Community News

September 2002

PENNSYLVANIA'S FIRST FIL-AM LEGISLATOR

Jeff Coleman is serving his first term in the House of Representatives after defeating an 11-year incumbent in the 60th Legislative District. Representative Coleman is the first Filipino -American elected to the State Legislature in Pennsylvania.

Born Jeffrey Howard Coleman on July 4, 1975 on Washington's Whidbey Island Naval Facility, his American life began a continent's length away from the community he now calls home. His parents, Keith and Milan (Unson) Coleman, met and were married in the Republic of the Philippines, the country they would return to, along with Jeff, as missionaries in 1984.

In 1981, Jeff and his family made the first in a series of mission trips that, over the next seven years, took them to Korea, Kenya, Singapore, Peru, Brazil, and finally the Philippines. Jeff's passion for politics and public service developed as an early teenager living in Manila observing the "People Power Revolution," which mobilized over two million citizens in pro-democracy protests, restoring the first democratically elected government in decades.

Upon their return to the United States, the Coleman family took up residence in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, where Jeff finished high school while working at night as a waiter and stock boy at a local grocery store. During this time, Jeff began volunteer efforts for the Republican Party in Armstrong County, and at age eighteen won a seat on the Armstrong County Republican Committee with over 60 percent of the vote as a write-in candidate.

Jeff would eventually participate in and run nearly two-dozen local political campaigns before enrolling in Liberty University's School of Business and Government in 1994. While in school, Jeff worked as an aide for U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA). He also accepted several positions with businesses based in Lynchburg, Virginia, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and worked as a news anchor for a local talk-radio station.

Jeff Coleman holds a BS in Government from Liberty University, Lynchburgh, VA. Prior to his election to the Pennsylvania House, Jeff served as a Councilman in his hometown of Apollo. He is the founder of the Apollo Youth Idea Exchange, which provides young people the opportunity to have a voice in borough policy, and authored the borough's "Zero Tolerance Drug Policy," the first of its kind in the Kiski Valley.

Jeff Coleman is the youngest person ever to be nominated for the House from the 60th Legislative District, and at age 26 is currently the House's youngest member. Representative Coleman is an emerging leader in Pennsylvania's school property tax reform movement, and an outspoken voice for Pro-Life and Pro-Family policies. Additionally, Coleman is a new voice for Asian-American issues and a passionate spokesman for the promotion of Philippine-American friendship and cooperation.

On August 31, 2002, at the Global Convention in San Francisco, a Fil-Am Community Reception Honoring Representative Jeff Coleman will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at the Moscone Center sponsored by the National Conference of Fil-Am Republicans and Ms. Loida Nicolas-Lewis of the National Federation of Filipino-American Associations (NaFFAA). The reception is open to the public. For further information, please call (724) 545-2284 or (800) 905-0240.

NEW COMMANDER IS ARMY'S HIGHEST RANKING-PINOY

Lt. Gen. Edward Soriano is now the highest-ranking Filipino American in U.S. Army history.

The 55-year-old Soriano received his third star and took over command of Fort Lewis during a simple ceremony.

Referring to the Army's senior leadership that promoted him, he quipped, "Kind of shows you they have a sense of humor."

The ceremony was attended by nearly two dozen of Soriano's family members. He thanked his mother, then elicited laughter when he remarked, "I certainly wouldn't be here without her."

He also spoke of his father, the late Fred Soriano, who fought alongside U.S. troops against the Japanese as a Filipino scout during World War II, survived the Bataan Death March and then served in Korea.

The brief ceremony was followed by a more elaborate one as departing commander Gen. James Hill received his fourth star and handed Fort Lewis' colors to Soriano.

Hill, 56, will take over Southern Command, responsible for all U.S. military activities in Central and South America and the Caribbean.

S. Floyd Mori, national president of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), said Soriano's "leadership is a credit to our country, and his example is a proud one for the Asian-Pacific-American community."

As commander of Fort Lewis and I Corps, one of four corps headquarters in the Army, Soriano will be in charge of about 20,000 soldiers. The base is at the vanguard of the Army's "transformation" initiative, testing the service's first two Stryker brigades.

Soriano, a 32-year veteran Army officer, is from Norfolk, Va., where he was director of homeland security for the U.S. Joint Forces Command.

ATTENTION FIL-AMS : U.S. PEACE CORPS NEEDS YOU

Washington, D.C., - Peace Corps Director Gaddi Vasquez recently met with two Filipino American leaders in a roundtable discussion with local Asian American and Pacific Island leaders on the agency's strategy for diversifying its volunteers and staff.

Vasquez, the agency's first Hispanic American director, discussed the Peace Corps' goal to accurately reflect American culture with Violeta Dela Pena, a member and former director of the Maryland Governor's Office of Asian Pacific American Affairs and Eric Lachica, the executive director of the American Coalition for Filipino Veterans.

Vasquez said, in an effort announced by President George W. Bush, the Peace Corps aims to double the number of volunteers over the next five years. The July 26 roundtable was the first of many discussions with ethnic minority leaders about strengthening the Peace Corps' diversity.

Asian American/Pacific Islanders are seen as an important source of potential Peace Corps volunteers. As the numbers currently reflect, ethnic minorities make up only 15 percent of the total volunteers, with Asian American/Pacific Islanders representing four percent. Since 1961, the Peace Corps' actively recruited of people from different ethnic backgrounds and age groups.

Director Vasquez commented, "I am truly committed to enhancing the diversity of the Peace Corps. I am delighted to be able to count on such a prestigious group of leaders in the Asian American/Pacific Islander community to help guide us in our efforts. we will depend on their help and counsel."

Each year, the Peace Corps sends thousands of trained men and women to live and work in interested countries around the world. In the Philippines, the agency has 133 volunteers in place.

More than 165,000 volunteers have served in 135 countries since the Peace Corps was established in 1961. Today, more than 7,000 volunteers serve in programs to address education, health and HIV/AIDS, information technology, business development, the environment, and agriculture. For more information, call 800-424-8580 or visit website: www.peacecorps.gov.