La Paz Chattanooga held its seventh annual Latino Leadership Awards fundraiser on Monday, at the Chattanooga Convention Center.
The Latino Leadership Awards are held every year at the start of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sep. 15), and serves as an event to highlight local latino individuals who are outstanding in their service to the Chattanooga community.
This year’s awards recognized ten honorees for their commitment to serving the Latino community as well as the Chattanooga community at large. The honorees were:
Carlos Betancourt, Brainerd Baptist Church
Carolina Calderón, Aflac
Zuriel Casillas, Gordo’s Bakery
Emmanuel Escobar, EPB
Mónica Griffin, St. Peter’s Episcopal School
Gus Hernández, Silverdale Baptist Church
Felipe Lara, Tucker Build
Sgt. Alexis Mercado, Chattanooga PD
Jessica Oliva-Calderin, Calderin & Oliva, P.A.
Julian Ramírez, CFC Foundation/Operation Get Active
In addition to the 10 honorees, several individuals were celebrated in a variety of categories. The categories were:
Emerging Latino Leader - given to a Latino community member under the age of 25 who shows exceptional skills in leadership and service. The Emerging Leader also receives a $1,000 scholarship from the Anne Shelton Memorial Fund. The Anne Shelton Memorial Fund was a scholarship created in honor of Anne Shelton, long-time friend and volunteer of La Paz. This year’s Emerging Leader was Yhara Mendoza, a senior at Chattanooga Girls’ Leadership Academy.
Anne Shelton Memorial Volunteer of the Year - given to a La Paz volunteer who has donated hours to La Paz programs and events, and has inspired the staff with their dedication to the Latino community. This year’s Volunteer of the Year was Tere Bell.
Community Champion - given to a community member who has used their role in the community to elevate Latinos. The Community Champion encompasses the values of La Paz to advocate, educate and include as well as guide, connect and direct the Latino community to a better place. This year’s Community Champion was Jonathan Dreiling of Highland Park Commons.
Compañía Latino Entrepreneur of the Year - a new award this year, given to a Latino Compañía member who is the proprietor of a small business in the Chattanooga market. This year’s Latino Entrepreneur of the Year was Luz Bohorquez of Punto Latino.
Compañía Latino Business of the Year - also a new award this year, given to a Latino-owned corporate Compañía member in the Chattanooga market. This year’s Latino Business of the Year was Carnicerías Loa.
Both Compañía awards are voted for by the general public. In order to qualify for this award, nominees have to be members of La Paz’s Latino Network, Compañía.
Chattanooga’s Choice - voted for by the public, this person is part of the cohort of honorees. This year’s Chattanooga’s Choice winner was Julian Ramírez of Operation Get Active.
Latino Leader of the Year - chosen by a committee, the Latino Leader of the year is part of the cohort of honorees and distinguished as an exceptional servant and leader. This year’s Latino Leader of the Year was Gus Hernández of Silverdale Baptist Church.
This year’s awards had 420 attendees and raised the most funds to date of any previous Latino Leadership Awards. Main sponsors for this year’s events were BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Community Trust, SunTrust, Coca-Cola Bottling Co. UNITED, First Tennessee Bank, Unum, Dr. Rowland and Caring Choice Women’s Center.