The Pioneers honorees and their guests (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

Today, pioneers don’t hate to don coonskin hats to blaze trails. In fact, they come in all sorts of garb.

The Northwest Asian Weekly and its nonprofit foundation organize a yearly event, called Asian American Pioneers, which honors local Asian American and Pacific Islander Pioneers who have made a difference in the community and the world. This year’s theme was Pioneers in Social Entrepreneurship. Thirteen individuals were celebrated at an awards gala at China Harbor Restaurant in Seattle on Oct. 15.

Why give back?

According to its mission statement, the event is dedicated solely to honoring Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in order to give credit to people who have been historically overlooked in this kind of context. Also, the event aims to preserve the community’s history and serve as an inspiration for future generations.

Honorees Kelly Ogilvie (left) and Yale Wong (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

“I remember being one of the few Asian American Internet service providers,” said Yale Wong, during his acceptance speech. “I remember walking out of a convention of thousands and thousands of people, and I remember saying, ‘Where are all the Asian brothers? Where are all the Asian people in this space?’ ”

In 1994, Wong founded Compass Communications, becoming the first Asian American in Washington state to own an Internet service provider. He sold the company in 2004. “You know, when I retired at 37, my wife (Laura) and I asked ourselves, ‘What are going to do?’ ” said Wong.

They ended up creating General Biodiesel, which is now the leading biodiesel company in the state.

From left: Honoree Sid Ko, Sen. Paull Shin, and Honoree Dan Ko (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

Dan and Sid Ko, in contrast, inherited a legacy of giving back. Though both had promising careers outside of the restaurant business, they ended up taking over their family enterprise. And, for 30 years, the Kos’ restaurant, South China Restaurant in Bellevue, has held benefit dinners, first for Seattle Keiro nursing home and later on for Kin On. It was a tradition begun by their father.

“I think that now, with society at such a fast pace, information is going out so fast, what is important is that the relationship in the community with people [is preserved],” said Sid. “From that standpoint, it wasn’t really hard for us [to decide whether to continue our father’s legacy]. We’re committed. We’re part of the community. We grew up here. We really wanted to make a difference.”

The latest generation

A common challenge that many entrepreneurs face is how to balance philanthropy with earning money. Some feel that the two are mutually exclusive.

Honorees Albert Shen (left) and Duc Tran (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

But not Albert Shen.

“The secret for me is that I view it more as a necessity and a responsibility. My parents are here like any other immigrant parents in the United States. Their generation planned and were responsible for the second generation — so everything I volunteer for, it’s because it’s something we have to do. We have a responsibility.”

Shen is owner of Shen Consulting, Inc., a small, Washington state-certified Minority Business Enterprise that specializes in the delivery of large infrastructure projects.

Among a long list of his community service roles, he is a former executive advisory board member for the National Association of Asian American Professionals and a past council president of the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority.

Duc Tran is owner and president of Viet Wah Group, which oversees the popular grocery store chain.

“I’m a refugee of war,” said Tran. “My first job when I came over was with the CISC (Chinese Information Service Center). I worked as a translator. My second job was to be an interpreter at the airport to help newcomers, to help them [settle] in the area and find jobs.”

Tran’s story is the quintessential rags-to-riches story — but he doesn’t view his humble beginning as an obstacle to his success. Rather, it was an advantage because it provided him an opportunity to create a thriving business in order to address a need of immigrant communities.

“When I started my business, I think it was good timing because the number of refugees that came in were looking for food from their homeland. I remember being at Safeway, seeing how they threw away chicken feet and chicken hearts.” Tran couldn’t understand such waste, as those were basic ingredients in many Asian dishes.

“There was only one store at the time, in Seattle, that sold Southeast Asian food. So [my business] was a result of good timing. … Because of that, our business is basically supported by the community. And that is why we have to give back.”

Honoree Son Michael Pham and his wife, Judy (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

Like Tran, Son Michael Pham was also a Vietnamese refugee of war.

“My family left everything behind us and came as refugees. And that was when I first experienced America’s generosity.” Pham cited churches and other groups that helped the family get on its feet with supplies and support.

Today, Pham owns two businesses in franchise development, the main one being Performance Franchising Inc. His passion, however, is his nonprofit, Kids Without Borders (KWB). “Kids Without Borders started off small,” said Pham. “[But then] I went back to Vietnam and witnessed, firsthand, the suffering of children.”

KWB currently supports and works with children in more than 30 countries in addition to those in the United States, helping them stay clothed and be educated.

“My family started over, we worked hard, and fortunately, we were able to get back on our feet,” said Pham. “We learned it was not only a service, but our responsibility [to give back].”

Challenges

Bert and Josephine “Josie” Golla are a husband and wife team and partners in business. Bert is currently the president emeritus adviser to the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of the Pacific Northwest. He was the president for 12 years. Josie has been a nurse for 37 years, and she currently manages three mainstream adult care facilities in North Seattle.

Honorees Josie and Bert Golla with their award nominator, Vanessa Diego (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

Being part of a husband and wife team presents certain challenges when it comes to work.

“There are businesses run by non-spouses and if something doesn’t work out, it’s not as hard to fire someone,” said Bert. “It’s hard to fire your spouse,” he said, smiling.

“But an advantage in working with your spouse is that we know each other well. We have the same goals,” he added.

Community building is often not an easy task. Though people share an ethnicity, they may not share the same views. Bonding fractious communities is a challenge that many leaders grapple with each day.

Seattle Community Colleges Chancellor Jill Wakefield (left) and honoree Sheila Burrus (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

Sheila Burrus has a tough time taking credit for organizing those in the Filipino community — she’s quick to pawn off credit to others — but she does point out that outreach makes a lot of difference.

“We (the local Filipino community) started out [fractured], but then we came to be a little bit more organized, and a lot more people came together at the table in wanting to do more for our community. Now, we’re trying to reach out, not only to other people in the Filipino community, but the Asian population as well.”

In addition to having her own State Farm Insurance Agency, Burrus is president of the Northwest Filipino Chamber of Commerce, as well as an accredited agent of the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco.

Rep. Marcie Maxwell and Kenichi Uchikura (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

For other honorees, the opportunity to give back sometimes presents itself unexpectedly. For Kenichi Uchikura, a Japanese American with strong ties to Japan, the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami off the Pacific coast of Japan affected him deeply.

Through his company, Pacific Software Publishing Inc., Uchikura has matched $75,000 in donations to Japan to date, and he’s currently still collecting donations.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Uchikura. “But we’ll do what we can.”

