DALY CITY, CA - For the past 11 years, the Filipinas Achievement Awards has provided recognition to Filipinos who have achieved excellence and distinction in the fields of Arts & Culture, Sports & Entertainment, as well as Public Affairs and Corporate Leadership, thereby making a significant impact in their local community, as well as in the national and international scene.

Past recipients include Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin, Iron-Chef star Mark Dacascos, Tony-Award winner actress Lea Salonga, retired major general Antonio Taguba, NASA Physicist Dr. Josefino Comiso, Hollywood Producer Dean Devlin, and Pulitzer-prize winning Journalists Byron Acohido and Alex Tizon.

This year, we continue the tradition of recognizing the best and the brightest in the Filipino American community during the 12^thFilipinas Achievement slated for Thursday, October 1, 2009 at the South San Francisco Convention Center. The event is presented by Filipinas with the support of Anheuser-Busch, Genentech, GMA PinoyTV, PG&E, Robert Half International, Seafood City Group of Companies, Wells Fargo and the U.S. Navy.

The 2009 Winners are:

Arts & Culture: Michael Dadap| Artistic/Musical Director and Principal Conductor, Children's Orchestra Society of New York.

Entertainment: Charmaine Clamor | Jazz Artist and Queen of Jazzipino

Corporate Leadership: Margaret Lapiz | Vice-President, Strategy & Integration, The Permanente Medical Group

Entrepreneurship: Go Family | Founder, Seafood City Group of Companies

Public Affairs: Robert Bunda | Senate President Emeritus, State Senate, Hawaii

Medicine: Dr. Eustaquio Abay | Neurosurgeon/Founder, Kansas Spine Hospital/National Director, Gawad Kalusugan

Communication: Cher Calvin | News Anchor, KTLA-CW Channel 5

Community Service: Faith Bautista| Executive Director, Mabuhay Alliance

Lifetime Achievement: Rodel Rodis | Lawyer/Educator/Writer/Community Activist

The event kicks off at 4:00 pm with a Filipino Food Fair & Reception hosted by Hawaiian Airlines and Southwest Airlines featuring food & wine tasting from restaurants like Alimango, Patio Filipino, Nayong Pilipino, Ongpin, Kalesa, Karilagan, Tastebud, Goldilocks, and Ongpin Express. In between tastings, attendees have the opportunity to win prizes by visiting the various sponsors’ booths. During the sumptuous sit-down dinner, guests will enjoy a three-course meal with wine service.

The event concludes with the awards ceremony, during which guests will be treated to a high-energy demonstration of the Philippine Martial Art of Escrima/Serrada, a preview of "Harana,” a documentary about the dying art of romantic serenades, and world-class performances by classical guitarist, Florante Aguilar, Arts & Culture awardee Michael Dadap and other surprise guests.

A limited number of tickets have been made available for purchase by the public. Tickets are $50 in advance and $65 at the door. To guarantee your seat, purchase online today at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/80088 or contact Shirley Atienza-Esguerra at Filipinas Magazine directly at (650) 985-2530 or via email at s.atienza@filipinasmag.com. Credit cards are welcome. Advance ticket sales end on September 25.

Join us in continuing to recognize excellence and achievement among our fellow Filipino-Americans. For more information, contact Christina Dunham at (650) 985-2530.