Peace Corps Volunteers Celebrate Thanksgiving in Thailand, Reflect on their Service at U.S. Ambassador’s Residence

Peace Corps Volunteers Celebrate Thanksgiving in Thailand, Reflect on their Service at U.S. Ambassador’s Residence

WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 25, 2014 – In celebration of Thanksgiving and the end of two years of service, Peace Corps volunteers in Thailand were recently invited to the U.S. Ambassador’s residence in Bangkok to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with Chargé d’affaires W. Patrick Murphy. While volunteers enjoyed Thanksgiving staples like turkey and mashed potatoes, Murphy thanked the 34 volunteers for their service to the United States and the people of Thailand.
“On behalf of the U.S. mission to Thailand, and with special pride as a returned Peace Corps volunteer, I thank you for your service to the people of Thailand and the United States,” Murphy said. “Through your remarkable work, you each might be the only American the vast majority of people in your respective Thai communities will ever know. You are building enduring bonds of friendship that serve both our countries well.”
The dinner marked the beginning of the volunteers’ close of service conference – their last 90 days of service focused on finalizing their projects and transitioning to life and careers after Peace Corps.
“As difficult as it is to see service end, it’s a powerful reminder of the deep relationships we built, the friendships that connects us, and the love that becomes a part of us,” said Peace Corps volunteer Carly Collins, a native of Kilgore, Texas, who has been living in Thailand since 2013.
Peace Corps volunteers around the world will celebrate and share the American Thanksgiving tradition with their communities, fellow volunteers and staff this coming week. The holiday presents an opportunity for volunteers to share American culture with their local communities in support of Peace Corps’ second goal: to promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of people served.
“With all the challenges volunteers face during these two years, the most difficult one may very well be the goodbyes at the end of it all,” said Collins, a graduate of George Mason University.
The 34 volunteers completing their service in Thailand have worked in education and youth development, teaching in classrooms and helping Thai youth develop leadership skills. Throughout the remainder of volunteers’ service, the Peace Corps organizes discussions that prepare them to return to life in the U.S. and encourage them to reflect on their experiences and accomplishments.  
About Peace Corps/Thailand: There are 91 volunteers in Thailand working with their communities on projects in education and youth development. During their service in Thailand, volunteers learn to speak Thai. More than 5,200 Peace Corps volunteers have served in Thailand since the program was established in 1962.
About the Peace Corps:  The Peace Corps sends the best and brightest Americans abroad on behalf of the United States to tackle the most pressing needs of people around the world. Volunteers work at the grassroots level to develop sustainable solutions that address challenges in education, health, economic development, agriculture, environment and youth development. Through their service, volunteers gain a unique cultural understanding and a life-long commitment to service that positions them to succeed in today’s global economy. Since President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961, nearly 220,000 Americans of all ages have served in 140 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.peacecorps.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. 

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Paul D. Coverdell Peace Corps Headquarters
1111 20th Street NW • Washington, DC 20526
1.855.855.1961 • www.peacecorps.gov

紐英崙余風彩堂2015辦全美余氏懇親大會

紐英崙余風采堂廿三日中午，在乞臣街會址舉行新舊任職員交接典禮。余國華，余建興在三十多名宗親見證中，接下重任，明年八月將率公所承辦全美余氏懇親大會。

            紐英崙余風采堂今年的職員改選，在十一月二日召開了提名會，九日選舉，廿三日再在慶祝感恩節，分享火雞大餐的歡樂氣氛中，舉行了新舊職員交接典禮。

            都住在大波士頓的余氏美東總長余超群，余氏元老余仕昂當天主持了交接典禮。

            根據該堂選舉紀錄，今年共有七十六名宗親出席投票，選舉結果為，主席國華，建興；中文書記白石，佩芳；英文書記寶愛，超群夫人；財政國清，美菁；核數景新；理數定邦夫人；康樂艷玲；樓業主任顯生；交際國濟夫人，厚利夫人；出席中華公所代表積堯，超群；法律顧問文博，網絡主任柏豪；幹事國濟。

            前述各項職位，大多數獲提名者都是在同額選舉中當選，出現競爭情況的只有中文書記，財政及出席中華公所代表等三個職位。

            余風采堂元老，現年八十六歲的余仕昂，當天諄諄提醒宗親，要團結合作，匡助兩名主席，為明年第三度接辦全美余氏懇親大會，做好準備。

            根據美國余風采堂網站，余氏宗親除了總堂之外，在全美各地共有十三個分堂，包括紐約、二埠、積彩、波士頓、南加省、芝加哥、斐匿、舍路、企城、所叻、曉市頓、市作頓、加欖巴士等。

