Youth Forum
Happenings 2005 to 2006
Scholarship Awards
Role Models
Building the Yee Family World Wide Web
A Blast from the Past
Welcome to the WYC3 issue of the Yee Fung Toy Youth Forum,
an electronic newsletter devoted to youth matters in the World Yee
community, and discussions on youth programs and youth
activities from associations of the Yee Fung Toy around the world.
We plan to publish on a Yee Family Convention cycle, that
is, once every 2
to 4 years. Hopefully this will provide an opportunity to pause and
take stock of what we have accomplished between Conventions, whether on
a
world or national level. This issue covers events of interest to our
youth and their advocates from January
2005 to December 2006. We thank those who contributed articles on
youth activities and scholarship awards. They served as inspiration for
this new webpage, which is hereby respectfully dedicated to them. A big
round of applause to:
- Andy Yu and Frank Yee of New York (also Dr. Joseph Yee
and
Calvin Yu)
- Fred Yee of Seattle
- Martin Yee of Vancouver (also Jennifer Yu)
- Melinda Yee of Sacramento
We look forward to your feedback!
Jim Yee
[Jim bored everyone to death with another one of his earnest
speeches
before dinner, this one curiously titled "Why Are We Here?"]
I was asked "why are we here?" It sounds like a simple
question not unlike those with which we pestered parents and adult
relatives when we were children.
Anyone want to try and answer that question? [Shouts of
"we're
here to eat!" were heard]. Yes, "we're here to eat" seems the most
direct answer, but there are other answers depending on how you view
the question.
"Why are we here (today)?" – here in the YFT and today
being Dec 27: to have dinner and celebrate the end of the year.
"Why are we here (in Vancouver)?" [pointing to
location of Vancouver on globe] – and not elsewhere on earth: born
here, moved here, parents or grandparents moved here. From where? China
– Taishan, Kaiping in Guangdung - [pointing to locations on globe]. It
turns out all our ancestral villages are close together. We are all
related. Because we all belong to the Yee or Yu extended family.
"Why are we here (on Earth)?" – [pointing to entire
globe] - and not on Mars, or another galaxy. We are human beings,
evolved or created on Earth. For more details, you have to study
biology, anthropology, and a whole bunch of college courses. Or get an
answer from religion if you believe in supernatural explanations for
your being here.
"Why are we here (for what purpose)?" - are we here to
shop till we drop, to work till we retire, to play till we run out
of energy, or to prepare for the afterlife?
I do not have all the answers. But I like to ask myself
these
questions anyway. Why, just because. Seriously, it keeps me from being
bored. I think everyone should ask these questions, now and then. I
find people who have come up with any answers to be the more
interesting people around.
I like the YFT to be a place where you can find answers to
these and other questions, such as:
- What is it to be a Chinese Canadian?
- Who are my grandparents and their parents, and so on?
If you are interested in pursuing these questions, we can
get
together as often as you like in the new year and disucss them. In the
meantime, let us dig into fantastic array of dishes brought by
everyone, and follow through with the primary reason of why we are here
today!
We just had our first youth league event of the year last
Saturday, April 15, 2006. It was the circus day! We took advantage of
the
school spring break and organized a trip to the see Ringling Brothers
Circus at Madison Square Garden in New York City. We started the day
with a pizza lunch at the association. The presidents and the advisors
of the association also came to greet the youths and their parents. We
introduced ourselves and talked about what we wanted to do in the
future with the Youth League. We were considering bowling, having a
karaoke night, and spending a day at Six-Flag Amusement Park, etc. We
had a great time chatting with one another. After all, we are cousins!
We only bought twenty tickets for the circus and they were sold out.
After lunch, these folks went on their way. I was told later on that
the younger kids were particularly very excited. The only
disappointment
was that there were no tigers. In general, everyone had a very good
time. I guess as long as the kids had a good time, the parents had a
good time!
I am very happy to announce that we finally have a Youth
League staff.
See the names below.
Chairperson: John W. Yee
Co-chairperson: Janet Yee
Treasurer: May Yee
Auditor: Shek Yu
English Secretary: Frank Yee
Advisors: Presidents and all advisors
On to our next event, Janet is recommending a bowling trip.
