C E N T E R F O R L A O S T U D I E S ’

F i r s t A n n u a l B a n q u e t Spreading Wings

Saturday, September 12, 2009 6.00pm – 12.00am

The Women’s Building ~ 3543 18th St #8 San Francisco, CA 94110

Tel: 1.415.874.5578

banquet@laostudies.org ~ www.laostudies.org

August 07, 2009

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SPONSORSHIP AND ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES   Center for Lao Studies’ First Annual Banquet: Spreading Wings    Saturday, September 12, 2009 | 6PM – 12AM | San Francisco, CA  

S pon s o r s h i p  Oppo r t u n i t i e s  [  ] Platinum Sponsor  $5,000  [  ] Gold Sponsor  $3,000 10 VIP tickets, recognition at the banquet, open bar, prominent signage, inside or back cover ad in program booklet, one year logo placement on website, program book & webpage listing  

10 VIP tickets, open bar, signage, prominent one page ad, 6‐months logo placement on website, program book & website listing  

 [  ] Silver Sponsor  $1,500  [  ] Bronze Sponsor   $1,000  [  ] Nonprofit/Community Sponsor  $500 8 VIP tickets, one page ad, program book & website listing 

6 VIP tickets, half page ad, program book & website listing 

For nonprofit and community organizations only: 10 VIP tickets, program book listing 

 [  ] Friends of CLS Sponsor   $250  [  ] VIP Ticket   $50  [  ] General Ticket  $25 3 VIP tickets, program book listing  1 VIP ticket, special seating  1 General ticket for students, seniors, and 

community members 

Adve r t i s emen t  On l y  [  ]  Full Page  7.25” x 4.75”  [  ]  Half Page  3.5” x 4.75”  [  ]  Quarter Page  3.5” x 2.25” Corporate rate  $500  [  ] Nonprofit rate  $300   [  ] 

Corporate rate $300  [  ] Nonprofit rate $150   [  ] 

Corporate rate  $150  [  ] Nonprofit rate  $75     [  ] 

 Submit Final Ads as Photoshop file or grayscale High Resolution (300 dpi or higher) PDF sized to 100%.  Deadline: AUGUST 31, 2009 ______________________________________________________________________________________ [  ]  I would like to purchase ____ticket(s) @ $50/VIP ticket or $25/general  ticket each. Total amount $______. [  ]  I/we cannot attend, but enclosed is a tax‐deductible donation to assist the Center for Lao Studies with its work 

in the amount of $______. [  ]  Please keep my donation anonymous (name will not be listed in the program book). Enclosed is my check made 

payable to “Center for Lao Studies” in the amount of $______. *  On‐line credit card payment available at www.laostudies.org.  

Name:   

Title:  

Organization/Company:   Address:   City:   

State:   Zip:  

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A  FAVOR  OF  A  REPLY   I S  REQUESTED  BY  AUGUST  31,  2009 .    

Email:  

PLEASE  SEND  YOUR  RESPONSE  TO:  CENTER  FOR  LAO  STUD IES ,  65  NINTH  ST . ,  SAN  FRANCI SCO,  CA  94103  TEL :  415.874.5578,  FAX:  1.415.565.0204,  EMAIL :  BANQUET@LAOSTUDIES .ORG,  WEB:  WWW.LAOSTUDIES .ORG    

The Center for Lao Studies is a 501(c)(3) organization under the Internal Revenue Code. We estimate the fair market value of this event at

$30 per ticket. Your contribution in excess of this amount is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Tickets donated back to the Center for Lao Studies are fully tax-deductible.

At the Platinum and Gold Sponsorship level, your company/organization logo will appear on all of our invitations and announcements as seen above.     ABOUT THE CENTER FOR LAO STUDIES  The Center  for Lao Studies  (CLS) was  formed  in 2006 as an outcome of the First  International Conference on Lao Studies.  It is a 501(c)(3) non‐profit, public benefit organization, incorporated in  the  state  of  California,  USA.  The  mission  of  the  Center  for  Lao  Studies  is  to  advance knowledge  and  engagement  in  the  field  of  Lao  Studies  through  research,  education  and information  sharing. As a  resource  center  for both  the general public as well as  those of  Lao heritage,  CLS  serves  as  a  liaison  to  cultural  and  community  organizations,  universities,  and academic institutions.  The vision of the Center for Lao Studies is to be an institution that leads and excels in the pursuit of knowledge in the field of Lao Studies. For more information, please visit the Center for Lao Studies’ website at: www.laostudies.org.  

