Out & About

• Mayor Frank Jackson speaks with Playa T & Margaret Wong
• Photo from Margaret Wong & Assoc holiday party 2009
• Margaret Wong & Assoc promotes SPACES' benefit. See here!
• International Study Program, China 2009
• Come Celebrate Northeast Ohio's Urban Professionals at a Multicultural Community Reception on Wednesday, December 3, 2008
• Margaret W. Wong Associates attended the event of The Honorable Clark Randt and the Honorable Xie Feng at City Club (on 10/03, Friday). The Honorable Clark Randt is the longest serving United States Ambassador to the People's Republic of China, and has been traveling to China on business for 30 years. The Honorable Xie Feng is the Minister and DCM of the Chinese Embassy in the U.S, who has 15-year experience on relationships between U.S. and China.  Pictures of employees from Margaret W. Wong Associates with Ambassador Randt and Minister Xie Feng.  Pic1 Pic2
• Attached is a Press Release from Charter One Bank announcing their remittance service with Bank of China.
• Attached is State of the City Speech by Mayor Frank Jackson from March 1, 2007
• One of our only Asian reporters at the Cleveland Plain Dealer is journalist Janet Cho. Recently the Asian American Journalists Association welcomed her as the newly elected National Vice President for Print. Cho, a business reporter with The Plain Dealer in Ohio, won the special election to fill the position vacated by current National President Jeanne Mariani-Belding. Cho's term begins immediately and runs through Dec. 31, 2007.

• Chinese New Year/Lunar New Year (January/February) It is usually in the winter of a year. The exact date would follow the one in Lunar Calendar. Entering the New Year month, every family would clean and tidy both the inside and the outside of their houses. New Year food would also be prepared. 'Lin Gao', the Chinese cake symbolizing the rise of family every year, would be a must. New Year couplets would be displayed around house.

  All families would be busy until the New Year's Eve and a big New Year eve's dinner would be served for the gathering to welcome the beginning of a New Year. Children and unmarried adults would love the occasion because red packets would be given to them from all married couples and older generations. As a tradition, on the first few days of the first lunar month, people would spend their time visiting relatives and friends. The Chinese New Year: This holiday is also known as the Spring Festival. It falls on the first day of the first lunar month. Chinese years are grouped in sets of 12 with each year represented by an animal (a zodiac sign). It is often said that a person displays the characteristics of the animal representing the year in which they were born. The Chinese New Year is a time of great excitement and celebration for all Chinese around the world. In some Asian countries, the festivities may last for weeks. On New Year's Eve, family members gather for a huge luxurious feast. Many of the foods served have a symbolic meaning. Some foods have names that sound the same as Chinese characters (words). These Chinese characters have a prosperous meaning, and the shapes and colors of the foods symbolize health, happiness, and good fortune. On New Year's Day, family members eat a vegetarian dish called "jai". All of its ingredients are tied to prosperous symbols. The New Year is ushered in joyfully with the thunderous roar of exploding firecrackers to frighten away evil spirits. The dragon dance is a vital part of this celebration. The dance was originally performed to please the dragon, the god of water, and to ask for rain during periods of drought.

  The dragon is a symbol of strength, dignity, and success. During the Chinese New Year, people greet each other with the phrase, "Gung Hay Fat Choy" to wish each other best wishes and prosperity This phrase means "Happy New Year." Families will visit relatives and friends to wish them a Happy New Year.

  The younger members visit their elders. After "Gung Hay Fat Choy" is wished for the elders, the elders in return give "lucky money" to their younger visitors. "Lucky money"; is money that is placed into specially designed red envelopes. Married couples give "lucky money" to their children and to the unmarried children of relatives and friends. New Year gifts (oranges, tangerines, and New Year candy) are exchange between relatives and friends.

  Chinese culture is rich in traditions and customs, from ways to celebrate holidays to simple every day tasks, promote family unity, good health, and prosperity. In this section you will find a brief description of Chinese traditions and customs. The extent to which these traditions and customs are observed may vary between different regions of China and Chinese communities throughout the world.

• Ten Thousand Villages, a charming retail store located in the lovely Trinity Cathedral Complex across from CSU, promotes global fair trade by marketing the handicrafts of disadvantaged artisans (70% women) from the poorest regions of the world. To support that mission locally, the store at TTVC sell home decor and gift items right in the heart of "America's poorest city". This non-profit store is in its fourth year of operation. In 2006, COSE recognized TTVC as one of the Top Ten Small Businesses in Northeast Ohio for its success as a new retailer in downtown Cleveland. The store has been named with numerous awards ranging from Best Shopping to Best specialty Store. For more information about its crafts, hours and free parking lot adjacent to the store, visit its website at cleveland.tenthousnadvillages.com or click here.

• Gordon Square Arts District will host an evening event Thursday on November 30th, 2006. Guests toured David Stack's beautiful Victorian home and then headed to the Near West Theatre St. Patrick's Club for aperformance of The Music Man.

• An informal gathering of In Counsel with Women members in a discussion of Tracy Goss' book, The last Word on Power, will be held on Thursday, November 30, 2006 from 6 pm to 8:30 pm in St. Ursula House of Ursuline College. Tracy Goss is expected to join 16 attendees who have expressed interest in learning more about executive re-invention techniques developed by Tracy Goss, author and consultant.

