manager of sfgtv. and the executive director of day. please give them a warm welcome. >> being the first year that we're doing the apa contest, we had a total of 15 entries working with the academy of art university. the entries were very creative in promoting the apa heritage history and apa month. sonny will talk about the criteria that we use. >> it was selected based on the

following criteria. the impact of promoting the heritage month, and finally, the originality of the concept. we received a total of 15 entries this year. i want to announce the winner. sean -- is he around? [applause] >> can we invite him onstage with us? we will first take a look at his injury.

>> way is asian pacific heritage month. in recognition of cultural impact. it is a time of united pride for the first -- the diverse people of the asian continent. >> japanese, vietnamese. >> no matter what your background. >> i am english. >> it is a celebration for everyone. >> will have him come out and talk about his injury. >> this is the biggest award ever want anyone to think that

judges and the heritage month for this award. thank you. >> congratulations, here is a certificate of on her home. >> smile. thank you so much, congratulations to the winner's hand and jack and sunny. you know that we have many fabulous celebrations and ethnic

cultural performances. this year is no exception. the fourth and fifth graders have been learning about polynesian methods, legend, and history since the first day of school. the children creative dance scenes and learn different polynesian dances. tonight, they are making their debut performance just for you. they are dancing a preview of polynesian dances that as a snippet of the full-length production they will perform this week at their school. please welcome -- [applause] ♪

♪ >> [singing foreign language] ♪

>> [foreign language singing] ♪

♪ >> [foreign languagee singing] ♪

[applause] >> hang ten, all right " -- all right! i don't know about you, but i've a mai tai right about now.

it is kind of hot in here, pina you get col us someadas? - -us som- us some pina coladas? we have the specific people that we want to of knowledge for organizations that made a distinct impact in their contribution to the apa community. the awards are being presented in three categories. we have the community leadership at a lifetime achievement award. for organization, we have the community impact for word. the top three finalists were submitted to a panel of three distinguished judges to make the final selection. the judges are dr. frank chong , a former san francisco board of education member. go-ahead and applauded. -- go ahead and applaud.

dr. morishita. and patsy kito, director of the samoan community development center. [applause] we want to thank and did knowledge southwest airlines for their sponsorship and providing all of the awards with -- award winners with two round-trip tickets to anywhere southwest airlines flies with an unlimited supply of peanuts. i want to ask -- to presnent the community leadership award, and join me in welcoming dr. emily murase. >> thank you so much. how is everybody doing? a great, a joyous occasion.

i have served on the board of education and i am pleased to announce the finalists and the awardee, all engaged in events in education. the criteria is described in the program, i want go through it here. it is important for us to recognize community leaders with a commitment to the educational needs of our community to ensure that the next generation of pacific and asian americans are here to address the concerns. the finalists in the community leadership category are -- program director of asian american community for education. soca mao, the juvenile justice prevention commissioner. and steve no.

their achievements are detailed in your program. all three are very deserving of this award, and the judges have had a hard time selecting just one winner. the recipient of the 2012 apa heritage award it is emelin. if you could please join us on stage? she is the project director of the asian-american communities for education program, administered by the japanese community youth council. she is an immigrant from the philippines. she is a first-generation college graduate of uc- berkeley, and went on to receive a master's degree in counseling at san francisco state. she has really taken the asian- american community program and

expanded it to four locations. the professional affiliations include member of the western association of administration personnel, where she is a board member, the selection committee for the uc berkeley incentive awards program, and advisory board member for the san francisco chapter of the young nonprofit professionals network. [applause] it is an extended break a family that has provided several awarding a opportunities that have contributed to prove professional development. i wanted to personally thank her for working with our public school students. [applause] >> thank you, everyone, definitely to the key minutes before -- definitely to the committee for honoring me this

evening. i am an immigrant from the philippines. i came here when i was 7. i have been honored to live here in the bay area, pushing higher education. first of all, sorry if i did not say thank you to everyone. but i would not be here if it was not for the support of my current supervisors, who have supported everything that i have wanted to do in terms of grants for our program, and i was very excited we were all able to accomplishment and it is doing well. also, this award would not have been possible this evening -- it is not "i," it is "we." i want to thank all of my staff at ace and all of my colleagues. as an only child, you grow up thinking that everything is mine, but that is not the case.

this is a sharing field. finally, i have been here 20 years. this is my 20th year, and i'm very honored to celebrate that as well. working and the school district, working with low-income youth, to help them pursue their college education has been not just a job but passion and career for me, and i hope that we continue to work with our youth, not only in san francisco, daly city, and that we work with our other students you are from disadvantaged families. thank you. [applause] >> alright, congratulations. and not to present the committee impact award to an organization, -- and now to

present the community impact award, please welcome jeff. >> good evening. i am honored and excited to be here this evening to present the community impact award, an award that i do in the public defender's office. we work with about 1000 young people per year who get involved in the system. something we see again and again is they are there because they did not have the family support, the community support, they did not have the educational support. the three organizations being considered for this award tonight have dedicated decades of program years to the success of young people and have help young people not become involved in the criminal justice system, and this is like the oscars. there are all winners. the finalists in the impact category are - 4c the power, the