Finding inspiration

John Kwak is a quiet man who can be a bit shy, despite being the former president of the Seattle Washington State Korean Association. Kwak has worked for the betterment of the Korean American community since his arrival in the United States in 1973. 
Kwak’s early life was dominated by suffering, a possible reason why he is driven to help others. “It has been my privilege to work with such a great community,” he said.

Honoree John Kwak (left) and Sen. Paull Shinn (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

Currently, Kwak is a business owner of several motels on Aurora, which he admits aren’t the prettiest buildings, but they are valuable because they are historical.

The current president of the Seattle Washington State Korean Association, Kenny Lee, has also dedicated many years to the Korean community. Among his proudest achievements is the 1995 Asiana Airline launch of Seattle-Seoul non-stop service.

Port of Seattle Commissioner Bill Bryant (left) and honoree Kenny Lee (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

Lee thought that after that accomplishment, his work was done. He toyed with the idea of retiring. But he looked around the room at the other honorees at the Pioneers gala, then said, “But now, I guess I can’t.”

Kelly Ogilvie has worked with local communities and events and has an illustrious history of working with high profile people, including taking an early role in Gary Locke’s re-election campaign for governor of Washington in 1999 and 2000. Today, he is CEO of Blue Marble Energy, a company that aims to displace petroleum products with carbon-neutral, renewable substitutes from organic biomass feed stocks.

The road from politics to entrepreneurship wasn’t as out-of-left-field as some would think.

“The part of politics that I cared about was the change that came about the process,” said Kelly. “So transitioning to Blue Marble gave me the same sort of satisfaction. I got a chance to create jobs, which was meaningful. I got a chance to affect the environment. And I got a chance to make money while doing so. So it’s right in line with the same kind of ethos in politics.”

“The thing I’d say to these young Americans is, ‘Don’t be afraid,’ ” said Wong. “Look, I’m not smarter than anyone here. I just had the guts to say, ‘I’m going to do it — I think I can, I think I can.’ And today, I am.” (end)

For more information, visit pioneers.nwasianweeklyfoundation.org.

Stacy Nguyen can be reached at stacy@nwasianweekly.com.

Uchikura was born in Ashiya, Japan, where he spent most of his youth.

He had not thought of moving to America until the age of 15, when he went on a vacation to Hawaii with his family.

“When I got to Hawaii, I was amazed. I did not need to know any English. So many people there spoke Japanese. This was when I started to realize that America was the greatest country in the world.”

Uchikura later took his first long-term venture to the United States for college.

“I attended Azusa Pacific University, which is near Los Angeles. There, I received a Bachelor of Business Administration.”

It was at Azusa Pacific University where Uchikura started to learn about technology, an endeavor would change his life forever. His new interest came in the form of a mentor who helped Uchikura to fixate and learn about information technology.

“He really helped me to find a new direction. I learned that technology was the future.”

After college, Uchikura returned to Japan with a new found interest and respect for technology. He found work with a technology company that focused primarily on computer mainframes. It didn’t take long for Uchikura to realize that mainframe technology was becoming outdated for an average office and that the personal computer was the future for most users.

Personal computers require software, and Uchikura realized this well before the advent of Windows and what most people today would call applications. Uchikura convinced his company that software for the personal computer was going to be the next big thing and that a large amount of business could be done if their software were localized for Western audiences.

“I convinced them that localization would be important and that it was a market that had not been thought about much. They agreed, and I moved to the United States to begin working on localization in America.”

Initially, business was slow, so slow in fact that his parent company decided to abandon the project. Uchikura, however, did not give up. He decided to continue, and in 1987, Uchikura founded Pacific Software Publishing Inc. out of his apartment on Mercer Island. At that time, Pacific Software Publishing Inc. focused primarily on the localization of software.

Eventually, Uchikura hired a young woman,Mayumi Nakamura, as a sales assistant. She would eventually become the acting CEO of the company. She admits she was intrigued by Uchikura when she first met him due to his uniquely non-Japanese style.

“[He was] really different from other business people. He didn’t speak much during the interview. He was just very different from any other Japanese business people that I had met.”

In the mid-1990s, Uchikura again saw the future and changed the primary role of the company from localization to Internet services, including e-mail, domain services, website hosting, and a plethora of other services.

“In 1996, we started our first web server and have focused on web servers ever since.”

This shift greatly increased the success of Pacific Software Publishing and has helped it grow from a tiny company in Uchikura’s apartment to a multi-national business that serves more than 35,000 companies.

For all of Pacific Software Publishing’s success, Uchikura has ensured that they also give back to the community, offering free services for non-profit organizations of many creeds, including the Japanese American Chamber of Commerce, Cancer Memorial, Hyogo Business & Cultural Center, and many others. Nakamura helped to explain why they are so willing to offer assistance to many cultural groups.

“In certain [nonprofit] organizations, [Uchikura] is more active, and in certain other organizations, I’m more active, but we benefit [from] being a Japanese-owned company, and we both agree that we’d really like to return what we gain back to our community.”

After the recent earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan, Pacific Software Publishing posted that they would match up to $10,000 in donations to the Red Cross. Amazingly, this goal was met in under 48 hours. Over the course of a week, Uchikura and other staff agreed to raise the matched amount to $25,000 and easily achieved that goal. In the end, more than $50,000 was raised for disaster relief in Japan.

“It was more successful than we could have imagined. We thought we would be lucky to see $10,000, but the donations came in so quickly.”

Uchikura has also kept a large part of his company evolving toward the green movement. Pacific Software Publishing Inc. has a fleet of five vehicles, four of which are either hybrid or electric vehicles and only one of which, a minivan, has a standard gasoline powered engine.

Pacific Software Publishing Inc. also buys a portion of its energy from Puget Sound Energy’s Green Power Program, which provides 33 percent of the company’s energy in the form of green, renewable energy to their Bellevue offices. Nakamura explains this extra step.

“We feel guilty for consuming so much electricity at our data center. We really do consume a lot of electricity around here, and without it, we wouldn’t be in business.”

At every desk are recycling bins, and there are re-use stations throughout the corporate offices to reduce the waste of Styrofoam packaging and other re-usable materials such as paper and plastic.

Perhaps most impressive in Uchikura’s push for green is the fact that his company hosts more than 37,000 domains on only 450 servers. In comparison, many companies that run their own sites have a single server for a single domain. This effort greatly reduces the amount of electricity used.

Pacific Software Publishing Inc. is continuing to grow and has been named one of 2011’s fastest growing companies in America by Inc. magazine. With a leader who is dedicated not only to his company and his workers, but also to his community, there is no doubt the company will continue to do well. (end)

Jeffery Osborn can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

The lowercase letters displayed underneath the restaurant’s name read “perry ko’s restaurant.”

