Davis to Honor Local Hispanic Leaders at U.S. Capitol Ceremony
Washington, D.C.,
Oct 16 -
Rep. Tom Davis, R-11th, will present the 2006 Tom Davis Hispanic Leadership Recognition Awards to four individuals from Northern Virginia at a ceremony on Tuesday, Oct. 17, on Capitol Hill.
The ceremony will take place at 3:15 p.m. in Room 2348 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
Each year, in the spirit of Hispanic Heritage Month, Davis recognizes outstanding Hispanic leaders who have distinguished themselves through their contributions to the advancement of Hispanic Americans in the Washington area.
“Every year, I look forward to Hispanic Heritage Month and the opportunity to honor Hispanic Americans whose culture, heritage and family bonds have such a strong influence on our communities,” Davis said. “I am particularly proud of the exceptional leadership in the 11th Congressional District of Virginia.”
This year’s honorees are:
Marvin Lopez: Mr. Lopez moved from San Salvador, El Salvador, to the Washington area as a young boy. He graduated from Bladensburg High and Prince George’s Community College in Maryland, then became an international wholesaler. From there, he became East Coast Director for Inka Cola, where he was charged with building relationships with the Hispanic community. He promoted these relationships by sponsoring soccer tournaments throughout the D.C. area. He serves on the advisory board for the Heritage Culture Foundation, which focuses on building housing in Central and South America. He both contributes and locates sponsors for Latino Christian Church events, school events and other events for the Hispanic community.
Carlos Aragon: Mr. Aragon, the oldest of six children, moved with his family from El Salvador to the United States in 1970. After graduating from Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Md., then continuing his education at Montgomery College and American University, Mr. Aragon opened Aragon Corporation of America, a waste-disposal firm that served residential, commercial, industrial and Federal government customers. Aragon Corporation was chosen Business of the Year in 1984 by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Aragon has served as president of the Salvadoran Chamber of Commerce of Washington, D.C., and on the board of directors of several public and private concerns. Today, he serves as acting director of Radio Fiesta, 1480 AM in Woodbridge, Va., which this season organized the best-attended Hispanic festival organized by a Hispanic media organization in the Washington, D.C. area.
Cresencio (Cris) Arcos: Mr. Arcos, who was born in San Antonio, Texas, has served as ambassador to Honduras, White House Coordinator for Public Diplomacy on Central America, Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement and as a member of the North American Free Trade Agreement Task Force. He is or was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Council of the Americas, U.N. Drug Control Program Advisory Board, the Foster Care Review of Florida Board, the Save the Children, Latin America, Board, among many others. He twice received the State Department’s Superior Honor Award and once the Meritorious Honor Award and the Order of Morazán, the highest award given by the Honduran government. He listed in Who’s Who in the World, America, the South, the Southwest and among Hispanics. He is many-times-over published author of scholarly articles, a former Army combat engineers who is married and the father of two.
Jessica Ranero: Ms. Ranero, the daughter of two immigrants from Central America, has devoted most of her adult life to working for access and equity for Hispanic students in higher education. After graduating from Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Va., and earning a bachelors at Mary Washington College and a masters at Virginia Tech, she worked for four years as assistant director of multicultural affairs at William and Mary College, then spent three years as assistant director of Hispanic/Latino Student affairs at George Mason University. She has returned to school and is now a first-year doctoral student in the Educational leadership and Policy Studies program at Iowa State University. She plans to research how first-generation Latino/a college students and their parents define success.
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