By Assunta Ng
John Kwak (left) with Sen. Paull Shin (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)
Last Saturday, after attending the White House dinner in Washington, D.C., to honor President of the Republic of South Korea Lee Myung-Bak, Sen. Paull Shin rushed back to Seattle to attend Northwest Asian Weekly’s Pioneer Awards gala at the China Harbor Restaurant.
What the emcee didn’t say and what the audience didn’t know was that Shin was involved in a car accident before he arrived. He hit a concrete wall. Shin was fine, besides being a little dizzy.
The damage to his car is estimated at $10,000. I suspect that he was exhausted after a hectic trip.
Shin could have skipped the Pioneer Awards dinner with a good reason. But he didn’t.
He had committed to coming and watching two of his good friends, John Kwak and Kenny Lee, receive their Asian American Pioneer Awards. Shin’s promises are golden.
Thank you, Paull, for showing up at our event. Congratulations on being the only Asian American Washingtonian invited to attend the White House state dinner on Oct. 14, as well as the State Department dinner for President Lee hosted by Vice President Joe Biden the day before. (end)