Didi O’Connor, a past president of several Atlanta-based Filipino business and civic associations, received the “Outstanding Community Leader” award on the 111th anniversary of Philippine independence.

The Philippines’ honorary consul general, Ray Donato, presented Ms. O’Connor with the award on June 12 at the Mansion in Atlanta for 26 years of service to the Philippine community.

Ms. O’Connor was the president of the Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce in 2004 and is serving in that position again this year.

In 1996 she was president of the Filipino-American Association of Greater Atlanta at which time she attended many ceremonial events linked to Atlanta’s hosting of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. She currently is the organization’s director of cultural events, a position she also held last year.

In addition, she is a member of the executive board of the Asian-American Chamber of Commerce in Georgia and a director and charter member of the Makabayan GA Inc., a Filipino-American foundation.

She also is an international partner of the Metro Atlanta Chamber and serves on committees of the city’s Advisory Council for International Relations.

Ms. O’Connor, who is a realtor in the Harry Norman Realtors Dunwoody-Perimeter office, told GlobalAtlanta that she has worked with other Filipinos to keep alive the customs and traditions of her native country. “We work hard so that future generations would still happily identify themselves as Filipinos.”

She said that professionals such as engineers, doctors and nurses began to arrive in Georgia during the 1960s. In the 1970s, another wave of Filipino immigrants came to in Georgia. She estimated that there are more than 20,000 Filipinos in the state.

“As you know, Filipinos in Georgia tend to disappear as a group because we easily assimilate into the communities and easily adjust to the way of life in mainstream society,” she said.

Because of close historical ties between the United States and the Philippines, she said the transition to living in the U.S. can be less difficult than for other ethnic groups.

Nevertheless, she said she has been committed to working with other ethnic community organizations in an effort to join forces on issues of similar interest such as the loss of native-language fluency in members of an immigrant family’s third generation, challenges of living in two cultures and problems encountered by the elderly.

On June 12, 1898, Filipino revolutionary forces proclaimed the sovereignty and independence of the Philippine Islands from the colonial rule of Spain, which had been recently defeated at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War.

The declaration was not recognized by the U. S. or Spain. The Philippines was then ceded to the U.S. in the 1898 Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish-American War.

The U.S. recognized Philippine independence on July 4, 1946, which was observed in the Philippines as Independence Day until Aug. 4, 1964, when the date was officially changed to June 12.

To reach the office of the Honorary Consulate General, call (404) 239-5740. Ms. O’Connor may be reached by sending an email to Didi.OConnor@harrynorman.com

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