It’s Perry Ko’s legacy that customers of his South China restaurant, located in the Newport Hills district of Bellevue, come to honor. While there, they can also order garlic chicken wings and tomato beef chow mein, the two most popular main dishes, to make their overall experience even better.

His sons, Sid and Dan Ko, are the current co-owners of South China. They proudly continue their father’s tradition of being a staunch supporter of the Asian American community and proving that social entrepreneurship is good for everyone.

It all began with their father’s close friendship with a Nisei (a second generation Japanese American).

“His best friend would always come over and help him however he could, and I think through that connection, [many from] the Japanese community were coming up to the restaurant that first year (1979),” said Dan, 56.

In appreciation of his best friend’s help, Perry Ko’s first community event was an anniversary celebration and benefit dinner for the Seattle Keiro nursing home, held in 1981.

“It was a way to honor his friend and to thank the community. And, for us, we’ve been able to see the loyalty, too, from the Japanese community. We’ve been in business for 31 years,” Dan said. “When he did that one for the Japanese community, he had said if the Chinese community had had a nursing home, he would have done a dinner for them, too.”

“It just grew from there. Every year, we started getting bigger,” added Sid, 57. “Dan and I continued it with Kin On, the Chinese nursing home.”

Getting bigger involved adding summer gatherings, where guests dressed up and performed as their favorite singers — Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and Diana Ross, just to name a few. “There were those guys dressed up as the Pips. I remember that one. And Tom Cruise, in ‘Risky Business,’ yeah, I did that,” Dan said, laughing.

The Ko brothers have also supported the Wing Luke Asian Museum and the Asian Cultural Center. They sponsored a total of 16 golf tournaments before moving their restaurant from Seattle to Bellevue.

Dan acknowledges the Asian American community’s unique response and admits, “That’s the thing that makes the dinners so successful. It’s just not us. We’re just blessed to have a place, and I think we put in our heart to do something with it. The community steps up and supports it with volunteers. … Businessmen in their suits, they’ll just show up, throw aprons on, and help bus tables.”

Their first food service jobs were in Chinese restaurants in Seattle’s International District: Sid — age 13 — at Four Seas and Dan — age 14 — at Art Louie’s. When they graduated from college, they decided to pursue different careers.

In 1977, their father wanted to start another business after selling his Cathay Palace restaurant in Bellevue. Two years later, he bought South China, a restaurant opened by Hing Lee and located in Seattle’s Beacon Hill.

Dan was working full-time as a commercial loan officer at Seafirst Bank in 1979. When their father was diagnosed with cancer in 1982, he said, “That’s when I had to make the choice. He wasn’t well enough to run the restaurant, and it was an opportunity for us to be able to support our mom.” Perry Ko died two years later.

“I guess it’s the way we were raised — to take care of family first — and that was the priority.”
Sid, who worked as Bonney-Watson Funeral Home’s managing director for the six years prior, said, “I think it was a hard choice for him. He was taking off from his career, so he had to make a sacrifice.”

Jean Geong, a South China waitress for more than 30 years, comes to work on her days off to “help cut American broccoli, cauliflower, and celery, take the food out, or clean the tables” for the Ko’s benefit dinners. She said about the Kos, “Every year, they get an increase in the number [of people attending]. The dinner for the Seattle Keiro nursing home got over 1,500. For Kin On, it’s over 1,000 tickets sold every year.”

Dan says his Christian faith guides him as he continues to help those in need in his community.

“We’re a part of this community,” Sid emphasized. “He [his father, Perry] just planted the seeds of giving back to the community in some small way. We just wanted to do something, but we didn’t know how it was going to grow and what would happen.” (end)

South China is located at 5606 119th Ave. S.E., Suite A, in Bellevue. The restaurant’s phone number is 425-643-5085.

James Tabafunda can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

Kenny KwangSul Lee arrived in Seattle in 1976 with one suitcase, one duffle bag, 200 American dollars, and many dreams.

“When I first came to the U.S. … my American Dream was [to] make a lot of money by working very hard and [to] buy a big mansion and establish a big company and be a CEO.”

Lee obtained a college degree, opened businesses, bought a house, and raised a family. But unlike other immigrants Lee also became a public figure, committing years to public service and leading Seattle’s growing Korean community. He is on his third term as the president of Seattle-Washington State Korean Association.

Humble beginnings

As a boy with high aspirations, Lee wanted to become a four-star general in the military, but he shifted his dream westward as he grew into a young man.
“I saw the big land. I saw the opportunity. … I wanted to work in a U.S. bank and make more money.”

But money was hard to come by without fluency in English.

“When I first came to the U.S., [I wanted to] study more English, learn more about the U.S.,” recalled Lee. “My first job was a welding job at Todd Shipyards, where I worked for 18 [months].”

Lack of money certainly wasn’t the only hardship for Lee. Alone in a foreign place, Lee had trouble adjusting to a different culture and language.

“At that time in Korea, men were first,” admitted Lee. “[I needed] a lot of mending and changes to better myself.” He said he eventually changed his way of thinking.

One of his growing pains involved learning the difference between Korean and American law enforcement. “When I drove for the first time in downtown, I drove the wrong way onto a one-way street, which I didn’t know about. The police stopped me, and I thought I was going to get a ticket. I thought I was going to jail, but after [a] lecture, he said good luck. …That was a big shock to me, how the U.S. police was so nice.”

Slowly, Lee became acquainted with life in the States. However, some things were still hard to swallow, like the racial prejudice he encountered. “When I go to school by bus, white people never sat beside my [seat].”

But Lee took it in stride and used humor to fend off racism. When an older man said to him, “Why don’t you go back to your country!” Lee replied, with the utmost respect, “Sir, I am a U.S.A. citizen, and I pay taxes in this country.”

Eventually, Lee obtained a degree in business science from the Metropolitan College in 1985, opened his own clothing business shortly thereafter, and then started a real estate company. To this day, Lee is heavily involved in both enterprises.

And Lee never left his humble roots behind.

“Kenny started [his involvement] in Korean community volunteer work in 1980, which was not too long after we got married,” said his wife, Heidi.

“At that time, there were not many Koreans living in this area and most of them didn’t speak English,” said Lee. “I spoke a little more than them, so I started to [help] them and find jobs for them. Soon enough, one thing led to another, and things just grew. … [Now], I cannot stay out of community work, and it is my 31[st] year of involvement in Korean community volunteer work.”

Accomplishments in servitude

With more than 30 years of serving the Korean community, Lee has many achievements. His proudest, however, has to be the “Asiana Airline launch in Seattle-Seoul non-stop service.”

“In 1993, Northwest Airlines stopped servicing its Seattle-Korea non-stop flight, and it was very inconvenient to a lot of Koreans,” recollected Lee.

