Sunday, April 1, 2018

THSH Website
THSH Facebook Page
THSH Social Medium - Yammer
Taiwanese Community Center Calendar

Add Friend

Headlines



The first Taiwanese Culture & Art Fair hosted by THSH last year received positive feedback. This year, it will again be held on the day of Taiwan Yes. There will be various events involving Taiwanese culture and toys in the main hall of the TCC, allowing children or anyone with interest in Taiwanese culture to experience them firsthand. There will again be some active experiences like last year, some demonstrations and performances, and charity sales for Taiwanese handmade crafts. Last year the hand puppet show was an English-language version of “The Legend of Sun Moon Lake”, which received much adoration from the audience. This year there will be a new show, “Dr. Mackay of Formosa”. Everyone is welcome to join us for a fun day full of Taiwanese flair!
Date: April 21st (Saturday)
Time: 10:30AM-4:00PM
Location: Taiwanese Cultural Center Grand Hall, 5885 Point West, Houston, TX 77036

Event Previews (Event Calendar)


April Events

Texas’ Rare Wildlife Species
Time: Saturday, April 7th, 12:30PM~1:30PM
Content: Texas is home to a wide variety of species due to its size. Many of the wild animals here cannot be found in other states. These rare animals are among our resources and are worth being proud of. We should be protecting them. Last February, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department wildlife expert Ms. Diana Foss came to introduce some of Texas’ wild animals and plants. Her presentation was well-received, so this year we have invited her again to talk about rare species in Texas. Our hope is that everyone will care for them and protect them. We also encourage participation in the City Nature Challenge taking place from April 27th to 30th. This session will cover a lot of material, so please don’t miss this great opportunity.
Cost: Free for both members and non-members. (Online Registration)
Reference: https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0013.pdf

Urban Coyote
Time: Saturday, April 14th, 12:30PM~1:30PM
Content: Houston is a large metropolis. The surrounding desert used to be home to coyotes, but due to population growth, many new neighborhoods, malls, factories, and office buildings have been built, forcing coyotes out of their habitats. They now need to look for food where humans live. This poses a threat to humans, their pets, and other animals. Summer is their breeding season, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is hosting the Urban Coyote Project to increase awareness. Their wildlife expert Mr. Kelly Norrid is taking the time to talk to us about urban coyotes. He previously came and gave a fascinating talk on snakes and other reptiles. We expect this time it will be even more interesting, so please don’t miss your chance!
Cost: Free for both members and non-members. (Online Registration)
Reference: https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/nuisance/coyote/

One Day Field Trip – Port Arthur, TX
Time: Monday, April 16th, 8:30AM~5:30PM
Content: We were originally scheduled to visit Port Arthur on September 26th last year, but due to flooding from Hurricane Harvey, roads were impassable. Roads have finally reopened now. The city is located 90 miles east of Houston, where the land meets the sea. It’s also the coast where Sabine Lake meets the Gulf of Mexico. This is a city full of plenty of cultural history, and a great location to watch migratory birds and play at the beach. The city’s slogan is “laissez les bons temps rouler”, which translates to “let the good times roll”. We will be visiting the Museum of the Gulf Coast, Buu Mon Buddhist Temple & Lotus Gardens (a beautiful lotus and lily garden), and Veteran’s Memorial Park. Don’t miss this great opportunity! Please note that this will be on a Monday. (Online Registration)
Cost: Members $25, non-members $35. Includes all tickets and lunch. You will get $ 2 discount if registered online.

Reference: http://visitportarthurtx.com

May Events

One-Day Field Trip – George Ranch Historical Park, TX
Time: Wednesday, May 23rd, 8:30AM to 5:00PM
Content: 130 years ago, how did Texas pioneers survive in the deserted plains? How did they raise livestock and plant cotton and other crops? At George Ranch Historical Park, located in the town of Richmond 30 miles southwest of Houston, you can ride around on an ox cart while learning and experiencing this life. After touring the park, we will also visit a charming park called Enchanted Gardens, as well the quiet and stunning Seabourne Creek Nature Park. Many have probably lived in Houston for 20 or 30 years without knowing about these places. Join us, and in the future maybe you can take your children and grandchildren or friends and other relatives to visit. (Online registration)
Cost: $39 for members and $49 for non-members, includes tickets and lunch
Note: because this trip will be led by a professional guide, tickets and tour guide fee is $17, lunch is $12.  You will get $ 2 discount if registered online.
Reference: https://www.georgeranch.org/


Event Highlights



On Saturday, March 3rd we were happy to welcome Harris County Assistant Attorney Mr. Scott R. Hilsher to come talk about how to reduce property taxes. He introduced several common exemptions (such as Homestead, Over 65, Disability). These are all common exemptions to property tax, and he also explained how to protest if you do not agree with the county’s appraisal of your home value, what data is needed, and what websites can be used to collect useful information, etc. About 15 to 20 people attended and asked many practical questions. (Report by Steven Jang)(Event Photos)


NATWA, which has not hosted an event in a long time, was happy to host makeup artist Nancy Huang to teach simple makeup techniques on Saturday, March 10th from 2 to 4. In a short time, she taught some makeup techniques, such as how to use foundation and blush, finding the front and end of the eyebrows, how to draw eyebrows, and how to choose eye shadow based on the color of your clothes. Attendees included middle-aged mothers and young mothers, and even the children who were taking dance class were amazed by how Ms. Huang could change the face with a magic touch and some tools. Ms. Huang will be holding another session on Saturday, March 31st, from 2 to 3PM. Everyone is welcome to join. Costs have been covered by NATWA and THSH has provided the space. Thanks to Ms. Huang for taking the time out to teach new learners some valuable lessons, and we hope everyone will remember to support the TCC at the end of the year. (Report by Shirley Yen) (Event Photos)



On March 28 (Wednesday), we got a group of 35 people going to the Houston Downtown day trip.  We visited several Houston downtown attractions including the Wortham Insurance Visitor Center, Allen’s Landing, Sesquicentennial Park, Houston Public Library - Julia Ideson Building, Houston Downtown Tunnel, and the Phoenicia Market.  In the library, we were honored to have two librarians, Barbara Estrada and Laney Chaves, to give us  an one-hour tour of the library.  The trip ended at 3:10PM.  We thank God for giving us a wonderful day trip!

