La Paz Chattanooga will host the first ever Latino Leadership Awards on Sept. 17 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., recognizing and honoring Latino leaders in the Chattanooga area. Tennessee State Senator, Andy Berke, and his wife Monique Berke, vice president of human resources for global services at Unumand a local Latina, will open the awards as the keynote speakers.
"We should honor our community members who invest so much effort in making our area a better place to live," said Sen. Berke.
The Latino Leadership Awards, which will be held on Monday, September 17th, from 11am - 1pm at the Mountain City Club, will recognize and award 15 Latino leaders in the Chattanooga community. A "Chattanooga's Choice" award will be given to the leader who is voted for by the broader Chattanooga community as a Latino who demonstrates outstanding service and commitment. There will also be one leader chosen by La Paz Chattanooga as the "Latino Leader of the Year."
"Over the past few decades Chattanoogans have done an incredible job prioritizing initiatives to continuously move the region in a positive direction," said David Martin, Manager of Development and Communications at La Paz. "A perfect example of this has been the identification and cultivation of area leaders. To date, though, there has never been a large-scale awards program aimed at Latino leaders specifically. Through the Latino Leadership Awards, we will highlight these incredible individuals who work every day to make our city a regional trendsetter."
La Paz has stopped taking nominations for local Latino leaders, but will hold an online vote for the "Chattanooga's Choice" award starting August 1. Currently, Latinos from organizations such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, TVA, Unum, local universities and more have been nominated.