“I had set up meeting with over 30 Korean leaders and decided to try to go to Korea and talk with Korean airlines … to serve this area.  At first … I tried Korean Airlines, but I got rejected, and then my second try was Asiana Airlines, but they were not interested as well because their projection was that it was not profitable.”

But through persistence and a sense of duty to represent Seattle’s Korean community, Lee made a breakthrough at last.

“Finally, we made it, and on May 18, 1995, launching Asiana Airline’s flights happened.”

Unlike Asiana’s initial prediction, this launch proved more than profitable for the airline.

“They started with servicing three flights per week, but now we have over 10 [flights] per week.”

Over the years, Lee was also involved in several political campaigns in which he helped other Korean Americans break barriers and make their way into government offices. These political figures include Martha Choi, the first Korean American to run for Seattle City Council, and current state Sen. Paull Shin, who ran for state representative in 1992.

A family man

Well-known for his leadership and accomplishments in the community, at home, Lee really is just a husband and a father. His devotion to his family is shown in their reflections of him.

“Considering the amount of work and duties he carried out, he was around a lot. Yes, he was very busy, but I remember him being there for me, even when I didn’t want him to be, which, in hindsight, might have been the times I probably needed him the most,” remembers his son, Jason Woong Lee, who also admits, “I aspire to be just like my father because he has heart where it counts, believes in the things that matter, acts on his beliefs, sacrifices for the greater good, works tenaciously hard, follows his dreams, and above all, he knows how to peel an apple in one strand — it’s quite impressive actually.”

Lee’s daughter Diana Lee also finds him to be a wonderful dad. “My father was a great dad.  He was very busy, as you can imagine, but he always made sure to make time for his family. Even if it was just making sure we had dinner together, or taking the time to call us if he was away on a business trip, he would always make sure to put his family first.”

“I attribute my success and being able to be where I am to my wife and my kids, who were there when I needed them … for me and [to] support me,” said Lee.

What’s Kenny’s dream now?

“My dream changed…money is not everything and your power is people, be happy and enjoy life.”

Lee not only made his own American dream come true, he helped others live their dreams as well.

Now, Lee wants to reach out to an even bigger audience.

“I like to have an over 5,000-person sitting capacity convention, plus a big office building for Korean Association,” said Lee, who is beginning to expand his services to all Asian communities. “Now, I am thinking for all communities, rather than just one community.” (end)

Nan Nan Liu can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

Kelly Ogilvie, CEO of Blue Marble Energy, has worked with local communities and events and has an illustrious history of working with high profile people, including taking an early role in Gary Locke’s re-election campaign for governor of Washington in 1999 and 2000. For these reasons and numerous others, Kelly Ogilvie is being honored at the Northwest Asian Weekly Foundation’s Annual Asian Americans Pioneers in Social Entrepreneurship Awards Dinner.

Early entrepreneurship

Ogilvie was born and raised in Seattle to Sandra Ogilvie, of Japanese descent, and Alan Ogilvie, of mixed Filipino, German, French, and Spanish descent. The name Ogilvie itself is of Scottish origin, but it was passed down through several generations. Technically, the name itself is no actual reflection of his bloodline. Kelly describes maintaining the name as “a legacy thing.”

In his early years, Ogilvie attended O’Dea High School and Seattle University.  During his time at Seattle University, he took part in a program called the Matteo Ricci College.

“It’s sort of like a running start for Seattle University. Basically, it’s a specialized program that focuses on two core degrees. There’s a core in humanities and there’s another core of your choosing. So through the program, you finish with two degrees in four years.”

It’s an experience that Oglivie speaks highly of and credits for helping him get to where he is today.

“My particular focus was in humanities and international business. It was a great experience. I think being able to couple that type of ethical sort of training, as far as learning about these things and also business, kind of led me to where I am today and how this business (Blue Marble Energy) is going about what it’s doing.”

Ogilvie started his career in his late teens at a nonprofit organization called Wapi Community Services, formerly known as WAPIFASA. WAPI Community Services works with youth in the Asian and Pacific Islander community in and around King County to help them deal with drug and substance abuse issues.

“What we did was we focused on drug prevention. We didn’t say ‘don’t do drugs because they’re bad.’ Instead, we said ‘don’t do drugs because we’re going to do something else. We’re going to take you somewhere.’ So as an organization, we focused on hip hop culture because that was the culture that our particular focus, which was Asian families and Asian kids in high school, were listening to. So we focused our program on hip hop and breakdance culture, and it was a tremendous success.”

Because of the innovative program that Ogilvie helped to create, WAPI Community Services won an award from the governor’s [office].

To Olympia

Ogilvie’s early focus on the local community as well as the program’s success led to the opportunity to work in Olympia with Gary Locke. It was an opportunity Ogilvie couldn’t resist.

“Growing up, you don’t see a lot of people on TV that are in roles of leadership that are Asian American, but Gary Locke, he was our county executive and was running for governor. I wanted to be a part of that, I wanted to learn more about that, and it inspired me to get involved.”

This change wasn’t solely based on the projects at WAPI Community Services, although Ogilvie credits Ruth Woo for helping him get to Olympia.

“She took me under her wing, and she gave me this opportunity by connecting me with some people in Olympia.”

It was in Olympia that Ogilvie met someone who would become a close friend and business partner — Colby Underwood. Colby was working for Gary Locke’s re-election campaign as a fund raising and finance intern.

“[Kelly] was very dynamic, very vivacious, very forward thinking, and the one thing I always really appreciated about Kelly is his want to give back to the community. It’s something that I think drives him every day of his life, and it’s something that I realized from the get go,” said Underwood.

After Ogilvie finished his work in Olympia, he moved back to Seattle and worked directly with Greg Nickels during his 2001 campaign for mayor of Seattle. The experiences of working with both Gary Locke and Greg Nickels helped to shape­ Ogilvie’s future.

“I owe a lot to Greg Nickels and Gary Locke. Those two are great mentors of mine.”

Blue Marble

After working with Greg Nickels, Ogilvie moved on to working in the private sector with Vulcan. Eventually, he left his position there to work with the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce. While working for both of these organizations, Ogilvie was working on his own company called Blue Marble Energy.

“In 2006, I quit the chamber and started Blue Marble full time, and here we are today.”

Blue Marble Energy’s website states the company’s mission is to displace petroleum products with carbon-neutral, renewable substitutes from organic biomass feed stocks. Initially, one of the major goals of Blue Marble Energy was to create fuel from organic mass, with a focus on algae.

“The idea was to take things like algae and to produce fuels like ethanol or biodiesel.”

This proved more difficult than initially assumed by Blue Marble Energy.

