[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 133 (Tuesday, September 6, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1189-E1190]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO MICHAEL K. WOO UPON THE TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
                       HOLLYWOOD FARMERS' MARKET

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 6, 2016

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Michael K. Woo and to 
recognize his co-founding of the Hollywood Farmers' Market in Los 
Angeles, California, which is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary.
   Born in 1951, Michael grew up with his four siblings in Monterey 
Park, California. His parents, Wilbur and Beth Woo, and his 
grandfather, David Kitman Woo, ran a produce business in Los Angeles 
until the 1960's, when his father joined Cathay Bank, the first 
Chinese-

[[Page E1190]]

American bank in the Southern California area. While in high school, 
Michael attended a program for gifted students at California State 
University, Los Angeles, and then went on to receive his BA in Politics 
and Urban Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and 
his Master of City Planning degree from the University of California, 
Berkeley.
   A leader in the Los Angeles area, Michael was a Los Angeles City 
Planning Commissioner and served on the Los Angeles City Council for 
eight years, becoming the first Asian American elected to the council. 
During his tenure on the city council, where he represented the 
Hollywood area, he was in the forefront of the Hollywood Redevelopment 
Plan, made decisions on numerous development proposals and neighborhood 
debates, and was a leader in the movement for a leadership change in 
the Los Angeles Police Department in the early 1990's.
   Since his parents and grandfather ran a produce business for many 
years, it is not surprising that one of Mr. Woo's major accomplishments 
while he served on the council was the co-founding of the Hollywood 
Farmers' Market twenty-five years ago. Various constituencies had 
worked together to improve the quality of neighborhood life for 
Hollywood residents and business owners, and out of those efforts, 
then-City Councilmember Woo proposed the idea of a farmers' market. The 
objectives were to create a secure, weekly community event, a sales 
venue for small local farmers, artisans, and food purveyors, and to 
benefit local neighborhood businesses; and in May of 1991, the 
Hollywood Farmers' Market opened and was an immediate success. Now in 
its twenty-fifth year, the market offers not only food products, but 
also live music, activities for children, and renowned authors' book-
signings, and is a lively, fun community meeting place. The Hollywood 
Farmers' Market is under the umbrella of the Sustainable Economic 
Enterprises of Los Angeles, better known as SEE-LA, which also produces 
other Certified Farmers' Markets, focusing on supplying fresh food to 
low-income neighborhoods.
   Along with chairing the Board of SEE-LA, Mr. Woo is Dean of 
Environmental Design at California State Polytechnic University, 
Pomona.
   I ask all Members to join me in recognizing Michael K. Woo, an 
invaluable asset to the greater Los Angeles community, and add our 
congratulations to the Hollywood Farmers' Market upon its twenty-fifth 
anniversary.

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