(left to right): Mark Hays, Dr. Kay Eggleston, Karen Lui Pang, Dr. Joe May, Cristin Thomas and Virginia Arteaga, among others, celebrated the contributions of Galileo “Gal” Jumaoas, who served as present of the GDAACC for 32 years.
Contact: Ann Hatch or Virginia Arteaga
214-378-1819;
ahatch@dcccd.edu
For immediate release — Dec. 18, 2018
(DALLAS) — The Dallas County Community College District and other members of the Greater Dallas Asian Chamber of Commerce gathered recently to celebrate the contributions of Galileo “Gal” Jumaoas, who served as present of the GDAACC for 32 years. DCCCD has been a long-term partner with the chamber, and Dr. Joe May, the district’s chancellor, extended congratulations to Jumaoas on his retirement.
The event, held Dec. 7 at The Drawing Board in Dallas, brought together businesses and community organizations to honor the retiring president for his years of outstanding service to ethnic communities in the Dallas-Fort Worth and North Texas region.
Dr. May said, “I am so pleased to have an opportunity to honor Gal this evening. I remember what really struck me when I first met Gal was how driven he is and how much he cares about the success of the Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commerce.”
The chancellor added, “What struck me even more is this: he wants the entire community to be successful. That’s his passion. That doesn’t mean only economic success either. He supports all aspects of community success, and he knows — to achieve that level of success — that collaboration is required.”
Dr. May also said that Jumaoas knows that small business growth is the economic engine for job growth, which drives GDAACC’s membership growth as well; that those efforts promote continuous small business growth — “the heartbeat of any community” — as well as quality of life plus equity and opportunity for all. He added that the retiring GDAACC president “pushed to educate and extend opportunities for everyone.”
The chancellor then presented Jumaoas with a crystal microphone as a token of DCCCD’s appreciation for all of the work he has done for the district and in partnership with the community. GDAACC also recognized Dr. May and DCCCD as one of its Corporate Partners of the Year.
Other attendees included Marnese Elder for the Dallas Black Chamber; Caroline Kim for the Crow Museum of Art; Annie Partee for the Dallas Independent School District; Urmil Shah for Texas Instruments; and many others. Members of the GDAACC board of directors; its new president, Karen Liu Pang; GDAACC members; and local business owners also participated.
During his retirement, Gal Jumaoas plans to continue working on issues that affect the communities he has served and to spend more time on karaoke, one of his passions. At the end of the evening, he sang a popular song from the 1970s — “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me” — perhaps an indication that a new career in entertainment might be waiting for him.
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