Rewinding and Moving Forward from the 2011 NAAAP Atlanta Annual Banquet

Written by: Lola Pak

On Thursday, April 14, NAAAP Atlanta hosted its second-annual banquet at the Wimbish House in Midtown Atlanta for a night of dining, congratulating, and of course, networking. The event was in conjunction with NAAAP Atlanta's Chopstix for Charity, a fundraising effort that provides grants to Asian American community groups around the Atlanta metro area.

Set against the antebellum décor of an Atlanta landmark, the headquarters of the Atlanta Women’s Club provided a change in NAAAP’s typical patronage of restaurants and hotel conference halls. Ornate rugs and chandeliers welcomed the guests at 6 p.m. as they trickled in after work hours. Stopping at the registration table to pick up nametags, attendees chatted with the volunteers while an open bar featuring wine, beer, and cocktails allowed guests to mingle among teacup collections in glass cases and walls of portraits featuring former Women’s Club leaders.

As the crowd swelled and the music began, guests descended downstairs to the main event space where banquet tables, food lines, a live band, and yet another open bar awaited them. Apart from the few tables designated for corporate sponsors and NAAAP’s Gold Sponsors, Coca Cola and The Home Depot, the room was filled to max capacity, with several attendees posted up against the wall.

The night officially began with the opening remarks of Betty Lo, Vice President of Strategy for NAAAP Atlanta. Upon thanking the crowd and sponsors, she introduced Tamara Strickley, NAAAP Atlanta's President, who discussed NAAAP and its mission in Atlanta. She praised the recent N3 (NAAAP Networking Night) for their fundraising efforts for Japan Relief and acknowledged the various organizations that were represented in the room, including Vino Wong from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Marianne Chung of Center for Pan Asian Community Services, and Caitlin O’Donnell from CultureConnect.

The rest of the night unfurled with moments of Betty and Tamara bringing various community leaders to the stage as they thanked NAAAP and recognized their working relationship. Some of these included Brenda Tran, former president of NAAAP Atlanta, the current executive board of NAAAP, and sponsors. The Coca-Cola Company and The Home Depot are Gold sponsors of NAAAP, with Kimberly-Clark, SunTrust, State Farm Insurance, Allstate, and Prudential Silver sponsors. Kathy Negrelli from the Japan-American Society of Georgia also took the mic to highlight NAAAP and N3 for their success in raising funds for the Japan disaster relief at their networking event on March 17.

Around 8 p.m., Betty introduced the performers of the Laotian American Society’s Natasinh Dance School who appeared dressed in traditional Laotian costumes as they performed a “blessing” dance in the spirit of the Laotian New Year. Onlookers peered onto the dance floor to witness three smiling girls twirling in sparkling green silk costumes as they spread glitter confetti on the ground.

The final and key portion of the night arrived as Betty brought Matthew Sinon, Vice President of Community Relations for NAAAP and Chairman of Chopstix for Charity, to present the 2010 grant recipients from the overall amount of $35,000 raised:

Asian American Legal Advocacy Center Inc.< span> Asian American Resource Center Asian American Senior Citizens Association Asian Christian Counseling & Educational Seminar Services Bhutanese Community of Georgia Boat People SOS, Inc. CultureConnect Center for Pan Asian Community Services Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network Good Shepherd Service, Inc. Kollaboration Atlanta Laotian American Society Lutheran Services of Georgia OCA-Georgia Raksha, Inc.  Refugee Resettlement & Immigration Services of Atlanta Refugee Women’s Network Taiwanese American Student Association Taiwanese School of Georgia Vietnamese-American Community of Georgia Vietnamese Community of Georgia

As the event came to an end, the night continued as guests stayed to chat and network before the food and bar closed at 9 p.m. The menu was catered by Affairs to Remember thanks to Melissa Canon, Vice President of Corporate Relations for NAAAP, and her culinary team. Lavishing the tables with tomato grits and goat cheese, spread buffets, and beef tenderloin, everything was sampled with rave reviews. Dessert trays of chocolate squares, red velvet cake, and key lime pie shots, ended the meal with decadence. Live music featuring pop covers and original songs were performed by Johnny Le & The Crew, a Georgia State University-based acoustic band that recently performed at Center Stage in Midtown for Kollaboration Atlanta.

Betty considered the night “absolutely a success.” “The goal of the banquet was to recognize the hard work and dedication of the volunteers and leadership, in addition to the sponsors,” she said. “It’s a real testament [of the event] when people hang out afterwards.”

Tamara agreed. “It was definitely a success. There was a good showing, the venue was beautiful; it all came together,” she raved. “The idea was to thank our sponsors in an intimate setting.”

Recipients of Chopstix for Charity also couldn’t be happier with the results. “It’s just great to see support from important community leaders,” said Grace Shim, director of Kollaboration Atlanta. “[Our organizations] are all non-profits, and we’ve received great support from a pre-established group like NAAAP. They are such a role model in Atlanta with a lot of capital resources; the chemistry works well.”

Jen-Lee Jin, a fourth-year student from the Taiwanese American Student Association at Georgia Tech, credited Chopstix for Charity for the ability to put on their main annual event, Taste of Taiwan. “[NAAAP] exposes TASA and Taiwanese culture to the Atlanta community, so our goals are very similar when it comes to doing community things. Even though we’re a little younger, it’s just great seeing the possibilities for the future.”