2018 Fred yee citizens award Honorees

2018 Honorees

Harry Chan is the third-generation owner of Tai Tung, the oldest Chinese restaurant Seattle’s Chinatown International District.  He has worked there for 50 years, since 1968.  Harry is a devoted boss and an expert on the evolution of Chinese food in Seattle’s Chinatown.  Harry and the history of Tai Tung inspired the documentary “A Taste of Home”, produced by Siang Hui Tay  and Val Tan, and has been featured in the Seattle Times, MyNorthwest.com, Eater.com, Northwest Asian Weekly, International Examiner and others. 

Although Harry is busy running the oldest restaurant in Chinatown, he always has time to support the community, without fanfare. He donated dinners and more for auction for Kin On and Keiro Northwest fundraisers, and gift certificates for numerous non-profits in the Asian community. At the ACRS annual Thanksgiving and Christmas Costco Chicken giveaway, Harry noticed the elderly waiting in the cold and brought hot congee for them, and continues to do so every year.  C.A.C.A. Seattle has packaged rice for the Annual Rice Drive at Tai Tung at Harry’s invitation. Many times Harry will not accept payment for meals for volunteers.  The Asian community benefits immensely from Harry’s caring and generosity.

Jeff Lew was born and raised in Seattle and graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in marketing. As a proud graduate of Seattle Public Schools (Ingraham High) and a father of three, the problem of school lunch debt and lunch shaming hit close to home for him. Jeff could not fathom students being shamed or going hungry for having lunch debt at their school cafeteria, a situation that children have no control over. 

In 2017, Jeff began a movement to end lunch shaming and find a permanent solution to the problem. Also known as the 'Lunch Dad,' Jeff launched a campaign to pay off all the lunch debt in Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane, the three largest school districts in the state of Washington. He has raised over $100,000 to date and is now aiming to pay off the lunch debt for every district in the state. Still, not everyone is aware of school lunch debt and the shaming that stems from it. Jeff is on a mission to raise awareness and find a way to end this practice once and for all. 

Sam Wan has been working in the healthcare and eldercare field since 1977. He retired as the CEO of Kin On Health Care Center and Community Care Network at the end of 2017 after 32 years of dedication and leadership. During his tenure, Sam led the organization from a small rented facility in First Hill to a multi-million dollar organization with offices in the Chinatown-International District, Columbia City, and Bellevue.  

Prior to Kin On, he worked as a program planner of the Seattle-King County Division on Aging, City of Seattle.  Sam also served in many governmental and public entities as board members and advisory committee members including the LeadingAge (a national association of elder care providers), Washington State Association of Housing and Services for the Aging, Seattle-King County Advisory Council on Aging and member of the Advisory Committee to the Washington Legislature’s Long Term Care Task Force.