Nominate a Leader for the 2026 FILAM CAG Leadership Award
Nominate a Leader for the 2026 FILAM CAG Leadership Award
Thirty-Five Years of Leaders Worth Celebrating
Since Fil-Am CAG was founded in Virginia Beach in 1991, our community has been shaped by people who gave their time, energy, and expertise without being asked twice. Teachers who mentored Filipino American students before there were formal programs to support them. Volunteers who showed up to city council meetings and school board hearings to make sure our voices were in the room. Nurses, business owners, veterans, and everyday neighbors who built something lasting — quietly, year after year.
The FILAM CAG Leadership Awards exist to name those people out loud. To say: we see what you did, and it mattered.
Who Should You Nominate?
We’re looking for Filipino Americans in the Hampton Roads area — Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Newport News, and surrounding communities — who have demonstrated meaningful leadership in one or more of these areas:
- Civic engagement — voter outreach, public advocacy, government service, or election work
- Education — teaching, mentoring, tutoring, scholarship support, or youth development
- Community building — organizing events, bridging generations, connecting new arrivals to resources
- Cultural preservation — keeping Filipino language, traditions, and history alive for younger generations
- Professional achievement — breaking barriers and opening doors for other Filipino Americans in their field
- Volunteerism — sustained, unpaid service to the Filipino American community or the broader Hampton Roads community
Nominees do not need to be Fil-Am CAG members. This award recognizes impact, not affiliation. If someone you know has been doing the work — recognized or not — they deserve to be considered.
Why This Recognition Matters
Hampton Roads is home to one of the most significant Filipino American communities in the United States — and the largest on the East Coast. That didn’t happen by accident. It happened because generations of Filipino Americans chose to stay, invest, and build. They joined PTAs and city committees. They coached youth sports and ran cultural classes. They testified at public hearings in their second language about issues that affected their families.
The FILAM CAG Leadership Award is our way of making sure those contributions are part of the public record — visible to the young people in our community who are still figuring out what’s possible for them.
How to Submit a Nomination
Nominations are open now. The process is straightforward — tell us who you’re nominating, describe their contributions, and explain why you believe they deserve this recognition. You can nominate a colleague, a neighbor, a mentor, or a family member.
For details on the nomination form and the award timeline, visit our nomination page. If you have questions or want to discuss a potential nominee before submitting, please reach out to us directly. You can also learn more about our organization’s history and the values behind this award on our leadership page.
Nominations close before this year’s recognition ceremony — check our events page for the deadline and event date as they are confirmed.