Sunflower Mission started the New Year with a fundraising event at the annual Vietnamese Tet Festival held at the Reliant Arena. SM was one of the 12 contracted food vendors, besides the prominent Kim Son, that provided foods and drinks. Festival atgtendees could seethat SM booth was one of the most professional and attractive booths. Beautiful graphics displaying SM members and volunteers building schools and giving school supplies to the students in Vietnam, and vibrant lion heads attracting the crowd and blessing SM with good luck. Of course as food goes, SM had the best of the best. Chao huyet (pork rice soup) was steamy and delicious, Vietnamese nachos were crisp and cheesy, and che (desert) Thai and che chuoi were delightful and fresh. Also included on the menu were cold bottled water and multi-flavored fruit punch, which were sold out so quickly after multiple replenishments. There was one other food item on the menu, beef stew, that unexpectedly went sour the morning of the event. It was regrettable that no one had the opportunity to taste the wonderful stew, and that the cook had spent many long hours preparing it. Fortunately, generous supporters donated $825 for the spoiled and no-show beef stew!

The event lasted 10 hours and food was prepared for approximately 600 people. Despite a lot of work and long hours in preparing for the event our team at the booth was always cheerful and energetic and came through to raise $1731 for SM (gross $3390, expenses $1660). Many thanks to the contribution of:

• The Cooks - Tram Anh Huynh, Ai Chi Tran, Terri Tran, and Lan Chi Nguyen for the wonderful food,
• The Graphic Coordinators - Oanh (Lan Chi) Nguyen and Cuong Tran for the beautiful display,
• The Beverage Coordinator - Dr. Nam Hoang for the multiple trips to the store for replenishments,
• The Men with Muscles - Cuong Tran and Quynh Bui for handling the heavy duties,
• The Sponsors - Mortgage Bankers of Texas, Dr. Thuan Nguyen, Dr. Dien Dang of Bellaire Chiropractic, Saigon Seafood Supermarket, Jack Hardison, and VanTho-JeanPaul Fauquet, Cuong Tran’s friend from France.
• The Volunteers - family, friends, and SM members for serving food, providing support and showing our dynamic organization.