余仕昂在廿三日的儀式中談及全美懇親大會明年將在波士頓舉行，出席全美大會的各地代表，以往只有舊金山，紐約等大埠人數較多，在他們一連爭取了二，三屆後，紐英崙分堂的代表人數，現已由四人增為五人。希望宗親們能齊心合力，辦好來年第三度在波士頓舉行的全美余風采堂懇親大會。

余仕昂透露，全美懇親大會每三年舉行一次，紐英崙余風采堂曾於1966年，以及1977年，先後承辦過兩次，明年將是第三度接辦。

根據余風采堂掛在牆上的歷史記載，紐英崙余風采堂是由十二名宗長發起，168人捐款，集資四萬四千二百元，再加上堂內基金，湊成六萬三千元後，於1975年六月三十日買下位於乞臣（Hudson）街十一號的會址。換言之，明年全美余風采堂到波士頓開會時，也是紐英崙余風采堂慶祝會址落成四十週年的好年份。

紐英崙余風采堂預定十二月廿一日時為冬至團聚，並舉辦兒童聖誕節慶祝會。

圖片說明：

            紐英崙余風采堂新一屆職員合影。元老余仕昂（前右四起），美東總長余超群，把印信交給新一屆主席俞國華，副主席余建興。（菊子攝）

            余建興（左二）請每一名到會宗親簽名，留紀錄。（菊子攝）

            交接儀式後，余氏宗親共享感恩節大餐。（菊子攝）

            紐英崙余風采堂依序共出過余仕昂，余金爵，余超群等三名美東總長。余超群指著牆上張掛的牌匾，說明該堂歷史，溯自1947年的歷屆主席都有紀錄。（菊子攝）

鳳倫公所感恩節聚餐

紐英崙鳳倫公所上週末在帝苑大酒樓首度舉辦感恩節餐會，邀宗親慶祝美國的團聚“年節”。

鳳倫現任主席之一的司徒宗達，十三歲時移民來美，屬於中一半，西一半的“竹卡族”。

他笑說當年移民來美，四周鄰居全是白人，在學校也是當然的少數民族，再加上那時個頭小，常受欺負，於是十七歲就開始跟隨朱振舜師父學功夫，到阿拉斯加工作過，後來才搬回波士頓。

司徒宗達表示，來美多年後，儘管嘴巴和胃還是很中國，西方習俗可也耳濡目染的十分熟悉了，甚至學會怎麼烤美味可口的火雞。但是他認為宗親既已移居美國，以此地為家，在保持傳統文化之際，也應該入鄉隨俗一番，特地和另一名主席司徒焯榮發起感恩節聚餐會。

只是為顧及各人的“中國胃”，他們這首度感恩節聚餐會，特地選在母親姓司徒，算是半個鳳倫宗親的黃官羨所開的帝苑大酒樓這中國餐廳舉行。

席間，宗親們談起鳳倫公所的“開國”功臣是司徒彥鏗和司徒松璋。當年全靠他們和一批熱心宗親奔波，鳳倫公所才能幸運擠身為大波士頓內擁有自置物業的姓氏團體之一，在乞臣街上有了自己的家。

圖片說明：

左起，司徒冠平夫婦，司徒彥鏗太太，司徒宗達，關麗莎，司徒瑞芳，司徒籌舉夫人和𠒇子合家，後排左起，司徒籌舉，司徒松璋，司徒焯榮夫婦及司徒彥鏗。（圖由鳳倫公所提供）

左起，司徒籌舉，松璋，焯榮，宗達，冠平，彥鏗，以及母親姓司徒的外家宗親黃官羨，都親身經歷了波士頓華埠的多年變遷。（圖由鳳倫公所提供）

經文處教育組邀留獎學生感恩聚餐

 經文處教育組組長黃薳玉(第二排左五)和留獎學生們合影。（菊子攝）

駐波士頓臺北經濟文化辦事處教育組廿二日在龍鳳酒樓舉辦感恩節餐敘。43名獲教育部各項獎助的留學生歡聚一堂，交流學習、生活經驗，聽取政策變動報告。

經文處教育組組長黃薳玉表示，根據美國國際教育研究院（Institute of International Education, IIE）公佈的美國國際學生人數，從臺灣來美留學的學生人數微幅下降。根據教育部資料，新英格蘭地區領取教育部各項獎學金的學生，約在100人左右。

