CHICAGO. ILLINOIS Congressman Steve Austria is being invited as a guest speaker in the National Federation of Filipino American Association’s (NaFFAA) 9 Midwestern States 4th Regional Empowerment Conference, to be held from Friday to Sunday on September 4, 5 and 6, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois. Another guest, Philippine Senator Mar Roxas, who is a candidate for the office of the President of the Philippines, is invited to address the grand gala evening finale., together with NaFFAA’s National Chair Greg Macabenta

“Based on your leadership on the pressing issues facing our nation, we believe that your presence and remarks would greatly contribute to the success of this event as we focus on the theme, “Forging a New Filipino American Agenda in the Midwest” said the letter of invitation from NaFFAA Region 3 Chairman Eduardo Navarra to Congressman Austria.

The letter was coursed through Steven Gilleland of the Congressman’s office and was copy furnished to P. Emraida Kiram, Event Chair and Region 3 Vice Chair; Jelly Carandang, Event Chair, Program Director; Evelyn Natividad, Ph.D, Event Chair and NaFFAA IL Chair; and Lourdes Ceballos, Regional Media Chair; Chuong V. Nguyen – Midwest Census Specialist; and Chuck Castro, Region 3 Exec Director.

Representing the 7th Congressional District of Ohio, Republican Congressman Austria will be on the program as the keynote speaker at the opening plenary of the conference on Saturday, September 5 at 9:00 a.m. and at the closing dinner ball on Sunday, Sept. 6.

NaFFAA Region3 addresses the issues affecting some 300,000 Filipino Americans in the Midwest today. The participants in the Conference are delegates from the NaFFAA Region 3, which is composed of nine states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Congressman Austria had graced NaFFAA’s Conference in Dayton, Ohio in 2007.

Austria serves on both the House Budget and Homeland Security Committees. The House Budget Committee is primarily responsible for setting the overall spending and tax priorities for the federal government and will give Austria the opportunity to work on the important issues of creating jobs and restoring the national economy.

The district is comprised of Clark, Fairfield, Greene, Fayette, Pickaway and Perry counties, as well as parts of Ross and Franklin counties. Austria is the 35th lawmaker to represent this portion of Ohio.

The NaFFAA conference is expected to attract up to 500 Filipino community, business, and government leaders, advocates, program administrators and innovators from across the Midwest. The three-day event will focus on the development of key strategies to address the political, social, health, education, and economic concerns affecting the Filipino American community.

Navarra says “It is our goal to provide a venue in which the Filipino community can assess current conditions and move in a positive direction to ensure the growth and improvement of our communities and residents.” Besides being Chairman, NaFFAA Region 3 (9 Midwestern States), he is also a member, NaFFAA Board of Trustees; and chairman, National Filipino American Republican Coalition. He may be reached at telephone number 248-860-0124 or via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

9/4/2009 9:00 AM to 9/6/2009 7:00 PM 

Chicago, IL.