Chinese New Year Event Honors Legendary Florence Fang
A packed room of Bay Area Council members, partners and friends gathered Wednesday (Feb. 13) to honor Florence Fang with the Global Leadership Award at our 9th Annual Chinese New Year event celebrating the Year of the Pig. San Francisco Mayor London Breed was among a number of dignitaries, including state Controller Betty Yee and state Board of Equalization member Malia Cohen, who praised Fang’s great leadership.
The Council was honored to welcome Chinese Consul General Wang Donghua, who spoke eloquently about the importance of the U.S.-China economic relationship and reaching a quick resolution to the current trade dispute. Council CEO Jim Wunderman echoed those sentiments in describing the Council’s more than 10 years of work in China to grow bilateral trade and investment, including through offices in Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou and Beijing.
Florence Fang, who was born in the year of the pig, is the first recipient of the Bay Area Council Global Leadership Award and her legacy of philanthropic work to bridge the cultural gap between China and the United States will set a high bar for future recipients. Florence told the more than 200 attendees that the Year of the Pig is characterized by generosity and prosperity, and she asserted that in 2019 we will all receive what we work hardest to get.
A big thank you to Council Board member Clint Reilly for again donating the use of his gorgeous Julia Morgan Ball Room at the Merchants Exchange, to Presenting Sponsor Royal Business Bank and to our other sponsors, including the Florence Fang Family Foundation, Pacific Eagle Holdings, New Energy Nexus, and Alston & Bird. Council Board member Loren Trefethen generously provided wines from his Trefethen Family Vineyard and Gordon Biersch Brewing Company provided a delicious selection of beer. To engage in our China work, please contact Chief of Global Initiatives Del Christensen.
