RECA Newsletter

President:
Nancy Wang
576-0533

Vice President:
Mary Lowe
528-8712 x132

Treasurer:
Hsiu-Chuan Armstrong

Recording
Secretary,
Newsletter:
Judy Cheung
528-0912

Corresponding
Secretary:
Mark Heydon
575-9541

Scholarship:
Mirin Lew
545-6173

Social Director:
Mary Lowe

Membership:
Judy Cheung

Ways and Means:
We need someone!
535-0985

Building Committee:
Joe Wang
576-0533

Youth Group:
Mark & Azy Heydon
575-9541

Board Members:
Kevin Ablett
Sandy Bartholome
Cheryl Brown
Shirley Brummell
Irene Fong
Jean Gee
Norman Lai
Winston Lee
Frances Lok

NEWSLETTER

May 2008

Contents
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
RECA SCHOOL REPORT
JOINT ASIAN POT LUCK DINNER
CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS
SANTA ROSA CITY CLEAN-UP DAY RECA BECOMES ROAD BUILDERS
WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST MEMBER
JACL IMMIGRATION FORUM MAY 18
SUPPORT RECA: MEMBER PURCHASE AND DONATE PROGRAM
THANK YOU TO OUR 2008 SPONSORS
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES
RECA SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS
PSYCHIATRIC CARE CHANGES IN SONOMA COUNTY
CHILDREN'S CHINESE CULTURE CAMP

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
By Nancy Wang

Greetings everyone! Our year of the Rat is off to a good start. Our Chinese New Year Celebration was magnificent. Our Cultural Program Performers are in more demand around the community than ever before. I want to take this time to thank everyone who has participated in all of our many events and activities. Thank you! Thank you!

We started off our New Year of the Rat with a Traditional Chinese New Year Celebration at our Center and our big, gala Chinese New Year Celebration and Fundraiser at the Vets Memorial Building in February. We have, since then, performed for the Santa Rosa Community Service Awards Ceremony, Day Under the Oaks, Santa Rosa Middle School, and the Joint Asian Pot Luck Social. We have also interviewed high school seniors for our RECA Scholarships and have participated in the Santa Rosa City Clean-up Day. For all the many members who participated, Thank You! For the members who have stepped forth in leadership roles, including Judy Elliott for leading the cultural dance, Linda Ibitz for taking care of costumes and props,Azy Heydon and Judy Cheung, both for leading events in my absence, Thank you more than I can say. I think we all should be proud of ourselves and of the benefit to the community we offer through RECA.

During May and June, please be sure to register your kids for our Children's Chinese Culture Camp. Also, mark your calendars for these events. We have been invited to give a performance at the Children’s Discovery Museum in Marin County, near Sausalito. For further info visit www.baykidsmuseum.org. Everyone is also invited to the Philippine Celebration June 8 which will feature RECA Cultural Dancers and RECA Adult Chorus as well as food and additional entertainment. Our own, special August event, co-sponsored with local poetry organizations, is the Multi-Cultural Poetry Reading and Pot Luck Lunch. I hope you can all attend and enjoy classical and contemporary poetry in English, Chinese and probably a few other languages. August 23, we perform at China Camp for their Heritage Day Celebration. And don't forget, all members are invited to the Board Meetings the 3rd Wednesday, of every month.

RECA SCHOOL REPORT
By Judy Hardin Cheung

School is nearly over for another successful RECA Language School year. Despite obstacles such as lower enrollment and changing instructors, we have, as usual, had a wonderful year.

Our Beginning Mandarin teacher, Cathy Ringstad, took off much of the 2nd semester to give birth to her beautiful baby boy, Nicolas Ray Ringstad. Mother, son and family are all doing well. Photos of little Nicolas are as handsome as can be. Pre-school teacher, Kitty Freed, took over the Beginning Mandarin class for Cathy when Kitty returned from China. The stable staff throughout the year was Kitty's wonderful daughter, and RECA’s class assistant, Sofia Freed. Nancy Wang took over the once-a-month pre-school play group. This second semester, we very much missed our senior teacher, Lily Chang, who took a sabbatical for this semester. We hope to see her back in September. One half of our Intermediate Mandarin class joined teacher Hsiu Chuan Armstrong in the Advanced Mandarin class. We are grateful for Cheryl Brown who became our new Intermediate Mandarin teacher. Despite all of these changes, we maintained a stable course of study. Our students progressed and our classes have grown throughout the year.

