AAPI Heritage Celebration and Award Gala

The first AAPI Heritage Gala was a huge success!

It is amazing to see several hundred participants and friends from the Chinese American community, Indian community, Pilipino community, and other communities all united under one roof. Thank you, mayor Aftab Pureval, Stephanie A. Smith, Dr. Chantel Raghu, and Roy Nickerson, for your inspiring speeches. We would like to thank all volunteers. It is you who have made our community a better place.

Special thanks to all the wonderful performers and artists. It is comforting to have you heal our hearts through art and music at such a difficult moment. We are especially inspired by the Asian American youth who have actively contributed to civic engagement and public service. We extend our warmest congratulations to Sam Cao, Harsha Ramesh, and Daphne Constantinides on winning the AAPI Youth Leadership Awards. You are our future.

We would like to thank our sponsors (Fifth Third Bank, P&G, NEXXUS Property, Dr. Meng Academy, and Cincinnati Financial Corporation) for believing in us and making this dream possible. The Gala was organized by Asian American Coalition Ohio (AACO), in partnership with Filipino American Association of Southern Ohio (FASO), Indian Culture Association (ICA), and Alliance of Chinese Culture & Arts USA (ACCA-US).

AACO is proud of the tireless efforts of our Cincinnati chapter president Ms. Cong Hao who has brought the communities together. This is just the beginning of the wonderful journey we embark on. Our Asian community will become stronger by sustaining our unity while maintaining our differences. We look forward to working with all of you again.