This past Friday was the Merced County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s 71st annual Installation Dinner and Awards Ceremony, held this year at the Merced County Fairgrounds.
This past Friday was the Merced County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s 71st annual Installation Dinner and Awards Ceremony, held this year at the Merced County Fairgrounds.
This past Friday was the Merced County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s 71st annual Installation Dinner and Awards Ceremony, held this year at the Merced County Fairgrounds.
This past Friday was the Merced County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s 71st annual Installation Dinner and Awards Ceremony, held this year at the Merced County Fairgrounds.
This past Friday was the Merced County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s 71st annual Installation Dinner and Awards Ceremony, held this year at the Merced County Fairgrounds.
This past Friday was the Merced County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s 71st annual Installation Dinner and Awards Ceremony, held this year at the Merced County Fairgrounds.
Members of the International Fraternity of Delta Sigma Pi of UC, Merced greeted guests, checked them in, and took them to their tables. The Mistress of Ceremonies, Carmen Ramirez of Kelsey & Ramirez, LLP greeted guests and kicked off the program. She spoke passionately about the theme of the event, which was “Strengthening the Communities,” pointing out that a strong community and business community will continue to strengthen and grow Merced.
Dania Matos, associate chancellor of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at UC Merced, was the keynote speaker. Matos spoke eloquently on the planned growth of UC Merced and on her plan of continuing strengthening the bond with UC Merced and the Merced community. Highlights were the 2020 plan, the increased number of students, and the ethnic diversity of UC Merced.
Dinner was served by Mexican Twisted Catering and there was a large spread of food for all the 200 guests to enjoy. During the dinner, Ramirez had a call to action to the silent dessert auction and the outpouring of support from the guests was noticeable. All desserts sold at a high price for both the fundraising efforts of MCHCC and the MCHCC Foundation.
There was a special note to thank those in attendance: elected officials’ representatives Diana Westmoreland from Senator Anna Cabellero’s Office, Senator Caballero’s husband Juan Uranga, Matt Rodgers from Senator Kamala Harris’s Office, Jailene Gutierrez from Congressman Costa’s Office, Ryan Heller from Assembly Member Adam Gray’s Office, Merced Mayor Mike Murphy and City Council Members Matt Serratto and Delray Shelton. The leaders where joined by representatives from the local Atwater Chamber of Commerce, the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, and the Tulare Kings Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
All new Chamber board members were sworn in by Mayor Mike Murphy. The new Board executive positions include: Juan Roman, President; Annissa Fragoso, Vice President; Karla Narvaez-Flores, Secretary; Ana Davalos, Treasurer; Rene Gutierrez, Ex-Officio.
An additional award was given to Diana Odom Gunn, on her retirement from the MCHCC Board of Directors.
A special award was given to now Ex-Officio, Rene Gutierrez for excellent tenure as President of MCHCC.
The award for Organization of the Year was presented to the Merced Irrigation District for their continued support of the Merced County Community and their 100 years of dedicated service to Merced County.
The Member of the Year award was presented to Pearl Family Dentistry for their excellent support and advocacy of the Hispanic community and with MCHCC.
The Man of the Year award was presented to Julio Sandoval, for serving loyally his Hispanic community and his many contributions to the community especially in Atwater.
The Woman of the Year award was presented to Sol Rivas, for being a voice of an often-underserved Hispanic community of Merced.