One reason our enrollment is down is because of our grand success. RECA and the Santa Rosa Junior College used to be the only Chinese language. Now, SRJC and Sonoma State University both teach Mandarin classes as do various organizations and individuals in Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park and Petaluma. We have inquiries about starting classes, or helping classes get started from as far away as St. Helena in Napa County. Last year, some of the RECA Language School Staff gave an six week Chinese class for the GATE (Gifted And Talented Education) Program at Hurbert Slater Middle School. The program was successful. One of the last activities of this course was for RECA to assist in picking the teacher for the school year. HSMS is now completing the first year of Chinese as an elective. Montgomery High will continue with their first year of Chinese language classes this coming fall. We want to thank RECA member, Dr. Carl Wong, Sonoma CountyOffice of Education District Superintendent of Public Schools for his tireless work in instituting Chinese as an offered class in our public schools.

New activities for this school year have included regular classes by David Chung in Tai Chi and in English literacy for adults. We usually take the day of the Rose Parade and participate in this community event. This year, we will have school on the day of the Rose Parade and, instead, we participated in the Santa Rosa Community Clean-up Day. Our dance instructor and choreographer, Mejii Chan, continues her recovery from breast cancer. In her absence, Judy Elliott and Meesha Heydon, assisted by Jasmine Elliott, Judy Cheung and Nancy Wang, continued the program with new dances and refreshing our standard repertoire. This past month, Sandy Sullivan has begun assisting, and will probably become one of the primary dance instructors in the fall.

Coming up is our summer Children’s Chinese Culture Camp program. Please copy and use the enrollment form in this newsletter, or the form on line to register your kids, your neighbor's kids and all your nieces and nephews. Culture camp is great fun for campers and staff alike. We have a wide range of cultural activities including cooking, games, singing, dancing, Mandarin lessons, art, stories, and just plain loads of fun. For more photos and additional enrollment forms, please visit www.recacenter.org. Early enrollment helps the staff to better prepare the curriculum.

Children's Chinese Culture Camp, July 14-8 and 21-25, 2008.

Judy Cheung teaches lion drum rhythms to campers, '07.

Cooking lunch with Nancy Wang is a daily special treat.
Older kids get to write down the recipes in Chinese.

Learn the basics of the Lion dance.

JOINT ASIAN POT LUCK DINNER

April 19, Chinese, Japanese, Laosians, Cambodians, Viet Namese, Koreans and other interested people joined together in the Enmanji Temple Social Hall in Sebastopol for the Joint Asian Pot Luck. What used to be the JACL/RECA Joint Pot Luck has grown to include representatives of all the Asians in Sonoma County. If "bigger is better," then this was the best of all! We filled the hall, had a magnificent menu with food from many countries in Asia, visited with friends, made new acquaintances, were entertained with the finest of cultural performances from many different countries, and just plain had tons of fun. Other Asian organizations provided us with Japanese Karaoke, Taiko drumming, and Pilipino dancing.

Cavorting through the audience, our lions thrilled the on-lookers.

In the rollicking umbrella dance, our youngest dancers frolic like little girls playing in a rain shower on a spring day, to the tune of Jasmine Flower, Mo Li Hua.

Our teen Xin Jiang dancers showed us moves from China's western desert people.

Lauren Yee, accompanied by her grandfather, Dr. Robert Yee, soloed with a beautiful vocal performance.

RECA teen sisters, Meesha and Savanah Heydon awed the audience with their 15 foot long, colorful ribbons which were so long they could not be contained on the stage.

Our adult chorus, with director Helen Kopriva, sang songs in many languages. For one well known Philippine song, the chorus sang "la la la" while the audience sang the verses. As usual, the RECA Adult Chorus was a big hit. (Yes, there are men in the chorus but they don't show up in the back row of the stage.)

Solos and duets showed off the talents of our individual adult chorus members.

CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS

For the past many years, RECA has celebrated the New Year with New Year's Eve on December 31, Traditional New Year Celebration on the Saturday closest to the calendar date of the lunar new year, and with our spectacular fundraiser where we fill the Santa Rosa Vets Memorial Building with Chinese food and gayety for the evening of the last Saturday in February. (That is the standing date we were able to get for our annual event.) This year was the same. Our Western New Year's Eve party was covered in the February Newsletter. This year, our Traditional Chinese New Year Pot Luck Lunch and Celebration was not publicized because the appointed day was an inauspicious day. Despite the lack of publicity, over 50 people came together to start the New Year by sharing friendship. After burning incense and showing traditional reverence which makes participants feel more in unity with each other, and, for many, learning the symbolic meaning of the items on the table, and watching the lions dance, we joined together in a fabulous RECA pot luck lunch.

Under the Dragon: friends and relatives are invited to be "dragon legs" to help our dragon come to our Chinese New Year Celebration and Fundraiser. It takes 27 people plus 3-5 drummers to let our dragon dance.

Round fruit to symbolize wholeness, incense for spirituality, flowers for renewal, friends to ensure good luck. Everyone who chooses is able to participate in our Traditional Chinese New Year activities.

Backstage, our youngest dancers eagerly await the beginning of our festivities.

In the kitchen, Kevin Ablett (back) and his son Garrick (left) move so fast, all is a blur. Our food is delivered by a caterer, and then prepared for our buffet style serving.

Buy your raffle tickets from Linda, or any of the other raffle tickets salespeople. Get a single ticket, lots of tickets or a body wrap. Our raffle prizes included a trip to Disneyland, food, wine, manicure, restaurant dinners and many, many more wonderful, donated treasures.

From the stage, looking down, we can see the silent auction table with its interesting items for bidding, and the many people interested in being the highest bidders. At the second table, our governmental dignitaries were seated. Center right, Santa Rosa Mayor Bob Blanchard chats with past mayor, Janet Bender. Other officials in attendance included City Councilman Lee Pierce, Sonoma County District Attorney Stephen Passalaqua, and Sonoma County Office of Education District Superintendent, Dr. Carl Wong, who helped serve our food.

RECA's Member of the Year 2008 Lily Kwan's art table is always popular. She will write your name in calligraphy.

Our special guest at the crafts table was Henry Kaku, master of origami. He was assisted by college students from SSU and by Joyce James and her son, Andrew. In the background are posters from the language classes.

Our special entertainment was Changing Face artist. In the second half of the program, he did a magic show.

Our youngest students are always a smash hit. For the Year of the Rat, they all became mice, watched over by the cat, teacher's aide, Sophia Freed. Watching over all was the God of Good Fortune, played by David Chung, with a costume loaned by River Rock Casino.

We were all astounded at the beautiful music of our special guests, The Six Golden Flowers Gu Zhang Ensemble from San Francisco with RECA member, Wanda Wang, top center.

Our ever-popular lions finished our entertainment in grand style. Other acts included students and instructors from Li's Tai Chi Acadamy, Children’s Umbrella Dance, RECA Adult Chorus, Teen Xin Jiang Dancers, Adult Fan Dancers, Jr. Martial Arts by Alex and Derick Baldi, Ribbon Dance with Meesha and Savanah Heydon.

We also want to thank Eldon Henry for providing his crew for security.

Thank you to Windsor Vineyards and Lagunitas Brewery for providing beer and wine for the first time at our New Year's Event. Also, thank you to all who participated. See you again next year!

SANTA ROSA CITY CLEAN-UP DAY RECA BECOMES ROAD BUILDERS

Ever in demand, RECA received an invitation from the City of Santa Rosa to participate in their city-wide clean-up day. They asked non-profit organizations registered in Santa Rosa to participate in many projects.
We met in Finley Park at 7:30 a.m. and were given the assignment to go to Bahr Farm on West Ave. in the Roseland District, only a few miles from our Center. What an exciting surprise to find that, instead of pulling weeds or picking up trash, we were to build a road!

Judy and Jerry carry the 10'x400' fabric road base to be laid on the cleared path through the field.

Eric is king of bark mountain. One crew shoveled composted bark into trucks and wheelbarrows.

Six year old Alice learned to use a pitchfork taller than she was. Her dad, Stan, was there to help out, too.

