By Whilma Williams

On July 27, 2001, the Asian/Pacific American Association for Advancement (4A) at AT&T concluded its 12th Annual National Professional Conference at the Somerset Marriott, New Jersey, and if you ever thought that the Asian/Pacific community here at AT&T does not know how to balance work and play, you need to think again. Members of this small, but dynamic Business Resource Group demonstrated that they really know just how to personify this year's theme of "Partnering for Growth and Development." Even though budget constraints caused the normally three-day conference to be condensed to two days, the conference was still well organized and enjoyable.

The two days were carefully planned with: business and life-skill classes, business and motivational speakers, panel discussions, United Way promo, presentation of fund for disaster relief, networking reception, an evening of interacting with the distinguished guest speakers and with corporate executives such as Rob Stoddard from AT&T Broadband, Ron Orum from AT&T Solutions, Regina Agea and Jim McFarland from ACS, and Daniel Sheinbein, AT&T Network Services.

Also, there was time to enjoy a fine cocktail hour before the last day's grand finale the 4A awards banquet, which featured individual recognition awards, scholarship awards to young Asian/Pacific American students, and colorful cultural native dances performed by young Chinese and Indian dancers respectively. Then after the Banquet on Friday, to top off the 2-day conference participants turned into revelers as they unwound and danced the night away to the live American and Caribbean/Hispanic type music.

Conference Highlights

During the two days, we hopped from room to room to participate in different 2-hour workshops such as:

• The Basics of Balancing Work and Family
• Taking Care of Yourself During Times of Change
• LifeScapes - Reflecting on Where You Are, Where You Stand and Where You Want to be in 1, 5, 10 Years
• Myers-Briggs Personality Type and its Impact on Asian/Pacific Cultures
• Making Culture a Strategic Asset
• Turning your Asian/Pacific Heritage into a Plus, not a Minus
• Understanding Assertiveness
• Internet Safety for Parents: Helping Children Make Safe Choices
• Bridging the Miles: Caregiving from a Distance
• Tax Law Updates and Investment Tax Issues
• Racial Stereotypes

Punctuated between these classes we heard a very challenging message from Murthy Vangala, President, 4A National-AT&T, and from keynote speakers: Frank Ianna, President AT&T Network Services; Helen Zia, author and journalist; and Kanwal Rekhi, venture capitalist and former CTO of Novell. Also, we gained lots of business and personal development insights from the plenary panelists: Pat Traynor, VP-AT&T Solutions; Hans Hwang, Accenture; Stephanie Mehta, writer-Fortune Magazine; and from Piyush Pandya, writer/director.