Sunday, October 20, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
January 27, 2013 Chapter Meeting
The January meeting of the Sarasota chapter of USCPFA was a great success!
Brief announcements were made by President Archie McKee:
Thank you to Pat for bringing our lovely Mary with her.
We have one new member who located us on the INTERNET and mailed a check to the national treasurer to join!
We were joined by Jill and Duane's friends, Colette and John Paul from France, Lolly's friend, Pam, and Miriam's husband Stuart. We had two additional guests who were welcomed and invited to come again. They are considering joining.
Everyone truly enjoyed Carolyn and Lolly's slides from their trip to China in 2011: "Flub Dub and Farfetchness: Lolly and Carolyn in China." It brought back fond memories for those of us who have been to China and, as Lois put it, some who have not visited China traveled there vicariously. Alfonz expressed the joy he felt from seeing photos of his wife Hong Ying.
Brief announcements were made by President Archie McKee:
- DUES ARE DUE! Individual membership - $25; family membership - $40. Get your checks to treasurer Duane.
- Two reporters from the BEIJING REVIEW visited Sarasota last month. They met with Sarasota Sister Cities and then with Jill, Duane, Archie and Grace to discuss USCPFA. We are expecting a great write-up about Sarasota in the BEIJING REVIEW soon.
- February 17 meeting at 2 pm. Tentatively at Carolyn's clubhouse. Confirmation of the location will come in your email. A presentation will be made by a young Sarasota lady whom Archie placed in a teaching position in Anhui Province, PRC.
- March 17 meeting at 2 pm. Location: Jill and Duane's new home or clubhouse. Annual meeting. Election of new officers: Anyone interested in a position for the next two years may contact Archie or Duane. Details to follow.
Thank you to Pat for bringing our lovely Mary with her.
We have one new member who located us on the INTERNET and mailed a check to the national treasurer to join!
We were joined by Jill and Duane's friends, Colette and John Paul from France, Lolly's friend, Pam, and Miriam's husband Stuart. We had two additional guests who were welcomed and invited to come again. They are considering joining.
Everyone truly enjoyed Carolyn and Lolly's slides from their trip to China in 2011: "Flub Dub and Farfetchness: Lolly and Carolyn in China." It brought back fond memories for those of us who have been to China and, as Lois put it, some who have not visited China traveled there vicariously. Alfonz expressed the joy he felt from seeing photos of his wife Hong Ying.
Dinner at the Yummy House was so enjoyable. Thank you to the Drs. Lin who arranged for our group to have reservations even though Yummy House is the latest hotspot in Sarasota. People were lined up at the door before they even opened! Everyone was allowed to elect to order family style or as individuals. Delicious food and so affordable! And a chance for our members to catch up with one another. Lots of talk and laughter were heard.
Many photos were taken. (Anytime your photos turn out better, please feel free to send them to Grace.)
It seems our blog is reaching people. Since it was created two years again, there have been 2,137 pageviews! WOW!
And if you type "China Sarasota" in the search box on www.google.com, our photos show up! Search using "China Sarasota organization" and we are fifth on the list.
December 2012 Chapter Meeting
USCPFA Dec. 23, 2012 Meeting by Colette Penn
Our December meeting and holiday party beganon Dec. 23, 2012 at 2:30 P.M. in the Alinari condominium gathering room with a feast of specialdishes brought by members.
Our hosts, Jill Dye and Duane Finger, introducedeach of us to our special guest: Mr. Jiang Yingshan, who asked to be called "AJ Rivers" for simplicity. AJ is a representative of The Chinese Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries ("YOUXIE"). In 2005 he was that association's National Tour Guide for our USCPFA Sarasota Tour to China.
AJ then gave two presentations:
First, he described the structure and purposes of YOUXIE, a vast Chinese non-governmentalassociation affiliated in 115 countries with 364 organizations, including our USCPFA. One of YOUXIE's many tasks is to coordinate and establish a Sister Cities relationship between Chinese cities and others worldwide. In his capacity as YOUXIE representative to the U.S., AJ assisted Sarasota in establishing its current Sister City relationship with Xiamen.
Next, as a special treat, AJ showed a film made by YOUXIE to record the gratitude of the Chinese people to the amazing American Volunteer Group(honorifically called "The Flying Tigers") for their service during World War II in training the Chinese Air Force and in fighting with them to destroy invadingJapanese air forces in China. We who watched the film were deeply moved; and some of us went to the Tigers' official website to learn more about these remarkable men.
We would like to express our thanks to Mr. Jiang Yingshan ("AJ Rivers") for visiting us and for his highly informative and fascinating presentations.
Our meeting concluded in the Alinari theatre with a return gesture to AJ: A screening of "It's a Wonderful Life", the perennially favorite American Christmas film.
Those who stayed to the 9:00 P.M. end of thismarathon meeting left smiling and content.
Thanks to Jill and Duane for your efforts in bringing this event to us.
