KW Lee Spirit Award Thank You Speech
1) The only time in my life My Father cried in front of me was when I was in 7th grade. He told of how grew up in absolute poverty in Busan, and was sometimes so hungry and was so in pain, because his mother, my grandmother was starving so he could eat. and he would cry. How many of us have cried in pain because we were hungry? When was the last time we were starving and we didn’t know when we’d receive our next meal? When you see tears streaming down the face of your father, your hero, how do you not shed tears yourself? He always reminded me how spoiled I am… how spoiled we are in America, living on the fruits of generations of labor, bloodshed, war, poverty, and centuries of disciplined, dedication to education with God fearing morals… and he reminded me now… we forget to Thank God.
I Thank God for my dad. He came to
2) When I was 9 years old, in 4th grade, I had chicken pox and I would itch them off at night while I was sleeping and it would leave scars. One morning I woke up and my mom was next to me holding my arms down and I looked at her surprised… “Uhmma, what you doing?” And looking at the expression on her face, she didn’t have to say anything. She was next to me holding my arms down all night so I wouldn’t scratch the chicken pox off and leave scars. My entire childhood is filled with stories like these. They say the only time a man is allowed to cry is when his mother passes away. That is one day I do not look forward to and it makes me cherish every conversation, hug, and time I spend with my mother. I love others because she showed me love. Mrs. Kim Won Soon, mother of five, grandmother of 7… soon to be 8. Thank you. You are the beautiful queen that is the foundation of our family.
When I was a senior in high school, my parents returned to
3) I’m the last of 5 and I have the best two older brothers and sisters anyone could ask for. My older sisters Hannah and Esther are like my second moms… Mom’s no matter what you call them for… they only say… Have you eaten… are you eating ok? It doesn’t matter what you tell them… Nuna… I’m accepting the KW Lee Spirit Award today! Uhhh gurae…. Are you cooking at home? What are you eating? Are you eating vegetables? My oldest brother Sam, who is here today with my sister in law Eun mee hyungsoonim… and my older brother Dan Korea always took me so many places with them growing up… bowling, movies, church events, but one thing stands out the most… baseball games Dodger games, Angel games… When people ask me why do you love The Dodgers so much? The answer is simple: Its because my older brothers took me to Dodger games growing up. With my brothers and I, Sports is not just a game… it’s a way of life… it’s a reminder of good times spent together. I can’t wait to take my kids to Dodger games and its all because of my older brothers. Life is just like baseball… no matter how many times you fail, you have to keep swinging the bat, because if you keep swinging, eventually you’ll get a hit and like tonight, sometimes it’ll be a homerun. Hannah nuna, Sam Hyung, Esther nuna, and Dan Hyung. Thank You.
4) Through my brothers and sisters I have two brother in laws and two sister in laws that are amazing and have been so kind to me… and 7 nephews and nieces that I adore and some of them are now taller than me. Boo. Eric hyung, Eun Mee hyungsoom, Kyu Sam Hyung, Hanna hyungsoonim, and Janice, Andrew,
5) My mother in law raised three children solo for most of her life. She had one girl, named Tammy then 11 months later, another girl, Carol, then a year later, John. She raised these rambunctious, crazy kids while practicing as a pediatrician and instilled within them strong principles to guide them for life. Like my parents, she is one of the) most principled people I’ve ever met and I respect her highly. Before I asked her daughter’s hand in marriage, she took me on all day hike up Angeles Crest and we also did another all day hike in the desert. I was dying but then I found out she does this Regularly. She is a remarkable person. Dr. Jung Hi Kim, Thank you for making us amazing food and raising your daughter who has the biggest heart and stubborn principles. Thank you for raising Carol and John. They are the younger sister and brother close to my age that I’ve always wanted.