She mentioned a few places for us to consider. I think the date is
going to be a Saturday after the college final exams in May. We will
have an announcement soon.
Andy Yu
On a bright, sunny and clear afternoon of July 9, 2006, our
YFT
Society Advisor Kan Yu, Chairman Jim Yee, Secretary Wing Yee, Treasurer
Martin Yee, Youth Committee Director David Yee walked from our Society
Hall to Chinatown's Jade Dynasty Restaurant, where we met our
Vice-Chairman James Yu. We all were there to attend the welcoming
Banquet co-hosted by Vancouver - Guangzhou Friendship Society and the
YFT Society for the Guangdong Experimental Middle School Choir
students and teachers. Our Mah cousins Mr. Fred Mah, Mr. William Ma,
and Mr. Dana Mah introduced the School Vice Principal, Mr. Guo
Zhi Jian (standing in the picture), the VGFS Vice-Chairman Mr. Paul
Leung and Event Committee
Chair Mr. Barry Gilson to us. Mr. Guo explained the School is special
in that it is the only one in the province open to all students in
Guangdong. The school is the province's educational testing ground for
"experimental" curricula that typically compress time spent on basic
courses. With generous support from the government and from the
parents, we can
only imagine what a great learning environment this school provides the
students. The school started the choir in 1952 and has achieved
international acclaim since. He invited us to enjoy the Choir's
performance in Vancouver the next evening.
By the way, Fred Mah is the current Chairman of the
Vancouver
-
Guangzhou Friendship Society. We thank him and his committee for giving
us this rare opportunity to meet and greet this choral group.
From June 27 - July 1, 2006, the Choir had competed in the
Seventh
Golden Gate International Children's Choral Festival (Sponsored by The
Piedmont Choirs Organization) competing with children's choirs from
Austria, Africa, and more for 5 days of concerts, competitions and
friendship in San Francisco. They won Gold Medals in 3 out of 4
possible categories.
The Guangdong Experimental Middle School Choir also
participated in
the XII International Choral Kathaumixw festival which took place in
the picturesque seaside town of Powell River, British Columbia, Canada;
there they received two more Gold and two Silver medals.
In the 2004 Choir Olympics in Bremen, Germany, this Choir
was
awarded 4
Gold Medals in the following categories.
- Youth Chorus
- Folk Song (without Obbligato)
- Opus of Modern Times
- Championship in Opus of Modern Times
This group had also received acclaim and excellent reviews
for
their
performances in various countries including: Australia, Germany,
Austria, Italy, Monaco, Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland, France, Japan and
Korea.
Some of us were fortunate enough to watch their incredible and
enchanting performance at St. Andrew's Wesley Church on Monday July 10,
2006. Also featured in the program was Vancouver's own Vancouver
Chinese Children's Choir. The evening was emceed by one of our City's
favourite sons, Fred Lee, and Middle School choir member Ms. Yan Lo
Yiu. The Vancouver Chinese Children's Choir was conducted by Ms.
Bernice Fung and the Guangdong Experimental Middle School Choir was
conducted by Mr. Xie Ming Jing.
This remarkable and awesome evening performance will be a memorable one
for all of us. For some great photos and another rave review, see David Wong's website.
Mr. Fred Mah, thank you very much for inviting this group to
Vancouver! You and your committee members deserve a big round of
applause.
Thanks also to our own Advisor Kan Yu for
negotiating a sponsorship from our Society for this event with his
vision of providing future student exchange opportunities with schools
in Guangdong for our
scholarship
students. His support for this choir has reaped immediate benefits for
all of us who attended the performance. Because of the short notice,
none of our youth was able to accept the invitation to the dinner or
the performance.
Martin Yee
The annual picnic was a big hit this year and everyone was a kid again.
It was Saturday July 22 and the place was Keansburg Amusement Park in
New Jersey. We had rain in New York for a few days before that.