Another crew of RECA members laid the fabric base and secured it by hammering in huge ground staples.

Once loaded, the composted bark was driven to the road bed. Another crew off-loaded and spread the bark evenly. There's little Alice working with a rake.

Oh! That's how Alice did it. The young and adventurous rode back and forth in the compost trailer. The rest of us took a break between loads.

By the end of our shift, we had laid the road base, completed about 200 feet of road, and started about 100 additional feet. Notice how far away the fence is now!

Here we are! The tired and happy crew at the end of a morning.
3 cheers for the RECA Road Builders!

Meanwhile, back at Finley park, a third crew prepared our information booth for the afternoon Clean-up Day Fair-- Lots of fun and free hot dogs for the first 1,000 people.

WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST MEMBER

Nicolas Ray Ringstad, our newest RECA member, is surrounded by his "classmates" from language school, and held by Mom, Cathy Ringstad. Dad, Brother Sammy, Grandma and Grandpa were outside talking to people and receiving congratulations.

JACL IMMIGRATION FORUM MAY 18
By Mary Lowe

JACL (Japanese American Citizens League) is sponsoring an immigration forum for the Asian community of Sonoma County on Sunday, May 18 from 2-4 p.m. at the Enmanji Temple, 1200 Gravenstein Hwy. South in Sebastopol. This is an opportunity to learn about the current immigrant situation in Sonoma County and about immigration law. Speakers include David Chung with RECA, Mary Lowe with Catholic Charities, Rick Coshnear, an attorney specializing in immigration law. For more information, contact mangochutney@yahoo.com.

SUPPORT RECA: MEMBER PURCHASE AND DONATE PROGRAM
By Anita Kwan

RECA members Anita Kwan ( KWAN IMPORT ) and Mrs. Ma ( ASIA MART ) are joining together to offer our members special priced INK & TONER cartridges and a convenient place to purchase. In addition to below retail discount prices, RECA will receive a 5% donation from each purchase. The most popular items are now available at the store located at 2481 Guerneville Road in Santa Rosa . For the items you need that are not shown at the store, please send email to Mrs. Ma at: asiamart2481@yahoo.com or call 707-953-0647.

THANK YOU TO OUR 2008 SPONSORS

Please purchase our RECA Newsletter ads. You may have a business card sized ad in 4 Newsletters for $50.

RECA wants to thank our 2008 Sponsors for their kind donation that keep RECA able to continue performing for the community and being a public resource for people, businesses, schools and agencies who need our assistance.

Northwest Insurance Company
Redwood Credit Union
River Rock Casino
Sonoma County Office of Education
Wal-Mart

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES

Each year, in recent years, RECA has been invited to perform at the Sonoma County Community Achievement Awards Ceremony, put on by the South and West Area Business Association. This year, our lions performed as part of the multi-cultural entertainment. Mary Lowe, Judy Cheung, Mark and Azy Heydon were the representatives of RECA. This year, the lion dancers were able to join us for a delicious steak dinner when they finished dancing.

Our Cultural Dancers, Lion Dancers and martial artists performed for Day Under the Oaks at Santa Rosa Junior College. Leading a procession from the fountain to the stage near Bailey Hall, our lions and drummers drew a large crowd of followers.

Part of being with RECA includes opportunities to take part in various community activities. RECA annually receives an invitation to attend the Victim's Recognition Luncheon sponsored by the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office and various organizations to honor victims who have successfully overcome the trauma of the crime committed against them, and to help educate the community about agencies that provide help and support to people in need. Judy Cheung and Cheryl Brown were the RECA representatives who attended.

RECA SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

Each year, RECA provides one $500 scholarship to a high school senior who will be attending college or university in the fall of the next school year. This year, we were pleased to accept the donation of two additional scholarships. One, from Annie Wong, owner of Kyoto Restaurant in Rohnert Park, was to follow the same guidelines as the RECA Scholarship. The other, from the Lok Family Businesses, was specified to go to an active member of RECA.

This year, the interview panel interviewed five finalists. Our $500 scholarship awards went to RECA member Meesha Heydon, RECA member Sidney Fang and a non-member, Nick Gallerani.

Congratulations to all of you! It is a treat to see the wonderful achievements of our spectacular teens.

