Houston Chinese Community Center
Grand Opening Ceremony |
Houston Chinese Community
Center had its grand opening ceremony today 8/18. With
more than 400 people on hand to honor this special
occasion, notable guests included Sen. Kay Bailey
Hutchison, Rep. Al Green, and Houston City Council
members Gordan Quan, Mark Ellis, and
M.J. Khan. Shern-Min Chow from KHOU-11 News was the
master of ceremonies.
Today was a very special moment
for me. Back in the late 1980's, I was a student at the
Chinese Community Center. I participated in all of their
events, their youth organization, and activities. It was
a fun place to be, to learn, and to meet people. I
recollected back then, when the building was small and
so were the classrooms, there were a handful of students
and teachers. Some of my teachers were on hand today and
I felt really proud to be part of this event. To see the
center grow as big as today is extraordinary. I am able
to retain my Chinese heritage and language through the
Chinese Community Center and I will cherish it forever.
Today's speakers talked about how
big the Asian community has grown since the beginning of
the 1900's. From a population of five to a quarter of a
million today, it is just extraordinary. The honorable
Sen. Hutchison made it possible for the Chinese
Community Center to be what it is today with generous
funding and donations. And with prominent influence from
local politicians, Chinese Community Center has
flourished and succeeded in fulfilling its mission. Of
course we cannot forget the hard work of Nine-Min Chen,
the directors of Chinese Community Center, and everyone
who made today possible. They made it happen.
On behalf of
ChinatownConnection.com we applaud the Chinese Community
Center for its achievement in the Chinese and Asian
communities.
Master of
Ceremonies, Shern-Min Chow gives the introduction.
Sen. Kay Bailey
Hutchison gives a
keynote speech.
Rep. Al Green gives
Sen. Hutchison a Congressional Award for outstanding
achievement.
CCC Board Chairman
Michael Koo gives Sen. Hutchison an art rendering of the
Chinese Community Center as a token of appreciation.
The official ribbon
cutting ceremony. From right to left: Houston City
Council Member Mark Ellis, Rep. Al Green, Sen. Kay
Bailey Hutchison, City Council Member Gordon Quan, City
Council Member M.J.Khan.
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