APIO News

Help Make Our APIO National Conference a Success!

Four new committees were established during the March teleconference to help with planning and organizing the 2008 Training Conference:

• Local Logistical Committee chaired by Steve Durgin;

• Registration Committee chaired by Kathy Randazzol;

• Field Tour Committee chaired by Shiraz, Jerry, Chandra, and Pete; and

• VIP Committee chaired by Pete Bautista.

Vic Vue, Conference Chair, or Manny Wei, Conference Co-Chair, also need help planning the conference. 

All of these committees need your help.  If you would like to help make our training conference a success, please contact the committee chairs or conference co-chairs Vic and Manny.

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Mao Thao was recognized for Employee Spotlight of NRCS-MN -  Oct. 2005

• Jean Nodzen, dedicated member of APIO and former Treasurer, retires from NRCS-AZ as of Oct. 3, 2005
• USDA Announces API Scholarship for 2005 - August 12, 2005
• Jolene Lau, NRCS public affairs specialist in Hawaii received a 2005 USDA Unsung Hero Award - June, 2005
• Dr. Hari Eswaran is received by President of Bangladesh - Mar 17, 2005
• California APAs Give $200 Million in Tsunami Aid - Mar 04, 2005
• Presidential Executive Order on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders - May 13, 2004
• USDA Announces New Minority Scholarship Programs - Feb. 3, 2004

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 Oklahoma Team Receives Secretary's Honor Award
APIO President, Pooh Vongkhamdy is one of team members

The Poteau River Watershed Conservation Security Program Team was selected to receive the Secretary’s 2006 Department of Agriculture Honor Award for Supporting the President’s Management Agenda and Civil Rights. The award was presented to the team at the 59^th Secretary’s Annual Honor Award for outstanding outreach to the Conservation Security Program (CSP) Native American, Asian, and limited resource customers in the Poteau River Watershed, Oklahoma. The Secretary Honor Awards are regarded as the most prestigious and highest honor award in the USDA Department. The team hard work and tireless effort resulted in 412 contracts being awarded representing the most contracts accepted in the nation for a CSP Watershed. The Honor Award Ceremony was held on October 20, 2006 in Washington DC.

Phoukham (Pooh) Vongkhamdy, Assistant State Conservationist (Field Operations), pictured on the right, is presented the award by the Natural Resources Conservation Service Chief Arlen Lancaster. Pooh is also the team leader for the Poteau River Watershed Team.

The Poteau River Watershed contains 1559 farms and lays in east central Oklahoma and western Arkansas. Major agriculture enterprises include livestock grazing, hay production, poultry and swine operations and crop production. Cropland occurs along the bottomlands adjacent to the Poteau River. The majority of pasture in the watershed is former cropland that has been converted to introduce grasses. The poultry and swine operations are located throughout the watershed.

The group attending the award presentations on behalf of the team include from left to right Michael D. Bryan, Kenneth R. Risenhoover, R. Brent Pannell, Phoukham Vongkhamdy (team leader), Nichole Norris, and J. Thomas Neumeyer posing with Bill Wilson, President, National Association of Conservation District. Other members of the team include Justin Brown, Chris Cheatham, Shawn Fleming, James Harrison, Larry Hood, Artie Johnson, Daniel Lee, Robin L. Lynch, Brent Reavis, Brian Ringlels, Amanda Stanford, Rishell Tate, William Thomas, Sammy L. Viles, David B. Wells, Oscar B. Boyd, Brandon Faulkenberry, Kim Golf, and Donna Hanebrink.

The success of this effort can be attributed to the partnership between the NRCS, local conservation districts, and the Oklahoma Conservation Commission.

More stories... CSP Team meets with NRCS Chief, Arlen Lancaster and Bill Wilson, NACD President 

Oklahoma Team Also Receives Okalahoma Governor's Award

    Link to the stories and photos of the Poteau River Watershed CSP team

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Dr. Hari Eswaran is received by President of Bangladesh

Dr. Hari Eswaran of NRCS World Soil Resources visited Bangladesh for two weeks in February.

The purpose of the visit was to evaluate the national soil survey program, have discussions with local soil scientists on some of their problem soils, and visit an area impacted by arsenic contamination.

