's slate was elected by acclamation.
Its business completed, the meeting turned to the enjoyment of delicious treats provided by the fellowship of its members and the hospitality of the South Bay Chapter made Halloween 1998 a memorable occasion for the members of the SOAR Foundation.
Like a flurry of snowflakes, student letters from 6000 miles away have arrived during the past few days. Our students have each been required to write a letter to the Foundation telling their own words about their school, class, teachers and home life.
Gin Yian Tao, who is 13 year old and a 1998 scholarship recipient from Yunnan province, wrote, "We are in a very poor area. Many of my classmates dropped out of school because their parents were unable to come up with enough money for tuition. Now there are only 34 students in my class compared to 52 last semester. I am so fortunate that with SOAR's scholarship, I do not have to quit school and help my parents in the farmyard." Su Swei Xien from Shanxi province, took issue with her rejection by the scholarship committee. She wrote that she is the best student in her school and is in need of financial aid. She asked for a copy of her evaluation record, so she could discover the basis on which she was rejected. He Liang Juan from Yunnan province, who has been a scholarship recipient for the past three years, volunteered to give up his scholarship, because he has achieved the highest score on the district college examination. He is now 18 and can earn his college tuition.
SOAR scholarships have successfully reached needy and deserving students in rural China, permitting them to remain in school. However, there are still many worthy students who are forced to work in the fields rather than continue their education, simply because they are without financial resources. This is, of course, both a personal and a public loss, which makes it imperative that the SOAR Foundation continues to expand its scholarship program. I am, course, pleased that it is doing so.
In 1998 the South Bay Chapter funded over 145 scholarships and recruited 120 mentors. On December 8, 1998, the ranks of the SOAR Foundation expanded with the addition of the Texas Chapter, abetted by the efforts of Julia Tung, Larry Lee and Patricia Chao. With the vigor and enthusiasm that the Texas Chapter brings to the Foundation, it will be possible to increase the number of scholarships that the Foundation grants. This will necessitate additional volunteers to serve as evaluators, mentors, secretaries and data entry personnel. These demanding tasks call for people who are caring and dedicated. Do be a volunteer and enlist your friend! The reward lies in the gift of education to bright and deserving young minds.
I want to thank all of the SOAR Foundation's supporters and volunteers who have made it possible for the SOAR Foundation to grant 1200 scholarships in 1999. Your generosity warms the hearts of the many young people who rely on SOAR for their education. They labor diligently so that each of you can be proud of their accomplishments. I hope that many of you will join the SOAR Foundation's trip to rural China this summer, when we will meet scholarship recipients in Xinjiang, Sichuan and Yunnan and visit the Foundation's new offices in Bejing. We will leave San Francisco on June 14th, 1999 and return on July 2nd. If you are interested, please contact Steve Luo in our San Francisco office. He will be pleased to give you further details and answer any questions that you may have. Steve may be reached at (415) 771-7017.
I invite everyone to participate in the good and important work of the SOAR Foundation, We need whatever contribution you can make to the cause. We need mentors, who can inspire students by sharing their experiences with the students. We hope that others will be moved to organize Chapters in their communities, while still others work to spread the word as to the need and the Foundation's response to that need. In your labors on the Foundation's behalf, you will not only serve the youth of China, but you will find the enduring rewards that love and caring bring.
I wish each of you a happy new year.
Siu Fong Chang, Chairperson
On October 31, 1998, the Trustees of the SOAR Foundation met in the Community Room of the Cupertino Public Library to lay plans for 1999. As their first order of business the Trustees turned to the election of officers to lead the SOAR Foundation in 1999. Acknowledging the importance of continued strong leadership, the following were elected to serve the Foundation in 1999:
• Chairperson & CEO — Siu Fong Chang
• President — Larry Lee
• Vice-President-Program — Faith Zhao
• Vice-Presidents-Finance — Margaret and Leong Tan
• Secretary — Angela Cheng
• Treasurer — Albert Tso
• Assistant Secretary — John Macmeeken
Following a review of the current financial position of the Foundation, the Trustees resolved that the SOAR Foundation will undertake to grant 1200 scholarships in 1999. This increase of over 300 scholarships to be granted annually will necessitate a significant increase in the number of mentors and will significantly increase the work of the Program Committee. The Program Committee and the Mentor Committee were requested to take all steps necessary or desirable to accommodate this increase in scholarships.