• The Cuyahoga Community College Foundation's Chairperson's Reception will take place at 5:30 to 7:30 pm on Wednesday, November 29, 2006 at the Ritz-Carlton Cleveland. This reception will be a wonderful opportunity for Foundation Directors and the new leadership team to network and learn more about Tri-C College

• The City Club of Cleveland will hold its Open House & Annual Meeting on Wednesday, November 29, 2006 from 4:30 to 7:30 pm. Guests are expected to offer suggestions for the Club's 2007 speaker series and can indulge in a night of delicious hors d'oeuvres, holiday libations and live entertainment from the Sammy DeLeon Latin jazz group. The Club has enjoyed tremendous success over the previous year.

• The Cuyahoga County Bar Association's Lawyer Referral Committee Meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 29, 2006 11:30am-1:30pm. Guests will hear a report about the annual ABA National LRIS Workshop, add new subject matter panels, and recruit new LRIS members, among other issues.

• The Committee for Community Re-Entry will hold its Annual Luncheon on Tuesday, November 28, 2006 at Windows on the River. Terry J. Collins, Director of Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, will be the featured keynote speaker.

• The March of Dimes will hold its 16th Annual Cleveland Signature Chefs Auction which at 5:50pm on November 20, 2006 in the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel. This event has an amazing line-up of restaurants for the evening and guests will have the chance to sample items from over 20 restaurants.

• Town Hall Executive Committee and Trustees meetings for the 2006-2007 season began on July 17 2006 and will end on April 30, 2007. All trustee meetings are held at the offices of Margaret Wong & Associates while Executive Committee meetings are held at the office of Town Hall. Meetings are scheduled for the second Monday of the month and the coming meeting will be on November 20, 2006.

• The Erie Chinese Journal hosted a party at the Tokyo Steak House November 19, 2006, attended by the publisher and editor Ying Pu and family.

• Urban League of Greater Cleveland will hold a dialogue with George Forbes, managing partner of Forbes, Fields & Associates, CO , LPA and President of NAACP Cleveland Chapter. The dialogue-A Perspective of Cleveland-Past, Present and Future- will be held on Friday, November 17, 2006 in InterContinental Hotel (9801 Carnegie Avenue ) at 11:30am.

• The Corporate College will host the 3rd Annual Quality Conference, the Integration of Quality and Innovation from 7:30am to 5pm on November 17, 2006 in the Corporate College (4400 Richmond Road, Warrensville, Ohio). A delegation from MotivAsians will attend. Jack Welch, former CEO and Chairman of General Electric and bestselling author will be the featured keynote speaker.

• The Western Reserve Historical Society research and curatorial team has scheduled an exhibit gala for Friday, November 17, 2006 and the official public opening on Saturday, November 18. The team invited the planning committee to Western Reserve Historical Society to preview materials on August 3 and they have made significant progress on the exhibit Carl and Louis Stokes: From the Projects to Politics.

• The Young Professionals Council of Akron, Cleveland Professional 20/30 Club, Greater Cleveland Marketing Alliance, invites all area young Professionals to a Regional Young Professionals event on November 16 at 6:30pm in The Embassy Suites Hotel at 5800 Rockside Road, Independence, Ohio. At this ground breaking networking event you can mix and mingle with young professionals from the Greater Cleveland, Akron and Northeast Ohio.

• The Great Lakes Lecture Series: Exploring Issues That Matter, at 4:30-6:00pm on November 16, 2006, will host a speech by Margaret Wong on immigration at Lake Erie College. Lake Erie College is located at 391 West Washington Street, Painesville, OH.

• The Jewish Community Center of Cleveland Adult Services Program hosts A Nosh for Knowledge, Immigration-Past and Present from 12pm to 1pmon November 16, 2006 in the JCC Ante Room. Address for JCC is 26001 South Woodland Road, Beachwood, OH.

• AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland invites people to get tested for HIV and to get medical care if they are HIV+. The Center for Disease Control snd Prevention (CDC) recently issued guidelines encouraging all Americans to get tested for HIV. There are somewhere between 200,000-300,000 people in the US who are living with HIV, but do not know it. The test will be held in the great Lakes Science Center at 1o-11 on Thursday November 16, 2006. This test will use a new device called "oral swab" and can give results in 20 minutes. Many high-profile professionals and community leaders have been invited and have agreed to receive the test.

• The Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio will present the 2006 Humanitarian Award Dinner beginning at 6pm on November 16, 2006 in Renaissance Cleveland Hotel. This event includes both a reception and a dinner, honoring Morry Weiss, Chairman of the American Greetings Corporation and, Art J. Falco, President & CEO of Playhouse Square Foundation.

• Cleveland Scholarship Programs is hosting the second installment of its Roundtable series on Educating the Workforce of Tomorrow to Meet the Demands of a Global Economy between 8:30am and 10:00am on November 16, 2006 in the Hanna Building (1422 Euclid Avenue, 12th Floor). The programs intends to prepare graduates for better futures and the dialogues will focus on ways to reach students in advance of graduation to ensure they are prepared, academically and socially, for post-high school realities.