Five Asian-Americans, including Norman Mineta, who served as both U.S. commerce secretary and transportation secretary, were honored Aug. 29 at the fourth annual Who’s Who in Asian American Communities Leaders and Legends awards ceremony at the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center in Duluth.
Mr. Mineta, commerce secretary under President Clinton and later transportation secretary under President Bush, was unable to attend the awards program because of Saturday’s funeral for Sen. Edward Kennedy in Washington.
Also honored were Anne Chow, senior vice president, premier client group, AT&T Operations Inc.; Michael Fung, senior vice president of finance and strategy at Wal-Mart Stores Inc.; Jon Iwata, senior vice president of marketing and communications for IBM Corp; and U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Harry Harris. On behalf of Atlanta-based United Parcel Service Inc., the company’s vice president of domestic business, Gerard Gibbons, accepted the Corporate Champion Award.
Approximately 700 people attended the banquet. This was the third time it has been held in metro Atlanta. Last year’s event was in Los Angeles.
The Who’s Who in Asian American Communities awards are devoted to honoring role models in the Asian-American community. Highlights from the awards ceremony will be shown in October on Ion Television, a cable channel, said Sachi Koto, a former CNN anchor and Clarkston native. She now has an Atlanta-based public relations firm, Sachi Koto Communications Inc., which hosted the awards ceremony. Although he did not attend the ceremony, Mr. Mineta, in prepared remarks, praised Ms. Koto, “for all she has done for the Asian Pacific American community, both in her communications work and in her previous career as one of the nation’s most respected broadcast journalists.”
For more information on the awards, click here.