The Program Committee has expressed interest in holding a conference of teachers in Beijing to further familiarize teachers with the work of the SOAR Foundation and to bring to the attention of rural middle school teachers current educational studies. Teachers nominating students for SOAR scholarships would be invited to submit educational papers and the fifty teachers whose papers were deemed best would be invited to meet in Bejing as guests of the SOAR Foundation. The papers selected would be presented at that time and thereafter published. The conference would be financed by a grant from an organization concerned with educational programs in the People's Republic of China. The Board appointed a committee to study the desirability and feasibility of such a conference, which would significantly expand the Foundation's service to the cause of rural education in China. The views of members and supporters of the SOAR Foundation will be solicited.
Membership dues finance the SOAR Foundation's administrative costs and allow the contributions of supporters to be devoted exclusively to scholarship grants. While the Board works to keep administrative costs to a minimum, the role of membership dues is twofold. Beyond their use in defraying costs, they involve the membership in the work and the goals of the Foundation. Recognizing that the resources of interested persons vary, the Board after extended consideration concluded that with the new year the Foundation would have four classes of members, namely, regular, supporting, patrons and life members. Annual dues will be as follows: regular member $15; supporting members $50; patrons $100; life members a one time payment of $500. All members will have the right to vote and participate in the work and the governance of the Foundation, knowing that whatever the class of their membership they make an important contribution to the administrative expenses of the SOAR Foundation.
The day-by-day work of The SOAR Foundation is conducted through eight committees under the supervision and direction of the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee. The Program Committee administers SOAR's scholarship program, securing the necessary applicant flow, conducting the review and evaluation of applications, awarding scholarships to the deserving students selected for scholarship aid, and monitoring the disbursement of scholarship funds. The Fund Raising Committee oversees the solicitation of funds for the conduct of the scholarship program of the Foundation. The Mentor Committee recruits and oversees mentors who maintain direct personal contact with scholarship recipients, encouraging and supporting their academic achievement. The Membership Committee recruits new members for the SOAR Foundation and encourages the member's participation in the governance of the Foundation. The Public Relations Committee publicizes the activities of the SOAR Foundation to the end that broad public interest and involvement is promoted. The Volunteer Committee provides needed manpower for the Foundation as the need therefor arises. The Treasury Committee oversees the accounting and budgeting of the Foundation, while the Secretarial Committee is charged with the responsibility of maintaining the Foundation's records and overseeing its compliance with legal requirements. As The SOAR embarks on the new year, the news from its busy committees is good!
The Fund Raising Committee consists of Siu Fong Chang, Harry Tong. Leong Tan and Margaret Tan. It reports that it has been successful in securing scholarship sponsors who variously support from one to fifty-five students. Under a " Six Year Sponsorship Pledge" approach, a majority of these sponsors have agreed to support their assigned scholarship recipient or recipients for six years, the period required for the completion of middle school. The Committee is particularly grateful to Mrs. Doris Chiu of Kensington for her sponsorship of 55 students and to Mrs. Grace Woo of Edison, New Jersey and the Shanghai Bank Educational and Cultural Foundation of Taiwan, each of whom has sponsored 40 students. It further acknowledges with thanks the gift of $8500 from the Pao Hwa Buddhist Foundation of San Jose and the gift of $4000 from Mr. Long Ying Chao of Taiwan. Also received was another generous donation of $10,000 from Dr. Winston Chen of the Paramitas Foundation. Moreover, the Ong family established a memorial scholarship fund in the memory of their mother Mrs. Teresa Ong while Mrs. Ellie Mok of Walnut Creek designated the SOAR Foundation as the beneficiary of gifts in memory of her late husband, Robert Mok. Finally, the Committee reports the receipt of other gifts in the aggregate sum of $14,000. All contributions to the SOAR Foundation, large and small, are valued, since they permit the SOAR Foundation to carry on it ambitious program. Of course, all contributions to the SOAR Foundation are deductible by the donor.
The membership Committee, co-chaired by Julia Tung and David Wang, has made a conspicuous contribution to the SOAR Foundation through the organization of the Texas Chapter of the Foundation which is discussed elsewhere in this newsletter. Julia played a valuable role in the establishment of the Chapter in Dallas. Currently the SOAR Foundation has under consideration the establishment of chapter in Vancouver, Atlanta and New York. The Membership Committee continues to bring the mission of the SOAR Foundation to the attention of groups and individuals throughout the country, inviting the participation of all who are interested in joining in the Foundation's work.
