NACA National Convention 1984

On November 10-11, 1984, NACA held its bi-annual national convention in Boston with a compact two-day program. It kicked off with a business meeting of the the Executive Committee in the morning of November 10, to which Executive Committee members from seven NACA chapters together with officers from the National Office attended. Many NACA members also participated in the proceedings.

A panel discussion, entitled "The Chinese-Americans in the U.S. Political Scene," was presented to members and the public in the afternoon. The panelists invited were: Julia Bloch, Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Food for Peace and Voluntary Assistance, Department of State, Theodore Wu, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement of the Department of Commerce, and S. B. Woo, then Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor in the State of Delaware, with Anna Chennault, Vice Chairman of the president's Export Council, and also President of TAC International Corporation as the moderator. Unfortunately, due to election complications, S. B. Woo was unable to attend and his close friend, Chia-Wei Woo, spoke on his behalf.

The panel discussion was preceded by the showing of a video tape of China's National Day celebration, October 1, 1984, on wide-screen projection. Both of these afternoon programs were held at facilities of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, and were attended by well over a hundred persons.

In the evening, an award presenting banquet was held at the Chef Chang Resturant, Brookline. The recipients of the NACA Distinguished Achievement Awards were Dr. M. C. Chang of the Worcester Foundation, Worceter, Mass., a world-acclaimed biochemist and inventor of the oral contraceptive, Prof. T. Y. Lin of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif., an acknowledged expert in brige design and architecture, and Dr. S. B. Woo of the University of Delaware, the first Chinese-American candidate for Lieutenant Governorship. Ambassador Zhang Wenjin gave the opening address and urged Chinese-Americans to participate actively in their adopted country and thanked those who contributed selflessly to their ancestral land, China. Consul-General Cao Guisheng, and other distinguished guests also attended.

(Addressing the participants are: Ambassador Zhang Wenjin (left frame), and Dr. M.C. Chang, who was present the award by Prof. C.C. Lin)

The following day, November 11, the NACA Executive Committee called an early morning meeting inaugurating the new National Office officers for the 1984-86 term. NACA President Chia-Wei Woo chaired the meeting, and together with the Executive Committee members reviewed the old program and laid down the framework of a new program for the coming term. The meeting ended at noon so that members coming from distant places might catch their planes home.

NACA-Boston had been the host for the past several annual conventions. This is due to a large extend the enthusiastic support of the Boston chapter members. However, for the convenience of other chapter members, future national conventions will be held at other regions of member concentration. The Atlanta Chapter has offered to host the next NACA national convention.