A portrait of Tony Chanthavong, Nov. 10, 2021, at the Japanese Friendship Garden, 1125 N. 3rd Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona. Social entrepreneur Tony Chanthavong is passionate about discovering local communities and putting them in the spotlight. Chanthavong, also known as Tony Ce, has lived half his life in Phoenix. His motto is “Grew up as Los Angelino. Risen as a Phoenician”. He believes that Phoenix is special not only because of its diversity, but also because of its strong support when it comes to local businesses. After feeling that many cultural events and festivals were only noticed through word of mouth, he felt the need to use technology to give voice to these local communities. “Phoenix has big city dreams but a small town feel,” said Chanthavong, co-founder of the social media app LocalBuzz. The community-run platform highlights local restaurants, shops, art, culture, events, and more in videos. He believes that the fellowship is universal and that people want to be connected through the events in their communities. “LocalBuzz also helps overcome this barrier to find out what is going on in different communities so that they can feel connected to them and be a part of it,” he told local communities, aiming to bridge many of them. The app not only highlights a large number of companies, but also draws attention to the Asian community. “We are all human, we share a common interest. When we share and highlight these common interests, it breaks the barriers of judgment, racism and prejudice. ”Chanthavong is an Asian American himself and has been involved in many events across Phoenix that highlight the Asian community. He was a member of the Arizona Asian Chamber of Commerce where he helped lead the PHX Night Market, an open-air market that highlighted local Asian street food. He also founded Snoh Ice Shavery, where he participated in many festivals and Chinese cultural events. “When I opened Snoh nearly 10 years ago, it was one of the first Asian-American dessert stops in central Phoenix,” he said with more diverse communities while owning Snoh. He has been introduced to many groups while serving as a salesman for cultural events and festivals. Chanthavong made his business successful by building a social network – now he’s doing the same with his app. While Chanthavong said he passed the reins of Snoh on to someone else, he carries his passion for highlighting local communities through LocalBuzz. Sami Ibrahim was well a long time friend of Chanthavong. She’s a colleague on LocalBuzz, helping connect companies while teaching them how to use the app. “He’s great to work with because he sees the beauty in everything,” she said, not much highlighted in the Valley, but Chanthavong has changed that too. “He’s just a great person who likes to bring different people together and see the beauty of all these differences in cultures, businesses and the arts.” Passionate about drawing attention to communities that can go unnoticedA portrait by Tony Chanthavong, November 10th 2021, at the Japanese Friendship Garden, 1125 N. 3rd Avenue, Phoenix, Ariz., Chanthavong believes his personality is to be of service to others. After meeting so many different people from so many different ethnic backgrounds, he knew he wanted the community to know about their events. “I just see all these people, communities that I am connected to, and I always feel like a person, that is something special.” If there is one thing that Chanthavong exudes, then it is passion. He says that in start-ups you have to be “obsessed with what you do”. Ibrahim believes that Chanthavong’s passion encourages her to be more part of the local community. Chanthavong is keen to keep growing his app and have the opportunity to do something special for the communities in Phoenix that may go unnoticed. “The rewarding part is to see the goal I am trying to achieve begin Reach out to current reporter Caroleina Hassett at caroleina.hassett@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @lena_hassett This story is part of the Faces of Arizona series. If you have any feedback or ideas about who we should cover, please send it Contact Editor Kaila White at kaila.white@arizonarepublic.com. Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tony Chanthavong, known in the Phoenix community in Asia, makes social app
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