[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 126 (Friday, September 24, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1957]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING KSEE 24 HISPANIC-AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH HONOREES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 24, 1999

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Hon. 
Jane Cardoza, Pilar De La Cruz, Gabriel Escalera, Frank C. Franco, and 
Dr. Cecilio Orozco for being selected as the 1999 Portraits of Success 
program honorees by KSEE 24 and Companies that Care. In celebration 
Hispanic-American Heritage Month for September, these five leaders were 
honored for their unique contributions to the betterment of their 
community.
  KSEE 24 and Companies that Care launched the 1999 Portraits of 
Success program to honor five distinguished local leaders in 
celebration of Hispanic-American Heritage month. Currently in its fifth 
year, this special project combines specially produced public service 
announcements, a five-part news series, plus an awards luncheon to 
publicly recognize the unique contributions of the Hon. Jane Cardoza, 
Pilar de la Cruz, Gabriel Escalera, Frank C. Franco and Dr. Cecilio 
Orozco.
  Since graduating from law school in 1981, Judge Cardoza started her 
law career in the Fresno County District Attorney's office, proceeding 
to the offices of the Fresno City Attorney and State Attorney General, 
Fresno County Municipal Court and now is the Presiding Judge of Family 
Law for the Fresno County Superior Court. She is active in the San 
Joaquin College of Law Board of Trustees, the Fresno Metropolitan 
Museum Board of Trustees, Fresno Metropolitan Rotary, Fresno City 
College Puente Project Mentoring Program and Domestic Violence 
Rountable.
  Pilar de la Cruz began her nursing career in 1969 at Fresno Community 
Hospital and has moved up the corporate ladder to become vice-president 
of Education Department at Fresno Community. She has been instrumental 
in the development of the Jefferson Job Institute, a program to provide 
training for parents of school children for entry-level jobs in 
hospital settings. Ms. De la Cruz was named 1998 Volunteer of the Year 
by the American Health Association and 1997 RN of the Year by the 
Central Valley Coalition of Nursing Organizations. She received the 
Latina Beyond Boundaries Award in Healthcare for 1998.
  Gabriel Escalera has been in the field of education for 27 years, as 
principal of Alta Sierra Intermediate School for five years and is the 
principal of Gateway High School. His college major was physical 
education; played football for San Diego State and was an athletic 
director and coached football and wrestling for 12 years. Mr. Escalera 
is president of the Fresno chapter of the Association of Mexican-
American Educators and is also president of the Fresno chapter of ACSA. 
He is a member of the Latino Educational Issues Roundtable and numerous 
professional and service organizations.
  Mr. Franco is Business Development Manager for the Fresno County 
Economic Opportunities Commission and has been with the Commission for 
16 years. He is Chairperson of the Board of the Metropolitan Flood 
Control District which is instrumental in developing new parks, is past 
president and board member of Central California Hispanic Chamber of 
Commerce. Mr. Franco enjoys working for the benefit of children and 
serves as a board member for Genesis, Inc., a group home for girls that 
also provides substance abuse counseling for women.
  Dr. Orozco is Professor Emeritus at CSUF's School of Education. In 
1980 in Utah he discovered the origins of the Nahaatl people, the 
ancestors of the Anasazi and Aztecs, and has repeatedly visited the 
sites. One of his proudest accomplishments was proposing the name of 
Miguel Hidalgo Elementary School which was the first school in Fresno 
to be named for a Hispanic, and this effort was partially responsible 
for his receiving the National Association for Bilingual Education's 
``Pioneer In Bilingual Education Medal'' in 1997. Dr. Orozco published 
a book explaining the details of the Sun Stone of the Mexicas and the 
Aztec Calendar and in 1998 published (in Spanish) the essence of his 
research on the work of Lic. Alfonso Rivas Salmon which dealt with the 
origins of the Nahuatl people.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize the contributions of Judge Jane 
Cardoza, Pilar De La Cruz, RN, Gabriel Escalera, Frank C. Franco, and 
Dr. Cecilio Orozco for the month of September, Hispanic-American 
Heritage Month. I urge my colleagues to join me in wishing these 
honorees many more years of continued success.

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