community youth center of san francisco, formerly known as the chinatown youth center, and the japanese community youth council, jcyc. it is now my pleasure to announce the recipient of the 2012 heritage award and the community impact category. it is foresee the power. it is a non-profit organization from sacramento, my home town, created to help youth with their culture and creativity and build confidence. specifically, they have workshops for a youth in the area of dance, hip-hop music, singing composition, music, photography, comedy, and skits. the idea came from a need in the sacramento asian-american

community. diahann's de job was an educator before becoming the executive director of 4c the power. she has been a decatur 28 years. she has been a principal, and numerous positions at the district level. she saw a disconnect between the vietnamese and cambodian students graduating high school. to work to fill that need. congratulations, diahann, and congratulations to 4c the power. >> wow. to be recognized for something that we are so passionate about, and that is educating every single youth that comes to our door, in particular my passion for asian-american students who do not fit the somewhat

stereotypical thought about asian students. we have been commit with our mentors. i am a little more nervous because i did not expect this. you have to pardon me. it with our mentor is helping youth, connecting them to their culture, creativity and their community, all the while building confidence. i think the young children here proved it perfectly. that our fifth graders who will not probably remember what was on the california standards test they just talk, but 20 years from now they will remember the dance they learned, the culture they study the, the creativity they were able to share with all of you, and most important confidence to come out here and do that. from the bar ofbottom of our hearts, thank you for this acknowledgement, and a one-two think the asian-american

community for honoring us. and finally i want to thank my family, all of the people, of our families who have struggled and sacrificed so we could stand here tonight. thank you so much for this honor. [applause] >> ok, thank you very much. this year, the nominees for lifetime achievement award have all been phenomenal, and they're individuals who have dedicated more than 25 years to advancing education and achieving significant impact in their work tonight, we salute three exceptional nominees, this information is in your program work. here to present the lifetime achievement award, please welcome one of our judges, dr. frank.

>> wow, lifetime achievement. we have the toughest job. she never gives me easy assignments. the individuals who are here today who are nominated, i know all three of them personally. as many of you know, i recently returned from washington, d.c., to work for the obama administration and the department of education, and we know that education for all of us in this audience and the communities we represent is the key for us. these three individuals have spent their entire personal and professional lives dedicated to ensuring those youth do not end up in the system. and if we had more of the three people we have here, jeff would not have a job.

he does a great job with what he does, but marlene it is a woman i met many years ago when i was working at the city college of san francisco, and she was a staunch advocate for immigrants who did not have any voice, and she gave them a voice. and she continues to do that today. when i was elected to the school board, should continue to advocate for immigrant rights, esl classes, and i tip my cat. rejected my cap. she was a teacher, principal, deputy superintendent, and the first asian-american superintendent and san francisco public schools. [applause] and elaine, who took me as a freshman many years ago, 19-, and i was a young kid from new york chinatown, and every other

word that i started out with came out with "f," and it was not "frank." she has been a tremendous mentor to me and thousands of students at uc berkeley. if they are all winners today. i am pleased and proud to announce at tonight's winner is dr. elaine kim. [applause] elaine is very proud to accept this award. she is out of town and could not be with us this evening. let's give her another round of applause in absentia, and thank you very much. [applause] do i get to keep this? [laughter] >> thank you very much. congratulations to dr. kim, and

special thanks to our other nominees. we were like to thank everybody for all of their hard work for their time in coordinating and organizing the awards process. please could give them a round of applause -- please give them a round of applause. [applause] are your stomachs growling? there is a reception, catered by some of the best agent pacific -- asian pacific ches. at this time, i would like to bring up chris, the owner and chef to speak on behalf of all of tonight's chefs. that is a little nervous. i have been speaking to him backstage. give him a really warm welcome, and make him feel really welcome. [applause]

>> good evening. thank you. i had a chance to talk to her this evening, backstage. i have to say, does anybody watched "eye on the bay"? she is great. she is one of the best newscasters out right now. anyway, we are very honored tonight to celebrate this heritage, apa heritage and the celebrations of tonight, the nation's chaffs -- the asian chefs. over here, i have a great chef who has worked to get this event together. i was not the greatest chefs, i miss just put on this stage to talk. the people who really do the jobs are the ones behind me.

before tonight, i was given a script to talk about, and prior to this, i had two glasses of wine. [laughter] we are chefs, not public speakers. we worked very hard tonight to create this great meal, and we are on the ground floor. there are other great chefs. at the same time, we're celebrating and honoring the heritage. i hope that you continue to celebrate this event. i promised backstage i would make this speech short so that you all who are hungry can go up

and have your meals. thank you all. [applause] >> you did good! that was not so bad. wasn't he great? nothing to be nervous about. [applause] chris, you are preaching to the choir. the key to all of the chefs tonight, making this a success. thank you. [applause] >> i forgot something. of it like to toast the mayor, happy birthday, mayor. i am sorry, mayor, i'd drink before you, backstage. >> how old are you? i met at how young. we also want to congratulate joe, so please show your congratulations to her, and all of the participating

restaurants, and enjoy the sample food tonight. [applause] and i think we can what welet yu go. at the end of tonight's ceremony, please proceed upstairs to the green room. please be sure to get a ticket from the usher as you leave because it is your ticket to enter. also, please hang on to the ticket because many of the restaurants you will be sampling food from tonight are offering a 10% discount when you show that ticket at their restaurant. but don't move yet, because the tickets will not be passed out and the doors to the green room will not be open until our program here has finished. and good news, we are about halfway through. [laughter] only anotherho