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"COMING TOGETHER"
VABANC held its Annual
Scholarship Dinner on Friday September 29, 2006 at Dynasty Seafood
Restaurant in San Jose. In addition to recognizing our 2006
scholarship recipients, the dinner served as a welcoming reception for
the first-ever National Conference
of Vietnamese American Attorneys (NCVAA), co-organized by VABANC and the
Vietnamese American Bar Association of Southern California, which
continued the following day.
NCVAA organizing committee member Teresa Hung, scholarship recipients
Tam Bui (Boalt) and Thao Le (Hastings), and VABANC president Candice Nguyen Hamant. Our
third scholarship recipient Van Nguyen (Boalt) was unable to attend.
Tasha Nguyen of Tosoh America, Inc. shares pre-dinner drinks with
Dominique Thieu of Lee and Tran and VABANC vice president Minh Hoang of Duane Morris LLP.
Thien Huong (left), Christopher Phan, U.S. Navy JAG Corps, and their
friend Heather elegantly model
the dinner program and the more colorfully designed Nha Magazine, which
is present to cover the dinner and the historic National Conference of
Vietnamese American Attorneys.
NCVAA organizing committee member Mai Phan, Honorable Nho Nguyen,
Orange County Superior Court, Honorable Thang Nguyen Barrett, Santa
Clara County Superior Court, and Derrick Nguyen, president of the
Vietnamese American Bar Association of Southern California and member of
the White House Initiative on Asian American and Pacific Islanders.
Luan Tran, of Lee and Tran, Los Angeles, holds a token of
appreciation for his firm's sponsorship of NCVAA. In his shadow -
for this time and this time only - is Tasha Nguyen, corporate
counsel for Tosoh America, Inc.
Cindy Nguyen, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP, is the dinner emcee.
With her is Mai Phan, Law Office of Mai Phan.
The Honorable Nho Nguyen, Orange County Superior Court, delivered the
dinner keynote address.
The food was excellent, but the crab posed certain challenges for all
the fancy suits, ties, and updated ao dai in attendance.
Canh Chim Bach Viet (Wings of the Viet Ancestors), a traditional
dance group, delighted the dinner attendees with their graceful performance.
Santa Clara County Supervisor Peter McHugh presented an official
proclamation in support of VABANC and NCVAA to president Candice Nguyen
Hamant.
Cindy Nguyen and Candice Nguyen Hamant kept the evening's proceedings
flowing smoothly.
VABANC board members Lien Dinh and Rebecca Tran greeted arrivals.
Anh-Thu Le of Duane Morris and her guest.
Honorable Tu Pham, United States Magistrate Judge (W.D.Tenn.), and
Gene Woo, representing the National Asian Pacific American Bar
Association.
Professor Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Southern Methodist University Dedman
School of Law, and VABANC volunteer Nhung Hoang.
Lan Quoc Nguyen, elected school board member from Southern
California, and Jacqui Duong, Santa Clara County Counsel's Office and
lead organizer of NCVAA. Behind them to the right, Derek Tran,
third-year law student at the University of San Francisco and a VABANC
board member, snaps candids on the sly.
Friday night revelries yields to an early Saturday morning and a
change of venue to the new San Jose City Hall rotunda, where San
Jose City Councilmember Madison Nguyen delivers the host city's welcome
to the first National Conference of Vietnamese American Attorneys.
A packed room listens to a lively panel discussion that brings
together all currently serving Vietnamese American judges. More
pictures of NCVAA can be found at www.ncvaa.org.
The 2006 VABANC board: Candice Nguyen Hamant, Duy Thai, Cindy
Nguyen, Minh Hoang, Evelynn Tran, Ann Nguyen, Derek Tran, Vinh Pham, and
Lien Dinh. Not pictured are Neil Bui, Tiep Nguyen, Andrew Vu, and
Rebecca Tran.
NCVAA organizing committee: (front row) Duy Thai, Mai Phan,
Minh Hoang, Ann Nguyen, Tita Nguyen, Luan Tran, Dina Linh Nguyen, Teri
Pham; (back row)
Candice Nguyen Hamant, Cindy Nguyen, Teresa Hung, Jacqui Duong, Evelynn
Tran, Vinh Pham, Derrick Nguyen, Thang Nguyen.
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