黃薳玉說明，邀請獲教育部獎助學生餐敘，既為向學生們表達教育部的關切，也藉機提醒各人有關的教育部公費生補助經費辦法變動，包括以往在學費之外，依照各人前往的不同地區核發生活費，現在改為統一發給定額獎學金，不另規定補助用途等。在民國92年至97年間獲留學獎學金學生的返國服務年限，也從10年改為15年了。

黃薳玉還提醒留獎學生們，平日要注意出入安全，身體健康，功課再忙，也要利用機會擴大生活圈，增長見聞。尤其是教育組和波士頓、哈佛兩大學合作，訂十二月一，二兩日舉行，分析台灣十一月廿九日九合一選舉，討論目前臺海兩岸政經關係的“台灣論壇”，希望參加的人越多越好。

廿二日，包括教育部公費生7名、留學奬學金生19名、奧林匹亞數理科學獎學金生8名與輔導員6名，頂尖大學獎學金生1名，共有43名在哈佛大學，麻省理工學院，達特矛斯學院，萊斯利（Lesley）大學，塔芙茨大學，波士頓大學，東北大學，麻州大學屋斯特分校，安赫斯特分校等就讀的學生齊聚一堂。

            經文處教育組表示，新英格蘭地區目前約有100人領有各項教育部留學獎學金，其中公費生13人、留學獎學金生約60人、奧林匹亞獎學金生 14人， 尖端科技培育獎學金生1人，頂尖大學獎學金生3人，以及奧林匹亞獎學金生輔導員9人。

            廿二日共有賴才達，王渝溥，林冠宇，陳昱安，楊泓翊，劉昱廷，鄭靖品，黃弘睿等八名奧林匹亞獎學金生出席。         

IN FIRST WEEK, NEARLY 52,000 FOUND ELIGIBLE FOR ACA HEALTH INSURANCE VIA MAHEALTHCONNECTOR.ORG

IN FIRST WEEK, NEARLY 52,000 FOUND ELIGIBLE FOR ACA HEALTH INSURANCE VIA MAHEALTHCONNECTOR.ORG 23,792 immediately enrolled in MassHealth; 28,175 found eligible for Connector-sponsored health plans, with 14,101 selecting a plan

BOSTON – Monday, November 24, 2014 – In the first seven days of Open Enrollment 2015, the new Massachusetts Health Insurance Exchange (“MA HIX”) website successfully determined 51,967 individuals eligible for Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance.  Of those, 23,792 were immediately enrolled in MassHealth coverage.

The remaining 28,175 were found eligible for Health Connector-sponsored plans. Just over half – 14,101 – have already shopped and selected their health plans while 753 have finished the enrollment process by paying their first bill, five weeks in advance of the Dec. 23 deadline to take action for Jan. 1, 2015 coverage.

MAhealthconnector.org attracted a total of 334,108 unique visitors in its first full week of operations, serving a high of 1,292 concurrent users with a page response time of 382 milliseconds. An average of 581 front line staff were available to assist consumers with questions about their applications across state and vendor call centers and application processing units.

“By any measurement, the first full week of Open Enrollment in Massachusetts was a great success,” said Maydad Cohen, the Governor’s Special Assistant for Project Delivery. “People came to one front door and did what they weren’t able to do last year: be determined eligible for subsidized or unsubsidized coverage and then shop, select, pay for and enroll in a plan. The proof that the site works lies in the numbers but that does not mean we can rest. We are proud of our first week but there are 12 more to go and a lot of people who need access to the health and economic security that health insurance assures.”

Cohen made his remarks while releasing the MA HIX project’s first weekly dashboard measuring project performance. The dashboards – which capture daily statistics Tuesday-Friday and weekly data every Monday – have made Massachusetts stand out among other state-based Marketplaces and the federal Exchange for consistent and transparent Open Enrollment reporting.

“We are sharing data in real-time in order to understand what’s working well and what we can do better,” said Cohen. “At first glance, today’s weekly dashboard shows we are making significant inroads with temporary MassHealth members. They are responding to our call-to-action to reapply. It appears right now that we need to do more to bring Commonwealth Care members to the website so that if they need coverage in 2015, they get it. We also have some work to do to better understand what these numbers say about the Commonwealth’s uninsured population and the folks who were in temporary coverage but will be in unsubsidized plans next year. We will be taking a closer look at these items and reporting on our analysis in the coming weeks.”