Other Community News


Taiwanese Association of America - 2018 Taiwan Yes Festival


Date: April 21, 2018 (Saturday)
Time:  10:30AM〜4:00PM
Location:  Taiwanese Community Center @ 5885 Point West, Houston, TX 77036
From now till 4/14/2018, you will get $1 free coupon if you order $10!
If you would like faster service and direct information on pricing please contact ShihJye Ho at (713) 261-4430 or Jessica Chang at (713) 504-5848 orTaiwanYes@taahouston.org


TACL Toastmasters Monthly Activities

Whether you’re new to giving speeches or are a seasoned speaker, Toastmaster training will help you hone your skills.  Get tips for how to prepare speech and present to audience, use visual aids and props, incorporate body language into your presentations, and more.   With time and practice, you’re sure to see improvement in your ability to communicate and an increase in your confidence as well.
TACL Toastmasters Club at Taiwanese Community Center are helping members to grow their communication skills and leadership.  We meet every Monday night 7:30 - 9:00.  We welcome guests to visit our meeting and find out what Toastmaster is all about!  Here is a glance on what we do on every Monday night.
On February 26, we had a fun meeting as always with a guest, Noe!  We were short a speaker unexpectedly, so we had an extra round robin topics in addition to a great session led by Gordon.  Phil gave his icebreaker to kickoff his Pathways journey, and Carol evaluated Phil’s speech.
On March 5th, Sunny gave an inspiration speech on you are someone who matter, and you can make the world better.  Nam is working on advanced manual - interpersonal communication, he gave a speech on how to make a conversion with strangers.  Table topic theme for the week was ‘advice’, fellow Toastmasters were able to gave helpful tips and valuable personal experiences.
March 12th was our club International speech and table topics contest and we had a great contest!  Thank you to all the guests and volunteers from Sharps Town Toastmasters Club and Financially Speaking Club who made it possible! Carol won 1st and Phil 2nd for International and Phil won 1st and Kevin 2nd for Table Topics  Our winners will represent the club at joint area contest on Saturday March 24, 11:15am brief, noon start at Trini Mendenhall off I10 & Chimney Rock / Wirt.  We'll also see our old M32 friends there.
What an edifying meeting on March 19th, we learned from Nam about how to handle criticism and from Sherry about maintaining a good club climate to attract more members. Patrick led a table topic on Spring which led to some really entertaining responses.  As usual we had sharp evaluations from our seasoned crew of Toastmasters, including feedback for Carol who will represent us at Area Contest!
Our Area M34 contest is 3/24 Sat 12pm @Trini Mendenhall, Also, don't forget, we are looking for 5 members for the $250 discounted club rate to attend the District 56 Spring Conference, May 11-12 Fri/Sat at the Stafford Center!  Hear the the best speakers in Houston and meet awesome people!
Check us out online at on Facebook @TACLtoastmasters or www.TACLclub.toastmastersclubs.org

Date: April 14, 2018 (Saturday)
Time: 2:30PM 〜4:30PM
Place: Taiwanese Community Center
Speaker:  Kay Chen from Advanced Healthcare Professionals.
Topic: How to prepare for your future long term care needs.

T. A. Archives (台美史料中心)

A Room for the Publications and Artifacts by Formosan Clubs and Taiwanese American Associations:
We are collecting the journals, directories, Newsletters and artifacts issued by these T. A. organizations in the past 7 decades. We have very limited collections from 1950 to 1980 period. Please help us find some publications during this period.
The program books and artifacts of T. A. summer and autumn conferences have being collected and displayed in this room, too.
April 2018 Newsletter of T. A. Archives (台美史料中心)

TCC Announcements


  1. TCC donations:
    • Mr. Louis Lien donated four brand new pool cues for our community members to play pool.
    • Ms. Virginia Kwan donated 11 serving plates, now placed in the kitchen cabinet, for everyone to use.
      The THSH would like to give our greatest thanks to these two members for their support!
  2. TCC – Facility Improvement
    • Due to several consecutive days of rain last month, the grass on the east side of the parking lot has become loose, causing some loss of soil which lead to uneven ground. Last week THSH board proposed to buy some soil to even out the ground first. We estimated a first order of 10 cubic yards of soil to do some preliminary work. On Thursday, March 22nd, Texas Garden Materials brought 10 cubic yards and did some temporary work. The soil was here, but we needed some people to help to complete it quickly. We asked TAA Chair ShihJye Ho last minute whether he could help even out the soil there, and he agreed without hesitation to bring a few people and tools over at 9AM on Saturday March 24th to help. When I arrived at 9:20AM, he was already there with a dozen people helping to move and smooth out the soil. Everyone was quietly working and silently contributing. It moved my heart to see, and it made me feel that when you are doing something meaningful, there will always be someone there to support you. Thanks again to these wonderful volunteers for responding to the call for help. Great to have you all! (TCC Director – Stephen Ko)

Subscribe to THSH's newsletter to receive  the latest news of Taiwanese-American Community in Houston.

This email was sent to whsiao@isonto.com. If you are having trouble viewing this email, you may also view it online. To opt out of all communications, click here.
Forward email. .
Email Marketing By