The late Alvina Lew and her husband, Jem Y. Lew, owned and operated “Blue Chip Manufacturing Company” in Gardena, California. The company was a precision machine shop that fabricated parts for airplanes and the space shuttle program. Their major clients were Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, Lockheed, and Rockwell.

Alvina became ABA’s first woman president. Her first objective was to change ABA’s incorporated name from “Asian Businessmen’s Association” to “Asian Business Association.” This name-change conformed to similar organizations such as the Black Business Association, and the Latin Business Association – which dropped the “men” from their names long ago. Her second goal was to increase ABA’s membership. To do this, Alvina and her husband agreed that she would be spending less time at the shop and more time going to events representing ABA. Soon, ABA’s high profile began to attract more people and potential members to ABA’s monthly mixers.

ABA’s newsletters further increased visibility and progress for the organization. A directory of members and their products and services was published and distributed at no charge to all purchasing departments. Major corporations donated Printing and binders. Alvina always had a ready smile for everyone to brighten their day. Her knack of “gentle persuasion” with the major corporations would always benefit ABA in the long run.

Alvina, we miss your big smile that greeted us to lighten our mood. We know you’ve been smiling on ABA because of all the past years growth and progress of the Association.