Filipino American Friendship – A Gold Medal Celebration

On Saturday, June 3, 2017, AAFSW members celebrated the enduring 70 year old Filipino American friendship at a special event honoring the Filipino World War II veterans. Due to the persistent efforts of our AAFSW members Mrs. Ceres Busa and Mr. Sonny Busa, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Philippine American Foundation for Charities (PAFC), along with the efforts of other PAFC members, the Filipino World War II veterans have been finally recognized with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award given by the U.S. Congress. Besides the celebration of this, the highlights of this evening included the birthday of one of the honored guests, Mr. Celestino Almeda, who turned 100 years old in June 2017, and the PAFC Dakila leadership awards which were presented to the best and the brightest of the Filipino American Community.

Joanna Athanasopoulos Owen, PhD
AAFSW President