My name is Hon Lien. I came from Bac Lieu, a coastal town in Southern Vietnam. My father, born in China, moved to South Vietnam. My father married my mother in Vietnam and created a family. I am one of eleven brothers and sisters. In 1978, my family escaped Vietnam by boat. My family spent 13 months in a Malaysian refugee camp and resettled in the United States on December 26, 1979. That evening, having delivered my family to freedom, my father suffered a stroke and died shortly after.
My father’s death created the need for me to begin work at age 14 to help support my family while attending George Washington High School in San Francisco.
The first time I moved into Milpitas in 1999, I realized it was a good place to raise a family. In particular, we have been fortunate to have good schools and a diversified community that we could share with other immigrants.
Milpitas offered a better way of life than where my brothers, sisters and I were born. We will never be able to repay our parents for the wonderful gift they gave us when they loaded our family into a small boat to escape the communists in Vietnam and started our journey to America to start a new life. I am grateful to this country where I met the wonderful couple who gave us the beginning of a new life. I followed that wonderful gesture and started giving back to the community and to do what’s better for the people I crossed path with. Service to the community became part of my life.
I am an entrepreneur, have started many businesses, and have been successful in most. The few failures were also important; they became opportunities to learn and improve. In 1987, I co-founded Sunnyvale Seafood Corp. and served as the CEO. My company distributed seafood throughout the Bay Area, California and many other states. By 2003, there were 55 employees and the revenue increased to $60 million. This company helped me to understand and establish my leadership skills. Working with employees from different background and different educational level taught me to truly value the contributions that anyone could make.
In 2002, I started and is (am or was) Co-owner and Executive Director of L&D Enterprise in Vietnam. The company manufactures, packages and exports food products to the United States and Europe. Working in an international organization was the foundation of understanding of how the U.S. government can contribute not only here in the U.S. but anywhere around the world.
I am a working mother of four, Tiffany 29, Elizabeth 28 Sydney 24, and Johnny 22. Life’s ups and downs have taught me that good things only come from hard work. I have learned not to take anything for granted. I have served the community in many capacities and in each of these positions I’ve learned the importance of managing and working with people so that all are valued. Some of the positions include….
- 2022 – Present: Council Member, City of Milpitas
- 2020 – 2022: Board Member, Milpitas Unified School District
- 2020: Board President, Milpitas Unified School District
- 2019: Board Vice President, Milpitas Unified School District
- 2018: Board Clerk, Milpitas Unified School District
- 2017: Board Member, Milpitas Unified School District
- 2014 – 2017: Milpitas Planning Commissioner, City of Milpitas
- 2009 – 2015: Vice President of Commercial Lending, United Commercial Bank
- 2003 – 2010: Trustee and Treasurer, Lincoln Law School of San Jose
- 2003 – 2010: Executive Council Member, Silicon Valley Children’s Hospital Foundation
- 2004 to present: Member, San Jose Rotary and Milpitas Rotary Club. Serving on the International Committee with San Jose Rotary. Two terms President of Milpitas Rotary Club.
- Through AGAPE, an organization from Sweden, I helped provide over 20,000 wheelchairs and hospital beds to Binh Duong Clinic and other hospitals in Vietnam.
I am determined to repay our nation for the opportunity to have a good life. I believe in the American dream and that is why I have decided to dedicate myself to serving our community.
Life has taught me that in America, hard work is rewarded. I believe that most of the people who live in our city share this belief.