“A couple years ago, we realized that making fuel is very difficult to do because there are a lot of considerations on algae. Number one, it’s relatively expensive to grow with a man-made system. Number two, the cost of producing fuels from the biomass is relatively high compared to oil currently. Number three, we can make chemicals that are much more valuable than the fuels at this point.”

Blue Marble has switched their primary focus from energy to bio-materials. Thus, Ogilvie and Blue Marble Energy have created a subsidiary called Blue Marble Bio-materials.

“We’re focusing on taking not just algae biomass, but a lot of other types of biomass and converting that biomass by feeding it to bacteria, and the bacteria manufacture chemicals that go into things like food flavoring, fragrances, plastics, animal feed, a variety of chemicals.”

Colby Underwood, who had worked with Ogilvie in Olympia and also during some private contracting, signed on to Blue Marble as Vice President of Business Development and has been consistently impressed with Ogilvie’s leadership abilities.

“Kelly takes a real democratic approach to being the CEO of Blue Marble, and he treats his staff accordingly. Everyone has a voice; he is not a dictator. He very much wants to hear everybody’s opinion and view and before we push any sort of project or any type of plan or idea out. He always wants to gather feedback from the entire staff. He believes in being all inclusive and not exclusive at all.”

Blue Marble has grown recently while focusing on this new form of bio-material engineering. On Aug. 25, Blue Marble held a grand opening ceremony for a new bio-refinery in Missoula, Mont. This bio-refinery will initially process three different feed stocks: spent grains, coffee grounds, and algae. The bio-refinery is also processing wood bio-materials from fallen trees and similar bio-materials. However, Ogilvie is looking toward the future.

“We have a lot of opportunities for scaling. Our plan is to grow in the next 18 months and have a facility that is 10 times larger than the one that we have in Missoula.”

It’s not surprising that Ogilvie entered into renewable sources of materials and energy. Underwood believes much of that drive is Ogilvie’s urge to give back to his community.

“[The thing] that really strikes me about Kelly and his role at Blue Marble is something I spoke about earlier, and that’s his drive to really give back to the community and that is something that really drives Blue Marble into the mission statement, and it’s something I hear him talking about every day as we’re working together.” (end)

Jeffrey Osborn can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

Despite these tough economic times, Albert Shen maintains a positive attitude. His businesses are doing well, but it’s what he does during his off-hours that really stands out.

For him, social entrepreneurship is about using his professional know-how and skills to help various nonprofit organizations and academic institutions reach their goals.

Born in New Haven, Conn., Shen, 44, is the owner of Shen Consulting, Inc., a small, Washington state-certified Minority Business Enterprise based in Seattle that specializes in the delivery of large infrastructure projects.

In 2009, his company received a City of Seattle Mayor’s Small Business Award.

Shen is also a managing partner of SATin Group, a consulting firm that specializes in attracting Asian investment capital to Washington state.

He admitted, “It’s a little challenging to try and do two businesses at once and all the other community stuff I do.”

To pursue his doctorate, his father, who is from the Manchurian area of China, moved the family to Pullman, Wash., in 1968. His mother, from Shang Dong Province in China, started her own gift shop there and later, a restaurant.

In addition to Shen’s 12 years of public education, he attended a Chinese school taught by graduate students and learned how to read, write, and speak Mandarin.

After graduating from Pullman High School in 1985, Shen told himself, “Okay, time for the big city.”

He traveled across the state to attend the University of Washington. It was there that he studied chemistry and environmental science. In 1991, he graduated with degrees in both subjects.

Shen said a career in environmental policy was the direction he was headed toward and landed his first job in an environmental consulting firm. For the next five years, he dealt with such issues as nuclear waste and hazardous waste from around the region.

In the late 1990s, he found himself at a major crossroad in his professional career.

“The company was all very supportive, but there was clearly a bamboo ceiling,” he admitted. There was also a recession at that time. “It was after that that I realized this wasn’t where I wanted to be.”

Shen left that company and took the next nine months off, a period he calls his “part-time retirement.”

“It was probably the best nine months I’ve ever had because you don’t have to do anything. You just get up. You read the paper. You just exercise.”

The corporate world’s loss suddenly became the Asian American community’s gain.

Shen found a part-time job running the Seattle Asian American Film Festival, which was held, at that time, at the Seattle Art Museum.

“We had guests back then like Sandra Oh (current star of ABC’s television drama ‘Grey’s Anatomy’),” he said. “It’s good to see where she is right now. It’s a good thing to see that we helped her in some little way.”

Three months later, one of Shen’s friends asked if he was available to help in the management of a project in West Seattle. That 1997 project, the Port of Seattle Marine Terminal Expansion Improvements, turned out to be the $200 million construction of a container yard known as Terminal Five.

“I had absolutely no experience in this space, but I had worked enough in the consulting world. I think the one thing that definitely helped [win the contract] is my technical training in chemistry and the basics like math,” he said.

In 1998, he was involved in larger projects like Sea-Tac International Airport’s 10-year, $4 billion Capital Improvement Program. “It was good to grow my business with what they were doing, so that’s really what defines my company now,” he said. “We’re also on the new Seattle Waterfront Redevelopment Program.”

Shen began his community service by joining the board of directors of Northwest Asian American Theatre in 1999.

He started Shen Consulting, Inc. one year later.

Many organizations and individuals acknowledge his business acumen and have asked for his participation in their favorite charities.

Mona Locke, wife of U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke, asked him to become a board member of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Puget Sound Affiliate. With his own mother being a breast cancer survivor, he accepted.

He has served as a roundtable host for the White House Business Council.

Among a long list of his community service titles, he is also a former executive advisory board member for the National Association of Asian American Professionals and a past council president of the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority.

Shen currently serves on the board of trustees for Seattle Community Colleges. “Each board member brings in their perspective from their own experience,” said Harrietta Hanson, executive assistant to the chancellor and board of directors. “He advocates for small business owners and also women and minorities.”

“When you volunteer for these things, you have to have a passion for them, and those are the ones I felt I could apply my passion and my network and whatever else I can offer to serve on these boards,” Shen said.

Married only four months ago, he has two stepchildren. (end)

James Tabafunda can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

Yale Wong learned life’s most important lessons while growing up in a crowded home in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood.

“My grandparents, my parents, and my aunt all lived together in one house,” said Wong.

As a child, Wong marveled at the stories his elders would tell about life outside of home.

“I remember watching my aunt Judy bake cookies or put on makeup, and she’d tell me what it was like working at the bank and how she was moving up in the company,” he said.

When Wong was about 10 years old, his aunt gave him advice that resonated with him.

“She told me, ‘Yale, you’ve got to strive to be somebody someday. This is America, and you can have anything you want. It all depends on how far you want to go. Don’t be afraid.’ ”

“That really inspired me,” said Wong.

