Cupertino Chamber’s Bridge Awards honor educator, restaurateurs
A woman who served Cupertino and Sunnyvale students for decades and a restaurant that served local residents during the pandemic are the winners of this year’s Bridge Awards from the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce.
The awards recognize individuals and organizations that have helped build trust, respect and dialogue within Cupertino’s multi-ethnic and multicultural business community. The 2022 Bridge Awards will be presented at a virtual Lunar New Year Luncheon on Feb. 10.
Polly Bove, who is stepping down as superintendent of the Fremont Union High School District before the close of the 202122 school year, will receive the Bridge Award for Individual Service.
Bove, who has served as superintendent since 2006, first joined the district in 1989, serving in a variety of roles, including deputy superintendent, executive director of educational services, district coordinator of student services and assistant principal of Homestead High School.
Under Bove’s leadership, FUHSD has created a variety of special education programs that help students ages 18-22 transition to independent living, vocational training and employment with job coaches. Bove’s husband Joseph served as an instructional assistant for one of these programs.
Bove is also credited with developing a collaborative approach to negotiations with the district’s collective bargaining units that has resulted in faculty and staff benefiting when the district manages its finances well. She shepherded the district through multiple successful parcel tax and bond measures, including the Measure M parcel tax renewal in November 2020. Voters renewed the annual tax of $98 per parcel for eight years to provide about $5 million annually, which the district intends to use primarily to attract and retain teachers and staff.
Bove has been a member of both the Cupertino and Sunnyvale Chambers of Commerce. She was named Citizen of the Year by the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce in 2018.
Restaurateurs Thalia and Raffy Swangchaeng are Bridge Award winners for Outstanding Business of the Year. They opened their Pineapple Thai Restaurant in Cupertino at the beginning of the pandemic, and actively participated in programs to give back to the community. Beginning in 2020, Pineapple Thai partnered with the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce to provide food for residents isolated by the pandemic, most notably seniors.
In addition to Pineapple Thai, the Swangchaengs also own the Coup de Thai in Los Gatos and Must be Thai in San Jose.
“Since opening in Cupertino, Pineapple Thai and its staff have actively served the Cupertino community with frequency and profound generosity,” reads a statement from the Chamber. “The team’s core members are Thai natives, who bring the flavors of their hometown and childhoods to the restaurant. These are dishes they have sought out locally but discovered that no local establishments offer them. As a result, Pineapple Thai has quickly established a reputation as a distinctive, authentic, and popular Thai restaurant.”
The awards luncheon is set for Feb. 10, 5-6:30 pm. For event information and to register, visit https://bit. ly/lunarnewyear2022.