First of all, please join me to give a round of applause to the two "superladies" who have contributed significantly to the success of the Spring Concert 2000, DDe^m Nghe Tro*`i Va`o Xua^n, January 28, 2000: Phan Kha'nh Thu (General Coordinator) and Nguye^~n Phu*o*ng A'nh (Assitant to General Coordinator). You two did an excellent job in coordinating a team of more than 40 members to make the event a great success on Friday night.

We sold out the tickets a day before the event, right after Nguye^~n DDa.t and DDo^~ Ba(`ng La(ng was on air at Little Saigon radio. Dat's charming style and moving song has moved thousands of listeners and people pouring calls into the show to show their admiration, the little number of tickets left was running out like magic. We had a SOLID SOLD OUT event on Friday Jan 28, 2000 and at the last minute we also had to sell some standing tickets since there are quite a few guests without tickets still coming since they heard about our show and really want to see the show.

The program went very smoothly and was a great success, thanks to the super quality of all of our performers: Nguye^~n DDa.t with his magical guitar, Ba(`ng La(ng with her super performances on piano, chi Bich Lien and Le Hong Quang with their golden voice, the Flute Accent Quartet under the direction of anh Trinh Le Trung, violin and Hoang Tuan with his special piano style, all linked together and made the performance becoming a memorable event... All the guests gave numerous complements about the quality of the show. The audience was also very polite and showed their appreciation by keep the hall in complete silence during the whole performance.

We started right at 8:00pm sharp and the program did not conclude until nearly 11:00pm due to some encore performance that the audience requested Dat Nguyen and also other performers. Ti`nh Hoa`i Huong encore performed by Dat Nguyen, Bang Lang, Bich Lien and Le Hong Quang was a great hit! Everyone gave them a standing ovation.... The show was excellent!

The success of the show was not only because of the calibre of our super performers (especially Nguyen Dat), but also because of our teamwork and the dedication of many team members. Please join me to give anh Ha Huu Quang a great round of applause for leading the stage crew and deliver an excellent performance with perfect sound and light system (very professional).

The stage decoration would not be so charming without the talent of our Decoration Team led by Hoang Nguyen Duc who has dedicately prepared for the stage since Wednesday night (great thanks to the Decoration Crew for all the labors you guys and gals did on Wed and Friday night, special thanks to Huyen Thanh, Ai Chi, Huong Tran who have came around 8:00am in the morning to assist Hoang Duc to complete the decoration task).

The Reception Team also did an excellent job this time under the direction of chi Huynh Tieu Muoi, anh Nguyen Gia Hoi and anh Le Mong Hung. All the ladies in blue uniform in the 25-member team of Reception did help to create a very professional and nice image of Van Hoa Khoa Hoc in the audience's mind. This time the Reception team was the best plan ever and as a result we did not have any problems seating our guests.

The program book looked so elegantly thanks to chi Nguyen Minh Tan for the cover design and anh Nong Duy Truong for helping to layout the program note.

The Refreshment Team led by Ai Chi and Anh Tram also did a great job in providing drink and refreshment for all volunteers on Friday.

I also would like to recognize the two gentlemen who really set an example of volunteerism, Pham Nghi and Le Duc Quang, who have suffered the 30+ degree outside the parking lots for more than two hours to direct the traffic so that our guests would not confuse with the parking area.. A. Quang only came in for more than two hours to complete his tasks and then had to go home to take care of his daughter, and missed the show... When learning about the story, our guests from California just did not understand how can we have such a high dedication!!! Great thanks for your dedication, Quang and Nghi.

On Saturday morning when everyone was still asleep, we still have the cleanup tasks to finish and there were three members whose dedication should be recognized since they showed up and helped to clean up the mess we left at the show the night before: Khanh Thu, Vo Nam Linh and Tran Trieu Tung. Please give them a big round of applause.

The Reception on Saturday was also a success. Everyone had a great time with all wonderful performances of Nguyen Dat, Bich Lien, Le Hong Quang and also had the chance to interview Bang Lang. A. Trinh Le Trung did drop in but he left early. Great thanks to Trung, Trang, Tha?o and Phuong Anh for helping to organize the potluck lunch very smoothly and we had plenty of great food.

I also would like to share a great news to all of you, please join me to welcome our brand new special members from out-of-town: Nguyen Dat, his siter: Diane Dung Nguyen, Do Bang Lang and anh chi Than and Bich Lien. Welcome to the gang and we are sure that you will not be regretting. BRAVO!!!!

Happy New Year to all of you and your family, the Year of the Dragon!

Best regards,