Fort Stockton Hispanic Chamber of Commerce honors community members

FORT STOCKTON The Fort Stockton Hispanic Chamber of Commerce recently hosted their sixth annual awards banquet May 1 at the Pecos County Exhibition Building.

Mariachi Singer Esteban Velasquez, a senior at Odessa High School that has recently been awarded a full scholarship to Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio along with other distinguished merit awards, provided cocktail reception music.

Guest speaker of the event was Commissioner Ron Lehman of the Texas Workforce Commission who spoke of the many opportunities for our community through educational grants from the commission. These grants are for customized training for those graduating seniors interested in pursing a chemical engineering degree in the petroleum industry.

Outstanding citizens in Fort Stockton were also honored for their contribution to the community.

Those honored were: Pete Terrazas from Terrazas Furniture was named as the "Business Man of the Year;" Abelia Acosta from Acosta's Tortilleria was chosen as the "Business Woman of the Year;" Judge Robert Gonzales was named as the Elected Official of the Year; The Lions Club was named as the "Outstanding Volunteer Organization of the Year" for their work through the SEED program; Yvonne Herrera-Gonzalez from Intermediate School was named as the "Teacher of the Year" and Superintendent Ron Mayfield was named as the "Administrator of the Year."

Two recognition awards were presented to J. Ben Gallegos Sr. for his 61 years in business as the owner of the Comanche Tortilla and Tamale Factory and to Fort Stockton High School guidance counselor Ruth Guadarrama for her invaluable assistance to graduating high school students and preparing them for further academic studies.

This year the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce was raised $50,500 for scholarship to graduating Fort Stockton High School seniors.
Seventy-one scholarships were given out to graduates ranging from $250 to $6,000 that turned in their Clearinghouse applications.