Volume 27/ Issue 4 Fall/Winter 2014 PRESIDENT S MESSAGE By Robert K. C. Ching Aloha and thank you for the privilege of serving as your See Dai Doo Society President for the past two years 2013 and 2014. While my official duties are drawing to a close, I look back at my fond memories of working with all of you. The accomplishments, success, and achievements of my two year term are the direct result of your collective efforts. You never lost sight of our mission and by your consistent commitment and ingenuity we were able to forge forward keeping abreast of the current laws and not compromise the values of our ancestors. This could not have been possible without your willing and generous investment of time, talent, energy and resources by volunteering your services. I was very touched last year when you all contributed toys and money to the Toys for Tots Drive which was held in conjunction with our Annual Christmas party. We did a fundraising for a new wing which will enable it to meet the growing needs to take care of our elderly citizens. See Dai Doo Society will have a garden in the new facility recognizing us for our generous contribution. As you all know, Mandarin is the official language in China and I am happy to announce that every Monday we have lessons in Mandarin Chinese for our members and it is open to anyone in the community. Also I started a program in which you could receive your SDDS newsletter by E-Mail which saves the society money as well as getting our important message much quicker to our members. I took the society to Taiwan and China on our Roots Tour. Everyone who attended had a great time but most of all, we were able to visit our villages where our ancestors came from. I would like to thank the following members that have volunteered this past year: Thomas Lai For a great selection of movies which we all enjoyed watching Florence Poon Au Installation of 2014 Officers & Trustees, Annual Palolo Home visitation and bowling tournament Thomas Ching Chinatown Parade Betsy Lum Annual Spring Banquet, Annual Christmas caroling and maintaining our membership roster Robert Wong Ching Ming Celebration at Lin Yee Chung Manoa Cemetery D Wayne Wong Dragon Boat Race Charlene Chang Annual Picnic, teaching Mandarin language class Baldwin Au Veteran s Appreciation Day Norma Acopan Christmas Party Rena Young Ochse Editor of SDDS Newsletters Bixby Ho Website Maintenance Winifred Wong Bingo Wesley F. Fong Vice President Splendor of China Dr. Riley Yuen Photographer all photos taken at many functions Thank you all committee chairs and members for an outstanding job! I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. God bless you. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officers: Robert K. C. Ching, President Wesley Fong, Vice President Darren S.P. Chun, Treasurer Jeanette BK Ing N. Kuwahara, Ass t Treasurer Patrick T. H. Lam, Chinese Secretary Raymond B.H. Leung, Asst. Chinese Secy. Vivian B.Y. Loo, English Secretary Beverly M Lum, Ass t. English Secy. Robert W.C. Wong, Auditor Vida Pang, Exec Secretary Milton K. S. Yee, Asst. Auditor Newsletter: Rena Young Ochse, Editor Website: www.seedaidoosociety.org (NOTE: NEW WEBSITE)
CHALLENGE OF THE VILLAGES BOWLING TOURNAMENT (Florence Au, Chairperson) The Challenge of the Villages Bowling Tournament was started in 2008 as a way for members and families of the See Dai Doo Society to connect with their ancestral village learn of other See Dai Doo villages and of course, to have fun. The bowling tournament this year definitely met those requirements. One bowling team learned that their ancestral village was Choy Hang, the village home of Dr. Sun Yat Sen. The tournament this year had nine teams bowling three games for cash prizes. Three teams represented Pun Sa village, two teams represented Jo Bu Tau village, one team represented Cha Inn, one team represented Choy Hang village and two teams will be researching the name of their ancestral village. To keep the tournament interesting, there was a friendly One-on-One competition between three pairs of comparable bowlers from different teams. Whoever had the higher score after the second game won a cash prize of $5.00. Extra team points were also earned through the SDDS Trivia Question game. Can you answer the following trivia questions? 1. How many villages are in the See Dai Doo Society? 2. What province are the See Dai Doo villages located? 3. What town encompasses the See Dai Doo villages? 4. What is the name of the President of See Dai Doo Society that started the Challenge of the Villages Bowling Tournament? Bonus question: Zhongshan (Chung Shan) had another name prior to the Chinese Republic, what was that name? Write that name in Chinese Characters for extra points. (Answers at the end of this article) During the tournament, the players were treated to lunch from the Hickam Bowling Center and snacks of popcorn, arare and candy to keep their energy up. Lucky number prizes were given out at the end of the tournament. Vice President Wesley Fong generously donated a $25 restaurant gift card in addition to all the other prizes that was provided by the Society. Everyone who bowled won a lucky number prize. The winners of the bowling tournament are as follows: First Place Team: The Strykers of Cha Inn village, 2500 points Second Place Team: The Wonderfuls of Jo Bu Tau village, 2343 points Third Place Team: The Panda Bowling Squad of Pun Sa village, 2140 points Highest Individual Score, age 65+: Wendy Chun, 568 points Highest Individual Score, age 15 and under: Emilee Wong, 344 points Highest Individual Score: Barrett Won, 570 points A good time was had by all. Several members mentioned that they had not participated in any SDDS events for a long time and that they were glad they came. SDDS Trivia Question answers: 72 villages Guangdong (Canton) Nam Long (Nan Long) Baldwin K.S. Au Heung Shan
Winner of the bowling tournament THE STRYKERS OF CHA INN VILLAGE Wendy Chun, Kevin and Darren Chun, Stephanie Miwa, Donald Lau VP Wes Fong, presented Matthew Yuen with a $25 gift certificate. 1 st team that signed up for bowling- Pin Sa Panda Bowling Squad. Irving Hee, Shirley Ann Chew, Jeanna Chew, Alric Kutara. They won 3 rd Place.
