His resume is as impressive as they come and on Wednesday morning, San Marino School Board Member C. Joseph Chang received yet another solid entry when he was presented with the Golden Apple Award by Superintendent Dr. Alex Cherniss during a ceremony at Santa Anita Race Track.
“As a longtime member of the board, I’m honored to have the chance to work hard each day to serve the community with new and old faces,” Chang said. “This award symbolizes the challenges we have overcome together to improve our community. Thank you.”
To say Chang is a “longtime member” of the school board gives but a faint idea of the fact. Chang was elected in 2001 and is currently serving his 17th year which has included stints as board president in 2006, 2013 and 2017.
The Golden Apple Award is sponsored by the Association of California School Administrators, or ACSA, and Wednesday’s ceremony was hosted by the Northwest San Gabriel Valley Administrators Association, which encompasses ten local school districts. The award is presented to volunteers for their service to the school districts. Karen and Bob Wicke received Golden Apple Awards at last year’s event.
Chang was president of the San Marino Chinese Club in 1997 and is a current member of the group’s advisory committee. He is also a past member of the San Marino Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors, past chairman of the Chinese School of San Marino and past vice chairman of boards of the San Gabriel Valley Council of the American Red Cross.
For neatly three decades, Chang was an active healthcare executive in local hospitals. In addition to acute care hospital management, Chang has participated in numerous health care projects such as free clinics, senior citizen centers and promoting awareness of preventive medicine.
He has been a member of the Rotary Club of San Marino since 1999 and is currently on tbe board of directors of the Huntington Medical Research Institutes. He is also currently sits on Board of Overseers at the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Other civic involvement includes positions with the City of San Marino’s Human Relations Committee, the San Marino Schools Foundation, and the San Marino Library Foundation. In 2003, he co-chaired a successful campaign to approve Measure E, a parcel tax that provides crucial dollars for San Marino’s underfunded school district.
In 2001, Chang received the Honorary Service Award from the San Marino PTA at the Annual Founders Day ceremony.
Chang and his wife, Shwu, reside in San Marino. The couple has two sons who work in the medical field. Both are graduates of Valentine Elementary School, Huntington Middle School and San Marino High School.
Veteran Board Member Chang Receives Golden Apple Award
Is Honored With Prestigious Accolade, His Own Personal Star for His Decades of Service to the SMUSD
