2009 Amigo Awards Breakfast
El Fondo de Nuestra Comunidad
El Fondo de Nuestra Comunidad hosted its 2009 Amigo Awards Breakfast on September 16 at the Wilder Center. The event is an opportunity to share the mission and work of El Fondo, celebrate its impact in the community through grantmaking and honor this year's recipients of the Amigo Award.
“El fondo is about building the human development capacity, the assertion of identity, the resource sharing, the cross-cultural and cross-sector relationships that a focused community builds in order to negotiate a place of power with those in power,” said keynote speaker and State Rep. Carlos Mariani Rosas.
Nearly 100 people helped make the event a success, including judges, attorneys, business leaders and emerging leaders in the community.
The 2009 Amigo Award recipients were Luz María Frías and Best Buy Company (pictured). Presented annually since 1998, the Amigo Awards recognize individuals and organizations that exemplify the spirit of philanthropy and give generously - time, talent and wealth - to the Latino community.
As a result of their work, the Latino community is empowered and strengthened.
Luz María Frías exemplifies the Amigo Award with her many years of dedicated service as a true leader in the Latino community. Earlier this year, Frías was named director of Saint Paul's Human Rights and Equal Economic Opportunity Department. Previous to that she worked in Mayor Chris Coleman's office as external affairs director.
Frías has a long history of helping society’s underdogs and of advocacy on behalf of underprivileged Hispanic families and people of color, which include her work as chief legal officer at Centro Legal, a research consultant with the Minnesota House of Representatives and a founding member of the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association. She completed degrees in law and public policy from the University of Iowa and has been recognized with various honors and awards.
Her community service roles include 2008-2009 president of the Minnesota Women Lawyers Association, trustee for the Minnesota Historical Society, corporate trustee for HealthPartners and trustee for the Council on Crime and Justice.
Best Buy also was recognized for its commitment and service in the Latino community. Tim Showalter-Loch, community relations manager, accepted the Amigo Award for Best Buy.
Best Buy has been a generous supporter of El Fondo and the Latino community through its community partnerships, which is central to the way the electronics retailer does business. In 2008, more than $30 million was donated to improve the vitality of the communities where Best Buy is located.
As a community partner, Best Buy works to encourage ideas and to confront challenges. Through its philanthropic activities, the company extends its support in times of celebration and in times of need, from its Best Buy Teach Award program to its encouragement of local volunteerism to its scholarships. Learn more at www.bestbuyinc.com/community_relations/.
Additional participants and contributors of the event include Minnesota State Rep. Carlos Mariani Rosas; Rosa Tock of CLAC; Nelson Peralta of Peralta & Peralta, Ltd; and El Fondo advisory board members, Tom Romero (chair), and Melissa Lopez Franzen. Salsa A La Salsa catered the breakfast.
Keynoter: Rep. Carlos Mariani Rosas
"El Fondo is “un amanecer”. It is both a manifestation of, and a way to, creating the next generation of Latino action and identity. And because only Latinos can do that - no one else can do that for us - we need you, we need each other: carnales, amigos, hermanos y hermanas, to act, to give."