SF Bay Area RIT Alumni Group

by Hla Min

Updated : June 2025

It seemed not long ago

• Standing:
  Saya U Maung Maung (George, ChE66), U Hla Min (EC69), Saya U Thein Aung (James, Met72), Saya Dr. Nyo Win (K H Chen, M65), Saya U Myat Htoo (C68), Benny Tan (Tan Yu Beng, M70)
• Seated :
  U Kaung Kaung Oo (Gordon, M83), Saya Allen Htay (C58, GBNF), Saya Dr. Tin Aung (K C Chiu, ChE63), Maurice Chee (U Hla Myint Thein, M75)

Founding Members

The San Francisco Bay Area RIT Alumni met at the house of Benny Tan (Tan Yu Beng, M70) a couple of times to discuss the formation of “RIT Alumni International” to support the Newsletter and web site, and to consider the holding of a Grand Reunion and SPZP. They served as members of the Working Committee and Steering Committee for SPZP-2000.

Saya Allen Htay (C58, GBNF)

• Saya was the leader of the group. He served as President of “RIT Alumni International”, which organized the First RIT Grand Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe in San Francisco, California, USA in October 2000. His classic article, “Brother, can you afford US $500?” was partly responsible for five Golden Sponsors, and the generous donations by sayas and alumni.
• He “retired” three times. His former students (U Thein Aung and U Myat Htoo) coaxed him to un-retire twice.
• Saya did not recover from a debilitating stroke to spend time with his grand children. One grandson had “Allen” as his first name. Another had “Allen” as his middle name.

Saya K C Chiu (Dr. Tin Aung, ChE63)

• He is the brother of Saya Dr. Aung Soe (C61).
• He is a Past President of BEA.
• After retirement, he relocated to Southern California.
• Saya KC wrote : In early ‘80, Dr. Tin Win was working in Houston and came to the Bay Area on business trip. Dr. Tin Win was visiting me at home while Lily and I were discussing BEA matter. I believed they were meant for each other. The rest is history.

Saya Dr. Nyo Win (K H Chen, M65)

• He is a Past President of BAPS.
• He was a Core Organizer for SPZP-2000.
• He is a founding member of NorCal RITAA and served as a member BOD (Board of Directors.
• He retired after working in high technology companies in the Silicon Valley and Taiwan.

Saya U Maung Maung (George, ChE66)

• He is a founding member of NorCal RITAA and served as the inaugural President.
• He organized a fund raiser for the “Staff Training” component of “YTU Library Modernization”.

Saya U Myat Htoo (C68)

• He is a Past President of TBSA (Theravada Buddhist Society of America) and BADA (Burmese American Democratic Alliance).
• He is a founding member of NorCal RITAA and served three terms as Chair, BOD of NorCal RITAA.
• He was co-emcee of SPZP-2000.
• He plays the ukelele and piano. One of his favorites is a parody of Sai Htee Saing’s song, “Lost Neikban”.

U Hla Min (Life Long Learner, EC69)

• He has completed 26 years as Founder and Chief Editor of “RIT Alumni International Newsletter“.
• He served as Editor and Content Provider of RIT Alumni websites.
• Per suggestion of U Thaung Sein (Steeve Kay, EC70), he chose to re-tire (re-thread) rather than retire.
• Per suggestion of family members, sayas and friends, he decided to pay back to his alma mater(s): RIT and UCC.
• He wrote 40+ postings of “Memories of UCC” in three days during his vacation to Myanmar.
• He is Owner and Admin of hlamin.com web site and several Facebook groups.
• He broadcast 220+ Educational Videos on selected topics.

Benny Tan (Tan Eu Beng, M70)

• He succeeded Saya Dr. Nyo Win as President of BAPS.
• He is a successful entrepreneur.
• He is a multiple Golden Sponsor of SPZPs.
• He designed the banner and mementos for SPZP-2000.
• He is now having quality time with his six grand children and also taking trips and cruises around the world.

Saya U Thein Aung (James, Met72)

• He won Mr. RIT in 1968. His mentor was Commander Maung Maung, who won Mr. Burma in 1947. A few years back, he handed over the “Sa-Lwe” (for Mr. RIT68) to U Wynn Htain Oo (M72).
• He was co-emcee of SPZP-2000.
• He served as Contributing Editor for BAPS Newsletter and as Associate Editor of the Commemorative Issue of RIT Alumni Newsletter.

Maurice Chee (Hla Myint Thein, M75)

• He succeeded Benny as President of BAPS.
• He wore multiple hats for SPZP-2000. He was the Co-Chair of the Working Committee (with Benny). He was the Financial Controller. He was the Publisher of the commemorative issue of “RIT Alumni International Newsletter”. He did the name tags. He also coordinated the culinary experts for the follow-up lunch gathering.
• He is a founding member and Past Vice President of NorCal RITAA.
• In August 2016, he organized the Soon Kway gathering at Dhammananda Vihara, Half Moon Bay for my birthday and to recognize my volunteer work.

U Khin Maung Zaw (KMZ, EC76)

• He belongs to three circles — St. Paul’s High School, RIT and and UCC — like Saya U Soe Paing and me.
• He took the group photo.
• He designed and implemented http://www.ex-rit.org website, which contributed to the planning and implementation of SPZP-2000. Many contributed to “Count down to the Reunion” and “Post Reunion” pages. I wrote 64 posts for “Count down to the Reunion” and 36 posts for “Post Reunion”.
• He was then an eligible bachelor. He worked four 10-hour days and had a three day weekend.
• He designed and implemented the first RIT web site, which was largely responsible for the success of SPZP-2000.
• He promised to have Version 2.0 of the web (with better features).
• Luckily for him, he moved to the challenging and lucrative job at Microsoft, and also became blessed with a wonderful family.

U Kaung Kaung Oo (Gordon Kaung, M83)

• He was the youngest member of the group.
• He founded “Mechanical Solutions” in San Francisco.
• He and his spouse Lillian Kaung (EC83) later set up iNapa Winery and hosted several RIT-related gatherings.
• He is a founding member of NorCal RITAA. He succeeded Saya U Maung Maung as President.
• They also donated Premium Wine bottles for several events (e.g. the Annul Dinner and Summer Picnic for NorCal RITAA, 2005 RIT Alumni Reunion in Los Angeles). Their winery survived two fires.

Related Posts

• BAPS
• NorCal RIT Alumni Association
• RIT Alumni International
• RIT Sayas & Alumni
• SPZPs