VietAmCham Honors 2010 Award Winners

The VietAmCham Awards include annual awards in three main categories: individual achievement, community achievement, and organizational achievement. Recipients are recognized for innovation, leadership, excellence, impact and influence on their peers and in their communities. This is the first year that VietAmCham presents these awards.

"We are very excited to recognize the first class of VietAmCham Award winners. These recipients exemplify the spirit of entrepreneurship with their outstanding performance and leadership in various fields. Congratulations to the VietAmCham 2010 Award winners and we look forward to seeing them fulfill their limitless potential and make further contributions to our community," said Hong Pham, VietAmCham's Executive Director.

Below are information on award categories and awardees:

• Business Leader of the Year: Dr. Long Nguyen, Founder and CEO of Pragmatics.
• Award for Outstanding Public Service: Congressman Anh "Joseph" Cao (R-LA)
• Award for Outstanding Business-Nonprofit Partnership: BPSOS-Southwest Airlines
• Award for Innovative Business Product: Trang Nguyen, Creator of Odyssey Nail Systems
• Award for Excellence in Customer Service: Present Restaurant
• Young Entrepreneur of the Year: Tu Le, President of TGL Martial Arts, Inc./Top Kicks Martial Arts Franchise

Business Leader of the Year Award recognizes an esteemed business leader whose work exemplifies leadership, vision, innovation, and excellence.As VietAmCham's 2010 Business Leader of the Year, Dr. Long Nguyen is a former college professor who after a distinguished teaching career at top universities such as Georgetown University and Indiana University, followed his entrepreneurial spirit to found a technology firm called Pragmatics, Inc. Today, his firm employs more than 600 employees, with annual revenue over 100M dollars. Actively involved in building and investing into his community, Dr. Nguyen has established relief funds for 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina victims and made substantial contributions to the Smithsonian Institution's Vietnamese American Heritage Endowment. He serves on George Mason University's Board of Visitors and recently donated five million dollars to this university. Recognized as one of Gold Sea List of 100 Top Asian Entrepreneurs, he has been honored with numerous awards for his career success and generous contributions to society.

VietAmCham Award for Outstanding Public Service recognizes an inspiring public servant who has made effective & long-lasting contributions to the betterment of his community and society in general. The recipient this year is Congressman Anh "Joseph" Cao, who represents the 2^nd congressional district of Louisiana and is the first Vietnamese American to have the distinction of serving in the United States Congress. In his early days, he served as a missionary during his priesthood preparation, worked and volunteered at a community organization called BPSOS (formerly known as Boat People S.O.S.) in assisting Vietnamese refugees and immigrants, and advocated on behalf of his New Orleans East community members in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

VietAmCham Award for Outstanding Business-Non-profit Partnership recognizes an innovative and effective partnership between a corporation and a community organization to address urgent & unmet community needs or complex social issues. This award specifically promotes community collaboration and corporate citizenship. The partnership honored this year is between Southwest Airlines and BPSOS, a national Vietnamese American community organization with 30 years of service. As a Gulf Coast corporate partner of BPSOS, Southwest Airlines made valuable contributions to launch BPSOS's Gulf Coast Oil Spill Volunteer Program by providing a large number of its best travel vouchers to BPSOS staff, volunteers, and partners to assist and advocate for affected communities in AL, LA, MS, and TX. Altogether, the program has brought numerous groups of volunteer professionals and experts to the region to organize health and legal clinics, provide claims assistance, operate food drives, and document the struggle of community members, among many other tasks.

VietAmCham Award for Innovative Business Product promotesthe spirit of innovation in creating and marketing a product or system. The recipient this year is Trang Nguyen, Creator of Odyssey Nail Systems. As an artist, innovator, and a world-renowned leader in the nail industry with 24 years of professional experience and international competition, Mr. Nguyen is a master of his craft. He has been awarded over 300 trophies in the nail arts arena, including four Championship titles, two Grandmaster Championships, a US National Championship, and at one point, ranked #1 USA national competitor. After spending most of his career accelerating the evolution of nail art, Trang went on to develop a technically advanced product line called the Odyssey Nail Systems to help nail professionals create outstanding results faster and more efficient than ever before. Today, as Vietnamese Americans dominate the nail industry with an estimate of 80% of nail technicians in California are Vietnamese Americans and 43% nationwide, this system has led on to ONS' international success in many countries, including Australia and Southeast Asia.

VietAmCham Award for Excellence in Customer Service recognizes the spirit of excellence in customer service. The 2010 recipient is Present Restaurant, ranked Washingtonian's 100 Very Best Restaurants of 2009. In addition to its impressive menu of imperial Vietnamese cuisine, the restaurant is a leader in interior design and diner's experience. See http://www.presentcuisine.com/ for more information.

VietAmCham's Young Entrepreneur of the Year: This award recognizes an under-35-year-old business executive or entrepreneur whose work exemplifies leadership, vision, innovation, and excellence. The recipient this year is Tu Le, President of TGL Martial Arts, Inc. and a member of the leadership team that operates the successful Top Kicks Martial Arts franchise. A martial arts instructor with a entrepreneurial spirit, Tu helps lead a successful franchise of five martial arts schools in the Northern VA/DC Metro region, and owning three of them himself.