Dear HKANC Directors, Members and Friends,

First of all, I want to thank you for this opportunity to serve as chair of the HKANC Board. It reminded me of the first HKANC event that I joined when I was only a student member back in 2003. I think we can be proud of how Hong Kong Association and its members, in particular, have come together to support each other and our communities during these years.

It has been a challenging year for many of us. In 2020, HKANC has made some positive impacts. We had an extraordinary Annual Gala on February 29, 2020, which promoted Hong Kong cultures and spirits to our guests. After the shelter-in-place took effect in late March, we switched all in-person networking events to virtual events. We have organized over ten webinars and two virtual mixers. We utilized different social media platforms so that the general public can easily access our online resources anywhere. One of our events was to promote Hong Kong businesses to Northern America. I would not say these events are perfect, however, we are all learning something new every day. More importantly, adding more value to our community members.

In 2021, HKANC will continue to serve as a platform to help our members come together, I strongly believe we can make a stronger connection with each other. We will create more webinars to help businesses recover from the pandemic. Also, providing more networking events within our association and other chapters in the US and Hong Kong. If the situation allows, we will have the annual fundraising gala, golf tournament, and in-person events back as well.

As for the HKANC Scholarship Foundation, even though we couldn't organize the golf fundraising event, we will not stop giving out the scholarship. We will continue to do more. In 2021, we will reform the scholarship to meet more students' financial needs with our knowledgeable foundation Committee's help. It is never too late to donate to our foundation at any time.

Looking ahead, I would like to offer my sincere thanks to all of our members for your support throughout this particularly challenging year. Your support to the Hong Kong Association community is crucial. By working together, we can share knowledge and resources. For the time being, please follow our social media, newsletters regarding our upcoming events.

In these very unusual times, I have not had the opportunity to meet with many fellow members in person. But I hope this will change very soon, and I look forward to seeing many of you in person as we embark on the road to recovery in 2021.

I wish you and your family a wonderful new year ahead. Best Regards,

Kory Lam Chairwoman Hong Kong Association of Northern California