January 20, 2014 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2014 Asian Hall of Fame Honoree Announcement Honoree Quotes

Seattle, WA Comments from Nathan Adrian (Olympic Swimmer 2008 and 2012; Three-Time Olympic Gold Medalist), Norman Y. Mineta (59th Mayor of San Jose; Member, U.S. House of Representatives; 33rd US Secretary of Commerce; 14th US Secretary of Transportation), Grace Park (Actor Hawaii Five-0, Battlestar Galactica), and Manu Tuiasosopo (NFL Player Seahawks and 49ers; Super Bowl XIX Champion), the honorees for the 2014 Asian Hall of Fame.
On what it means to be honored in the 2014 Asian Hall of Fame: It is an amazing feeling to be honored in the 2014 Asian Hall of Fame. I have always taken pride in my heritage and to be recognized by the community is very important to me. Nathan Adrian

It is a great honor to be selected for the 2014 Asian Hall of Fame and to be with this group of very distinguished Asian American Pacific Islanders. For me, I am proud to be selected for this Asian Hall of Fame but I know that I have been able to accomplish many things only by standing on the shoulders of giants who have preceded us. I will be eternally grateful to the men and women who served with valor and integrity in the armed services in World War II, especially in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team/100th Battalion and the Military Intelligence Service. I have aways felt that If it had not been for their truly outstanding service and record in the European Theater of Operations and the Pacific Theater of Operations that it would have been very, very difficult to pass "The Civil Liberties Act of 1988" which called for an apology and payment of a nominal redress for the forced evacuation and internment, for the duration of World War II, of all those of Japanese ancestry. Norman Y. Mineta It is both an honor and surprise to be inducted in to the 2014 Asian Hall of Fame. Since I work and live under the pretense that no one sees it, and I remain totally anonymous, I suppose I will have to reconsider that if I allow myself to accept this honour. Until recently I was not aware of the Asian Hall of Fame, so not only will I explore what it means, but I will surely be telling my family that I finally made it, and never have to get a real job after all. Grace Park
I am truly honored to be included with this years outstanding Asian Hall of Fame honorees. Each of this years honoree has distinguished themselves in their field of specialty and has contributed to the history and fabric of our country. This years honorees have represented their families and profession with dignity and excellence. And more importantly, theyre great role models for young & old from all different backgrounds and ancestry to inspire to. Manu Tuiasosopo I am extremely honored & humbled to be the first Samoan Pacific Islander included in the Asian Hall of Fame. I am delighted for the positive exposure this experience will bring to our Samoan families and culture. I am excited for the Asian communities at both the local & national level to know more about our Samoan families and culture. I feel blessed and confident for this opportunity that will open the door to many well-deserved individuals, my brothers & sisters with Samoan heritage, to be recognized for their diligent, faithful service. Manu Tuiasosopo

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On why the Asian Hall of Fame is important for Asian Pacific Americans: The Asian Hall of Fame is a place where people can honor their heritage. I feel that in the cultural melting pot of the United States it is important for the Asian Pacific Americans to be able to recognize others and try to build off of that success. Nathan Adrian The Asian Hall of Fame is important for all APAs because it shows the wide breadth of opportunities that have opened up to all APAs. It shows that with self determination, perseverance, hard work, good mentoring and networking, there are all kinds of opportunities to pursue - even those which were felt to be unattainable or closed in the past. Norman Y. Mineta The Asian Hall of Fame is important because there are many outstanding achievements and endeavours by Asian Pacific Americans, and the Asian Hall of Fame highlights these successes and the people along with them. It helps us to recognize our unique place in this world, many of us straddling two cultures, and the adaptations and tools we learned and often take for granted as a result. It is the amalgam of cultures and these experiences, plus inspiration and striving, that forge our story, and ultimately the American story. Grace Park As a process, we explore where we came from, how we express ourselves in, and move through this world, and who we are as individuals. It allows us to further question what it means about us as a collective, and what we want to do with that influence, using it as an opportunity to experience, impact, and connect. Grace Park The Robert Chinn Foundation, which established the Asian Hall of Fame, strives to continue Chinns work of helping his local neighbors prosper through its mission to improve the civic, educational and cultural quality of life of Asian Pacific Americans. The Asian Hall of Fame is critically important for the Asian Pacific American individuals and community to share Chinns message to inspire and encourage young and old Asian Pacific Americans to pursue their dreams and passion and ultimately bring a sense of joy, hope and peace of mind to and for all Asian Pacific Americans, to contribute at any level to the well being of their local and national community. Manu Tuiasosopo The Asian Hall of Fame can serve to inform and educate our friends, neighbors & co-workers about Asian Pacific American individuals and community. Our heritage and its goals are no different than any other groups of people that originally immigrated to the United States to seek prosperity and opportunity. Education is a great tool to aid in this process. We can ALL learn to live and enjoy the american dream, regardless of our background, if each of us will carry out Robert Chinns missionary work of helping local neighbors prosper to improve civic, educational & cultural quality of life within our community and when each community across our nation can work together to achieve the same goals, how great would that be. Manu Tuiasosopo

