Feb 9th Meeting at Central Library

Dear Officers

cc: advisers & volunteers

As discussed earlier, we will have the VAA organization meeting on Saturday, Feb. 9th, at 2-4PM, at Central Library in downtown Indianapolis. The address is Central Library, 40 E. St. Clair Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204. It is on the corner of Meridian and St. Clair in downtown. I pick the location as a neutral site which is mid-way for many and also for ease for future meeting, in addition we need to see the location for future activity such as tutoring and Vietnamese classes.

So, Let's meet at the lobby (Coffee Shop) and then we will all head-up to the meeting/study room upstairs. I will get there a little earlier to get the room reserved. I would appreciate if we ALL be there on time in order to get the meeting starting on time and finish on time since we all have other commitments as well. Hopefully, we can have the forum and start the meeting on time so please be respectful of others who will be on time. Thank you for your cooperation and establish upfront the precedent and the tone of our organization.

I will bring my laptop and projector so that we can project slides, spreadsheet, by-laws, logos, on-line email, spreadsheet, etc....

Here are the proposed Meeting Agenda: (if you are assigned the agenda, please prepare to provide update/information so the team can discuss, please come prepare to contribute)

• Review and approval of organization's mission & vision so that we can upload and publish on website (Anh Thieu, 10 min)
• Review the draft version of by-laws article for operations for the group (Anh & Team, 10 min)
• Provide existing information on Tax ID number for non-profit organization (Vinh Dao, 5 min)
• Treasury status and update, please have your records/spreadsheet be availabe. We can talk off-line to see how we should set the spreadsheet up so that it meets the standards of accounting and record keeping for transparency and year-end auditing purposes, etc. Please call me at work and we can have lunch/talk over the phone about what you have so far and what I have in mind. Let's set-up upfront expectation with the group as to how we will handle records, purchase orders, invoices, and reimbuersement, and segregation of duties to ensure integrity and clear transparency for the public. (Chau Tu, 10 min)
• Website status and ideas for continous improvement/update (Thanh Quach, 10 min)
• Approval and/or re-design of VAA logo (Team, 10 min)
• Initial discussion/plan about logistics for the March '08 Vietnamese Language Class (Dr. Giao Ha, 15 min)
• Discussion of possible volunteers for the tutoring sessions/sign-up for each respective week from March through May (Sunday 1-3PM at Central Library); (Hiep Tran, 10 min) -- coordinate a list of volunteers: (e.g. Song An, Thang Trinh, My Hanh Nguyen, Vu Duong, and others to be determined and recruited, etc.)
• Brainstorms & Prioritize on social activities and short-term projects (Team, 30 min)
  • First funding raising activities - when and what to introduce the new org and raise $$$
  • International festival registration in October ?
  • Columbus day fund raising in October ?
  • Spring/summer social activities ?
  • Single nights out..?
  • Family night ?
  • Tet Trung Thu in the fall ?
  • Children scholarship (e.g. musical, poetry, vietnamese/english essay, painting, etc)
  • Cooking class
  • Dance competition - or Dance with the Stars ?
  • Karaoke contest ? Vietnamese Idol ?
  • Casino Night ? Build relationship with Casino and California pop STARS, etc?
  • Others ......Keep the open mind for new and innovative ideas

Thank you for your engagement and your willingness to make a difference in the community.

We will succeed because of each of your individual talents and skills to contribute regardless of how big or small.

Let's make it happen!!! Take care and will talk to you all soon.

Chuc Mung Nam Moi (Happy New Year)

Anh Thieu