ROCKVILLE, MD – Over one hundred and fifty Montgomery County business owners, community leaders, and county executives came together on Saturday afternoon, May 1, 2010, at the New Fortune Restaurant in Gaithersburg, MD, to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at a business networking luncheon hosted by the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce (APACC). Attending this event were the reigning Washington Metropolitan Miss Chinese American Beauty Pageant queens Kathy Liu, Sandra Wu, and Ting Ting Chen.

Asian Pacific Heritage Month was established in 1990 to recognize the contributions Asian and Pacific Island citizens make to American culture. The month is celebrated with community festivals, government-sponsored activities, and educational programs.

During the event, APACC Chairman John Young and President Jon Liu received citations from the Governor ‘s Office of Asian Pacific American Affairs and the Montgomery County Small Business Reserve Program for supporting economic development and prosperity for Asian Pacific American owned businesses throughout the Washington, DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia regions.

Speakers at the luncheon included: Ike Leggett, Executive, Montgomery County; Wonro Lee, President, Foundation for Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce; Susan Lee, Delegate, Maryland District 16; David Lee, Director of Ethnic Commissions, Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives; Lily Qi, Community Liaison, Montgomery County Office of Community Partnerships; Asuntha Chiang-Smith, Exe. Director, Base Realignment & Closure Subcabinet, Office of the Governor; Martin Ma, President, International Consortium for University Exchanges; Ken Taylor, Director, Montgomery County Small Business Reserve Program; Hoan Dang, Co-Founder, Voice of Vietnamese Americans; Chris Jan, Executive Director, Pacific Culture International and event Master of Ceremonies; Clay Hickson, Director of TowsonGlobal, the Business Globalization Center and event Master of Ceremonies.

  Also speaking at this event were the reigning Washington Metropolitan Miss Chinese American Beauty Pageant queens Kathy Liu, Sandra Wu, and Ting Ting Chen. Kathy Liu, the current DC Miss China, spoke about her activities over the past year.

The Washington Metropolitan Miss Chinese American Beauty Pageant was created to give young Chinese American women an opportunity to demonstrate cultural pride, leadership, and family value. The pageant also helps young women develop the confidence and skills they need to successfully compete in all areas of business, education, art, and commerce. This year’s pageant will be held on September 17, 2010 at the Strathmore Music Center in Bethesda, MD. Pageant winners will receive scholarships packages valued at $50,000. The top three pageant winners will travel to China for two weeks as friendship ambassadors, promoting tourism and cultural exchange between the United States and China.

For more information, please visit the Washington Metropolitan Miss Chinese American Beauty Pageant website at www.DCMissChina.com.