Scholarship & Awards Banquet
May 16, 2016
18TH ANNUAL AWARDS. The Lee’s
Association Dragon & Lion Dance Team (top left
photo) kicked off festivities at The Asian Reporter
Foundation’s 18th Annual Scholarship & Awards
Banquet. In addition to performances, the eve-
ning featured the 2016 Most Honored Elder
awards, recognition of area Exemplary Com-
munity Volunteers, and the issuing of Asian Re-
porter Foundation scholarships (bottom right
photo). Pictured at right are members of the
Filipino American Friendship Club of Oregon
performing the “Tinikling,” which is also known
as the “stick dance.”
AR Photo/Jin Huang
AR Photo/Jan Landis
AR Photo/Eugene Wong
Page 8 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
The AR Foundation’s annual celebration of community
The Asian Reporter
By Kate Hubbard
he Asian Reporter Foundation celebrated with the
community it supports, and who supports it, at the
foundation’s 18th annual scholarship and awards
banquet. More than 350 people dressed up for an evening
of food, dancing, cultural entertaniment, and a silent
auction at the TAO Event Center in northeast Portland.
Attendees mingled, networked, and circled the auction
tables, bidding on everything from vacation getaways to
local food and swag. Dancers warmed up in a corner while
friends grouped and re-grouped in the photo booths.
Zeke Smith, master of ceremonies for the evening,
opened the festivities and welcomed the Lee’s Association
Dragon & Lion Dance Team, which gave a captivating
performance as people made their way from the auction
tables to their seats. Asian Reporter publisher Jaime Lim
thanked everyone for their attendance and support.
Following the invocation, dancers from Ballet Philippines
performed, courtesy of the Portland Ballet Company.
As befitting such a fun community celebration, dinner
included a huge amount of delicious food served family
style: lumpia, yakisoba noodles, Kalua pig, Korean
chicken, Korean ribs, stir-fried veggies, macaroni salad,
and rice, catered by Bamboo Grove Hawaiian Grille.
While diners sipped local wines and filled their plates,
T
the first awards were given to this year’s Most Honored
Elders. For 2016, they included Vicki Nakashima and
Marisa Newnam, two incredible women who have been
involved in the Asian community for decades.
The next awards were given to this year’s scholars. The
2016 Asian Reporter Foundation Scholars included Amy
Vo, Emily Duong, Hoa Nguyen, Tuyen Ta, Cecilia Wong,
and Rosemarie Wong, who each received $2,000 awards
for college. Following the Asian Reporter Foundation
awards were the Philippine American Chamber of
Commerce of Oregon (PACCO) scholars — Agnes
Cabanilla, Kristina Enriquez, Maria Schaljo, and Sarena
Tucker — who were each awarded $500 scholarships.
The 2016 Most Honored Elders showed dignity and
grace and this year’s students showed the bright
possibilities of the upcoming generation.
Tuyen Ta shared some of the excitement of her fellow
scholars, and the thrill of receiving the e-mail notification
of their awards: “I was so surprised by the e-mail; I’d
received so many rejections.”
Emily Duong laughingly agreed: “It was three o’clock …
and I thought I wasn’t going to get it. Then I got it!”
All those classes for Ta’s biochemistry and Duong’s
nursing studies will be expensive — it’s part of the
foundation’s purpose to help these motivated students
achieve their dreams.
The Filipino American Friendship Club of Oregon was
up next with the mesmerizing and catchy “Tinikling”
dance. Also referred to as the “stick dance,” the perfor-
mance features 10-foot-long bamboo poles clacking to-
gether as well as on the floor beneath — while the dancers
graciously touch their toes between the quickly moving
bamboo.
A few lucky audience members were welcomed onstage
to try the dance — with great results. The crowd cheered
them on as they hopped in and out in time to the rhythm.
The final awards were given for Exemplary Community
Volunteer Effort. The organizations that have contributed
to the community for a combined 70+ years included the
Filipino-American Association of Vancouver, Washing-
ton; the Salem Multicultural Institute & World Beat
Festival; and the Vietnamese Community of Oregon. Each
group has a unique history of why they formed and what
they’ve accomplished within and for the community.
A surprise giveaway near the end of the gala event went
to 100 random attendees; the lucky recipients received
Year of the Monkey scratch-it tickets compliments of the
Oregon Lottery. After the final auction tables closed,
people claimed then took home their treasures. Music,
dancing, and more mingling closed out the night. As al-
ways, it was a great way to celebrate and honor the AAPI
community on a beautiful spring evening in Portland.
The Asian Reporter Foundation extends many thanks to our banquet sponsors.
Without them, this annual event would not be possible.