U.S. Regional Caucus in Atlanta
Report

With deep southern hospitality, the caucus attendees were warmly welcomed by Eugene Hanratty (Executive Director, Hong Kong Association of Atlanta) and his family members at a reception held in the evening of Sunday, June 5, 2005, at the very cozy Hanratty residence.

In addition to the growers' reputation for producing high quality fruits and peaches, Georgia is also known for its increasing international profile and cosmopolitan blend of cultures. Being the capital city of the Peach State, Atlanta is home of industry giants such as Coca-cola, Delta Airlines, Georgia-Pacific, The Home Depot as well as the CNN News Groups and Turner Broadcasting, and of course the Atlanta Braves for baseball fans. Delta Airlines supported the caucus program by hosting a speaker luncheon at the Maggiano's Restaurant and Georgia-Pacific arranged complimentary tickets for the caucus attendees to enjoy an evening baseball game at the renowned Turner Field.

After discovering bags of surprise goodies and souvenirs donated by the Hong Kong Association of Atlanta, City of Atlanta and various major corporations in Atlanta, Ms. Sarah Wu, Director of Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office in New York, was invited to kick off the U.S. regional caucus program with a brief update on the latest development of Hong Kong including an outline of the Hong Kong Chief Executive election of 2005. She envisaged the transition would be smooth and Hong Kong's economy would continue to be stable with optimistic growth in international trade. Recent trade tensions between China and the United States were not expected to have major impact on Hong Kong and Hong Kong businesses would always cope with different situations by diversifying. At her closing, association representatives were encouraged to visit and explore interesting trade events happening around the year in Hong Kong.

Echoing with Ms. Wu, Mr. Jorge Hernandez, VP, International of Delta Airlines, shared his feeling of the importance to diversify in facing aviation industry turbulences such as post-911 impacts and all-time-high oil prices. Realizing the ever-changing needs of passengers traveling to and from the southeastern United States, the airline had been constantly re-plotting flight plans including proposals of launching direct flight service between Atlanta and Beijing in 2008 as well as opening of a general sales office in Beijing later on in the year.

Following Mr. Jorge Hernandez' presentation, Georgia State Senator Sam Zamarripa also shared his insights in doing business with China at the speaker luncheon. Senator Zamarripa was the impetus and author of a Bill in Georgia establishing the Georgia China Initiative and he is currently serving on the board of the Gerogia China Alliance, a professional association devoted to promote international business between Georgia and China. The lunch program was further enriched by the presence of distinguished guests from the Georgia Department of Economic Development and City of Atlanta Mayor's Office.

Although working under tight program schedule, important NUSHKBA businesses were conducted including election of the Board of Directors and Executive Officers to serve the 2005/2006 term,

• Chairman, Ms. Laisin Lee (Chair, HK Business Association of Hawaii)
  
• President, Ms. Dawn Haghighi (VP, HK Business Association of the Midwest)
  
• Treasurer, Ms. Susanna Kwan (Executive Director, HK Association of Northern California)
  
• Secretary General, Eugene Hanratty, (Executive Director, HK Association of Atlanta)
  
• Vice Presidents
  - Raymond Cheng, President, HK Association of S. California
  - Daniel Chen, President, HK Association of N. Texas
  - Mike Nocera, Executive Director, HK Association of New York
  - Stanley Tam, President, HK Club of Washington
  
• Other Board Members
  - Gerald L. Allison, President, HK Association of Atlanta
  - Ms. Margaret Au, Executive Director, HK Club of Washington
  - Clement Chiang, Board Member, HK Club of Washington
  - Robert Hsueh, Chair, HK Association of Northern Texas
  - Ms. Linda Kao, VP, HK Association of Northern Texas
  - Christopher Leu, VP, HK association of S. California
  - Stephen McCardell, President, HK Association of New York
  - Tom Mole, President, HK Business Association of Hawaii
  - William R. Ramsey, Board Member, HK Association of Atlanta
  - Ms. Heidi Tan, VP, HK Association of N. California
  - John Walsh, President, HK Association of the Midwest
  - Delwyn Wong, 1st VP, HK Business Association of Hawaii
  - Philip Wong, VP Membership, HK Business Association of the Midwest
  - Thomas Wu, President, HK Association of N. California
  - Anthony Wong, Honorary Secretary, HK Association of S. California
  

Heads of Hong Kong organizations including the HKSAR government, HK Tourism Board and HKTDC based in the United States and other dignitaries would be invited to become Honorary Advisers and lend their support to NUSHKBA.

Committees were formed to ensure the continuous development of NUSHKBA. Ms. Dawn Haghighi would take on the leading role of seeking corporate sponsorships, Eugene Hanratty volunteered to provide general assistance to groups and organizations interested in forming a Hong Kong association in the United States, and Daniel Chen would take up the responsibility of coordinating programs for NUSHKBA including the US reception at the upcoming HK Forum in November.

With the recent forming of the Philadelphia Hong Kong Trade Association, the Board of NUSHKBA was excited and welcomed this newest member into the national family with open arms.

The caucus attendees were satisfied with the accomplishments achieved in the two-day program and looked forward to seeing each other again at the 2005 November Hong Kong Forum.