Finally, it was a beautiful sunny morning, even though on our mind we
knew the thunder shower was still lurking in the background. The folks
showed up early and everyone was eager to go. Some vowed to sit in a
roller coaster all day. Some came with swimming gear underneath, ready
to storm the water park. They came with fancy fishing gears, hoping to
catch some big ones. Then we had a fine group of seniors who just
wanted to get out of the house and enjoy a day trip. The tickets were
all sold out for three buses.
We must give special thanks to Frank Yee, our English
secretary. He started to work on this project since the beginning of
the year in order to take advantage of different discounts for the
buses as well as the game tickets. I am just glad we found Frank and he
enjoys this job "for life." Check out Frank's pictures and write-up in our website.
Lets' do it again next year. Next, our Youth League is
planning on a hiking trip and a bowling trip. Watch your email.
Andy Yu
[Essay from Vancouver chapter scholarship award recipient Jennifer Yu,
who joined the YFT Kung Fu Club (and Lion Dance team) when she was 12.
She has completed a B.A. at UBC and is studying for a Diploma in
Accounting Program at the time when she submitted this essay with
her Scholarship application in December 2004.]
Aspirations encourage students to achieve their dreams and
overcome obstacles that may appear along the way. Without a strong
foundation to support the learning and studying habits, a student
cannot obtain optimal returns from their educational careers. I have
learned that teachers cannot force students to learn, but that
students' willingness to learn is the key to their success. It is a
difficult path that many have traveled and a road many have strayed
from,
but with the right type of training, it is achievable.
The Yee Fung Toy Society has equipped me with the social and
academic skills needed to reach my current level of education. First of
all, through lion dancing, a function provided by the Yee Fung Toy
Society, I have learned the power of teamwork and the importance of
trusting those you are working with. I learned that encouragement from
team members can allay the most intense fears and empowerment can make
me see beyond my limits. Not only was the program a great deal of fun,
but also rewarding. After every performance at the annual YFT banquets,
I felt a sense of pride in knowing that I did the best I can and that
the audience enjoyed our act. Without YFT supporting the lion dance
team and actively encouraging its members, I would not have experienced
the joy of teamwork and the pride of being a lion dance member.
Secondly, as a member of the first YFT Youth Group, I have
learned valuables lessons in managing my time. I have learned that
organization is crucial for success. Prioritizing my work has helped me
to meet my project deadlines and has kept me in par with the rapid pace
of university. Professors no longer remind students of an approaching
deadline as in high school, so it is up to me to make sure I remember
and meet the deadline with quality work. Without efficient
organizational skills, the university road would have been extremely
difficult and would have prevented me from aiming high. Being part of
the YFT Youth executives have given me an opportunity to sharpen this
skill.
Finally, confidence is crucial regardless of what I do. From
job interviews to class presentations, confidence is the determining
factor that gives others the impression of my capabilities as a worker
or a student. YFT events fuelled my confidence by means of the
scholarship program and public speaking opportunities. I played a small
speaking role for one the annual banquets, and despite being extremely
nervous, mentors like Jim and James, helped me to practice my public
speaking skill, and encouraged me to complete the task with up-most
confidence. In retrospect, it was a wonderful opportunity and a
personal accomplishment for overcoming my fear of public speaking.
There are many skills and experiences that help build
personal
development. It is not so much what you already know that makes you an
admirable person, but the fact you are constantly willing to learn
skills. YFT has provided vast opportunities for me to excel in certain
aspects of personal development and I am forever grateful for that.
They have provided an outlet for me to demonstrate my leadership,
social, and personal skills through various YFT events and functions.
The challenges associated with planning YFT events encouraged
individual as well as teamwork, which are exactly the skills I would
need in the working world. Overall, being a member of the YFT Society
has benefited me greatly over the years by shaping my personal and
social development. I would strongly encourage future participants to
be active members of YFT because YFT has not only prepared me for
university, but for life in the working world as well.
High school seniors tend to view
college as both wonderful and
terrifying. On one hand, you'll be independent, but on the other…well,
you'll be independent.
It's a big step up from living at
home and going to school
with the same people you've seen since kindergarten. Granted, some
people choose to commute and there's always the possibility someone
from elementary school happens to be going to the same college as you
are, but the educational experience of a university is completely
different.
