Wilson Lee Flores

Wilson Lee Floresis a multi-awardedPhilippinewriter, entrepreneur, educator, poet, philanthropist, andpolitical-economicanalyst.
He has won 15 Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA)for hisPhilippine Starnewspaper columns called "Will Soon Flourish" and threeDon Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature.He has also been honored with three CMMA Hall of Fame Awards, including CMMA Hall of Fame Awards for "Best Opinion Column", and "Best Business Column".He writes aTagalogcolumn, "Kuwentong Panadero" for the Filipino-language, and mass-marketAbantetabloid newspaper, which he used to also write before for thePhilippine StarGroup's mass-marketPilipino Star Ngayontabloid. He also writes a column "Baker's Tales" for Bilyonaryo.com, the popular business and economics online news site. He used to write a column, "Roots of Philippine Business" for the now defunct "Manila Chronicle" newspaper.
Flores established and owns the Red Apple Properties & Management, Inc., a real estate business mainly into investing, acquiring and renting out of mostly commercial real estate properties; it started as a real estate brokerage firm and still has an office which offers diverse realty services.
In January 2014, he bought the historic and pioneering Kamuning Bakery (now Kamuning Bakery Café) of Barangay Kamuning, Quezon City; this isQuezon City's first bakery which was established in 1939.UponAlejandro Roces' invitation,lawyerLeticia Bonifacio Javier, daughter of Singalong,Malate, Manila'sLos Baños Bakery’s proprietor, and spouse Marcelo foundedKamuning Bakery, along 43 Judge Jimenez Corner K-1st Street, Project 1. Kamuning is derived fromKamuningwhich surrounded theBarangay.In February 2018, a fire razed the iconic bakery, and what only remained is itsfaçade, 2clay ovens, abookcase, and thepterocarpus indicus. Flores, however, restored it by 2019.
He is moderator of the café's non-partisan, issues-focused and tertulia-inspired "Pandesal Forum", where leaders and newsmakers dialogue with media and intellectuals. Among the diverse speakers at Pandesal Forum include President Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos, Senator Imee Marcos, former Vice-President Leni Robredo, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, former Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, two United States Ambassadors, two Russia Ambassadors, two China Ambassadors, two Singapore Ambassadors, British Ambassador, Ukraine Ambassador, Cuba Ambassador, etc.
Since 2015, Flores has led the Kamuning Bakery-Café in celebrating "World Pandesal Day" every October 16 (globally known as "World Bread Day" and "World Food Day"). "World Pandesal Day" is celebrated in order to honor the Philippines' most popular breadpan de saland as a reminder of the need to solve the age-old problem of hunger.
Wilson Lee Flores has also led Pandesal Forum of Kamuning Bakery Cafe to celebrate the United Nations' annual "World Poetry Day" on March 21.
Among the various awards and honors conferred on Wilson Lee Flores include the Gawad Manual L. Quezon Award which is Quezon City government's  highest honor for outstanding citizens of the Philippines' biggest city;the Supremo Award conferred by the Grace Christian College; the Award for the Promotion of Philippines China Understanding (APPCU) from the Association for Philippines China Understanding (APCU)and conferred by First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos and Senator Koko Pimentel; and others.
To commemorateWorld Food Day-"World Pandesal Day" on October 16, 2024, Lee Flores' 100,000pandesalwere given to Sinait Integrated School,Tarlac Citystudents and teacher. Further, Lee Flores and the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce & Industry donated aschoolbuilding for Sinait school.