Hmong Service Center previews national Labor Day festival, seeks DEI support

Ming Yang, board president of the Hmong Service Center, told the City of Oshkosh Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee on July 28 that the nonprofit is preparing an expanded Hmong National Labor Day Festival and invited committee members to attend.

"We are a non profit organization established back in 1984," Ming Yang said, describing the centers volunteer-run operations, a building at 726 North Main Street and ongoing community programs including scholarships for Hmong students. "We do not have a staff ... We meet people by appointments."

The nut graf: the presentation matter-of-factly summarized the organizations mission and logistical plans for a large national festival that organizers say draws Hmong communities from around the United States; Yang said the 2025 event is intended to mark five decades since many Hmong began resettling in the U.S. after the Vietnam War era.

Yang described program elements and logistics being arranged for the festival, including dance competitions, sports (volleyball, flag football and others), a traditional topspin game, and food and merchandise vendors. "We have over 20 food vendors," Yang said, and organizers counted more than 120 total vendors, she said. Yang also said organizers expect teams from multiple states and that the event will host veterans of the Special Guerrilla Unit (SGU), Hmong soldiers who fought in Laos during the Vietnam War era.

Committee members asked about the Hmong Service Centers services and operations. In response to a question about what resources the center provides, Yang said the group primarily connects people to services and helps with translations and referrals: "We help connect people to the resources that they need ... when they don't know where to go." She described past examples, including helping families locate pastors and translating cemetery signage so relatives could understand local rules.

Yang said the organization funds itself through fundraising and donations rather than ongoing grants, and that proceeds are used directly for community support and scholarships. She said the center purchased a building at 726 North Main Street and generally serves by appointment because board members are volunteers.

On the festival, Yang said organizers have increased prizes and categories for a popular dance competition to attract more teams and that volleyball participation has grown in recent years. She described plans to present educational material at the event about Hmong involvement with the U.S. in Laos during the Vietnam War era and said county and other local authorizations were being pursued for that exhibit. "I'm hoping that this will be a dream come true for this community," she said.

The presentation concluded with Yang offering to share flyers and wristband invitations with the committee and asking committee members to attend. There were no formal motions or committee actions tied to the presentation; Yangs requests were invitations rather than formal requests for city funding or approvals.

The committees exchange with Yang provided local officials and members an overview of the centers year-round volunteer work, scholarships, facility ownership and the scale of the upcoming festival.

Organizers provided the committee with printed flyers and asked that the committee distribute invitations and wristbands to DEI members and volunteers.

Looking ahead, Yang said final preparations and invitations were scheduled in the weeks before the Labor Day event and that organizers expected a hectic lead-up with most planning done by volunteers.

Ending: Committee members said they would share information about the festival through their networks; no committee vote or formal direction to staff was recorded on the presentation.