Scholarship & Awards Banquet
Page 10 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
Most Honored Elders
INFLUENTIAL ELDERS. The Asian Reporter Foundation’s Most
Honored Elders for 2017 are Christine Chin Ryan (left) and Benny Avecilla
(right). (AR Photo/Jan Landis)
Benny Avecilla
Benny Avecilla was born in Sorsogon, the Philippines,
the son of Gregorio Madrid Avecilla and Irene Otano. He
was married for 54 years to the late Carmen Deona
Avecilla, an engineer, and has five daughters: Lorna,
Maryanne, Gail, Lynn, and Sheila. While living in the
Philippines, he worked for the Emerito Ramos
Corporations as an accountant, office manager, and
assistant vice president. Benny immigrated to the U.S. in
April of 1977 and ended up in Portland via San Francisco.
He worked for the West Coast Marine Co. as an
accountant, and later was employed by the St Paul
Insurance Company until his retirement. He has been an
active member of the Filipino-American Association of
Portland & Vicinity since 1980 and served as chairman of
the board for three years and president for eight years
during his nearly four decades with the organization. He
volunteers with St. Ignatius Church as well as the Meals
on Wheels program of Loaves & Fishes. He is an avid
bowler and organized the Fil-Am bowling league. He
currently serves as the international director of the Fili-
pino Canadian American (FilCanAm) Bowling Tourna-
ment. Benny has five grandchildren, two step-grand-
children, and one great-granddaughter.
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Christine Chin Ryan
Christine Chin Ryan was born in Trinidad and Tobago
to Alexander and Ann Chin, their fifth of six children. Her
parents had immigrated to Trinidad and Tobago from
China and in 1966, the family immigrated to New York
City when the U.S. increased the number of immigrants
allowed from certain countries, including those in the
Caribbean. Christine married her husband, Patrick Ryan,
in 1979. They have lived in Oregon for nearly 39 years.
Christine has run a small business in the technology
industry for 29 years. She is a passionate advocate for
small businesses and is also very active in politics. Among
her many activities, she is an ambassador for the Asian
Pacific American Chamber of Commerce (APACC) of
Oregon and Southwest Washington and a member of the
City of Portland’s Small Business Minority Evaluator
Program (MEP); moderated candidate forums for the
Villages at Mount Hood for the past six years; served as a
state organizer for the Women’s March on Washington in
Oregon in January of this year; volunteered for the
presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton; served as
secretary for the AAPI Caucus of the Democratic Party of
Oregon (DPO) and treasurer of the DPO Environmental
Caucus; and more.
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May 15, 2017
Exemplary Community Volunteers
Aguman Capampangan Northwest U.S.A.
Aguman Capampangan Northwest U.S.A., which was founded in 1996 as a social club for Pampangans, is a nonprofit
Filipino-American organization based in Portland that promotes Kapampangan and Filipino culture, serves the
northwest community, and supports the Philippines through humanitarian work. The organization raises funds
through yearly Christmas carolling and a lu’au dinner and dance event, the most recent of which boasted more than 500
attendees. Aguman promotes culture by holding Santa Cruzan events and an annual La Naval Fiesta celebration. The
organization sent its tenth mission to the Philippines this past February, providing more than 3,500 people with
medical and dental services as well as distributing relief goods in the form of rice, canned food, noodles, slippers,
toothbrushes, toothpaste, and more to people in need in Pampanga province. In addition to its work in the Philippines,
Aguman also provides assistance locally by feeding homeless people in the Portland area. To learn more, visit
<www.agumancapampangan.org>.
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Chinese American Citizens Alliance - Portland Lodge
The Chinese American Citizens Alliance (C.A.C.A.) was founded in 1895 in San Francisco as a social club and a
national non-partisan organization advocating for Chinese-American empowerment and community service. The
Portland chapter — which was established in 1921 — has a membership mailing list of 175. C.A.C.A. Portland has a
three-fold mission: to develop leadership, serve the community, and promote civil rights. To this end, the organization
hosts the annual Asian American Youth Leadership Conference as well as an annual retreat; awards scholarships to
high school seniors; promotes civic engagement with voter registration, ballot measure education, and translating
ballots; offers alcohol-server education classes in Mandarin and Cantonese; supports youth basketball with two teams,
the Dragons and Tsunamis; donates gift cards to seniors at the Asian Health & Service Center; and many other
community-oriented activities. To learn more, visit <www.cacaportland.org>.
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Lac Hong Vietnamese School
The Lac Hong Vietnamese School was formed in 2004 to promote and preserve Vietnamese culture, to mentor youth,
and to facilitate cooperation among Vietnamese Americans. The language school, which started with 88 students at its
inception, has grown to an enrollment of more than 200 students from Pre-K to level seven, who take classes in the
Vietnamese language, culture, dance, LEGO robotics, lion dance, and art. The classes, taught by 58 active volunteer
teachers, meet at Portland Community College’s Rock Creek Campus on Saturday afternoons. In the past year,
students at Lac Hong Vietnamese School have performed cultural dances at community events, including Culture Days
at Washington Square mall and the Vietnamese Community of Oregon’s Lunar New Year celebration. The organization
also supports Tieng Hoai Huong, a music group promoting and teaching Asian traditional instruments; True
Connection; the Portland State University Vietnamese Student Association; the Asian American Youth Leadership
Club at David Douglas High School; Vietnamese Scouts; and the Vietnamese Community of Oregon. In addition, the
school also holds a Volunteer Day to support the local Oregon Food Bank. To learn more, visit <www.vscso.org>.
(AR Photos/Jan Landis)
Nomination forms for the 2018 Exemplary Community
Volunteer awards will be available January 1, 2018
and will cover volunteer efforts performed between
April 1, 2017 and March 31, 2018. For more information,
visit <www.ARFoundation.net> or <www.asianreporter.com>.
An online version of this scholarship & awards banquet
special issue is available at <www.asianreporter.com>.