For the City Times

Stevens Point Life is a new video series that celebrates our community and provides a unique window into the everyday lives of the people of Point and their compelling stories. This segment is the second half of a story that connects faraway places with our local community.

In 1975, Stevens Point resident Mr. Zoov Vang lived in Long Cheng Laos, a mountain town that served as the military base for Hmong soldiers. When the United States withdrew from Indochina that year, Long Cheng quickly fell to the communists forcing Mr. Vang, his wife, their three young children and thousands of others to flee their homes as refugees of war.

The family sought the relative safety of a refugee camp in Thailand where they lived for several years before immigrating to the United States in 1979 and eventually settling in Stevens Point.  Our camera recently caught up with Mr. Vang who runs a successful small business and pursues an interesting pastime you will hear about in this video.

With its focus on local news and events, the City Times is hosting segments of this video series. In the next video, Stevens Point Life introduces Andy Pech, a Point resident who gave up the security of a stable job to become his own boss and pursue his dream of owning a business.

To view other video short stories from Stevens Point Life, click here:  http://stevenspointlife.com/