Asian Alliance group to honor 6 at awards dinner on Saturday

Six winners of the sixth annual Iowa Asian Alliance's AdmirAsian Achievement Awards will be honored at a formal ceremony from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the Prairie Meadows Event and Conference Center in Altoona.

The 2007 awards recognize people and organizations that demonstrate leadership and significant contributions to the community.

"We started the awards to address the lack of visible Asian leadership and also for those who are quietly doing things in their community," said Kim Poam Logan, executive director of the Iowa Asian Alliance. "It's important for retention purposes of young people, not only to address the lack of visible leadership but also to bring those in leadership into the spotlight."

The awards are given in six categories: lifetime achievement person of the year, outstanding youth, outstanding volunteer, Asian ambassador, outstanding Asian business and outstanding business.

Logan said criteria based on commitment and impact on the community are used to determine the winners from around the state.

"What really defines the recipients is that they all give so much to the community they are in," Logan said. "The theme is really the legacy these people leave."

The night will feature a reception, dinner and awards ceremony that will include keynote speakers from around the nation.

"It's really like the Oscar night for us," Logan said. "The awards are sponsored by different companies within Iowa, so those companies get to present the awards."

That the awards are only for people of Asian descent is a misconception, Logan said.

"Everything we do is good for the whole state of Iowa," she said.

Logan hopes the awards will also shed some light on the activities of many in the community.

"We want to let Asian-Americans themselves know that it's not only important to be personally and professionally successful but also that we are also an important part of the community," she said. "We want to defy this stereotype that we are only internal, and we want to highlight these activities because Iowans can use it as a testimony to how great this place is."

Reporter Molly Hottle can be reached at (515) 284-8065 or mhottle@dmreg.com