Promoting Taiwan-US Bilateral Relationship City of Tallahassee designates October 27, 2022 as Lucy Ho Day

October 27th was the 91st birthday of Dr. Lucy Ho, the Overseas Community Affairs Council Senior Advisor from North Florida Chinese Association (NFCA) and Taiwanese American Association of Tallahassee (TAA). More than 150 people attended the birthday banquet held at Masa Tallahassee, a past Lucy Ho restaurant. Tallahassee local politicians include City Mayor John E. Dailey and City Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox. After Lucy Ho welcomed and thanked the guests at the event, Mayor John E. Dailey read a Proclamation, to introduce the contributions of Lucy Ho and her late husband, Professor John Ho, and to proclaim October 27, 2022 as Lucy Ho Day in Tallahassee.

The event was organized by former NFCA President Liang Yu Hsia and TAA President Carl Huang with Masa Tallahassee banquet buffet preparation overseen by Shaun Lee, nephew of Lucy Ho. As cake was passed around, Lucy greeted the guests table by table and took photos with them. The NFCA provided fresh flowers on each table to increase the festivity. Liang Yu Hsia, also a professional photographer, took high-definition banquet photos and put them on https://link.shutterfly.com/WcLJJtEvwub for those who would be interested.

Why does Lucy Ho receive this special honor? My lobbyist friend Patsy Eccles said “Lucy Ho has always been a cultural icon in the Asian community in Tallahassee, not only hosting many international friends in her restaurants, but also connecting influential international friends with city and state government policymakers. Lucy Ho has also introduced to the Tallahassee community, Asian perspectives through her sponsored Taiwanese, Chinese, and Japanese cultural activities and cuisine.  The Ho’s helped numerous overseas citizens come to Tallahassee, get established, and build lives here. They contributed to Tallahassee's economy with employment opportunities and financial assistance through Lucy Ho's restaurants.”

Patsy Eccles, longtime admirer of Lucy, contacted City Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox to launch this proclamation in honor of Lucy Ho. After Patsy and Dianne did research and gathered the available relevant information about Lucy Ho and her late husband, Dianne Williams-Cox submitted it to staff for drafting. Dianne next presented this proposal to the mayor where all resolutions and proclamations must be approved. Mayor John Dailey was so familiar with the activities that Lucy Ho and her late husband had been involved in over the years that it took only 12 hours to develop and authorize the proclamation, moving it from a concept by City Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox to final document printed and signed by Mayor John Dailey. Lucy Ho's proclamation presents a Tallahassee story of the history of Tallahassee bridging the city with the larger world.