New Members Pictured left is Debbie Won Lin, Lori Won Nakata Harry Kun Mun Au with VP Wes Fong, Baldwin Au and Milton Yee -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Christmas Caroling Betsy Y. Lum, Chair Date: Friday, December 12, 2014 Time: 5:30 p.m. Christmas Caroling Place: Meet at Rehab Hospital 1 st Floor Lobby A cheerful holiday message to all of our members, families, and friends to join us in See Dai Doo Society s last community event of the year at the Rehab Hospital of the Pacific to bring cheer and joy to the patients and staff. Director Harry Wong s Guang Zhong Chinese Music Ensemble will lead us in Christmas caroling. After caroling we will return to SDDS hall for fellowship and refreshments. A sign-up sheet is posted on the bulletin board, or email sdd@hawaiiantel.biz to sign up so that we have a count of participants to prepare for refreshments. We look forward to seeing you all. Happy holidays! COMING SOON SAVE THE DATE - January 30, 2015 MOVIE NIGHT at SDDS Great Hall 7:00 PM Coming Home, a new film by Zhang Yimou about the ravages wrought on a family by decades of political violence in China and how they (kind of) overcome them, stars Gong Li, his legendary muse. It made Steven Spielberg cry, the Chinese news media reported. Ang Lee, the Academy Award-winning director of Life of Pi, was very moved by it too, he said on Chinese television. In this emotionally powerful, richly nuanced, politically violent and historically contemplative movie, which opens May 16 in mainland China, June 12 in Hong Kong and in December in the United States, could have been called Being Together, said Zhang Zhao, the movie s producer and the chief executive of Le Vision Pictures. This romantic drama set against the backdrop of China s Cultural Revolution from 1920s to the 1990s. Lu Yanshi and Feng Wanyu is a devoted couple forces to separate when Lu is arrested and sent to a labor camp as a political prisoner, just as his wife is injured in an accident. Released during the last day of the Cultural Revolution, he finally returns home only to find that his beloved wife has amnesia and remembers little of her past. Unable to recognize Lu, she patiently waits her husband s return. A stranger alone in the heart of his broken family. Yanshi determines to resurrect their past together and reawaken his wife
Veterans Appreciation Day By Baldwin Au On a day when the nation honors its veterans, the See Dai Doo Society held an event to honor its member veterans for its second consecutive year. This time, we have identified a group of nineteen new veterans to add to our Veterans Roll of Honor. The program started with Edward W.O. Wong leading the audience with the Pledge of Allegiance followed by God Bless America. The emcee, Wesley Fong, gave the attendees a brief history of how our veteran members have served the country since the beginning of the 19 th century in every war or conflict that this nation has engaged in, in order for our freedoms to be preserved. A roll call was started which included society veterans from World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf War. Each recipient was given a US flag lapel pin and a specially numbered See Dai Doo Society mug designed with an American flag and a special message of appreciation on it. A lei presentation to the Most Senior Veteran Member in attendance, which former SDDS President Dr. Herbert Chinn happened to be on this day, was presented by Ms. Cecilia Fong. Then, the unveiling of the new Roll of Honor plaque was done by President Robert Ching with the assistance of Dr. Herbert Chinn. The crowd was impressed with this perpetual recognition of our veterans. It will be eventually mounted on the Society s foyer wall for all to see. This year, the Veterans Committee elected to give a donation of $500 to the American Red Cross Hawaii Chapter for their assistance to all service members in time of emergency. Many of our veterans can recall getting assistance or know of someone in the military who had the Red Cross verify an emergency which expedited their journey home. Accepting this donation was its CEO Coralie Chun Matayoshi who also happens to be the daughter of former SDDS President Peter Chun. The members were delighted to have her