Early success

Wong took his aunt’s advice to heart. In 1994, he founded Compass Communications, becoming the first Asian American in Washington state to own an internet service provider. Without a specialized degree in the field, Wong made it his mission to teach himself the intricacies of internet technology by reading books, meeting experts, and asking lots of questions until his dream turned into reality.

“I knew nothing about the internet when I became involved,” said Wong. “But my company eventually became one of the top three ISPs in the state.”

Colleagues can attest to Wong’s willingness to take risks.

“When he believes in what he’s doing, he becomes consumed with it,” said Rick Noji, Wong’s childhood friend and former Compass co-worker. “I remember when he was learning how to ski. The guy was fearless,” said Noji. “He learned by watching and asking others… Now, Yale is one of the best skiers I know.”

When Wong sold Compass Communications in 2004, he used his fortune to fulfill his childhood dream of buying sports cars and giving to charities. Still, Wong hungered for more.

“I was only 37 years old. I was too young to retire,” said Wong. “So my wife Laura and I literally got in our car and toured the country in search of the next big thing. When we came back to Seattle, we said, ‘Renewable energy is where we want to be.’”

Birth of General Biodiesel

After attending a $35 crash course on biodiesel brewing and learning the environmental benefits of low-carbon fuel, Wong unveiled his latest business plan to family and friends. He wanted to start a biodiesel company that collected waste and converted it into positive energy on a mass scale. The initial reaction wasn’t what Wong expected.

“Everyone except for my wife told me, ‘Yale, you’re crazy. You’re going to lose money; it’s not the right thing to do, and what do you know about renewable energy?’ ”

Wong thought back to his internet service career and responded, “No, I can do it.”

Wong believed that biodiesel could revolutionize American industry by reducing carbon emissions, reducing foreign dependency on oil, and supporting local economies. According to the EPA, vegetable oil-based biodiesel produces 85 percent less life-cycle carbon dioxide per gallon than petroleum diesel produces.

Wong’s clear convictions kept his goals in focus.

Despite their initial reluctance, Wong’s family and friends pooled together $2 million to support Wong’s newest venture. Wong also gave up his own personal funds and belongings to get the ball rolling.

“[Yale was] very passionate about General Biodiesel, so passionate that he sold his Ferrari, which had been his dream since childhood,” said Noji. “Yale thought it was too hypocritical to be the owner of a biodiesel company and a gas guzzling sports car.”

Early obstacles

In 2006, Wong turned his dream into reality and founded General Biodiesel, Inc. The company collects food scraps and used vegetable oil from local restaurants and converts them into biodiesel that is now used to fuel Washington state ferries, city vehicles, buses, trucks, and personal cars. Wong said that it “just made sense” to make biodiesel from food waste.

“What distinguishes my company from other biodiesel producers is that we take waste that would have otherwise gone down the drain or into animal feed, and turn it into positive energy,” he said. “Other companies use virgin food stock such as soybeans, but that method involves planting the seed and harvesting the crops, and produces much more emissions.”

Wong’s business generated buzz from clients, environmentalists, and the media. But despite its early success, a troubled economy couldn’t keep the company from hitting its first major roadblock.

“When the economy took a hit around 2008, we had to lay off a lot of people because we ran out of money. It was the hardest time for us,” said Wong.

Desperate to keep his company on course, Wong traveled across the region to try and recruit new investors, but he had little success.

“We traveled to Portland, Boise, and Canada, but not one person would invest a single dime in us,” said Wong. Eventually, Wong got a little help from his friends.

“I had a friend in the Asian community, Yoshi Minegishi, who introduced me to a Seattle-based investment firm who helped raise $4 million for our company. Yoshi kind of saved us,” said Wong.

With the major financial boost from investors, Wong was able to jumpstart his business.

“With that extra $4 million, we were able to expand our management team and acquire new talent. We added on a marketing director, built a sales force, added real smart chemical engineers to our group,” said Wong.

Another friend also helped Wong negotiate the purchase of an existing, fully-permitted biodiesel plant in Seattle, which later replaced the company’s previous, smaller facility.

Upward and onward

The year 2010 brought a wave of good fortune to General Biodiesel. That year, Dean Allen, CEO of mechanical engineering firm McKinstry and  board member of General Biodiesel, invited Wong’s company to be a tenant in the new McKinstry Innovation Center in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood. General Biodiesel moved into the new facility that summer and has since enjoyed a major upgrade from the company’s old offices above its greasy rendering plant.

“This space is really beautiful, and it’s really working well for us as far as networking and having a good venue. It was also a real morale boost for our employees,” said Wong.

Another morale boost came in the form of recognition by the local media. That fall, Seattle Business Magazine awarded General Biodiesel the 2010 Green Washington Award in the “Reuse” category.

In light of his company’s recent triumphs, Wong said that he is thankful for his family and friends who have supported him over the years. He is especially grateful to his wife, Laura, who cofounded General Biodiesel and currently serves as its vice president.
“One reason that General Biodiesel has done well over the past five years is because my wife is my partner,” said Wong. “I picked the right partner in life and the right partner in business.”

“I told myself when I was younger, ‘If I have a real strong woman behind me, I can go anywhere,’ ” he said, smiling.

Laura Wong agrees that the husband and wife team works well for them.

“I think our skills complement each other. Yale is the visionary, I’m the doer,” she said.

With a strong team of employees, investors, and supportive family and friends in place, Wong feels optimistic about his company’s future.

“Our big project right now is putting in some really big equipment into our plant to quadruple our biodiesel production. Before the year’s over, we probably will have produced roughly one million gallons of biodiesel this year, and we may be able to produce four to five million gallons as soon as next year,” he said.

Other goals include creating a line of car maintenance products such as lubricants, parts cleaners, and additives, for vehicles that use biodiesel, as well as personal products such as soap from the byproduct glycerin.

If all goes well, Wong also plans to one day take the company public.

“We hope to eventually launch an initial public offering (IPO), and use that money to open more biodiesel plants across the West Coast,” said Wong. “I can’t say when that’ll happen, but it’s my goal,” he said.

Until then, the fearless entrepreneur who grew up in Seattle’s Beacon Hill will continue to impress those around him.

“Yale is his own little idea factory.  It seems like his mind never rests,” added Jeff Haas, chief operating officer (COO) at General Biodiesel. “Yale is successful due to his uncompromising desire to make a difference,” he said.

“In our industry, there are not many Asian Americans in corporate leadership positions,” added Clarence Pascua, childhood friend and General Biodiesel manager.

Echoing the advice that his Aunt Judy gave more than 30 years ago, Wong encourages other striving entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams.

