Echopedia

William H. Lee (李錫洋)

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William H. Lee (李錫洋)

Identity Snapshot

  • English: William H. Lee
  • Chinese: 李錫洋
  • Era: 1933
  • Geography: Chaotun, Taiwan
  • Core roles: engineer
  • Source: TAH Foundation Who’s Who

Accomplishment

  1. Development of NYS Water Resources Management Plan (Water Resources Management Strategy)

Education

  • National Taiwan Univ. — 1952-1956 — B.S., Civil Engineering
  • Univ. of Kansas — 1960-1962 — M.S., Engineering Mechanics

Employment

  • NYC Board of Water Supply — Senior Civil Engineer — (1964-1966) — NYSDEC — Associate Hydraulic Engineer — (1966-1984) — NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) — Project Manager and Executive Secretary of NYS Water Resources Council — (1984-1988) — Community — Taiwanese American Association of the Capital District — Founder and President — Taiwanese American Cultural Society of the Capital District, Inc. — Founder and President

Family

  • Wife: Hsiu Lee (林秀齡)
  • Daughter: Mary, Margaret, Marie
  • Son: Wilson

Role in the Community

  • Founding the Capital District movement. At a Christmas 1970 gathering of over ten Taiwanese families, the attendees agreed to form a Taiwanese association — the New York State Capital District Formosan Fellowship. Lee, who had already settled in the Capital District and worked for the state water bureau, was elected its first president, with Chia-min Wang (GE-R&D) as vice-president. By 1971 the club had 20 family members and 5 singles; first-year income was just $58.00 in dues. (HOLD: year of settlement to Capital District — 1967 per [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/ourjourneys311|Our Journeys #311]] vs 1966 per [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/our-journeys-391|Our Journeys #391]].)

  • Institutional building. The fellowship was re-registered as the New York State Capital District Formosan Club in 1971 and renamed Taiwanese American Association of the Capital District in 1984 (TAA of the Capital District). After the failed 501(c)(3) attempts, the board decided in 2003 to create the Taiwanese American Cultural Society of the Capital District with a $200×36-household founding fund; at its first general meeting in August 2004 Lee was elected the first 會長.

  • Steward in crisis. When the association hit “organizational fatigue” in 2002 and could not field a president, Lee and fellow elder Chungchin Chen volunteered to serve as president again in 2003 and 2004, carrying the organization through — per his own memoirs in [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/ourjourneys311|Our Journeys #311]] and its English edition [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/ourjourneys311-eng|Our Journeys #311 (EN)]].

  • Re-check (slice 09150500-27, 2026-09-15): corpus re-grep (李錫洋 / William H. Lee) returned the same hit set — his own memoirs [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/ourjourneys311|Our Journeys #311]] (+EN) and [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/our-journeys-391|Our Journeys #391]], and directory record [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/whos-who-2174-william-h-lee|TAH #2174]] — all already absorbed above; existing HOLD on the 1966-vs-1967 settlement year stands. Nothing further absorbable.

  • Re-check (slice 09150600-12, 2026-09-15): corpus re-grep returned the identical hit set (Our Journeys #311 +EN, #391, TAH #2174, works index) — no new community material. SKIP (no new facts).

  • Re-check (slice 10101322-11, 2026-10-11): corpus re-grep (李錫洋 / William H. Lee / William C. Lee / surname 李) across all 5 corpus dirs returned the identical hit set — his memoirs [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/ourjourneys311|Our Journeys #311]] (+EN) and [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/our-journeys-391|Our Journeys #391]], directory record [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/whos-who-2174-william-h-lee|TAH #2174]], plus unrelated taiwanjustice-net news articles matching surname 李 only. All community material already absorbed above; both HOLDs (1966-vs-1967 settlement year; H-vs-C middle initial) stand. Verified-saturated.

  • Growth and founding board (absorbed from [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/our-journeys-391|Our Journeys #391]]). Membership grew from the 20 families of 1971 to nearly 80 households by 1985, with activities expanding accordingly. At the Cultural Society’s first general meeting (August 2004) the founding board was elected: 會長 李錫洋, 副會長 陳仲欽, 秘書 楊偉實, 財務 陳麗玲, plus directors 陳仁煌、柯錦霞、廖文榜、黃麗娜、何玲姍; the incorporation was drafted by a professional lawyer referred via the New York Nonprofit Council, on the recommendation of 陳仲欽, then a director of that council. The 1966-vs-1967 settlement-year HOLD above stands (1967 in #311, 1966 in #391).

  • Re-check (slice 09150700-8, 2026-09-15): corpus re-grep hit set unchanged; the two facts above were the only absorbable residue from #391.

  • First TACS president, term recorded (absorbed from the TACS 20th-anniversary retrospective, [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/our-journeys-391|Our Journeys #391]], via TACS). The retrospective’s president list records Lee’s term as 會長 as 2004–05 (succeeded by 陳仲欽 in 2006), consistent with his election at the August 2004 first general meeting. (HOLD: middle-initial discrepancy — the person page and TAH directory render him “William H. Lee” while the TACS org page glosses him “William C. Lee” in the same 2004 officer list; not auto-merged.)

Sources

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