Contact:  Shandon Phan (202) 415-3366

(Falls Church, Virginia) The Vietnamese Americans for McCain-Palin Coalition today hosted a Voter Registration & Outreach booth at the Mid-Autumn Festival inside Eden Center, a Vietnamese community hub in Northern Virginia.

The Mid-Autumn festival is a traditional Vietnamese celebration of abundance and togetherness.  Despite hard rain in the morning, thousands of people gathered at the popular shopping center to celebrate this joyous festival.

The McCain-Palin booth attracted so many visitors throughout the day that volunteers worked non-stop and some did not even have a chance to grab their first meal until 6pm.  Many people wanted to discuss issues and find out how to get involved, while others simply wanted to send their best wishes to the McCain-Palin team and provided the McCain volunteers with refreshments and words of encouragement.  

By 6pm, over 800 fliers and 250 stickers were given out.  The volunteers left Eden Center, exhausted but obviously proud of their effort.

"We couldn't be more pleased to see the outpouring of support for Senator McCain from our community members, especially those of younger generations." said Shandon Phan, National Co-Chair of the Vietnamese Americans for McCain-Palin Coalition.  "We registered about a dozen of new voters, recruited many more volunteers today, and did an effective job in informing our community members about the clear differences between Sen. McCain and his opponent."

"Elephants never forget," announced Chu Nguyen, a coalition member and a Republican, echoing the community's respect for and appreciation of Senator McCain's courageous service in protecting American honor and freedom during the Vietnam War, as well as his leadership in sponsoring legislations that brought tens of thousands of Vietnamese political prisoners and their families to the United States after the war. 

Two weeks ago, some members of the group had the opportunity to meet with Sen. McCain, who surprised them with a sudden visit at the campaign headquarters, where the group was volunteering.  Both Sen. McCain and his brother Joe, who is also a Vietnam veteran, wished the Vietnamese community a joyous Mid-Autumn festival celebration on two separate occasions.

"With the large population of Vietnamese in the area, our community can make a big difference in this tight race," said Phan.  "The Obama camp is here today as well but makes no mistake… Eden Center is a 'McCain Nation.'"       

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The Vietnamese Americans for McCain-Palin Coalition, a subdivision of the larger APA coalition, is a national coalition of political, community and business leaders whose mission is to help elect Senator John McCain the next President of the United States.  The Vietnamese American coalition of Virginia maintains an operation office in Annandale, Virginia and will hold its official Vietnamese American endorsement rally for McCain-Palin on October 11.  For more information, visit our Web site at www.AsianAmericansforMcCain.org.