As publisher of Asian Enterprise magazine in Walnut Creek, California, Gelly Borromeo was painfully aware of the lack of representation for Asian Pacific businesses. For five years, she germinated her idea for a national Asian American chamber of commerce. "I had this dream, but I kept getting bogged down," Gelly said. "I kept shoving my dream underneath a stack of other priorities: making ends meet, responsibilities with community groups, being overwhelmed with running a business and a family."

APAWLI's Leadership Training Program provided Gelly with the support she needed to let her idea sprout and grow. As her Leadership Impact Project, she founded the National Council of Asian American Business Associations (National CAABA).

"APAWLI came along and provided the chance for me to take three weeks without any contact with the real world. It let my creative juices flow," Gelly said. "The introspection part of the program crystallized everything for me- what I was doing, where I saw myself in the future, what my passion issues were. It just jelled."

Calling upon a personal contact at Wells Fargo Bank paid off in a big way. After submitting a summary of her vision, Gelly received an e-mail message informing her that the bank was underwriting her project with $100,000. "I wrote back that he must have typed one too many zeros. I told him, 'Don't get me this excited; I'm about to have a heart attack.'" But the check was indeed for $100,000 to finance the planning phase of National CAABA. "This is definitely bigger than I thought," Gelly said. "I anticipated a handful of organizations would be interested, and already I have 80 prospective organizations. It's great to know there's so much energy around this project. Usually when you're trying to do pioneering, grassroots work, it's hard to convince people. This has been a very easy sell."

Such contagious enthusiasm reflects Gelly's own infectious desire:

"If you have the burning flame of inspiration within your heart, it's possible to do things that make others get excited and want to be on a bandwagon of success."