2005 Golden Circle Awards Dinner

Since 2000, OCA-GS has presented the Golden Circle Awards to individuals/organizations that have made a lifelong dedication to volunteerism and services to the Chinese and the broader APA community. For 2005, three distinguished honorees were recognized on Saturday, January 29, 2005. OCA-GS 10th Anniversary celebration dinner was held at the Asian Resource Center in Seattle. The dinner entertained over 400 guests. Those honored at the diner were:

Helen Kay - Born in Lewiston, Idaho and grew up in Newport, Washington, Helen Kay was one of 6 students from her high school class of 45 that was able to go to college. A licensed pharmacist, Helen operated a pharmacy and drug store in Seattle with her husband, Dick, until their retirement in 1997. It would be difficult to measure the extent of Helen's impact on the Seattle Chinese and Asian community. She has long been the “go-to-person.” Her deep interests and continuous commitment to the community is reflected in the depth of her involvement with many organizations. A few examples of organizations where Helen has long volunteer history and leadership role include the Chinese Baptist Church, Jade Guild, the Chinese Parents Service Organization, Chong Wa Benevolent Association, Kin On Community Health Care, and the Wing Luke Asian Museum. Helen was also appointed to the King County Board of Appeals/Equalization in 1997 and the Washington State Arts Task Force in 1999. She was elected to the International District Special Review Board and served as Chair from 2002-2003. In 2003, Helen helped with the founding of the Seattle Historic Chinatown Gate Foundation, and serves on its Board of Directors. Helen's hobbies include baking, acting, singing, and dancing (she sang the role of Madame Liang in the Seattle stage play of Flower Drum Song in 1982). Most of all, she enjoys spending time with her family.

Art Lum - For more than 40 years, Art Lum consistently volunteered and provided help to countless numbers of youth in our community. He is known as “Uncle Art” to hundreds of young people because of his help, interest and continuing support of their activities. The many organizations that he has served include the Community Service Organization (CSO) in which he served as president in 1975 and 1980. Art was very active with its youth program and the Seattle Chinese Girls' Drill Team. Art also co-founded the Chinese Community Public Affairs Organizations and served as it's President in 1980-81. Art was a Director of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and served as the Chairperson of the Chinatown Seafair parade for 12 years. He received the SeaFair King Neptune award in 1991. Among the many people in the Chinese community, Art epitomizes community service.

James Mar - James Mar has been an icon in the Seattle Chinese community for many decades. Aside from running the historic Yick Fung store in the International District and being the funeral director for thousands of funerals in the Chinese community, he has made contributions to the Chinese community as a former President of the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce and the first commander of Cathay Post #186 (a group of Japanese and Chinese American veterans), and the Mar Family Association. In addition, James served the greater community as a past Commander for the American Legion and as past President of the Jackson Community Council. James also served on the Seattle's Model Cities Program, and was appointed by Governor Dixie Lee Ray to the Commission for Asian American Affairs. James has been married to his wife, Ida, for 56 years and is leaving a rich legacy for the Chinese community through his work, volunteerism and community involvement.

About the Dinner's Keynote Speaker: Dr. William K. Lau

Currently Dr. Lau is the highest ranking Asian Pacific American government official in his field, and is the only APA on the senior management staff of the Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. Lau is a native of Hong Kong. In 1973 he came to Seattle, Washington to further his graduate education. After getting his PhD in Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Washington, he joined the faculty of the Naval Postgraduate School, in Monterey, CA, as an Assistant Professor of Meteorology from 1978-1980. In 1981 he moved to the Washington, D.C. area to join NASA, where he moved up the ranks and is currently Chief of the Laboratory for Atmosphere, at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The Lab has over 400 personnel, including civil servant scientists and engineers, post-doc fellows, faculty associates, programmers, technicians and administrative staff. His Lab represents a world class research institution of the U.S. federal government, and conducts all aspects of atmospheric and environmental science research.

Dr. Lau's research expertise is in the use of satellite data and numerical models applied to climate dynamics, low frequency variability, tropical meteorology, monsoon and ocean-atmosphere interaction, and climate change. He is very active in research and has served on many national and international committees and panels. He travels worldwide to give invited talks, public lectures in schools and science museums, and participates in joint research with scientists from a wide range of research institutions in Japan, China, Taiwan, India and Europe.

Dr. Lau is a strong advocate research into monsoon weather and climate research related to natural hazards and environmental issues in East Asia and China. In the 1990's, he served as the Chief Scientist for the US-PRC monsoon research program, and Chairman of the US Science Working Group on the South China Sea Monsoon Experiment. He currently chairs a scientific panel for monsoon research in the World Climate Research Program.

He has written over 170 referenced papers, books, and book chapters, monographs and encyclopedia articles. Dr. Lau has received many honors and awards for his research accomplishments. Among these are the Clarence Leroy Meisinger Award (1988) from the American Meteorology Society, Top Ten Science Talents in the Washington Area, by Washingtonian Magazine (1988), the John C. Lindsay Memorial Award (NASA highest award in Science, 1989), and the William Nordberg Award for Excellence in Earth Sciences (1999). He was elected Fellow of the American Meteorological Society in 1994. In 2004, he was awarded the “Distinguished Meteorologist” Medal presented by the Hong Kong Observatory, during its 120th Anniversary. Dr. Lau is a member of the Organization of Chinese American, Washington DC Chapter. and a past president of the Chinese-American Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (COAA).

© 2005 OCA-Greater Seattle

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