The city of Charlotte honored community leaders and international businesses Wednesday evening at the 28th Mayor’s International Community Awards.
Hosted by the Mayor’s Office and the Charlotte International Cabinet since 1998, the annual awards event spotlights individuals and foreign-owned firms making an impact through philanthropy, entrepreneurship and community leadership.
Charlotte International Cabinet Chair Maggie Commins said the awards reflect the city’s growing international character.
“Charlotte is an international city. We are almost 20% foreign-born,” Commins said. “This is a wonderful opportunity for the community to honor those people and their contributions to making Charlotte a more vibrant, interesting, wonderful place to live.”
This year’s individual honorees included Pat Martinez, Polly Outhey and Saya Sio. Foreign-owned companies Midrex Technologies, Premix Group and Rosenberg USA were also recognized.
Outhey, who received the Charlotte International Cabinet’s International Entrepreneur Award, came to the United States as a refugee from Laos in 1988. Outhey spent nearly two decades in banking before launching her own financial services business focused on financial literacy and education.
“Charlotte is our home, and Charlotte is everything to us,” Outhey said. “We raised our children here, built and served the community here.”
