By Ninette Cheng
Northwest Asian Weekly

From left: Sesinando Cantor, Jun Bae Kim, Bob Ferguson, Sam Ung, Bob Santos, Trong Pham, Jay Inslee, Sandy Huynh, Someireh Amirfaiz, Joan Yoshitomi, Mark Okazaki, and Dennis Su posing with a print of Japanese paper cut by Bellevue-based artist Aki Sogabe given to Inslee by the NWAW. (Photo by Binh Tran)

Leadership, volunteerism, and movers and shakers were the name of the game at the Northwest Asian Weekly and NWAW Foundation’s Top Contributors to the Asian Community banquet on Dec. 7. Read the full story

Photos by Binh Tran and Rebecca Ip

The dining room

From left: Sesinando Cantor, Jun Bae Kim, Bob Ferguson, Sam Ung, Bob Santos, Trong Pham, Jay Inslee, Sandy Huynh, Someireh Amirfaiz, Joan Yoshitomi, Mark Okazaki, and Dennis Su posing with a print of Japanese paper cut by Bellevue-based artist Aki Sogabe given to Inslee by the NWAW.

Robert Mak giving remarks.

Jay Inslee with cousin Mark

Bob Ferguson with gift from NWAW

Joan Yoshitomi with Judge Marcine Anderson

Event sponsors with Jay Inslee and Bob Ferguson

Someireh Amirfaiz with Martha Choe

Sam Ung with Judge Kimi Kondo

Bob Hasegawa with Nina Odell

Jun Bae Kim with the leaders of his organizations

Jun Bae Kim with Teri Wong

Sandy Huynh with Judge Dean Lum

Sesinando Cantor with Rep. Marcie Maxwell

Mark Okazaki with Judge Pat Oishi

Dennis Su with Mark Mitsui

Trong Pham with the leaders of his organizations

Trong Pham with Nina Odell

By Stacy Nguyen
Northwest Asian Weekly

Phnom Penh Noodle House owner Sam Ung (center white) with his family including wife Karen (left from center) and daughters (from left) Darlene, Diane, and Dawn. (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

In 1975, after five years of civil unrest and increasing cruelty, the Khmer Rouge became the ruling party of Cambodia. Read the full story

By Travis Quezon
Northwest Asian Weekly

Someireh Amirfaiz

For the thousands of new immigrants and refugees who make Washington state their home each year, there are immediate Read the full story

By Elizabeth Wang
Northwest Asian Weekly

Dennis Su staffing a CTEF booth. (Photo from Dennis Su)

At 71, Dennis Su takes his retirement seriously. Whether it’s attending board meetings for multiple organizations around Read the full story

Trong Pham

By Charles Lam
Northwest Asian Weekly

When Trong Pham was young, he wanted to become an educational ambassador, so he could Read the full story

Bob Hasegawa

By Ninette Cheng
Northwest Asian Weekly

Nov. 6 marked a special day for Bob Hasegawa: the lifelong labor rights champion was elected to his first term in Washington State Senate.

But Hasegawa is hardly new to politics. He has served six years as State Representative of Washington’s 11th District, representing Tukwila, the southern part of Renton, and Beacon Hill in Seattle. As senator, he will be replacing retiring senator, Margarita Prentice, and will be one of three minorities in the state senate. Read the full story

Mark Okazaki

By Nina Huang
Northwest Asian Weekly

When asked what his hobby was, Mark Okazaki candidly answered, “Neighborhood House and the community.” As the executive director of Neighborhood House, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving low-income communities and alleviating poverty in Seattle, Okazaki has dedicated most of his life to serving the community. Read the full story

Joan Yoshitomi

By Jason Cruz
Northwest Asian Weekly

“I probably should have become a teacher,” Joan Yoshitomi said half-joking. Read the full story