6) Over six years ago, I was with my friend Jae Shin, who is here today, and I saw this girl who was cute. She was looking around for her friends and I proceeded to use a line which could possibly be the most cheesy line ever…
I asked her, Are you looking for me? After she rolled her eyes, I asked for her #. She gave me a # which I thought was fake and 6 years later we always laugh about it… little did I know that putting myself out there would reward me with a brilliant wife who is now pregnant with our first child. The moral is: Who cares if you get rejected… what if you miss out on something beautiful for life ? You’re going to let the next Joe (apology if your name is Joe) you’re going to let the next person take what could be yours just because you’re scared? Life is short… I cannot imagine my life without the greatest memories ever shared the past six years with my better half… so many discussions and so much laughter. Sometimes we laugh so hard we’re like kids… Sometimes when we’re in the car, we sing cheesy songs at the top of our lungs... sometimes we do this hip hop dance where we raise one knee at a time and I am clearly the undisputed champion at this. There’s What I really love about her is how loyal she is to her family and friends and how passionate she is on social injustices. I call her megaphone because those close to her know when she gets passionate, she gets REALLY passionate and she desires for what is right. There are so many instances of this but I’ll share one that stands out… When we were first dating I was scheduled to take her younger brother out one night and I had to change plans because of something else that came up. She got in my face and was so angry at me for flaking on her brother and unleashed her fury at me… She really let me have it… and ladies and gentlemen… that was the moment I fell in love with her. Mrs. Tammy Kim, my future baby’s mama… You’re a warrior. THANK YOU so much because without you, I do not eat. Literally. I can’t cook. I love you very much.
7) Through Tammy I met the Granada Girls who are represented here today by Linda Lee. The
8) Two of my friends who are here today are two of the buffest guys I know. Jae Shin and David Ban… their bodies are evidence of hard work and discipline. I respect them much for this and I know if I go out with them and someone wants to fight me, they will protect me. I can’t protect them but I can tell jokes. This is the beauty of friendship. Mind, body, and soul are connected and everyone in the crew has something to offer. Sometimes you just need your friends to be there. Some friends don’t know how to be there. What I am truly thankful for is all the times my friends have come to Kollaboration, Laugh Factory, Improv, Icehouse, and so many more events. Mark, Jae, Dave, Helen, Chris, the whole crew… so many events… so many times you’ve listened to my same jokes. Thank you for laughing anyways and for being there. I appreciate you guys, more than you know.
9) Lastly, I dedicate this award to Rina Lee, Roy Choi, Christine Kim and every Kollaboration staff member in every city the past eight years. Rina Lee is the staff member that has been with Kollaboration from the very beginning in the year 2000 and her loyalty, passion, and positive attitude is a large reason why Kollaboration exists. Roy Choi became my partner a few years ago and has invested his finances and time and has been a wise older brother who has stabilized the Kollaboration movement into a non profit organization. Christine Kim is one of the most organized, thoughtful people I know and is truly gifted in administration like no other. There is no way we’d be where we are without her. The growth of Kollaboration is largely due in part to the Kollaboration Staff and especially these three individuals.
I remember the year 2000, I first met with Rina and Sandee, another staff member, eight years ago. We met at a Coffee Bean in Westwood and I shared with them my vision of Kollaboration and what I wanted to do. Sometimes all you need is someone to believe in you and even though other people were asking me, “Why are you doing this?” Rina and Sandee were asking, “When are we doing this? And What can we do?” That year Rina not only danced in the show multiple times but she helped organize it. We always laugh about it now because little did we know that eight years later, we would be in six cities annually. One thing Rina shared with me is that there have been times when she was down and she would think, “At least I’ll always have Kollaboration.” Awesome.
Before
Once Roy and I became partners, we needed a webmaster and I asked Christine to be our fulltime webmaster at an Applebees in
If I never started Kollaboration, I never would have met these three friends who have become my family so I am Grateful. Kollaboration is more than the show itself, its the family that works to make it happen.
10) Oh one more person… Thanks to Kobe Bryant for proving me wrong. Hard work and dedication will lead to great things and Kobe Bryant has shoved it in my face this year. Yes, I’m a Clipper fan til death… when the Lakers traded Shaq, they also lost a fan for life. But I must give props to where props are due.
Nine years ago, many people said Kollaboration wouldn’t work and after endless nights, blood, sweat, and tears… our last show had 2,000 people in attendance and was sold out two weeks before the show. It felt good. It felt really good. When people say you can’t, all the more reason you can.
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