The SOAR Foundation currently has 800 members. Not only do these members govern the Foundation, their dues are the principle source from which the Foundation's administrative costs are paid. As administrative costs increase as the number of scholarships granted increases, the Membership Committee serves a valuable and on-going function in bring into membership in the Foundation persons who share its goals and aspirations.
The increased level of activity which the SOAR Foundation is experiencing renders the work of the Volunteer Committee ever more important. As the Chairperson has observed in her column, From the Chairperson's Desk, there exists as on-going need for evaluators, mentors, secretaries and data entry personnel. The filling of these needs falls to the Volunteer Committee whose members are Chairperson Christina Pai, Guey-Ing Chang, Bihling Hu and Yen-Sheng Hu. In expanding their pool of dedicated volunteers, the Volunteer Committee asks all members and friends of the Foundation to assist in the recruiting of volunteers. Not only do volunteers have the satisfaction of serving a worthy and rewarding cause, they enjoy the opportunity to enlarge their social circle by working with companionable individuals who share their interests.
The SOAR Foundation's Mentor Committee is comprised of Shirley Chen, Chun-Yen Wang, Annie Chang and George Chao, who oversee the Foundation's mentor program. It is through the one-on-one personal approach of the mentor program that the Foundation extends on-going personal support and encouragement to its scholarship recipients. Shirley Chen, the Committee's chairperson, has just returned home after three months in China. She reports that " The Mentor Committee will be more structured as a team and have a better plann
Mr. Robert Mok, a valued supporter of the SOAR Foundation passed away on November 30,1998, at Rossmoor, Walnut Creek. In additional to sponsoring a Chinese student, Mr. Mok provided the Chinese translation for the first edition of the Newsletter in December, 1996. To perpetuate Mr, Mok's interest in Chinese children's education, Mrs. Ellie Mok, his wife, has invited family members and friends to make memorial gifts to the SOAR Foundation. As a result of their generosity, six year scholarships have been established for five deserving students as a memorial to Mr. Mok.
The officers and trustees of the SOAR Foundation sent their condolences to Mrs. Mok. Their valued friend will certainly not be forgotten.
With great enthusiasm, the SOAR Foundation welcomes Larry Lee as its new president. The Larry Lee story is one of conspicuous energy and continuing success, which bodes well for the future of the SOAR Foundation. Larry was born into a diplomatic family in Bangkok, and grew up in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taiwan. As an undergraduate in Taipei, he studied pathology, which led him to UCLA's medical school. However, as his good wife, Celia, held even greater charm than did the practice of medicine, Larry left medical school and embarked on a career in the world of investment and insurance. After a steady series of promotions, Larry left his employment to organize highly successful investment, real estate and electronic firms.
Beyond his success as an entrepreneur, Larry Lee has been a successful husband and father. Celia and Larry are the proud parents of two sons and a daughter, who have maintained the Lee penchant for success. Their oldest son follows in his father's footsteps in the firms Larry organized. The second son is a member of a successful investment firm. Their daughter is the State of Washington's first lady, the Lee's son-in-law being Washington's Governor Gary Locke.
In 1998 Larry retired. Currently, he dedicates his energies to good works and world travel. His immediate travel itinerary includes Taiwan, the People's Republic of China and Moscow.
As a successful entrepreneur, Larry looks forward to assisting the SOAR Foundation with with thoughtful planning and effective organization. The SOAR Board of Trustees is confident that Larry will provide strong and spirited leadership to the SOAR Foundation. Moreover, all who are acquainted with Larry's warmth, vitality and many talents look forward to working with him in the furthering of the SOAR Foundation's important mission.n
The SOAR Foundation's 1999 Fund Raising Banquet will be held on May 8, 1999, at San Francisco's Empress of China Restaurant, 838 Grant Ave., San Francisco.
The Chairman and Master of Ceremonies of this year's Banquet will be the Foundation's personable president, Mr. Larry Lee, who promises that the event will again feature outstanding cuisine, notable speakers, and delightful entertainment. Further details of the gala evening will be announced shortly.
The Annual Dinner is an important fund raising event of the SOAR Foundation and affords members, supporters and friends of the SOAR Foundation the opportunity to enjoy a memorable evening of festivity and fellowship in support of a worthy cause. Readers are urged to make a note of the date and to plan to bring their friends.
"Education then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is a great equalizer of conditions of men — the balance wheel of the social machinery."
— Horace Mann