August 21-25 was my first week of
college at ASU West as an
official college freshman. I can relate to all you high school seniors
because a few short months ago, I was one of you.
Senior year was my favorite at
Sunnyslope High School. AP
classes tried to overwhelm me, but senioritis was always there to make
sure my last year of high school wasn't all work and no play. I
participated in my usual clubs and theatre shows, went to the home
football and basketball games to cheer on the Vikings to victory, got
my senior portraits done, went to Prom, and generally had a fantastic
year.
In hindsight, though, senior year
also represented a time of
transitions. There were times when it would just hit me: I'm an adult,
and this time next year, I'll be in college. When did that happen? When
did I go from being a simple high school student to an actual,
18-year-old legal adult? My friends and I would sit and ponder this
occurrence; our childhoods were over, and it was time to face the real
world…or at least the real college life.
After walking across that stage
and receiving my diploma,
there was barely any time to breathe before the craziness of packing
for my dorm began – what do I need from home, what do I need to buy for
my dorm, etc. Fortunately, I had applied for and gotten some
scholarships to help with all the expenses: one from the Yee Fung Toy
Family Association here, one from ASU there, and so on. (Seriously,
seniors, TAKE ADVANTAGE of websites like Fastweb and pay attention to
those scholarship deadlines! Free money is free money, and you don't
want to be up to your nose in student loans. Plus, colleges do look at
transcripts after second semester, so don't just stop coming to school
simply because you've already been accepted to your college and you're
essentially done with high school – it's not over until that diploma is
in your hand!)
You may be traveling across the
country to attend a university
in New York, or you may be going to one of the three in-state colleges.
You could be moving into a dorm or an apartment, or you might be
staying home. Whatever you do, appreciate the people in your life who
have always been there for you. Realize that distance does affect
relationships. My three best friends and I all ended up in different
states. I no longer see them every day, and talking has been minimized
to sporadic emails, a couple text messages, and the rare phone call.
I'm confident, however, that our friendship of over 10 years can
withstand this, but it's still not the same.
I'm the youngest in my family,
and so now that I'm gone, my
mother has an empty nest. She tells me that it's strange and quiet
without her three kids. I call her often to update her on new
happenings in my life, and on the weekends, I go home to do laundry.
(Home is only a 20-minute drive from campus, a rarity.) One of my
roommates is from South Dakota; I met a guy who's from Maine, living on
campus with his brother. Both have expressed that they miss home –
heck, I miss it sometimes, and I'm there every weekend. Home is not
just a place, though; I miss shopping excursions with my mom, where I'm
her personal fashion consultant, or my dad yelling, “Dinner!” while he
puts the finishing touches on his culinary genius for the night. I
can't just sit down and talk to both of them about my life anymore.
After my first day, I called home and had my mom put me on speakerphone
so I could talk to both of them simultaneously and vice versa, but it
wasn't the same.
Being alone in a new setting is
uncomfortable for most people,
but you should make the most of it. When it comes down to it, college
is glorious. (Just remember to call home every once in a while; staying
in touch with your parents is important.)
Being out of your comfort zone is
unsettling, but college is
full of such wonderful opportunities. There are always new people to
meet (which means new friends to make) and new clubs to join. There are
clubs and organizations for just about everything under the sun, and if
there isn't one geared toward your hobby/interest, you can create it.
There are always activities going on; people are constantly reminding
me about this volleyball game or that movie night – it's great!
At my orientation, the student
body president told us a story
about how she had never joined a club in high school. On her first day
on campus, she was giving herself a tour and ended up at the student
government office, where the president came out and convinced her to
join. It became her passion, and now she's the president. At the end,
she challenged all of us, and I want to extend that challenge to you.
If you didn't join anything in high school, do something in college,
whether it's joining an existing organization or starting your own. If
you did participate in school activities during your four high school
years, try joining something that you didn't do. Either way, you'll
make new friends and have fun – I speak from personal experience.
