Secretary of State Debra Bowen with 本文作者Jerry Lai

By Jerry Lai

Photographer : Henry Guo

On December 5th, 2014, APAPA Bay Area Region held a banquet to recognize outstanding volunteering work in voter registration. The banquet, held at Chinese Cuisine in Fremont, featured student volunteers from over the Bay Area, all achieving recognition for their hard work in voter registration.

The night began with a delicious dinner prepared by Chinese Cuisine. After dinner, APAPA Tri-Valley Chapter President Andy Li started the program and APAPA Bay Area Region Executive Director Vickie introduced the many sponsors as well as community leaders, VIP guest Secretary of State Debra Bowen and former congressman David Wu. Afterwards, APAPA founder  C.C. Yin, and APAPA Bay Area Region President Joel Wong, both provided wonderful speeches expressing the importance of Chinese participation in voting for United States issues. Then Secretary of State Debra Bowen talked about the involvement of Chinese voters.  After the speech, Ms Bowen presented award to 9 volunteers from APAPA Tri-Valley Chapter and UAAFA for their outstanding volunteer work in voter registration. Led by APAPA TVC Vice President Nancy Chen, Min Tsao and UAAFA Chair Dinggang Xu, although not all students present received award, the volunteers made a huge impact in registering voters. In the end, Debra Bowen posed with many of the students and parents for pictures, as well as providing an opportunity for all the students and members of APAPA and UAAFA to meet and talk to her.

All in all, it was a great night for APAPA. The students worked hard in the voter registration project, and in return, they received great recognition for what they have done for both the community and the nation.