American Legion Lt. B. R. Kimlau Chinese Memorial Post 1291, Inc.
Legion Year 20 – 21 Newsletter
紐約華裔美國退伍軍人會會務簡訊
March, 2021
Dear Legionnaires 親愛的會友：
It is hard to imagine it has been one full year since we were ordered to shelter at home by our government officials to flatten the curve. We were told that unless you are essential workers; you must stay home to prevent the spread of the Coronus virus. We diligently followed the CDC guidelines and practiced health and safety protocols such as wearing a mask, social distancing and washing our hands thoroughly with soap for at least 20 seconds. We were prohibited to gather in groups, even among family members, unless they were living together. Businesses were shuttered and schools were closed. Working from home became the norm and the once busy streets of the city became a ghost town. Do all these scenarios sound familiar? That is because every one of us has lived it for the last twelve months.
Our post complied with the government directive and promptly closed its operations beginning March 17, 2020. It was a difficult and painful decision for Post Leadership. All pending Post meetings and activities; such as officer nomination and election, the Memorial Day parade, the officer installation and the 75th Anniversary celebration were cancelled. It is imperative that we consider our health and the health and safety of those around us as the highest priority and at the same time, obey the law to minimize the spread of the virus. As the pandemic continues to affect our normal life, we were ultimately forced to cancel all activities including events in the first quarter of 2021.
For most of us, 2020 was one of the most challenging periods in our personal and professional lives. Most of us experienced unprecedented stress and anxiety as our lives were altered by the pandemic. Some of us experienced far worse – severe illness or grief over the loss of loved ones. 2021 has begun much like 2020, all of us still living in fear of the pandemic but we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. With the rapid development and deployment of the vaccine, most of the essential first responders and the vulnerable populations are being vaccinated. As the vaccines become more available to the general population; we are hoping to get back to our normal lives once again in the near future.
To date, the CDC has re-prioritized their guidelines and eased the restrictions on indoor gathering, as more and more people are getting vaccinated. Although standards are set by local governments and vary from different jurisdictions, these directives provided everyone with hope that we will resume living with some normalcy, much like before the pandemic. The American Legion Department of New York has announced that the Department Convention will be held in July this year and has encouraged the District, County and Posts to resume activities as long as they are following their local government rules on gathering. Commander McDermott and Adjutant Casey have not yet determined how the convention will take place or what the restrictions imposed by local government will be in July for indoor gathering. However, alternative plans are being developed for a smaller convention if needed.
Our Post hopes to return to its normal operations soon with the possibility of some new protocols in place to ensure the safety of every person. In an informal meeting of past Post Commanders last week, all were in favor of the Post holding an election of officers for the new Legion Year. Detailed plans of nomination, election and installation are being drafted and much depends on any new guidelines set by New York City. The dates of the nomination, election and installation are as follow: Nomination – May 2, 2021 at 2:00 pm; Election – May 16, 2021 from 9:00 to 4:00 pm; Installation – June 5, 2021 at 3:00 pm at the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA). Due to the uncertainty of the pandemic and the closure of many large restaurants in Chinatown which has diminished our ability to plan for a banquet style reception; we will forgo the traditional banquet celebration after the installation and hold a buffet style reception at the Post.
Throughout the lock-down, our Post was closed but a few very dedicated Legionnaires continued to carry out necessary functions. Commander Tony Chuy, Past Commander Kenneth Wong, Vice Commander Howard Chin, Chaplain Phil Eng, Sergeant-at-Arms Thomas Ong and a few others paid a last tribute to our departed comrades by attending members’ funerals. Commander Chu, Past Commander Paul Tam and Mark Eng were at the Post on a daily basis to look after building related matters. The Scholarship Committee also convened to choose the 2020 scholarship recipients. We sincerely thank the families of Maj. Stanley Lee, John H. Wong, Kwong Y. Yee, Doo J. Eng and Arthur Wong for making donations to create scholarships in memory of our long time members. The purpose of these scholarships is to encourage members and member’s progeny for higher education. The “Maj. Stanley Lee Memorial Scholarship” of $1,000, in its third year of a ten-year program was awarded to Anneli Chuy, daughter of Commander Chuy. The “John H. Wong Memorial Scholarship” of $1,000, in its final year of a five-year program was awarded to Lucy Yin, daughter of Min Xiong “The Kwong Y. Yee Memorial Scholarship” of $1,000 was awarded to Spencer Ng, grandson of Jack F. Ng. The “Doo J. Eng Memorial Scholarship” of $900 was awarded to Christine Jew, daughter of Warren H. Jew. The “Arthur Wong Memorial Scholarship” of $500 was awarded to Leah Chung, granddaughter of Kai S. Chung.
