La Paz Chattanooga celebrated the start of Hispanic Heritage Month with the Third Annual Latino Leadership Awards at the Chattanoogan Hotel on Monday. A sold out crowd of over 300 Chattanoogans showed their support for local Latino leaders. 12 leaders were honored for their contributions & accomplishments with four top honors going to:
· Emerging Latino Leader—Guilda Xiloj, 2014 CGLA Valedictorian
· Community Champion—Dr. Jack Rowland, Caring Choice Women’s Center
· Latino Leader of the Year—Zary Colon, Unum
· Chattanooga’s Choice—Officer Harold Diaz, Chattanooga Police Department
The event's keynote speaker was Fuad Reveiz, former Tennessee kicker and NFL stand out turned DIY Network host who shared about the importance of leading in the community and making sure that everyone does their share to lift others up.
Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke offered opening remarks, championing La Paz and equality for all Chattanoogans for the third consecutive year. Former Latino Leader Award winner, Junior Loa, shared in Spanish about how excited he was to see so many Chattanoogans working together to promote a positive image of Latinos while celebrating the good work they are doing.
La Paz Executive Director Stacy Johnson said, “It is a great honor to serve the Latino community. By highlighting local Latino leaders we not only celebrate their personal accomplishments, we also shed light on the many ways that Latinos are shaping our community—inspiring others and helping those who need it most.”
La Paz thanks the generous donors for contributions received at the luncheon and the following sponsors for helping to make this program possible: Presenting Sponsors: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee. Platinum Sponsors: Dr. Jack Rowland & Caring Choice Women's Center, EPB and Volkswagen Chattanooga. Gold Sponsors: Debo's Diners and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). Coke, Erlanger, First Tennessee Bank, Noticias Libres/Times Free Press, Southern Adventist University, Suntrust, Tennessee American Water, TVA and Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union. Special thanks to our individual sponsors: Tony Huskey and Greg Vital.