I won't lie to you: going away to
college is scary. You don't
know if your roommate(s) will be nice, if you'll make any friends, or
if you'll even be able to find your classes on your first day. You
won't have your parents or friends for moral support; you'll be doing
everything on your own. Instead of shying away from it, embrace the
college experience. I promise you, you'll make friends, and they do
give out campus maps and tours. Cell phones are great for keeping in
touch with those you've left behind. If you register for orientation
early enough, you can take your pick from the courses and not have to
wake up at 7 in the morning for English. Take it from me: you will like
college once you give it a chance.
Bear in mind, though, that
college is still school. Some
professors don't take attendance, but they still expect you in class.
You go to college to get your degree, not to party all night and never
go to class. You can fail, and it's possible to get expelled.
Scholarships often depend on your GPA, and you can lose them if you
aren't careful. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that with
independence comes responsibility – it's important to find a balance.
You can work hard and get an education while having fun, which I
believe is the theme of college. At least, it is for me.
My older siblings only told me
that college was like high
school, so I didn't really know what to expect. Now, you have some
idea, and hopefully, I've alleviated some of your fears. Just remember,
you have to get through senior year first. Good luck!
Cortney Yee
Cortney is
the daughter of Benny and Helen Yee of Phoenix, Arizona and is a
freshman at Arizona State University.
We just had our 2005 scholarship award ceremony in New York
on
Sunday August 14, 2005. Like in the past, we had a little over 100
scholarshiop winners this time. Our cousin Frank Yee already updated
our "unofficial" New York Yee Fong Toy website to show some highlights
of the event. Frank took very good notes as he knew I would press him
very hard to write a report on the event! Please read his story.
He has good pictures too.
This year our guest speaker was Dr.
Joseph
Yee and our student speaker was Calvin
Yu. Dr. Joe is a radiologist of New York University and he used to
be an interviewer in the NYU Medical School Admission Committee for
more than 10 years. I should have been a pre-med myself if I knew he
was one of the insiders! He is a singer too. He is a Leader of Song at
St. Mary's of Woodside, Queens. Check him out; and bring your donations
too. We wish him the very best. Calvin is really some rising star. He
went to Stuyvesant High School. It is a very top school in New York
City. He was involved in scientific research at City College. He got
770 verbal and 800 math in SAT. He got accepted at Columbia, Cornell,
Johns Hopkins and others. And he got several scholarships. I was told
that Calvin "forgot" to bring his special medical school admission
package to school to be submitted on the deadline day. The kid was
gutsy and he knew what he was doing. Calvin decided to go to Caltech
and enjoy being a pre-med there before commiting to the hard work in
medical school. God bless this kid. We wish him the very best.
This year we had a very tight race in the
Highschool-to-college
Division of Five Tong Scholarship. And I want to mention these two
impressive sisters: Hayley (12th grade) and Melissa (11th grade).
Hayley did very well in SAT and her average was in the nineties.
Essentially Hayley got the third highest SAT total among the applicants
in this division. However, we followed the rules and we had to go by
the school average first and the SAT score was then used as a
tie-breaker. So after lining up the report cards by school average,
Hayley became number four. The high SAT score could not save her a spot
for the Five Tong Scholarship. She ended up with a regular scholarship.
She will start college at Syracuse University in September; and she
will work hard for the College Division of Five Tong Scholarship. We
look forward to receiving her application next summer. Melissa too did
very well. Melissa even scored 1450 in her SAT. However, she was a 11th
grader and therefore she was only qualified for the regular
scholarship, not the Five Tong one. We wish these two sisters the very
best.
I want to congratulate all our scholarship winners. We
cannot
give out
big amounts of money awards. But we do give each one of you our sincere
best wishes from the bottom of our hearts. We wish you all the very
best.
Andy Yu
Kimberly Yee's political journey began as a senior in high
school when she testified before the Arizona Senate Education
Committee. As a student journalist and political cartoonist, she
supported a bill upholding the first amendment freedoms of high school
and college journalists. After providing testimony on the bill, one
senator applauded her poise and protocol at the podium and said he
would have guessed that she was a seasoned professional in the
legislative arena rather than an 18-year-old student making her first
visit to the Legislature. That experience was a turning point that
propelled Kimberly to pursue a path not often tread by Asian Americans.
