“We honor these men, women and organizations who have dedicated their lives for the betterment of humanity and community.”This is the essence of the Asian Heritage Awards.
The annual Asian Heritage Awards is the largest celebration of Asian achievement in California and has been acknowledged by Congress, the State of California, the federal government, U.S. Navy, the city of San Diego’s Human Relations Commission and the San Diego Press Club as a public service.
Since its inception in 2004, more than 5,300 leaders in government, business, industry and education have attended the Awards and ceremony.
Honorees have included UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla, California Controller John Chiang, San Diego’s first Asian elected to public office Tom Hom, retired Army Major General Antonio Taguba, Rear Admiral Ron J. MacLaren, 2012 National Medal of Science recipient Dr. Shu Chien and the Habitat for Humanity. Winners in 2013 hailed from the following ethnic backgrounds: Filipino (Tony Olaes, Council for Teaching Filipino Language and Culture); Vietnamese (Anhlan Nguyen, Chris Phan. Loc Le, Frank Jao); Asian Indian (Shashin Desai, Dr. Pradeep Khosla); Chinese (Dr. Will Tseng, Sally Wong-Avery); Korean (Sarah Hakala); Thai (Darnai “Paul” Ngawjeenandand); Asian centric (Filipino Lions Clubs of San Diego).
Past major sponsors include SDG&E, U.S. Navy, Phamatech, Kyocera International, Barona Resort and Casino, Pechanga Resort and Casino, UCSD, Alliant International University, Time Warner Cable, Avery-Tsuis Foundation, Ford Motor Company Fund, Kaiser Permanente, UPS, Hom Family Foundation.