Winnie the Pooh would have been right at home at Wildcat Golf Course on March 28th for ALA’s 3rd Annual Golf Tournament. Wind, rain and cold did not prevent us from having a great day! We were forced to cancel our 3rd Annual Golf Tournament that was scheduled for March 2020 due to COVID, but we were thrilled to be able to get back out on the links this year. The 3rd Annual ALA Golf Tournament on Sunday, March 28, 2021 was our first event back after the pandemic year, and we are pleased that it was a huge success!
Each year, we use our Annual Golf Tournament to raise funds for one of ALA’s specific initiatives. In 2019, we raised almost $25,000 to rebuild the Hoa Hong Center in Saigon. The Hoa Hong Center is a center for orphans and street children run by nuns. The center is a safe haven for 60 impoverished children who come in the evening for a meal, education and emotional support. These street children are some of the poorest in Vietnam. They are as young as 4 and 5 years old selling raffle tickets or trinkets to help support their families. The center also houses 18 orphans who have no family and no place to live. The funds we raised allowed us to build a new 5000 sq. ft., 5 story building to replace the 1000 sq. ft. dilapidated old building that had housed these orphans for years. In addition to the tremendous fundraising efforts by our players, two donations were made in memory of Mr. Joseph T. Hoang and Mr. Alex L. Chenne. Mr. Hoang is the father-in-law of longtime board member and daughter of the founders, Dr. Lucy Nguyen. Mr. Chenne is the father of our executive director, Frances Chenne.
Our 2021 initiative was focused on the local charities that we support here in our community. While our primary mission will always be the children in Vietnam, we feel it is important to give back in our own local communities. We raised over $30,000 that will be distributed to local organizations such as Covenant House, Houston Food Bank, Generation One, Kids Meals, Star of Hope Women and children shelter. Each of these charities has a mission to care for the most underserved children similar to our own.
The success of our Golf Tournament would not be possible without our Committee Members, Players, and Volunteers. A special thanks is owed to Vinh Nguyen and Houston Vietnamese Golf Association. A big thank you to our board members Kathy Huong Le and Charles Rutt, the inspiration and the energy behind the golf tournament. Without their support, ALA would not be able to host such a positive and fun golf tournament each year!
Committee Members:
Christine Khuong Cao, Frances Chenne, Liz Dow, Cathy Ha, Maya Ho, Kathy Huong Le, Lucy Nguyen,
Vinh Nguyen, Quyền Carlos Phan, Kim Chị Pham, Charles Rutt, Sam Sharya, Chloe Velasco and Trina Yeh.
Volunteers:
Amylou Basa-Afshar MD, Arian Afshar, Ava Afshar, Ryan Boughaba, Minh Cao, Lorelei Capacyan MD,
Kathy Doan, Farlee Dyer, Ann Farmer, Priscilla Giap, Hiep Lam, Diem Thuy Ngo, Sophia Nguyen, Thuỷ Du Nguyen, Jan Ray, Teddy Rutt, Chris Velasco MD, Yen Vu.
Team Rankings and Awards:
1st Place: Tuan Anh Tran, Vu Do, Harrison Do, and Derek Nguyen
2nd Place: Vinh P. Nguyen, Ralf Barbaso, Kraig Nguyen, and Thinh Vu
3rd Place: Thuy Rocque, Richard Rocque, Susan Holley, and James Armistead
Badass Award: My Linh Nguyen, Kimmy Le, Thao Lai, and Jacqueline Vu