WHILCE PORTACIO W h i l c e Portacio was born in the Philippines, but because of his father serving in the U.S. Navy, he grew up in and around the Pacific Rim and West Coast. Portacio launched his career in the comic book industry when Marvel offered him an inking job in "Alien Legion" in 1985, quickly earned a penciling position and went on to draw books such as “Punisher” and “Uncanny X-Men”. As his popularity grew for the next 10 years he earned the right to create and draw his own characters and stories for books like Bishop for “X-Men”, “Wetworks” and the independent book “Stone,” a comic based upon Philippine mythology. Portacio later joined forces with six other high-profile artists to form their own company called Image Comics. Recently, he worked on "Spawn" and the much-talked about Image founders' reunion book called "Image United".   WENDY MARUYAMA WHILCE PORTACIO GIOVANNA PANG-GARCIA CECELIA M DeCastro Dr. VIRGINA S. LOH PANNEY WEI   Asian Heritage Society History        By Law                        Contact Us                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      History of Asian Heritage Society   The Asian Heritage Society was formed Feb. 22, 2007 to promote the Asian Pacific Islander community through media, educational programs, events and other means that foster a greater understanding of the community’s accomplishments and impact on the greater society. Rosalynn Carmen and Leonard Novarro are the officers of Asia Media Inc., publishers of ASIA, The Journal of Culture & Commerce, the main newspaper serving the Asian community of San Diego.  It was agreed that an organization was needed to expand the work already begun by Asia Media Inc., which had been going on for close to eight years and to broaden the scope of ethnic-centric organizations Since Asia Media Inc., through its annual Asian Heritage Awards, had been doing that since 2004, it was agreed that the mission of Asia Media Inc., to serve the Asian Pacific community of Southern California, be adopted as the thrust of the newly-formed Asian Heritage Society.  An application was filed with the State of California Secretary of State and approved April 3, 2007.  On April 20, 2007, the three principal officers and members of the Asian Heritage Society  met to formulate a clear statement of purpose of the Asian Heritage Society, to wit: “The Asian The Asian Heritage society is a force for building the next generation of Asian American leaders and for promoting understanding between cultures through:   The Annual Asian Heritage Awards, which recognizes the achievements of Asians, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in education, community service, youth leadership, global outreach, cultural preservation, health and medicine, science, business, entrepreneurship, performing arts, literature and other areas of achievement. The Asian Heritage Society Museum to leave footsteps and legacy of Asian American , The Leadership and mentorship program which aligns high school students between 13-17 years of age with Asian role models in culture and commerce, including primarily, but not limited to, the fields of health, science, technology, business and the arts Participation, production and sponsorship of community events that promote the diversity and richness of Asian cultures, including Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese Thai, Filipino, Lao, Cambodian, Indian, Korean, Taiwanese, Hmong and other Asian ethnicities The support of individual ventures for the betterment of the Asian Pacific Islander community and the greater communities of humankind The promotion of specific health and financial issues of importance to the Asian Pacific Islander community  Upon agreement by the board, it was agreed that Asia Media Inc. would be the principal arm for organizing, promoting and marketing the Fourth Annual Asian Heritage Awards in May 2007 but that the Asian Heritage Society would begin assuming that role in 2008. In May 2008, the Asian Heritage Society became the main beneficiary of the Asian Heritage Awards.  It was also agreed that a mentorship program would be developed and put into effect before the end of 2008.  Asia Media Inc., through its media resources, had been producing and sponsoring many events, including the annual Tet Festival for the Vietnamese community and the Lunar New Year for the Chinese community. It was agreed that Asia Media inc. would remain a media partner in previously sponsored events but that, beginning in 2009, that role would be expanded through the Asian Heritage Society.   Beginning in Feb. 2008, Asia Media Inc. began co-producing a series of health workshops in cooperation with Kaiser Permanente and will continue to do so in 2009 through the Asian Heritage Society.  On Nov. 21, 2007, board members Rosalynn Carmen, Leonard Novarro and Joy Samaras met to create and approve a preliminary set of bylaws, with the option that they would be expanded at a later date.  In April 2008, the Asian Heritage Society applied for and was assigned a federal tax identification number, EIN 26-2317640