We were pleased to hand out the above awards, as well as the Post Scholarship awards (equal to $500 each) to eight well deserving recipients via Zoom. The winners are Glendon Chin, son of Bradford Chin; Emmeline Chuy, daughter of Commander Chuy; Leilani Kaiser, granddaughter of Past Commander Richard Shin; Malia Kaiser, granddaughter of Past Commander Richard Shin; Alexander Mattingly, grandson of Jack Chu; Brandon Tse, son of Sean Tse; Caitlin Wong, daughter of Henry Wong; Chance Yan, son of Lap Yan. We would like to congratulate them all on their outstanding achievements and wish them continued success in their future endeavors. We also handed out one Robert S. Wong Chinese Study Scholarship Awards to Christopher Gee, Son of Benny Gee; he completed a certified course in Chinese Study. Please note that the post has revised the scholarship application period to allow students to submit their scholarship applications from January 1st to August 31st.
As we look forward to seeing you in the near future, please follow the CDC guidelines and pay extra attention and take extra precautions for your health and safety as well as your family’s health and safety. The VA is now offering the vaccine to all veterans who are enrolled. If you are eligible for the vaccine, please take it.
自去年因疫情嚴重本會響應政府限制下停止日常運作，但本會幾位熱心會員卻不懼疫情繼續為本會仙逝會員作出最後致敬，非常感謝朱超然主，前任主席黃建中，副主席陳煥寧伍，沃欽宗教主任，鄧燦業糾察及幾位會員一年多的辛勤服務。另朱超然主席，前任主席譚煥瑜及前任主席伍顯宗亦在疫情中幾乎每日都親臨本會料理樓業鎖碎事件。獎學金委員會成員亦在疫情中聚會選擇去年獎學金者名額，本會非常感謝李飛揚家人及Saunders家人，黃雄源家人，余廣一家人，伍于舉家人及黃寧家人捐款設立幾個「紀念獎學金」，頒發給成績優異的學生，以鼓勵會員及其子弟勤奮向學，力求上進。為期十年每年一千元的「Maj. Stanley G. Y. Lee少校紀念獎學金」第三年頒發給朱超然主席的女兒，為期五年每年一千元的「黃雄源紀念獎學金」第五年頒發給熊敏的女兒，一千元的「余廣一紀念獎學金」頒發給伍福源的孫女，九百元的「伍于舉紀念獎學金」頒發給趙禧濂女兒，五百元的「黃寧紀念獎學金」頒發給李禎年孫女。
We are currently at 77% renewal in membership which is lack behind the Department goal of 100% at this time. Please renew as soon as possible so we can achieve 100% membership. Members can remit the $25.00 membership dues by mail or in person.
We are sad to report the following legionnaires have passed on to the Commander of us all post everlasting.
May Our Comrades Rest In Peace!
Steven Yang 楊 智 行 (Apr 20)
Shuck Seid 雷 柏 銳 (Apr 20)
Kwong Y. Yee 余 廣 一 (Apr 20)
Sheung Chung 鍾 想 Sep 20)
Paul C. Ng 伍 保 羅 (Jun 20)
Suey W. Ng 伍 瑞 和 (Oct 20)
Yat Q. Yee 余 日 光 (Oct 20)
Edward C. Tung 鄧 兆 恩 (Oct 20)
Lum Louie 雷 林 (Nov 20)
Toy F. Ng 伍 福 財 (Nov 20)
Barry Eng 伍 國 耀 (Dec 20)
Sun Fong Wen 溫 新 晃 (Dec 20)
Lung Fee Wong 黃 龍 飛 (Dec 20)
James F. Lee 李 耀 芳 (Jan 21)
Kim Wing Ngai 倪 錦 榮 (Jan 21)
Jing C. Eng 伍 正 光 (Feb 21)
Tom Ha 譚 哈 (Mar 21)
New/Transfer Members 新入會會員
There were four new members applied for membership
二零至二一年第新會員：
Yan Xiong 熊 焱 (Gulf – Army)
Ted Chu (Gulf – Navy)
Wei Li 李 偉 (Gulf – Navy)
Jie Luo 羅 杰 (Gulf – Navy)
Please join us to welcome the above new members. Hope to see all of you in future functions.
我們歡迎上述新會友加入我們的行列，更希望他們多參加本會各項活動。
We hope the above information will be of interest to you and we hope to hear from you soon. Let us know what we can do for you. Until we meet again, stay well!
我們希望這份簡訊，對你有所幫助，更希望在不久的將來，能得到你參與本會各種活動的回應。假如我們有任何可以為你服務之處，務請隨時提出意見。
THE STAFF
本會行政小組仝人敬啟 Antonio Chuy 朱超然 Randall Eng 伍元天, Kai S. Chung 李禎年, Howard Chin 陳煥寧 Gabe B. Mui 梅本立, Mark Eng 伍顯宗 David Lam 林善群, Paul Tam 譚煥瑜