Kimberly would graduate from Pepperdine University in Malibu,
California with a Bachelor's Degree in English and a Bachelor's Degree
in Political Science, and later earn a Master's Degree in Public
Administration from Arizona State University and also receive the
university's highly honored Scholar-Citizen Award upon her graduation.
Kimberly's first experiences working in a political office was
as a legal assistant in the executive office of former Maricopa County
Attorney Rick Romley in Arizona, and at the federal level, providing
research and paralegal assistance during an internship with the United
States Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section in
Washington, D.C.
After graduating from Pepperdine University, Kimberly served
as a Fellow to the prestigious Executive Fellowship Program under
former California Governor Pete Wilson's administration, and worked in
the executive branch office of the State Superintendent of Public
Instruction, specializing in childcare and education issues. As a
Fellow, Kimberly assisted with the development of legislation that
became law, helping local planning councils gear up for an increased
enrollment of welfare recipient children in childcare programs.
Following her tenure as a Fellow, at the age of 23, former
California Governor Pete Wilson appointed Kimberly as a policy analyst
to the California State Board of Education. During this time, she
helped develop California's nationally acclaimed academic content
standards, outlining what students should be able to know and do by the
end of each grade level. California assessments and textbooks are now
aligned with these academic standards to measure student achievement
and performance.
In 1998, several years after her first experience at the
Arizona Legislature as a student, she would return to Arizona to work
for the Senate Committee on Education. Each week, she briefed members
of the Legislature in the same committee room and behind the same
podium where she first testified as a senior in high school. She served
as staff to the Arizona Legislature from 1998 to 2003 where she worked
closely with Republican and Democratic elected officials and
governmental leaders throughout the State of Arizona, gaining
first-hand experience in the legislative process. It was then that her
political experience seemed to come full-circle when she received a
phone call in 2003 requesting that she return to Sacramento,
California—this time, to work for the newly-elected Governor of
California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Shortly following that call, Kimberly was sworn into office to
serve as California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Deputy Cabinet
Secretary. As a member of Governor Schwarzenegger's Cabinet, Kimberly
served as liaison to the executive branch state agencies and provided
policy advisement to the Governor in the areas of education, state and
consumer services, lottery, labor and workforce development.
Last year, Kimberly returned to Arizona and was recently
elected Republican Chairman of Legislative District 10. As Chairman of
one of thirty legislative districts in the State of Arizona, she is
honored to serve the community where she was born and raised,
registering voters and educating citizens about election information
and how they can become active participants in the governmental process.
Having served in all three branches of government: the
executive, legislative and judicial, as well as at the federal, state
and local levels, Kimberly has experienced a unique and distinctive
political journey since that memorable day as a high school senior.
Kimberly is the daughter of
Jack and Betty Yee of Phoenix, Arizona and
is a member of the Yee Fung Toy Family Association.
Welcome to the Yee Fung Toy Global Village Web Forum.
This is a private forum for the Yee Fung Toy Global Village. The
purpose of this group is to create forum for members involved in
designing the Yee Fung Toy websites to exchange communication, ideas
and discussions.
If you are a YEE and have a YEE family surname and are interested in
meeting or looking for other YEE's for kinship and support or want to
connect with other YEE's, please go to our main website at:
www.yeefungtoy.org
There you will find links to the regional YEE websites and perhaps find
one in your area.
Message from the Group
Moderator,
Melinda Yee of Sacramento
Group Messages
Since its inception in February 2005, the group has hosted over 60
messages, including the following:
[Message #3] Thu Feb
17, 2005
Hi to all,
I have added several links under LINKS in this Yahoo Group that
contain lots of helpful info on planning, designing, building
websites including do's and don't's of designing sites.
Melinda
[Message #22] Tue Apr
26, 2005
Hi Woracha,
Welcome to the club! You had expressed interest in putting up a website
for the Yu Family Association of Thailand at the Convention last
November. Here is the best place to start.
