April 23, 2020
Greetings from my computer (and home of course) yet again! I trust you and your loved ones are healthy and safe.
I look outside, see empty streets and office buildings due to lockdown and cannot help but wonder how you and others are dealing with #quarantinelife. The lockdown has been long for me. I have not seen friends or family as I might have before, nor traveled anywhere. Previous to COVID-19, I might have traveled domestically, nationally, even to other countries for sake of the USPAACC mission. Today, I think twice about heading to the grocery or convenience store to buy food and supplies.
Lockdown and business closures forced us to finally cancel our commitment with the hotel to hold our 35th Anniversary CelebrASIAN2020 Jade Jubilee this June, and plan for a smaller in-person event in the Fall. Meanwhile, we have been and will be busy in the months ahead with virtual programs of impact to serve our core constituents, Pan Asian American businesses, and connect them to large and medium-sized corporations, government agencies, nonprofits, and the small and other diverse-owned businesses. You might have tuned in to one or more of our last 6 LiveTALKS and WebCAST since COVID-19 was determined a pandemic.
In an earlier post, I told you that I miss my office. Yes, I miss working with my team in the office. But that is not all I miss. As we near what would have been our original CelebrASIAN conference date in June, I realize I miss and will miss many more people. I miss our constituents and members, both corporate, nonprofit, Pan Asian American and other diverse businesses. I miss our government partners. I will miss seeing so many familiar and new faces at what would have been an historical event.
Here are the good news. We Americans are resilient. We are creative. Now that nearly all of us are working remotely, some for the first time, many of us have positively reengineered our personal and professional lives. Yes, work has changed and may be forever for all of us because of the threat to our health. Thanks to our creativity, innovation…and a little more technology, we adapt. USPAACC certainly has. Thanks to my clever, loyal and hardworking team members, I am prouder today than ever.
Our LiveTALK: Covid-19 Series, has been broadcast on YouTube and Facebook, featuring speakers from the Small Business Administration (SBA), Uber, Facebook, Goldman Sachs, and University of Maryland, for which we received great feedback and support from members. We promise to deliver more for as long as we can.
I am just now returning to my desk, after hosting USPAACC’s WebCAST: Rebooting Our Economy virtual event. A successful, live virtual panel discussion, I had the privilege to share the stage with 6 executive and management speakers from two corporate members. Between our speakers, my USPAACC team and the video production personnel, we all connected remotely via the web, crossing three time zones! The event was a ringing success, as it broadcast on YouTube, Facebook and the USPAACC homepage. I am ecstatic! Not only was the event well received on all platforms, I received personal messages from much larger business associations applauding the contents and the execution. And our panelists told us how much they enjoyed the experience and were impressed with our production. Their feedback alone tells me that we are doing the right thing.
We will continue to work hard and stay ahead of the curve.
Susan Au Allen
National President & CEO
