Welcome to GOAABA’s 2019-2020 Officers and Board of Directors

GOAABA would like to extend its gratitude to the following Officers and Board of Directors for serving on the 2019-2020 Board this year! 2019-2020 Officers and Board of Directors: President: Leia V. Leitner President-Elect: Onchantho Am Treasurer: Scott Leitner Secretary: Shante Walker Board of Directors: Teris Deitsch Kenway Wong Avita Samaroo Greg Maaswinkel Janice Chon Thank you for your dedication and commitment to...

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Farewell to GOAABA’s 2018-2019 Officers and Board of Directors

GOAABA would like to say thank you to the outgoing Officers and Board of Directors of the 2018-2019 Board for all its hard work! 2018-2019 Officers and Board of Directors: President: Annie Kwong President-Elect: Leia Leitner Treasurer: Onchantho Am Secretary: Hazel Gumera Board of Directors: Janice Chon Teris Deitsch Sarah Guo Greg Maaswinkel Avita Samaroo Thank you for your dedication over this past...

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February Update

GOAABA had a busy February with a Lunar New Year Celebration on February 5-Year of the Pig and participated in the inaugural OCBA Race Judicata. Look forward to the OCBA 5k Race, Diversity and Inclusion Picnic and Jinya lunch in...

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November/December Update

On November 1, 2018, GOAABA presented a complimentary CLE featuring guest speaker, A. Michelle Jernigan, Esq. of Upchurch Watson White & Max Mediation on the topic of: “Negotiating Around Through Minefields and Mediation.” Ms. Jernigan provided invaluable information on how to prepare for negotiations that occur in the mediation process for practicing attorneys. The CLE was hosted by United Against Poverty Orlando Center; attached is a picture of the event (from left to right: A. Michelle Jernigan, Esq., Michael Andriano-Esq, Ani Rodriguez-Newbern, Annie Kwong, Leia Leitner, Onchantho Am, and Jill Davis Simon.) And, on November 3, 2018, GOAABA hosted a family friendly event to volunteer at the United Against Poverty Center by providing groceries to people in need. Keeping along with the volunteering train, GOAABA also volunteered at the Youth Enrichment and Senior Services (“YESS”) Center where its members provided the elderly members of YESS with advice on wills, trust, and probate law. On November 5, 2018, the law firm of Nelson Mullin Broad & Cassel hosted GOAABA’s members at the Magic v. Cavalier’s game where the members got to enjoy each other’s companies, invited other members of voluntary bar associations to join, and it was a great night because the Magic won; attached are pictures from the event. To kick off the holiday season, on December 5, 2018, GOAABA had its Holiday Party at Dragonfly Robata Grill & Sushi, where many of its past presidents and previous board members caught up with the current members, and made donations and toys to IMPOWER, a non-profit mental health and child well-being organization; attached are pictures from the Holiday party. Next on tap, on December 9, 2018, GOAABA is having its holiday dinner with the Youth Empowerment and Support Services (“YESS”) Organization at Kobe where one of our Board Members, Avita Samaroo, Esq., will be presenting a CLE on auto accidents and how to use a smart phone at the event.                ...

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GOAABA has had a busy September

With an Alien Land Law Discussion at FAMU law school with moderator, Jessica Hew, and CRC members, Commissioner Belinda Keiser and Commissioner John Stemberger. Further, GOAABA teamed up with CFAWL to host a Paint Nite at Ember. In October, there was a very informative lunch discussion on financial planning basics with a financial planner and a community event with the Y.E.S.S. Center to discuss Wills, Probate, and Estate Planning issues with senior citizens in our community. GOAABA future events include: CLE “Negotiating Around and Through Minefields in Mediation” on November 1 by Michelle Jernigan, Esquire, volunteering on November 3 with United Against Poverty, and YESS Discussion with REACH high school students on Careers. December 5, 2018 at 6pm will be GOAABA’ s holiday party at...

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Congratulations to the 2018-2019 GOAABA Board

  July 19, 2018: GOAABA would like to welcome the new Officers and Board of Directors: 2018-2019 Officers and Board of Directors: President: Annie Kwong; President-Elect: Leia Leitner; Treasurer: Onchantho Am; Secretary: Hazel Gumera; Board of Directors: Janice Chon; Teris Deitsch; Sarah Guo; Greg Maaswinkel; and Avita Samaroo; Immediate Past President: Vanessa Braga. We look forward to a strong and productive 2018-2019 GOAABA year. #Stronger...

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Farewell to GOAABA’s 2017-2018 Officers and Board of Directors

GOAABA would like to extend its gratitude for the hard work of the outgoing Officers and Board of Directors: 2017-2018 Officers and Board of Directors: President: Vanessa Braga President-Elect: Annie Kwong Treasurer: Shane Herbert Secretary: Leia Leitner Board of Directors: Lalitha Alladi Onchantho Am Hazel Gumera Greg Maaswinkel Ronald Mejia Thank you for your dedication over this past...

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GOAABA Donates to the Relief Efforts in the Philippines

GOAABA  joined forces with the Young Lawyers Section of the Orange County Bar Association and the Hispanic Bar Association of Central Florida to pool resources and make a joint donation to those who are suffering from the devastation resulting from Typhoon Haiyan. We are proud to announce that together, our organizations and private contributors donated a total of $4,000.00 to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief efforts in the Philippines. The money will be used to provide assistance and aid to the victims and their families during the ongoing recovery...

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Florida’s Alien Land Law: The Last Vestige of Discrimination

By: Christine M. Ho, Esquire Chair of the Alien Land Law Committee, Greater Orlando Asian American Bar Association Tom, a Vietnamese restaurant owner, worked hard all of his life and saved up some money to buy a house. Every weekend, he shopped with his wife and two small children for their dream home in a suburb of Orlando. With the help of his realtor, he finally found the house. It had four bedrooms with a pool and a white picket fence. At closing, the seller said, “Wait a minute. I am not going to sell this house to you because Asians cannot legally own a house in Florida.” You would think the seller is crazy and is not telling you the truth. Shockingly, the seller is correct. In Florida, a little known law holds that people of Asian descent cannot own real estate in Florida! This law prohibiting Asians from owning real property is known as the “Alien Land Law” and was passed in 1926. The Alien Land Law targeted Asian immigrants and was intended to prevent them, as well as other immigrants, from owning real estate in the State of Florida. Many other states in the Union also passed similar alien land laws as a result of the increasing racism against Asian immigrants during the first quarter of the twentieth century. In 1913, California was the first state to pass an alien land law. California’s alien land law stemmed from the racial animosity against Japanese farmers who had recently moved to California and had started acquiring and owning agricultural land. By the end of World War II with anti-Asian sentiment at an all time high, Arizona, Washington, Louisiana, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Kansas, Wyoming, Utah, and Arkansas had all passed their own versions of the alien land law. Since that time, all of these states have repealed their alien land laws. Florida is the only state in the United States that has not repealed its Alien Land Law. Florida alone retains this discriminatory and racist law in its Constitution. Even more surprising is that the recent attempt to repeal Florida’s Alien Land Law failed. In November 2008, Florida voted on the proposed Amendment 1, which attempted to repeal Florida’s Alien Land Law. The ballot title was “Declaration of Rights,” and the text was as follows: Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to delete provisions authorizing the Legislature to regulate or prohibit the ownership, inheritance, disposition, and possession of real property by aliens ineligible for citizenship. Ultimately, Amendment 1 failed by a vote of 47.9% (3,369,894 votes) to 52.1% (3,669,812 votes). Sixty percent (60%) was required to pass the ballot measure. In hindsight, supporters of Amendment 1 have admitted...

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