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AAJA honors outstanding members By Stefanie
Wong "I gotta pee," said Vic Lee of KRON-TV in San Francisco after keynote speaker Christopher Lee's tie (originally worn by Tom Cruise in "Jerry Maguire") was auctioned off for a record-setting $4,000. "I wanted to go during the bidding, but it was so exciting I didn't want to leave," Vic Lee added. A tradition at the AAJA awards and scholarship banquet, the keynote speaker's tie is auctioned off to benefit the scholarship money. This year's winners were Ellen Yen and Dele Olejede, both from Newsday. Christopher Lee, the first minority to head a major movie production company, received a standing ovation after his speech where he cracked numerous jokes and spoke about his experience as an Asian American in Hollywood. "I got into Yale the old fashioned way, not affirmative action, my father went there," the fifth-generation Hapa Haole said. After Christopher Lee spoke, Vic Lee took the stage to introduce a tribute to Stanley Chen who, after serving as a dedicated member of AAJA, passed away in February. "Stan changed people's lives after the way he lead his life," said his wife and fellow Oregonian editor Beth Erickson. "His ability to inspire is an important and lasting legacy." Local AAJA chapters contributed almost $10,000 for the internship fund, which will be awarded starting next year. Other people who were recognized for their work and dedication included 22 scholarship winners and numerous special recognition awards. This year's lifetime achievement award was given to Henry Moritsugu, who has been a working journalist since the 1950s, and a dedicated AAJA member since it's beginning. Moritsugu is also working as a managing editor for The Unity News, the convention newspaper. "I love AAJA. I love you all," Moritsugu said as audience members chanted "Henry, Henry!" The event ended with an introduction to next year's AAJA conference in New York. New York chapter members introduced the convention with a video where Regis (of Regis and Kathy Lee) introduced the "Top 10 reasons why New York is better than Seattle. "The number one reason: The post Y2K looting begins three hours earlier. Seattle members were quick to mention that "Seattle made good on its promise" with no rain during the convention.
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