“If you have an idea, you’ve got to follow your passion,” said Wong. “You’ve got to go out there and try. Don’t be scared.”

Yale Wong is one of Northwest Asian Weekly’s Pioneers in Social Entrepreneurship. He and other social entrepreneurs will be honored at an awards ceremony on Oct. 15 at China Harbor Restaurant. (end)

Evangeline Cafe can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

Son Michael Pham directs a team of up to 400 people on more than seven projects and visits Vietnam on a regular basis. Shockingly, this is not even his day job, but rather his volunteer work for his nonprofit, Kids Without Borders.

Pham’s original vision was not just about helping kids; it was also about getting their peers involved in activism. Kids Without Borders focuses mainly on Washington state, but it also extends to Pham’s homeland of Vietnam.

Pham immigrated to the United States from Vietnam on April 29, 1975, the last day of the Vietnam War.

“[My family of seven] left on the very last ship in Saigon,” Pham said. “It took us a little longer than all the [other] people because we didn’t get any help. We were stuck in the Pacific Ocean [for 14 days] without any food and water.”

The family’s first stop was a refugee camp, before settling down in Chicago.

Pham recalls that, in 1975, some Americans were resistant to accepting new immigrants into their communities, as the economy was poor. “Unemployment was already bad,” he said. “It wasn’t easy for new immigrants.”

Pham’s first job, as a refugee resettlement coordinator, was his only paid job in the nonprofit sector.

In 1988, Pham and his wife, Judy Pham, moved to Seattle, where he is now the owner of two businesses. Pham’s main business, in franchise development, is based in Bothell. It is called Performance Franchising Inc. He also performs consulting for business development in Vietnam.

Pham’s inspiration for Kids Without Borders began with 9/11.

“There was so much more of being a community after 9/11,” he said. “When we started doing it, I was able to get a hold of some children’s products. I thought, ‘How about we turn these products into opportunities for volunteers and service?’ The very first donation was five pallets of baby pajamas. I could easily hand the products to different organizations in the area serving low-income families, but I didn’t want to do that. It’s about getting kids involved in service in their communities and around the world.”

Pham emphasizes that, first and foremost, Kids Without Borders’ priority is serving the local community.

“Seventy percent of our work supporting youth is in the U.S. and 30 percent overseas,” he said.

“Vietnam is where we have our international model project.”

Katrina Dohn is a Tukwila-based elementary school teacher who has worked with Pham on both local and international projects.

They met two years ago, when Pham found out about the clothing drive Dohn held for new refugee students in Tukwila.

“He had the clothes. I had the need,” Dohn said. “We met and we started Kids Without Borders South.”

Dohn and Pham share the same philosophy: getting kids involved.

Do the kids understand or care?

“It depends on who we’re working with,” Dohn said. “Most of the kids [in Tukwila] really have a sense of what it’s like to need help because they’ve all been there. You could probably find anybody who fits any [level of caring or understanding]. I think most of the kids are typical American kids going about their day and they just don’t think about it. Most kids love the chance to help, but I think daily life goes on and doesn’t happen that much.”

This is where Kids Without Borders comes in.

“By bringing Kids Without Borders down to a kid’s level, we are giving them an opportunity to make a difference in a way that is concrete and manageable for them,” Dohn said.

Dohn, herself, has learned a lot from the program, particularly during her trip to Vietnam.

“I learned a lot,” she said. “I learned how much I didn’t know about the Vietnam War era and what had gone on in that country.”

Pham warns that nonprofit work, unfortunately, is not always just about helping others.

“It’s a very challenging world,” he said. “We try not to use money as a reason for the resource, but at the end of the day, that always can make or break an organization. We’re not very good at raising money.  Often, we have to find it [in] ourselves to balance that.”

Pham does not hire any employees.

Everyone volunteers.

“We are one of the few organizations that are able to accomplish what we have without a paid staff,” he said. “I have a lot of sleepless nights. We have to overcome these challenges.”

Dohn is confident that Pham’s enthusiasm and ability to connect are crucial.

“His willingness to just go for it is just phenomenal,” she said. “He just connects with people and works with them and enjoys them. This is what makes people really want to get involved.”

Pham says that the most rewarding thing is seeing the orphans he has worked with in Vietnam stepping up to the plate.

“Many of these orphans are now grown adults,” he said. “They are already paying it forward. They are volunteers now.”

“It is my hope that the current generation will start taking over,” Pham said. “[I hope they] take the program to the next level, where we can spread our work nationally and achieve greater scales of volunteerism.” (end)

Ninette Cheng can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

Bert and Josephine “Josie” Golla may be two of the busiest people in Seattle. When he’s not working on his clients’ finances and taxes and when she’s not managing her adult care facility, they’re helping the Filipino community in Seattle and those in the Philippines in a huge way.

They have been married for 37 years, and even to a casual observer, it is obvious that their love for giving back to their Filipino community has kept them united.

Bert and Josie have known each other since they were children, but they fell in love after college.

“I began to notice her when she started wearing perfume,” joked Bert.

The Gollas are both from the same town, Baras, in the province of Razal, which is located 25 miles east of Manila. It worked well because from a young age, they shared an interest in helping others, especially their townmates.

Bert is currently the president emeritus adviser to the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of the Pacific Northwest. He was the president for 12 years. He is also the first Filipino American to have passed the CPA examination and to have been licensed as a CPA in Washington state. He is also certified to practice in the Philippines.

Since they arrived in America in the 1970s, they have always talked about the different ways that they could help their community back in the Philippines.

For instance, what a lot of people don’t know about the Gollas is that they have actually had a scholarship program for the last 27 years called the JNB Golla Scholarship Foundation. They didn’t expose themselves as the grant donors until last year, at a reunion attended by all of the scholars.

“There are more than 60 scholars, college graduates, who are now very active in their own professions,” Bert said proudly.

The scholars wanted to know who their generous donors were. And they were able to meet the couple during the reunion in the Philippines.

In fact, the scholars from the program formed their own alumni association and are now paying it forward by helping others in need, Josie said.

When Josie started to explain how heartwarming and touching it was when they had the reunion, she got emotional and started tearing up.

“For some of them, they were the only ones to graduate. We’re able to help siblings and send them to school. …We didn’t know the impact of our contributions until we actually saw them in the end,” Josie said.

Bert also emphasized how much they value education because it’s important to be able to improve their futures.

The Gollas also are willing to provide micro-financing to help those who would like to open up their own businesses get started.

Their most memorable contribution was a donation to a church in the Philippines. Father Rico, who was the pastor there, had wanted to hold a raffle drawing to help remodel the church. However, the Gollas decided that they wanted to contribute as much as they could.

