Elizabeth Hardage, teacher and owner of Hardage Chinese School, leads the singing of a song in Mandarin (Ten Colorful Butterflies) in a lesson about colors and numbers with Amber Wang, 11, and Nico Wang, age 2 (with mother Joelle). Photo: Jennie L. Ilustre

The committee of Wat Thai of Washington, D.C. chose Nit Malikul, shown with daughters Penny and Pearl, outstanding Mother of the Year during Thai National Mother’s Day held recently in the area.

To celebrate the Beijing Olympics, Washington Yu Ying Public Charter School recently held an Olympics of its own. About 150 students, parents, teachers and volunteers gathered at Turkey Thicket Recreation Center. The event featured student teams marching with flags in opening ceremonies, and competing in games such as the Wet Sponge Toss, Red Light Green Light, Steal the Dumpling and Force the City Gates, a Chinese version of Red Rover.

An assistant of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D, CA) in her San Francisco office receives a bouquet of flowers and a cake from Filipino World War II veterans and widows. Pelosi has vowed to get a veterans’ pension bill passed this month.

The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) recently honored the American Jewish Committee (AJC) with a “Champion of Redress” award for the 20th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. AJC was the first organization to endorse the JACL’s Redress campaign.

Nina Fallenbaum and Elaine Low recently completed their fellowships with the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), during which they worked with Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D, HI).

IFM recently held a barbecue event in honor of India’s 61st independence day. Fiscal-conservative leader Grover Norquist attended and praised Senator John McCain (R-AZ), the Republican presumptive nominee, in encouraging IFM to spread its message nationwide.

The Asian American Pacific Islander Work Group recently discussed the issues AAPIs face. Farook Sait, Sharon Wong, Gazal Modhera and Linda Bradford-Washington were panelists at the workshop. The workshop was part of the 11th annual Excel Conference held in Chicago by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The conference included workshops, plenary sessions and specialty training tracks. Photo by Jay Chen/Asian Fortune

The Alice Kan gu-zheng ensemble, with teacher Alice Kan, performed last month at the Amphitheater of Mason District Park in Annandale, Virginia. Friends of Mason District Park presented “Spotlight by Starlight 2008.”

Neeraj Nigam (in blue shirt) is running as an Independent for Virginia’s 10th District in the U.S. Congress.He’s shown at the Adams Center’s 8th Annual Northern Virginia Family Civic Picnic in Lake Fairfax Park in Reston, Virginia.

Attendees Thanh Nguyen and June Jimenez ask questions during the forum organized by the Asian Pacific Islander in Philanthropy (AAPIP) DC Chapter. Guest speakers from a local foundation, corporate foundation, and nonprofit will provide insight and answer questions about entering the field.

The Angkan/CP Shell repeats as winner of the 2008 Senior Basketball League of Filipino American Basketball Association (FABA) DC-Metro. Kneeling, from left: Tom Pleta, Pol Fernandez (playing coach), Robbie Rivera, General Manager Russell Cuevas. Standing, from left: Arnold Peji (MVP), Cy Hauptmann, Ferdie Lim, Vince Policarpio, Adviser Rudy Sinon, Mike Guidotti, and Ben Roa. Not in photo are Edgar Encarnacion and Raffy Rivera.

The USPS hosted a cocktail reception for the delegates of the Organization of Chinese American (OCA) conference held in Washington, DC. From left: George Wu, Paul Vogel, senior vice president and manager for Global Business of the United States Postal Service (USPS), and Michael Lin, OCA executive director. Photo: Bing Cardenas Branigin

Ana Karina Skye Jin, 14, a freshman at Centreville High School, was one of those featured on Nickelodeon?s Nick News about politically active teens. The program aired on August 24. Ana has been campaigning for Senator John McCain (R, AZ). She started a Facebook page, Teens 4 McCain. She?s also an officer for Southern Virginia for McCain.

Ginny Gong, President of the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), and author of From Ironing Board to Corporate Board, with Lily Qi, President of OCA DC Chapter, at the Borders Bookstore booth during the OCA National Convention last month. Photo by Jay Chen/Asian Fortune

Dr. Larry Hajime Shinagawa, Director of the Asian American Studies Program at the University of Maryland, with his assistants at their booth during the OCA national Convention last month. Photo by Jay Chen/Asian Fortune

Wakefield School, located in The Plains, Virginia, offered a "Tour of China" summer camp to its students on the occasion of the Beijing Olympic. Lucia Huang, an expert in teaching Chinese language and culture, taught the students simple Chinese characters, music, painting, paper cutting, and cooking. According to the organizers and parents, the program was well received. Photos shown Toni Updike, Pre-Kindergarten Teacher/Summer Camp Director, with Teacher Lucia Huang, and students in her classes.