presence for this occasion. The event chairman, Baldwin Au thanked all those involved in making this event possible. Edward W.O. Wong led the audience with Hawaii Aloha to close the program. Florence Au and David Wong along with their assistants coordinated a wonderful Korean style luncheon for all to enjoy while the veterans traded military experiences from all wars. Special thanks go out to John Yim (audio), Dr. Riley Yuen(photography), Bradley Au(video), and Blossom Wong(floral display) which made this a memorable event. left : Dr. Herbert Chinn, Most Senior Veteran & former SDDS President Right: Wesley, Ed Wong and President Robert Ching Left: Ed Wong, Wendy Chun (Jason) and Robert Ching, President
Corallie Matayoshi (Chun) accepts donation to the American Red Cross Society. Her Dad is former President, Peter Chun of SDDS SPLENDOR OF CHINA VOLUNTEERS AT THE BOOTH Rena Young Ochse, Shiu Wen Tam, Narcissus 4 th Princess, VP Wesley Folng, Jeanette & Robert Kuwahara
Splendor of China submitted by Wesley Fong, Vice President On November 1-2, 38 See Dai Doo Society members participated in the Splendor of China held at the Neil Blaisdell Center. The SDDS booth featured a photo board with the history of See Dai Doo Society and a map of the SDD District and two photo boards highlighting SDDS s many activities. The SDDS table displays were accenturated with the talented touch of Blossom Wong, who provided the beautiful floral arrangements and Chinese decorations. The highlight of the booth was a Wheel of Fortune built by James & Norma Acopan. Each visitor was guaranteed a prize after spinning the wheel. Other members of the committee were Wes Fong, Chair, Tina Au, Vice Chair, Darren Chun and D wayne Wong. The SDDS booth stood out another year at the Splendor of China Tai Chi Betsy Y. Lum, Chair One of the most popular classes at See Dai Doo Society is the Tai Chi class which meets every Tuesday evenings at the Society Hall from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Our instructor is Sifu Geng Ku Ou, a See Dai Doo Society member. Tai means great and Chi means energy. The word Gung means practice. Tai Chi classes first started at the Society Hall in the spring of 1996. Our first instructor was Mrs. Toni Mark, who was recommended by SDDS Director Betty Ching. She was an excellent instructor and inspired many of our members to continue with this healthful exercise. She retired after two years and encouraged our members to continue the classes. We were fortunate that our star Tai Chi member was Thomas Lai who became our instructor in 1998 untill about 2009. Thank you, Tommy, for all those years that you dedicated your time to keep us fit, healthy and fun. From 2010 untill today, Sifu Geng Ku Ou is our instructor. We learn different exercise movements, and Sifu continues to inspire us to keep practicing so that we can all enjoy a healthy balanced lifestyle. Our last Tai Chi class for Year 2014 is scheduled for Tuesday, November 11, 2014. Classes will resume January 13, 2015. Happy holidays to all! Tai Chi Class Members of SDDS and friends
SEE DAI DOO SOCIETY 1300 Pali Highway Honolulu, Hawaii 96813-2206 Fax: 533-4755 /Phone 533-4756 Calendar of Events December 3 Director s Meeting 7:30 p.m. SDDS Great Hall December 7 Christmas Party 2:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. SDDS Great Hall January 1, 2015 Installation of 2015 Officers & Trustees -12:00 noon SDDS Great Hall January 7, 2015 Director s Meeting - 7:30 p.m.( Jook to be served0 SDDS Great Hall February 4, 2015 Director s Meeting 7:30 p.m. SDDS Great Hall February 11, 2015 GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING 7:30P.M. February 14, 2015 Chinatown Parade February 19, 2015 CHINESE NEW YEAR Ongoing Activities for All Ages Mandarin Class Mondays 7:00 p.m. 9:00 p.m. Tai Chi Tuesdays 7:00 p.m. 9:00 p.m. Bingo 2 rd Wednesday 10:00 am 12:00 pm (Senior Activity for SDDS members 50 +) Mah Jong 3 rd Wednesday 9:30 am 12:00 pm. Call Shiu Wen Tam 536-1328 Ongoing Activities for All Ages Tai Chi Tuesdays 7:00 PM 9:00 PM Bingo 2 nd Wednesday 10:00 AM 12:00 PM (Senior Activity for SDD members 50 +) Mah Jong 3 rd Wednesday 9:30 AM 12:00 PM Call Shiu Wen Tam 636 1328 Mandarin Class Mondays 7:00PM 9:00PM SDDS Great Hall