Instead of the tedious process of holding a raffle drawing, the Gollas donated 80,000 pesos, equivalent to about $1,900 USD, to help with the renovation.

“We’re just doing our part — not to say that this is our shining star moment. … I believe that we’re just doing our parts to help other people,” Bert said.

Josie has been a nurse for 37 years, and she currently manages three mainstream adult care facilities in North Seattle. Bert helps her out with building maintenance and other work. In addition, he helps small businesses and individuals through his own CPA practice. One of those businesses is his wife’s, since he manages their finances.

He also worked as the King County auditor from 1974 to 2004.

The couple frequents St. Marks Catholic Church in Shoreline and has been attending services there since 1974.

The Gollas have definitely inspired people near and far. This is just a glimpse of their contributions to the community.

“We’re just grateful and just so blessed with everything that we’re able to share in any small way we can for others,” Josie said.

“We believe in making a difference in people’s lives, that’s the key purpose in our lives,” Bert added.

Vanessa Diego, a friend of the Gollas, said, “I truly admire Mr. Bert and Mrs. Josie Golla’s humility, in sharing his experiences and achievements. I was also very impressed with the couple’s kindness, not only for sharing their personal resources, but also for dedicating their time to give back to the community. In fact, getting to know the couple and understanding the nature of their work inspired me to remember to reach out to the community and to dedicate myself to professional growth.”

“I’d say that God is so good to us that we didn’t go through much struggle. If you dedicate your life to helping other people, you’ll learn to see positivity in everything. We were always blessed,” Josie said.

The couple loves to dine out and travel during their free time. They enjoy eating at local Korean, Chinese, and Filipino restaurants. They have plans to visit China next year, and they said that they visit the Philippines almost every year. Bert also plays basketball and coordinates a local league, Life After Forty Basketball League, for those 40 and above.

They also have a 31-year-old son they are proud of, who is active in his own organizations. (end)

Nina Huang can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

Kwak immigrated to Seattle from South Korea in 1973. In Korea, he participated in the pro-democracy movement against a totalitarian regime, first as a student and then as a professor of education at Korea University. He was primarily a speechwriter, as he did not like to speak in front of crowds himself. However, he was able to articulate ideas for others. Eventually, his activities brought him to the attention of the government, and he was asked to desist.

For John Kwak’s instrumental work in shaping and uniting the local Korean American community, he has been named one of Northwest Asian Weekly’s Asian American Pioneers.

When asked if he felt pressured to leave Korea, Kwak would say only that “a lot of people came here [to the States] at the time.” His daughter Doni Kwak added that he is still reluctant, after all these years, to speak forthrightly about that time for fear of reprisal.

Kwak came over with his wife, a pharmacist, and his two daughters, Doni and Jenny. Initially, Kwak’s father advised him to leave the country alone, and return to his family once “things blew over,” but Kwak refused to separate his family, even temporarily. His own father had left his family in North Korea for his trading business, and then been detained in South Korea during the war. He was forced to settle permanently in South Korea, and he eventually remarried.

Kwak was 10 years old when his mother set him on the road alone to find his father. That would be the last time he was with his mother, until he returned to North Korea in 1998 as one of a select few granted permission to tour North Korea. He was able to spend one day with her — a hard-won privilege.

Upon arrival in the United States, he took “any kind of work,” beginning with custodial work. He eventually opened a small grocery in Magnolia, the kind of Korean grocery so ubiquitous in Seattle now. But at the time, Kwak knew of only three Koreans in the area running a grocery.

In fact, Doni can recall only five Korean families in the area. Seattle was so devoid of Koreans then that when she first entered the Seattle Public School system, they placed her in a summer ESL program. “But it was a Chinese school,” she said, laughing. “I was there a week before they realized!”

Kwak eventually bought a couple of motels on Aurora. He is in the process of selling one, but the remaining one is the oldest motel on Aurora. “It’s not a landmark, but it’s still a historical building,” he said. He’s been advised to expand, to add a second story, but he refuses, wanting to preserve the historical aspect of the building. “People might not understand why I have [these old motels]. They don’t look nice, but they’re important.”

Kwak is 71 years old, but appears 10, if not 20, years younger. He credits his health to having owned his own businesses and not gone into welding, as so many Koreans did who immigrated around the same time he did.

His daughter qualified that he has slowed down a bit since suffering a heart attack back in December, “playing soccer.” But he still requires only four hours of sleep a day. Kwak says he is retired, yet mentioned so many various activities and organizations he participates in.

When asked for clarification, Doni said, “I guess he’s semi-retired.”

Since first arriving in Seattle, Kwak has volunteered his time and energy with various organizations and community projects. One of Kwak’s first projects for the Korean American association was to compile a directory for the Korean community in Washington state.

For a year, Kwak traveled and collected contacts, canvassing not just Seattle and Tacoma, but visiting Vancouver and Spokane.

He was also on the 1988 Seoul Olympic Committee. He said that while there were many such committees across the country, the Seattle one was the only one to have both whites and Korean Americans working together to support Seoul.

Kwak said he is proud of the Korean American community because “no one has helped them. They have done everything on their own.”

Another thing he is especially proud of is how Korean Americans try to help those less fortunate in the community. “As people become prosperous, they share. In the future, I wish for more of this.” He sits on the board of the Emergency Fund, set up by the Korean American Association, which collects donations and then extends funds to those in need. And the recipients need not be Korean, Kwak clarified. The fund seeks out anyone in the community who has fallen on hard times, especially around the holidays.

Kwak said he was very proud of this spirit of community generosity. However, he feels there is much more that Korean Americans can do.

As an example, he pointed to the obsession with golf. Korean Americans have especially taken to the sport, in part because golf is an activity accessible only to the very elite in Korea, Kwak observed. “But here, anyone can play.” And many do, spending all their free time and money on the hobby. “I support recreation. I’m not saying golf is bad. But I wish people wouldn’t spend so much of their money on golf. I wish they would put some of that money in the community.”

Kwak is very modest about his accomplishments. In fact, he has not yet told his wife about the Pioneer award. He said that he had not even wanted to accept the award, so humbled was he to be in the company of past recipients like state Sen. Paull Shin, but friends insisted.

He reiterates that any success he has had is due to the help of others and extraordinary luck. He was lucky that a dean intervened on his behalf for his American visa, as he had been blacklisted. He was lucky that Seattle had a professional training program for immigrants that had just opened when he arrived.

“I’m very grateful to Seattle, to Washington state. I don’t think I would have had so much support in New York or L.A. And not just Korean Americans — I’m grateful to the Japanese and Chinese communities for paving the way. Their struggles helped pave the way.” (end)

Eleanor Lee can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.