The Fifth Asian Heritage Awards in San Diego

The Asian Heritage Awards presented by Asia Media, Inc. showcases and honors the achievements of Asian Americans. The fifth annual awards ceremony was held last May 10, 2008 at the Grand Hyatt Manchester in San Diego.

Rosalynn Carmen and Leonard Novarro, CEO and Vice President respectively, of Asia Media, Inc., and San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders, welcomed the nominees and guests. Several awards for public service, performing arts and commerce in the Asian American community were given out.

Marcella Lee of News 8 (CBS), Dr. Tammy Lin and Patrick Flores emceed the event. The formal affair was graced by County Supervisor Ron Roberts and Senator Leland Yee, among others.

Senator Yee, the first Chinese American elected to the California State Senate in more than 30 years, received special recognition for his leadership and contribution to the Asian American community.

Kalusugan Community Services, considered a home away from home by Flipino-Americans in San Diego, won the Community Service award. Kalusugan offers continued education, health and social programs for Fil-Ams in San Diego. It is headed by Rizalino Oades, PhD, and Ofelia Dirige, PhD, RD.

The crowd was entertained by the Chinese Dance Ensemble, the driving rhythm of San Diego Taiko, beautiful melodies of Lindsey Yung and the highly-versatile Tina Guo who played classical Cello and later rocked the house with her band Off The Deep End.

Top honors went to the following individuals and organizations in these categories:

1. Business Enterprise and Entrepreneurship: James Huang, the founder of Bankers Realty Commercial of Los Angeles, has launched and managed several companies from startup to profitability before starting BRC, renowned for the innovative ways it tackles industry problems.
2. Health and Medicine: The Asian Pacific Health Center of San Diego was founded in 2000 by a group of Vietnamese health professionals. Under the leadership of Dr. Ton Tran, the center meets the needs of an underserved population with its distinctive multilingual and multicultural approach to medicine.
3. Science/Technology/Research: Robert Yae, the founder of ThinkOut Solution, is a technology pioneer in the field of image analysis whose latest innovation, Kidsland TV, is an educational and multilingual flash video and game portal for youngsters 2 to 7.
4. Cultural Preservation: The Chinese School of San Diego remains on the cutting edge of language learning as the only school in San Diego offering accredited classes in both Cantonese and Mandarin. Classroom instruction includes brush painting, crafts and Chinese history.
5. Performing Arts: With more than 75 percent of Los Angeles-based Asian Pacific performers affiliated with it, the East West Players, since its founding 43 years ago, has become Southern California’s premiere Asian theater with more than 100 plays and musicals and 1,000 readings to its distinguished credit.
6. Art/Philosophy/Literature: Margaret Kimura is the Hollywood-based beauty and makeup expert whose diverse clients include Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Actor Johnny Depp and whose views are reflected in her book “Asian Beauty” and her many articles for Vogue and other fashion magazines.
7. Legal Affairs/Government: As a community liaison for San Diego County Supervisor Ron Roberts, Rebecca Leister has labored religiously to help San Diego’s Asian Pacific Islander communities connect with those agencies who can help with health and other human services issues.
8. Education: San Diego Mesa College Professor Jaye Van Kirk, the first Chinese American to serve as national president of the Psi Beta honor society for psychology students, is among a select group to be part of the Oxford Round Table, a think tank in England for U.S. educational policies. She has also lobbied Congress to increase funding for psychological research.
9. Media/Film: Marcella Lee, consumer reporter and weekend anchor for Channel 8 News in San Diego, began her broadcast career as a videographer and reporter at a Lansing, Mich., television station and worked several places, picking up a couple of Emmys along the way, before coming to San Diego. Her spare time is devoted to two causes: Her weekly Adopt 8 segments on TV and two twins at home.
10. Community Service: Kalusugan Community Services is a home away from home for San Diego’s Filipino population. Continued education, health services, social programs – they are all within reach as part of the Kalusugan umbrella.
11. Humanitarian Outreach: Americans Helping Asian Children, founded in 1993, travels every year to remote villages in Vietnam to provide help for the mentally and physically impaired children of the country. Volunteers, who span all age groups and are comprised of various ethnicities in addition to Vietnamese, come from all over the United States with equipment, service and, most of all, their own time, to upgrade the lives of the poor and impoverished.
12. Two scholarships were also awarded on behalf of the Asian Heritage Society to Caroline Yu, a sophomore at Torrey Pines High School, for $1,000 and Jennifer Nguyen, a Poway High School senior, for $500. Both were selected for their leadership qualities, community service and academic standing.

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