TYLER, Texas — An East Texas restaurant owner needs support to win 7 Brew's Hero of the Year award honoring his service to the community during a winter storm.
"All down Broadway you would only see people getting out from their trucks, helping other people that were you know in ditches or stuck, but I didn’t have a truck. I had food. And so that’s what I did, I made sure that what I could do, I did do," said Ivan Borja, owner of Mikoto Sushi and Ramen Bar in Tyler.
Borja was named a monthly 7 Brew Hero for last February to honor he and his team providing warm meals to the people who lost water and power during a winter storm. His efforts to help the Tyler community were special, but he doesn't see it that way.
"I don’t want to be recognized. Like, the only thing that we did was what the community was doing. You can always remember when you go home, your mothers’ recipes, and that’s what I wanted to do. Maybe I wasn’t your mothers’ recipes, but I was Mikoto. And people knew what I was making," Borja said.
Now, he is among 12 nominees for the coffee drive-thru chain's Hero of the Year award. To win, he needs votes from the public as a $10,000 top prize is on the line. To vote, click here.
In a video, 7 Brew representatives said Borja received $500 and free coffee for a year in recognition of his February award. But he didn't take the prize for himself.
"In true servant leadership fashion, Ivan gave it back to his employees," 7 Brew said.
The grand prize total is $10,000 though, which Borja plans to put to good use.
"PATH has really helped a lot of my own family, so I want to make sure that, if I’m able to, that I continue to pass it forward," Borja said.
Borja hopes to use his new recognition to inspire others in East Texas to give back.
"You can make a difference. All I had was rice. That’s all I had. And that’s what I offered. So even though you think that you don’t have anything to offer, you do have so much to offer. It takes a community to really make a difference," Borja said.
Borja told 7 Brew when the storm happened, he just wanted to do what he could to help those in need.
"It wasn't just what I was doing. It was what the community was doing at the time. There was a lot of people that lost their power," Borja said. "They were dying in their homes. Who are they going to? Who was their backup? If they don't even have heat, what are they eating? Just wanted to do what I knew I could do - serve a hot meal, a fresh meal that had nothing but love toward anybody that needed it."
The winner of the contest is expected to be announced Jan. 31.