LITTLE ROCK (KATV) ? In the month of October Filipino American History Month was recognized through official proclamations issued by the City of Little Rock and Governor Asa Hutchinson for the first time.

The deputy director of Arkansas United, Joshua Ang Price, an immigrant rights advocacy group led the petition for the proclamations to be issued on the city, county, and state levels.

Price is also a former election commissioner in Pulaski County, former president of the Filipino Young Leaders Program, and the first Arkansan to be inducted into the Knights of Rizal, the official Order of Chivalry of the Republic of the Philippines.

He received the proclamation in person from Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde at October's Quorum Court meeting and from May Frank Scott, Jr at the Little Rock City Board of Education of Directors meeting.

The U.S. Congress first recognized October as Filipino American History Month in 2009 to celebrate the rich culture and traditions the Filipino community has shared with the nation.

Filipino Americans are one of the largest Asian American ethnic groups in the United States.

Out of 85,000 Asian American Pacific Islanders in the state, Filipino Americans are the third largest group mostly living in Little Rock and Pulaski County.

"My mother is a registered nurse from the Philippines who was recruited to work in Murfreesboro, Arkansas in the 1970s. This is a story shared by so many members of our state's Filipino American community in Central Arkansas and in our rural areas as well," said Price. "This historic proclamation greatly honors Filipino culture and our contributions to our capital city, largest county, and our entire state."

Other leaders of Arkansas's Filipino American communities also praised the issuing of the proclamations.

Mimi San Pedro, Chief Strategy Officer of the Little Rock Venture Center and board member of the Arkansas Association of Asian Businesses said "Filipinos have been in the fabric of American history since 1587. As the country's second largest Asian-American community, the contributions and achievements of Filipinos have been exemplary and need to be celebrated and appreciated."

"Seeing Filipino American History Month be recognized in Arkansas is a history-making event and means everything to our community," said TJ Simba-Medel, board member of the Arkansas Philippine Association (APA). "We are grateful that Arkansas is recognizing the people power of our ancestors. We look forward to sharing that education and having it be a vehicle for coalition-building, civic engagement, and the preservation of the Filipino notion of Kapwa (shared identity with fellow humankind) for generations to come."

The proclamation stated that 260,000 Filipino and Filipino American soldiers served under the Little Rock native General Douglas MacArthur.

The Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act passed through Congress and was signed into law in December 2016.

The proclamation also seeks to “instill in our youth the importance of education, history, and ethnic diversity” and encourages "all citizens to recognize and celebrate the contributions and accomplishments of Filipino American men and women in our communities."