CONTRA COSTA TIMES Direct Link: http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_12613237 By Matt O’Brien Posted: 06/17/2009 05:25:42 PM PDT Updated: 06/17/2009 05:59:42 PM PDT SAN PABLO — Yaengsaeng Xayavong is trying to reacquaint herself with a homeland she cannot remember. The 26-year-old was born in Laos but has no memories of life there. Her family made a nighttime escape across a river to Thailand when she was 5.

On Saturday, the laboratory technician from San Pablo returned to Laos for the first time since her refugee family fled. “Words really can’t describe how I feel,” she said before she left. “There’s always been a part of me that’s missing.” Xayavong is one of a handful of Lao-Americans spending the next eight weeks getting to know Laos through an inaugural study abroad program sponsored by the San Francisco-based Center for Lao Studies. The pilot program is the first of its kind in the U.S., said Vinya Sysamouth, the volunteer-run center’s executive director. “A lot of Lao-Americans have very little knowledge about their own background, where they’re from, their own language,” Sysamouth said. “They’re curious about their background and the experiences their parents went t

hrough.”

he participants, who range in age from 16 to n

er l

e

’m trying to connect with a side of me I don’t really know much about,” said Brandin Versteegh

ersteegh’s father was a teenager when he fled Laos and resettled with family members in the

aos from the 1950s through the 1970s became an extended theater of the war in neighboring

T37, met each other Thursday at an orientation iSan Francisco and arrived in Laos over the weekend. They will spend most of the summin the capital city of Vientiane, studying at a locacollege and performing community service. Some will seek out family members they havnever met.

Yaengsaeng  Xayavong,  26,  left,  of  Oakland,  and  Amy Bowers, 20, of Milwaukee, participate  in an orientation at the Center  for Lao Studies on Thursday,  June 11, 2009,  in San  Francisco,  Calif.  Xayavong  and  other  Lao‐Americans are traveling to Laos for the first time on June 12 to  learn more  about  the  experiences  their  parents  faced  as refugees. (Jane Tyska/Staff) 

“I, 21, from Marshalltown, Iowa.

Vcentral Iowa town. There, he met and married Versteegh’s mother, a white Marshalltown native who listened to country music. Versteegh said his cultural upbringing was focused heavily on hismother’s side. Going to Laos, and learning more about his father’s background, has been a lifelong dream. LVietnam. The Central Intelligence Agency secretly backed the Lao royal army as it battled communist fighters. When the U.S.-supported forces lost, many of those who survived wereforced to flee.

Los Angeles teacher Vatsana Bilavarn, 37, said societal pressure to assimilate caused her to

pushed my heritage aside for a long time because I didn’t feel like I had the connection,” she

t s to

don’t know if I’m going to

on’t know

ysamouth, who also fled

ay to

ysamouth estimates there are 35,000 Laos immigrants and their descendants in the Bay Area,

l group

ayavong, who grew up in a Lue family in the Richmond area, found out about the program from

wouldn’t say I’m fluent,” Xayavong said. “My accent could be better. But I definitely can sit down

each Matt O’Brien at 925-977-8463 or mattobrien@bayareanewsgroup.com.

LOGGING A SUMMER IN LAOS

an Pablo resident Yaengsaeng Xayavong and other participants in the Summer Study Abroad in

neglect learning about her family history while growing up in Danbury, Conn. “Isaid. Although her parents expressed great love and longing for their homeland, they were reluctant to delve into their painful refugee experiences. Today, Bilavarn said “there’s a greaurgency and need to acknowledge the Lao Diaspora” and she wants to use the trip to find waypreserve endangered Lao culture and folklore in the United States.

“I

Yaengsaeng Xayavong, 26, third to the left of the screen in back row, of Oakland, and

be surprised,” Bilavarn said of the trip. “I don’t know if I’m going to be disappointed. I dif I’m going to be enlightened.” SLaos as a child, said the study program was partly inspired by his own difficulties finding a wlearn more about Laos when he was a college student in 1994. With no

programs available, he enrolled in an exchangeprogram in Thailand and made a personal detour toLaos.

others participate in an orientation at the Center for Lao Studies on Thursday, June 11, 2009, in San Francisco, Calif. Xayavong and other Lao-Americans are traveling to Laos for the first time on June 12 to learn more about the experiences their parents faced as refugees. (Jane Tyska/Staff)

Sincluding members of the Mien, Lue and Hmong ethnic groups. He tapped into the Lao community locally and nationwide for the summer program, but said the size of the traveremains small because participants must pay about $5,000. Xa flier she picked up at the Champa Thai and Vietnamese restaurant in El Sobrante. She has been practicing her Lue for weeks, making sure she is ready to speak with agrandmother she says is waiting to meet her. “Iand hold a conversation. I might have to pause a bit to make sure I’m using the right words.” R B SLaos program are keeping track of their eight-week experience in a blog at: http://www.laostudies.org/sailersblog