MAhealthconnector.org will be closed to the public from 10 p.m. tonight to 2 a.m. tomorrow for scheduled maintenance and minor system enhancements. The improvements include more streamlined, consumer-friendly pages on immigration; quicker, easier access to the regional list of enrollment assisters; and functionality for customer service agents who help applicants create accounts over the phone to email consumers their account information so that the applicant can complete the application process online. These minor changes are part of ongoing “clean-up” work and respond directly to feedback received from users during the first week of operations. More extensive system builds are scheduled for next month when back office functionality will allow consumers to make life event changes to their accounts.

The Massachusetts Operations Command Center, the project’s technical and operational epicenter, opened for its tenth day at 7 a.m. Monday morning. The center, which houses over 100 IT, policy and business operations officials from the state, Optum, hCentive, Dell and Maximus, is responsible for providing constant systems monitoring, identifying issues that will impact consumers and the marketplace and developing and implementing solutions. Today, the Commonwealth and its vendors will have over 650 customer service agents on the phones and processing applications.

During Open Enrollment 2015, members currently enrolled in temporary MassHealth, Commonwealth Care and Qualified Health Plan programs must submit a new application in order to obtain health insurance through the Commonwealth for calendar year 2015. They also must take action by a certain date in order to ensure care continuity and prevent gaps in coverage. The table below outlines who needs to act by when.

	Application & Payment Deadline to Prevent Coverage Gaps	2013-2014 Coverage End Date
Qualified Health Plan (QHP)	December 23, 2014	December 31, 2014
Commonwealth Care/MSP	January 23, 2015	January 31, 2015
Temporary MassHealth Group A – Purple Mailing	December 23, 2014	January 15, 2015
Temporary MassHealth Group B – Blue Mailing	January 23, 2015	January 31, 2015
Temporary MassHealth Group C – Green Mailing	February 15, 2015	February 15, 2015

Shop At America's Small Businesses on 11/29

U.S. Small Business Administration Washington, D.C.

Join Me As We Shop At America's Small Businesses 

This Upcoming Saturday, November 29, 2014 

Dear Friend—

Join me November 29^th for Small Business Saturday, an opportunity to support and celebrate your neighborhood retailers and restaurants. More than two out of three Americans are now aware that Small Business Saturday is a day devoted to shopping and dining small. That's why I'm inviting you to share in this special occasion to amplify the lifeblood of our economy. Now in its fifth year, Small Business Saturday has become a critical day on the calendar for entrepreneurs to grow their customer base. 

This year, we'll harness the power of social media to highlight the exemplary small businesses that make up our communities. Half of all holiday sales are now influenced by digital interactions. In 2013, two out of three shoppers purchased a gift found on social media. From the local clothing boutique with trendy fashion, to the book store that offers your favorite author, these businesses thrive when we bring business through their front doors. 

Along with an exciting day of shopping, I encourage you to #DineSmall this "Small Business Saturday Night". This year, SBA is partnering with the National Restaurant Association to promote our local restaurants. Eating out on Small Business Saturday will emphasize the accomplishments of small business restaurants across the country while encouraging consumers to patronize eateries in their neighborhoods. Nine out of 10 restaurants have less than 50 employees, and 80 percent of restaurant owners start their careers in entry-level positions. That's why this movement is an important new way to support our hard working food proprietors who give America's Main Street the tastes we love.  The partnership will amplify restaurants during the national push to support our nation's small businesses on the busiest shopping weekend of the year.

Kicking off Small Business Saturday at Americana Grocery Store in Silver Spring, MD along with Congressman Chris Van Hollen. Owner Joe Rodriguez started the grocery store after emigrating from Cuba and serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

SBA is a voice for small businesses and advocates on behalf of the more than 28 million small businesses.  Make sure you let us know what you are doing, via social media, using #SmallBizSat, #ShopSmall, and #DineSmall. 

Sincerely,

Maria Contreras-Sweet 
SBA Administrator

PS- To grow momentum this year, I’m inviting restaurants to promote #DineSmall by sharing their special menus for Small Business Saturday Night. Owners and chefs are invited to share their menus on social media using the #ShowUsYourMenu tag. It’s a great way to promote what your restaurant is doing to cater to America’s small shoppers. 

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What:                  Small Business Saturday & Small Business Saturday Night

When:                 Saturday, November 29, 2014

 Time:                   All Day!

 Where:                Your Local Small Businesses & Small Business Restaurants