Special Piece by Leonard Novarro, Asia Media Inc.

He's known as "the Asian Mr. McDonald's" and "the Asian Face of McDonald's."But the title that he values most is "American." Along with wife Regina, C.C. Yin is McDonald's largest franchisee with 28 franchises in 11 cities in California.

That is an achievement of itself. But achievement doesn't stop there.

Yin is also the founder of the Asian Pacific Islander Public Affairs Association, whose primary mission is to educate and train potential leaders and to build strong political candidates. When he formed the organization, known as APAPA, ten years ago, there was not one Asian elected to political office in California. Today, 126 Asian and Pacific Islander Americans hold political office in the state.

The significance of this achievement, in particular, was underscored during last November's dedication of the new $2.3 million APAPA headquarters in Sacramento, which drew some of Northern California's most respected political and business leaders.

A man of humble beginnings, Yin came to this country as a 28-year old immigrant and began work in a Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles, eventually working his way up from "garbage man to waiter, serving became natural," he says.

Indeed, serving customers, but, most importantly, serving the Asian community has been natural for C.C. Yin, who on Aug. 20 will be honored as this year's Asian Heritage Awards Special Recognition Recipient.

The ceremony and gala will be part of an all-day affair that includes a Career Day in the late morning and early afternoon, capped by a luau, and dinner and entertainment that night at Paradise Point Resort in Mission Bay. In addition to the Special Recognition Award, achievement in 14 categories will be honored: education, business enterprise, entrepreneurship, government, legal affairs, cultural preservation, health and medicine, military, performing arts, art and literature, innovation and technology, community service, humanitarian outreach and media.

Nominations are already being accepted and may be mailed to The Asian Heritage Society/Asia Media, 2920 First Ave. (G), San Diego Ca. 92103 or emailed to editorial@asiamediainc.com. Nominations should include the name of the nominee, the category being nominated, a brief background of the subject and why the individual or organization should be honored. Nominations also must include the subject's telephone number and email address and any other means of contact. The full list of nominees will be announced in the March 27 edition of ASIA, The Journal of Culture & Commerce and through Facebook and uploaded for voting on
www.asiamediainc.com, www.asianheritagesociety.org and www.asianheritageawards.com. The ballot with all the nominees in each category will also be emailed to the Asia Media database. Voting ends midnight May 2. Top vote getters will be announced during the Aug. 20 banquet celebration.

"This marks the first time that the Asian Heritage Awards will be an all-day affair, so we are billing the event as a day and night in Paradise," said Rosalynn Carmen, president of The Asian Heritage Society and co-publisher of ASIA, referring to the venue. This marks the Awards eighth year and moves from the USS Midway to Paradise Point to accommodate both the evening banquet and the daytime event focusing on career opportunities for young adults.

Honorees, whose names are announced at the banquet, will be invited back the next morning, Aug. 21, to participate in an intimate breakfast gathering with sponsors, government officials and Special Recognition honoree C.C. Yin.
Sponsorships for the Awards and Career Day are being accepted now. For information, contact Jacqui Nguyen-Bootz at 858-245-2627 or The Asian Heritage Society at 619-683-7822.

Nguyen-Bootz joins the Asian Heritage Awards after a successful career as an award-winning Fox-TV reporter and a political consultant.
"It is so exciting to be part of this. I am inspired by the past success and the mission of the Asian Heritage Society, while it is most exciting to see people from all arenas, government, business and candidates to come together to enjoy a wonderful weekend and to celebrate achievement," said Nguyen-Bootz.

"I always felt America was the land of opportunities and freedom to do whatever you desired," he once told an interviewer. "My concept of McDonald's was that it was a true American business with a philosophy that its owners need to be involved in their community, and that was the perfect fit for the change I was looking for."

C.C. Yin's first job off the boat Ð literally Ð was working for a restaurant, after arriving on a cargo ship from Taiwan. Stranded in Los Angeles, he was given shelter by a student and immediately began looking for work. At first, he found it in the restaurant business, but after earning a degree from the University of Washington, where e met his wife, he embarked on a very successful career as a structural engineer until the recession of the 1980s forced him out of work. That's when he turned to McDonald's.
The first franchise he and his wife purchased was in a tough neighborhood in Oakland, where he couldn't even hire security guards because of the gangs. But rather than shy away from the community, he and his wife embraced it by setting up programs to get local youth out of gang activities. They were so successful that they used the same model for their other McDonald's purchases. Together, he and Regina have been named "the most respected McDonald's owners in the nation." In 1993, he formed the Asian McDonald's Operators Association to encourage more Asian Americans to join the chain.

Where McDonald's has given him a lot, APAPA is Yin's way of giving back. The organizationÕs annual Education and Candidates Forum has become one of the largest and most respected gatherings of its kind, while its internship program has placed closed to 70 young men and women in political positions.

"Americans need Asian Americans contributing," he says. "They are great law-abiding people, great workers and now ready to be great leaders."