22nd AACC Annual Celebration

Year: 2005
Host: Vietnamese American Community
Sponsor: Nghia Sinh International, Inc.
Venue: Hyatt Regency O'Hare, Rosemont, Illinois
Theme: APA Leadership is the Key
Attendance: Over 1800 (Banquet: 1500 tickets sold, conference: 500 registered participants)
Highlights: There was a day-long program with a variety of seminars and festivities, including a conference, an interfaith forum, a thanksgiving celebration, a banquet and dance.

The 1st AACC “Youth Who Excel” Awards CEO, CBE Mr. Arne Duncan
CEO Arne Duncan of the Chicago Board of Education addressed 500 Asian American educators and presented the first ever AACC “Youth Who Excel” awards.

White House Representative Director Joel Smith
A White House director presented a Presidential Proclamation signed by President George Bush at the AACC Gala.

Movie Star/Film Writer-Director — Tony Bui
Actor Tony Bui, Writer & Director of the academy award-winning film “Three Seasons” was the keynote speaker at the Gala Dinner.

Among the distinguished keynote speakers for morning, noon, afternoon, and evening sessions from Los Angeles, Chicago, Springfield, and Washington, D.C. were:
- Hon. Pat Quinn, Lt. Governor of Illinois
- Hon. Shinae Chun, Director, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Women Affairs
- Dr. Narnara Radner, Director, DePaul University, Center for Urban Education

The Vietnamese community handed over the AACC "Torch" to the next year's host of AACC, the Indonesian American Community. Asian Americans from France, Canada, and many parts of the USA came to attend the AACC conference and celebration.