First I would like to introduce Woracha to the other members
of the group. We first met in Hong Kong at the First World Yee
Convention in November 2000 and went on the Guangdong trip to celebrate
1,000th anniversary of ancestor Yu Jing's birth. He was
one of many members of the group from Thailand whose family was
originally from Chiuchow, not Toisan. He did not speak Cantonese, but
was fluent in Chiuchow, Thai, and Mandarin. I spoke none of those
languages, so we ended up communicating in English. One day he asked me
to join him for a run before breakfast. We got up early and pounded our
way through the twisting and uneven streets of Kaiping, as the city
slowly roused itself for the new day. I could barely keep up,
especially as we made the climb up the hill to the hotel parking lot.
After catching our breath, we warmed down with a couple sets of Tai Chi
(different styles for each, but Tai Chi nevertheless), as the sun broke
through the haze from the East. Exactly 1,000 years after his birth and
not far from his birthplace, Yu Jing's descendants from
around the world gathered to honor him. In the process, we found
brotherhood and common interests, despite being dispersed across the
globe during a millennium of history.
Woracha works as a Senior Manager for the Telephone
Organization of Thailand www.tot.co.th (in North America we would call
it Telecom Thailand). I think it would be just as easy for him to put
up a website as anyone of us. I understand there are still challenges,
of course. Here are some of my suggestions for kick starting a new
website:
- Choose the languages to make the website useful for the
local members of the Family Organization, e.g., for Thailand it may be
Thai and Chinese.
- Do not try to solve all your problems before putting up
an
initial webpage, e.g., it is OK to have a website up with one language
at first. The other language and features can be introduced later.
- There is an annual cost to register a domain (35 USD) and
have the virtual domain hosted (96 USD for our server). What I can do
is offer to share the use of the yeefungtoy.org domain (which is
already paid for), so new Yee Family websites can choose to avoid these
annual costs. For Thailand, the domain name would be something like
www.yeefungtoy.org/thailand/. This offer is open to all Yee Family
websites, old or new. You have the freedom to design and host your
website on a server of your choice (at your cost), with a reasonable
domain name that costs you nothing. The only catch is that
yeefungtoy.org needs to store a copy of your homepage.
- If you would rather forego the pleasure of designing and
maintaining your Yee Family website on your own, then my original offer
of hosting it on www.yeefungtoy.org still stands. You just have to
supply the material and I will get it hosted, with the same
domain-naming scheme as above.
Let me know what works best for
you.
Regards,
Jim
[Message #41] Wed Jan
18, 2006
Happy New Year, everyone!
The print edition of the Winter 2005 newsletter is
being mailed to chapter offices. You can print off
copies for yourself and your chapter members from the
Word document at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/yeefungtoy/files/Newsletter/2005-12.doc
from the yeefungtoy Yahoo Group Files section. It is
12 pages long suitable for double sided printing on
letter size paper.
As we head into the Spring Banquet season, with each
association hosting its own banquet for its members,
would you like to print a custom version of the Spring
2006 newsletter for your banquet attendees? This would
be a good opportunity to show off your own website as
well as your association's global linkages. I will get
a starter version ready by January 31 and post it to
the yeefungtoy group Files. You can download it, then
add whatever local content you desire, and print off
copies for you members and banquet attendees. Let me
know if you are interested or need help in doing this.
A regular edition of the Spring edition will be published
in mid March.
The Spring Banquet is also a good time to remind
members about the 3rd World Yee Convention in August.
To encourage higher attendance, especially from
younger members, I propose we invite prominent members
of the Yee Family with career accomplishments that
they can share with Convention participants. We are
still in the planning stage, so I do not have too many
details yet. However, I do want your feedback on this
proposal quickly, as many of the speakers have busy
schedules, and will require advance booking (I like to
give them 6 months notice). My idea is to invite about
4 or 5 speakers, so we can spread them over the 5-day
Convention. Each speaker should have a specific area
of interest or expertise (preferably outside of the
Yee Family Association) that they can address. This is
currently not an official part of the Convention
program, so we will have to schedule the presentations
around the official program.
So, let me know:
- Is this a good idea?
- Who would you suggest as a speaker?
- Any comments or suggestions on logistics and
details, etc?
Thanks,
Jim