Friday, November 2, 2012
November 18, 2012 Chapter Meeting
The November 18 meeting will be held at the Alinari, 800 N. Tamiami Trail, hosted by Jill and Duane as President Archie and VP Lolly will both be out of town. The meeting begins at 3 pm. The program will be a discussion of the new leadership changes in China. Please bring a covered dish to share.
VP Lolly will be in charge of the December meeting as the McKees will be out of town for the holidays. She will announce the details at the November meeting.
VP Lolly will be in charge of the December meeting as the McKees will be out of town for the holidays. She will announce the details at the November meeting.
USCPFA Nov. 18, 2012 Meeting Minutes by Colette Penn
We had a triple bill at our 3:00 P.M. November 18, 2012 meeting held in the Alinari condominiumtheatre as guests of members Duane Finger and Jill Dye.
First, as we enjoyed our snacks, Duane gave us a talk on the role of new Chinese leader Xi Jinping's father as a communist revolutionary, the significance of Xi being a Red Prince or "princeling", Xi's personal connections with the U.S., and insights into Xi's character and political views.
Our special guest, JoAnn Matray, then gave us a vivid description of her experiences living in Chongqing, southwest China, while serving in the U.S. Peace Corps as a teacher of IT subjects tomasters degree students at Chongqing University. JoAnn discussed a myriad of topics, including her living with a local family, food, shopping, supplies, medical care, and local customs. She also explainedsome University procedures, such as admission, instruction, and testing. A lively question and answer session followed.
Thank you, JoAnn, for sharing your fascinating experiences with us.
To close the meeting, Duane showed a brief scenic documentary film, "The Symbol of Eternity in China", with spectacular views of Anhui Province, including Huangshan (Mount Huang).
This meeting had something for everyone.Thanks to everyone who assisted.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
October 21, 2012 Chapter Meeting
We had another great meeting at the Village Gardens Condo community room, Sunday, October 21 at 2 pm.
When Alfonz arrived, we surprised him with a birthday cake with sparklers and balloon. We sang "Happy Birthday to You" in Chinese. Then, we helped him blow out all the sparklers and shared his cake. Today Alfonz was 91!
Photos by Laz:
President Archie gave us dates of upcoming events that might be of interest:
Wednesday evening, October 24 - "What Next for China?" Carter Center in Atlanta. You can view this online. Just Google it.
Today's program was a documentary entitled, "The China Question," which brought about a stimulating discussion. All present participated in the discussion and shared their individual views of the topics in the documentary.
Carolyn was inspired by an earlier viewing of this documentary. She shared a spreadsheet of five categories of products in her home and where they were made. Her categories were short sleeve woven shirts, knit tank tops, tee shirts with logos, household items, and books. Surprising how the percentages of Made in China products were much lower than one might expect. She plans to have her students perform a similar survey in their homes. You might want to do this too.
Email archie.mckee@hotmail.com if you need additional info about upcoming events or the books he mentioned during the discussion.
Next meetings:
November 18, 2 pm - President Archie and VP Lolly will both be out of town. Archie is asking Duane and Jill to host this meeting. Details to follow from them.
December 16, 2 pm - VP Lolly will preside. She will be sending out information about location and program.
When Alfonz arrived, we surprised him with a birthday cake with sparklers and balloon. We sang "Happy Birthday to You" in Chinese. Then, we helped him blow out all the sparklers and shared his cake. Today Alfonz was 91!
Photos by Laz:
President Archie gave us dates of upcoming events that might be of interest:
Wednesday evening, October 24 - "What Next for China?" Carter Center in Atlanta. You can view this online. Just Google it.
- Thursday evening, October 25 - Ringling Museum presentation by Dr. Daphne Rosenzwieg on Deco Japan. Go to http://www.ringling.org/AdultPrograms2.aspx?id=12968 for more information. Registration necessary.
- Monday evening, October 29 - China Town Hall Meeting, Lakewood Ranch Campus of State College of Florida. Registration necessary.
- Ongoing exhibits at Ringling Museum: "Mythic Creatures of China" and "Deco Japan."
Today's program was a documentary entitled, "The China Question," which brought about a stimulating discussion. All present participated in the discussion and shared their individual views of the topics in the documentary.
Carolyn was inspired by an earlier viewing of this documentary. She shared a spreadsheet of five categories of products in her home and where they were made. Her categories were short sleeve woven shirts, knit tank tops, tee shirts with logos, household items, and books. Surprising how the percentages of Made in China products were much lower than one might expect. She plans to have her students perform a similar survey in their homes. You might want to do this too.
Email archie.mckee@hotmail.com if you need additional info about upcoming events or the books he mentioned during the discussion.
Next meetings:
November 18, 2 pm - President Archie and VP Lolly will both be out of town. Archie is asking Duane and Jill to host this meeting. Details to follow from them.
December 16, 2 pm - VP Lolly will preside. She will be sending out information about location and program.
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