Co-Founders of WAC Lighting, Tai and Tony Wang, were honored at Selfhelp’s 2023 Gala recently at Pier Sixty in New York City. While they are renowned for their professional accomplishments in the lighting industry, Tai and Tony Wang were honored for their integrity and commitment to bettering the community, with a special focus on enhancing the Chinese community of New York.
Through their Glow Foundation and Glow Community Center, Tai and Tony give back to the Chinese-speaking community, providing opportunities for people of all ages to learn, grow and become self-sufficient. And since 2015, Tai has served as an active Board member of Selfhelp and is the Founder and Chair of Selfhelp’s Chinese Advisory Council.
Founded in 1936 to help those fleeing Nazi Germany, Selfhelp is the oldest and largest organization in North America providing comprehensive services to Holocaust survivors. Lessons learned gave way to Selfhelp’s work with other vulnerable populations, and today Selfhelp serves over 5,000 older Chinese immigrants. Many live in one of Selfhelp’s 17 affordable residences, attend Selfhelp’s robust senior centers, and are helped by competent and compassionate Chinese-speaking social workers whose work enables them to live independently with dignity. Despite their enormous success, Tai and Tony are incredibly humble people. They accepted this honor for one reason – to do their part in supporting those who came to these shores for a better life.
Tai has received numerous awards including 2021 Woman of Distinction Honoree from the Speaker of the New York Council; Ellis Island Medal of Honor as Distinguished Civic Leadership Award; President’s Volunteer Service and Leadership Awards from International Leadership Foundation; Humanitarian Service Award and Sponsor Recognition Award from Gift of Life; the Honoree Award from Queens Botanical Garden, and Recognition Award from Selfhelp’s Chinese Advisory Council where she served as an active Board member of Selfhelp and is the Founder and Chair of Selfhelp’s Chinese Advisory Council since 2015. She also received the North Hempstead Woman’s Role of Honor Award, Innovative Leadership Award from LaGuardia Community College, and Honoree Award from the Hofstra University Celebration of Suburban Diversity. Tai has received honors from New York City Councilman Corey Johnson, New York Senator Anna Kaplan, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and many other officials. Under Mrs. Wang’s leadership, WAC received the prestigious HEARTS Award for demonstrating outstanding leadership, empathy and service during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing 500,000 surgical masks to U.S. hospitals and healthcare centers.
Forty-two years ago, Tony Wang and his wife Tai came to the US chasing their dreams. With little money, they purchased a grocery retailer in Queens, NY and in 1984 established WAC Lighting, which has evolved into a global company with a vertically integrated design, engineering and production operation while upholding their commitment to excellence and reinvestment.
Currently serving as Chairman of WAC, Tony Wang was nominated Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young and has received many other accolades. Tony is a seasoned business executive/owner and a true gentleman in every sense of the word. He possesses a strong commitment to virtuous loyalty and generosity over the past three decades while motivating, managing and inspiring employees to deliver the best lighting products, technologies and service available. Technical innovation is central to what people have come to expect from the WAC Lighting brand. Advancements in LED light sources, materials engineering, electronics, creative optical design, and architecture have allowed WAC to push the boundaries of engineering and inspired designs. The company is committed to research and development, superior design for function and aesthetics, solving difficult challenges, as well as building energy-efficient luminaires. WAC believes that a key part of being a Responsible Lighting company is to provide a product offering that is progressive in both design and technology. Groundbreaking innovations in Artificial Intelligence for Manufacturing, and Smart IoT New Product Development are paving the way for endless possibilities.
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