Contents
Day of the Americas Special Awards Program 2003
Video of the 2003 Latino Hall of Fame inductees includes: Dr. Tomas Arciniega; Cesar Chavez, Ventura Cuen, Dr. Ray Gonzales, and Dolores Huerta. Please view both parts, A and B.
Group
honors community leaders
By JASON GUTIERREZ, Special to The
Californian
Posted:
Last Updated:
It
was just like a
Several
Kern community leaders and public officials gathered at the Holiday Inn Select
on Sunday night to celebrate the second Day of
The
awards were presented by the nonprofit Heritage of
In
addition, there was a special recognition award and the Latino Hall of Fame.
Foundation
executive director Jess Nieto said the awards ceremony was designed to recognize the
diversity of
"The
Day of
In
addition, event organizers inducted five prominent figures into its first-ever Latino
Hall of Fame.
The
inductees were:
Arciniega
felt honored. "I
can't express enough what a wonderful honor this is for me," he said.
"Education has always been an important part of life while being president
of
UFW
President Arturo Rodriguez also
received special recognition. State
Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter,
presented Rodriguez with a resolution for his dedication to bettering the lives
of minority farmworkers. "The
holiday season is here, and it is a good time for everyone to think about the
farmworkers who have worked hard so there can be food on the table,"
Rodriguez said.
As
the evening ended, an eclectic group of community leaders shook hands and said
their goodbyes. Whether they received awards or not, everyone was honored to be
able to be part of the event.
"I
am happy that so many deserving people were honored here tonight," said Charlie
Rodriguez, president of the board of directors for the Community Action
Partnership of Kern and a longtime
Day
of the Americas 2003 Special Awards Winners
The
following is a list of this year’s (2003) award
winners:
Performing
& Fine Arts:
Latino-
Maria & Sam Mercado
Non-Latino- Milt & Betty Younger
Business:
Latino-
Lou Gomez
Non-Latino- John Lencione
Community
Development:
Latino-
Charlie Rodriguez
Non-Latino- Irma Carson
Education:
Latino-
Joaquin & Eva Patino and Dr. David Rosales
Non-Latino- Ken Chapman and
Dr.
Larry Reider
Entertainment:
Latino-
Louie Cruz Beltran
Non-Latino- Buck Owens
Media/Journalism:
Latino-
Olivia Reyes Garcia
Non-Latino- Tom Randour
Labor:
Latino-
Arturo Rodríguez
Non-Latino- Kay Madden
Law:
Latino-
Robert Tafoya
Non-Latino- Milt Younger
Politics:
Latino-
Pete Parra
Non-Latino- Cal Dooley and Harvey Hall
Science
& Medicine:
Latino-
Dr. Augustine Munoz
Non-Latino- Dr. W.B. Christiansen
Sports:
Latino-
McFarland Boys Cross Country Teams, Coach Jim White and Steve Ontiveros
Non-Latino-
Bob Covey
Organization
of the Year:
Non-Latino-
Special
Awards:
Dr.
Armando Navarro with the Ernesto Galarza Award
Latino
Hall of Fame 2003:
Dr.
Tomas Arciniega
Cesar Chavez
Ventura Cuen
Dr.
Raymond Gonzales
Dolores Huerta