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On the way that their heritage has impacted their lives and achievements:

My heritage is something that I have always been aware of, however, some would say that there is a disproportionately low number of Asians as professional athletes. I take pride in trying my best to be a role model to show young Asian American boys and girls that they are only limited by the size of their dreams. Nathan Adrian
My heritage and the experience of those of Japanese ancestry has driven me in many of the actions of my career in public service. As I reflected and acted on these needs of the Japanese American community, I came to realize that the totality of the Asian American Pacific Islander community was not much different. Therefore, I have in the last 10-15 years been more devoted to the idea of Pan Asian community needs. That is what I feel the Asian Hall of Fame and the efforts of the Robert Chinn Foundation are aimed at and are attempting to address. Norman Y. Mineta It is hard to know how my Korean heritage has impacted my life and achievements without thinking about my parents. To be honest I dont know where the heritage ends and my parents begin. To me my parents represent Korea. A Korea trapped in the 1970s, but Korea nonetheless. The tireless work ethic, community mindedness, striving ambition, restrained expression, and societal hierarchy and pressures, are not unique just to the Korean heritage. They did however, shape me. Grace Park There is a liberty that exists with the ability to float between two cultural worlds. It allows one to be more aware of oneself, as apart from society, as well as feeling one can choose which rules to play by. Perhaps this influenced me to strive for what I wanted, and even if I were to obtain it, I always had the other society's perspective to bring it into balance. Grace Park My mother came to the United States after completing her nursing program in American Samoa to pursue nursing opportunities in the US. My father left Samoa and enlisted in the NavyMy parents met in the United States, married and decided to raise their family in Southern California - Los Angeles/Long Beach area. Our church was the center of our Samoan community consisting of extended family members. Our parents and extended family leaders brought our Samoan culture, called Faa Samoa (Samoan Way), to America. This cultural occurrence help individuals, families and community maintain our Samoan heritage with providing financial and material support for families and/or Samoan organizations. Our family was one of a few Samoan families living in the Long Beach, California Area in the 1960s. There maybe were a dozen churches, with about 50-60 members stretched between San Diego to San Francisco California during this time period. Those churches and membership numbers have exploded today with the growth and influx of Samoans and Pacific Islanders into Southern California. The Samoan churches not only served as a place for worship, but also served as centers of community. A place for Samoan families to gather and socialize. Manu Tuiasosopo

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On the way that their heritage has impacted their lives and achievements:

Growing up in Long Beach, California, there were only a handful of Samoan families living in the area and everyone knew one another and we were motivated to do our best with whatever activity we were involved in. From age 12, I grew up in a single parent home (my mom) and my uncles & aunts who rallied to support my mom to help in raising and instilling the faith and values with me, my brothers and sister. As the oldest child, I wanted to do well in high school to earn a college scholarship to help my mom. I would be one of a couple kids from my immediate family to achieve this accomplishment. Fortunately, I received a football scholarship to UCLA and joined my cousins, who were on the UCLA football roster, which was one of the reasons I selected UCLA.
There were a handful of individuals, with Samoan heritage, that received football scholarships at division 1 colleges. Our situation became a source of pride for our families and other families, especially with young Samoan kids to do well in school and athletics to earn a chance at a college scholarship. Im proud of my Samoan heritage and Im grateful for the opportunities our colleges, businesses and government agencies provide people if theyre willing to work hard for it. Im also grateful for my heritage for the love and support shown my mother and our family. This love of family helped me with my immediate family. I appreciate my wife, of 37 years, for her love and support with raising our family. Manu Tuiasosopo

For more information about the Asian Hall of Fame, contact: Melissa Forziat Asian Hall of Fame Event Manager Melissa Forziat Events (206) 351-9910 melissa.forziat@outlook.com