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Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Eye opener: Optometrist Art Low is involved with everything from the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project to Oktoberfest.
Public Citizen
Giving and Getting Back
Optometrist Art Low volunteers his time to Campbell and Chinese communities
By Genevieve Roja
Add Art Low to the growing number of people who are multitasking at every turn.
The 2000 Campbell Chamber of Commerce president works almost nonstop, involved with the city's signature festivals, PruneFest and Oktoberfest, his optometry office, the West San Jose-Campbell Lions Club and the Chinese Dragon Festival in San Jose.
Given his involvement, it's not so unusual that Low, a 51-year-old Sacramento native, has an answer ready.
"My standard reply is that in this valley, we have engineers working 70 to 80 hours a week," says Low, who also plays tennis, bowls and fishes. "If I work 40 hours a week, then I've got hours left in the day to do my community work."
Perhaps his outstanding work ethic can be attributed to his days as an Air Force reservist after he graduated with a bachelor's degree in botany from UC-Davis.
After that, he decided to delve into optometry, enrolling at the Optometry School at Berkeley. One weekend a month, Low devoted his time to the reserves while at school. The only problem was that he wore his hair long. How could he hide his tresses in the buzz-cut loving reserves?
"I actually had a short hair wig," he laughs. "During school I had long hair, on the weekends I'd put it in tight, and roll it (his hair) and put it into the wig. I had nightmares about the sergeant pulling off my wig."
Luckily for Low, none of his superiors every found out about his ruse. His friends at Berkeley didn't even know that Low was in the reserves. Low continued to carry out his duties at school and at Travis Air Force Base, where he was an aircraft mechanic.
After optometry school, Low decided to practice in the South Bay, where his parents relocated after living in Sacramento. He liked the area, found Campbell to be a very "quaint town," and discovered an optometrist he liked, Cliff Leong. Two years later, in 1977, Low became Leong's business partner, and they called the joint venture Leong and Low. Low worked his way from a seat on the board at the Chamber, to president this year.
This fall, Low faces the difficulty of planning two festivals--as the entertainment chair for Campbell's Oktoberfest and as the food chair for San Jose's Chinese Dragon Festival, which was moved from the summer to October.
It's a tedious task on both sides of the tape, but Low says it's manageable. And it can be fun. In recent years, he's helped bring renowned cook Martin Yan from the popular television show "Yan Can Cook," and even Miss Universe 1997, Brooke Lee.
Low was also involved with the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project, which constructed a temple replica on the grounds of the San Jose Historical Museum.
As someone who has helped others value their ancestry, Low helped himself by traveling to the birthplace of his parents in Guangzhou (formerly Canton) in China. He took his 17-year-old son Evan and 19-year-old son Ryan with him.
"It was the very first time I've been there," says Low, whose parents immigrated to the United States before the communist takeover in 1948. "I figured at least I should go back and see the land of my ancestors."
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Campbell, California