During the visit, a general nation-wide strike forced him to remain in his hotel for about 5 days. He was not able to visit the area contaminated by arsenic or the northern part of the country.

During the visit, he was the guest of the University of Dhaka and the Soil Development Research Institute. He was also invited to have an audience with the President of Bangladesh, Dr. Iajuddin Ahmed. The picture shows (from left to right) Dr. Sultan Hussein (Head of the Soil Science Department), the President, Dr. Hari Eswaran, and the Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University.

Bangladesh is about the size of Iowa but has 140 million people. The dominant crop is rice and the country has to import rice to supplement domestic production. With few other natural resources, poor infrastructure, it is one of the poorest countries of Asia. Human capital is enormous but this has not been exploited to enhance the wealth of the country. The country is formed by the delta of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers and during the rainy season, much of the country is under water (at times up to 10 feet or more) or ravaged by tropical cyclones. Many international organizations, including USAID, are assisting Bangladesh in its efforts to address food security.

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California APAs Give $200 Million in Tsunami Aid

By Sam Chu Lin, Mar 04, 2005

Asian Pacific Americans who live in California have given more than $200 million in tsunami relief, and their contributions surpass those of other ethnic groups in the United States. Those are the findings of a study commissioned by New California Media, based in San Francisco, and conducted by pollster Bendixen & Associates, headquartered in Coral Gables, Fla.

More than 700 random, multilingual telephone interviews were conducted with APAs in California, using English and five other languages. California was singled out because it has the largest APA population in the country.

"They came from the Chinese Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Korean Americans, Asian Indians, Japanese Americans, Filipino Americans, Sri Lankans and Thais," pollster Sergio Bendixen outlined. "We did a special oversample among Indonesians since that is the country that was obviously impacted most heavily by the tsunami."

Seventy percent of those polled indicated they donated $100 to $150 to tsunami relief. Others contributed clothing and medicine and volunteered their time.

Following the disaster, Sandy Close, executive director of New California Media and the executive editor of Pacific News Service, traveled up and down the state to see what was happening in terms of aid operations. She says she was impressed that so many APAs were taking a leadership role in the cause.

"Many Asian American groups have been seen in the past as 'in it just for themselves,'" Close offered as an analysis. "Here is just a striking example of people really embracing a sense of responsibility for the whole of Asia."

"We live in a state that we can call a global society with so many races, ethnic groups and religions living side by side," Close commented. "The tsunami seems to be a very important benchmark in the evolution of pan-Asian identity in this state, [with APAs] taking philanthropic leadership ¡¦ for a catastrophe that had very little personal impact."

"About $1 billion has been given from citizens in the United States for the relief effort," Bendixen noted."This means that 1 out of every 5 dollars [that] has been given to the relief effort has basically been contributed by the Asians from California."

Indonesian Americans led the way in total contributions. Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Sri Lankan, Thai, Indian and Japanese Americans followed in that order.

The tsunami-relief survey also sampled attitudes. Many of those questioned felt that the ¡°United States had done its fair share in terms of the relief effort.¡±

"The majority thought that President Bush had reacted in a proper way," Bendixen stated.

Before the tragedy happened, many APAs in the state preferred to be identified as Chinese American, Filipino American or any other member of a specific Asian ethnic group, but the tsunami disaster changed that way of thinking. It became more acceptable to be called an "Asian American."

"We asked them in this poll, ¡®Had the disaster given them more of an identity, more of a unity, a feeling of being the same with other Asians that were in California?'" Bendixen pointed out. "Fifty percent of the population told us, ¡®Yes, because of the tsunami, [we] felt a lot closer to Asian Americans from other countries.'"

"Eighty-five percent of all the Asians we interviewed felt that this was the greatest natural catastrophe in the history of mankind," the pollster revealed. "That¡¯s a pretty big statement."

"Americans are very obsessed with numbers and money," Close summed up. "I think that the sheer scope of money that Asian Americans in California contributed to tsunami relief ¡¦ speaks so powerfully."

The poll was conducted in partnership with InterTrend Communications, the Chinese American Voters Education Committee, and special support from the San Francisco Foundation and the Peninsula Community Foundation.

Source: http://news.asianweek.com/news/

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Presidential Executive Order on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
"Increasing Economic Opportunity And Business Participation Of Asian Americans And Pacific Islanders."

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