PSYCHIATRIC CARE CHANGES IN SONOMA COUNTY
By Anna Kong

Nine-line Crisis Counseling for any major emergency in Sonoma County: 545-4900

Hello, I am Anna Kong, RECA's newly appointed, official representative to NAMI, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. NAMI and RECA are networking to offer more information about mental health services to those who might be in need and are not aware of what to do in case of crisis or distressing situation. We have a major crisis in Sonoma County! This information is important to anyone who has a mental problem, or has a family member or friend with a problem. They might need your help during a crisis.

While attending the most recent NAMI meeting, I learned that recently, all emergency psychiatric facilities in Sonoma County have been closed due to lack of funding. If a person has a nervous breakdown or an emotional crisis, and the police are called, they may be sent to jail for 24 hours. No notification will be made to the family. No translators are available. This is especially difficult, due to language barriers in the Asian community, if a person is not familiar with what might be happening or why. There are no doctors or psychiatric technicians or medications available while in jail.

If you have a case worker and doctor through Sonoma County Mental Health, call to be sure they still are assigned to you. The number for Sonoma County Mental Health is 707-565-4900. Ask if you still have the same case worker and doctor. You may be reassigned new people. If you are assigned a new case worker or doctor, ask for a get-acquainted appointment.

For more information, please call NAMI, 707-527-6655, or visit www.namisonomacounty.org.

I feel this is vital information to take care of problems before there is a major personal crisis.

With my recent hospitalization, I (Anna Kong), discovered that when I was arrested by the Santa Rosa Police Officer, I was sent to PES (Psychiatric Emergency Services), here in Santa Rosa, part of Sutter Medical Hospital, for I was a danger to myself and suicidal that Sunday morning, April 20, 2008.

When sent to PES, and later transported by ambulance to California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC), I thought I had been put in jail. I was not told where I was going nor did anyone tell me where I was. When I arrived, I literally thought I was in jail. In my unstable mind, I began to hallucinate that I saw many workers who wore a dark uniform who I thought were police officers. I did not have any glasses or any other possessions with me except my shirt, pants, and a jacket. I thought I was in jail and put The Hole. I began to fight like crazy to free myself. The harder I tried to break free, the more the staff would tranquilize me. Later I was put in the Solitary Room for what seems like a long time.

It was not until I got out of solitary that I discovered I was at a psychiatric hospital in San Francisco. The setting was extremely different than here in Santa Rosa (Oak Crest).

From the very first day to my last, it was so hard to connect with who my workers and staff were. They would switch with three different shifts per day. Without my glasses or any clothes or possessions, I felt like a prisoner with only hospital pants and clothes to change into.

Their whole goal while I was staying at CPMC was to get me, the patient, out as fast as they could. I stayed for eleven days. When I came out of the hospital I had no medications. Since my insurance was Medicaid, they would not pay for my meds which I had thrown away during my breakdown. I had to pay for a one week supply which cost me over $164. My over all experience was very difficult.
My recommendation for those who are going through a nervous breakdown, manic episode, or any distressing situation, is: When you call an ambulance, make sure to tell them you want to be sent to CPMC in San Francisco or to San Francisco General Hospital. These two facilities have staff workers and doctors that speak Chinese and other Asian languages. CPMC is a branch of Sutter Medical Hospital.

If you are taken by police to PES in Santa Rosa, and they put you on a 72 hour hold, without personal instructions you will be sent anywhere with an empty space, maybe as far away as Santa Cruz, without being told and without notification of your family. Please be aware of this situation. If you decide you want to voluntarily admit yourself to a psychiatric hospital, you have the right to do that, if you feel you are a danger or threat to yourself or someone else, it is better than having the police come after a complaint about you. The CPMC can not turn anyone away. The only time they can turn someone away is if their hospital is full and there are no more beds available. Out of many psychiatric hospitals, I feel by far that California Pacific Medical Center is one of the best. The staff does communicate with you and help you get better as much as they can.

CHILDREN'S CHINESE CULTURE CAMP

July 14-18, 9 am - 3 pm, 9-12 years old.
July 21-25, 9 am - 3 pm, 5-8 years old.
Click here to see the flyer.
Please download and fill out the enrollment form from here and send it to RECA Center, 3455 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95407.