AWARD RECIPIENT NAMED BY HISPANIC HERITAGE ADVISORY BOARD
Sunday, January 17th, 2010AURORA, ILLINOIS – Gonzalo Arroyo, the director of Aurora’s Family Focus, has been named the Pete Perez Award Recipient for 2010 by the city’s Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board (AHHAB).
Arroyo will be honored at the Board’s annual Community Breakfast on Thursday, January 28, at 7:30 AM, at Long Island Sound Banquets, 1920 E. New York Street, Aurora. Tickets are $15 per person and go toward the Board’s Scholarship Fund that recognizes the community’s accomplished youth from Kindergarten through the university level.
Each year, the Board solicits recommendations from the Aurora community to identify leaders, athletes, artists, writers and others to honor the legacy of the late Pete Perez. The recipient is selected for their outstanding leadership and impact on the Hispanic community.
Family Focus Aurora is a not-for-profit organization providing immigration services, adult education, family services, child development, after-school programs and outreach and information for the community. In addition, Arroyo is the co-founder and first president of Federacion de Clubes Michoacanos in Illinois and has also served on multiple community boards including East Aurora School District 131, the Michoacan Government Committee and is an auxiliary member for Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Extranjero (IME). Arroyo was nominated by Club San Pedro of Aurora.
Pete Perez was a highly respected Aurora police officer who was named the Aurora Exchange Club’s Policeman of the Year in 1966 and was the first recipient of the Hector Jordan Lifetime Achievement Award by the Hispanic Illinois State Law Enforcement Association in 1990. After his retirement, Perez continued to serve the community on the Kane County Merit Commission, which conducts testing for correctional officers and sheriff’s deputies.
The 2009 AHHAB honoree was Jesse “the Law” Torres, coach and mentor for the Jesse “the Law” Torres Boxing gym.
The Community Breakfast will also feature an awards ceremony to recognize local students who participated in a coloring contest (K-2), poster contest (3-5), and essay contest (6-8). Scholarships will also be presented to high school seniors and students already enrolled in colleges and universities.
Tickets can be purchased by contacting the City’s Special Events Office at 630-844-4731 or by e-mailing specialevents@aurora-il.org. Credit Card payments will be accepted only at City Hall, 44 E. Downer Place.