[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 95 (Friday, June 28, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E992-E993]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING AURELIO HURTADO OF ST. HELENA, CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 27, 2013

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor 
Aurelio Hurtado of St. Helena, California, on the occasion of his 
retirement as the Director of the Farmworker Services Program for 
California Human Development, after 45 years of advocacy work.
  Mr. Hurtado left his small town of Jerez, Mexico in 1955 to work in 
the agricultural fields of Texas and New Mexico. When he moved to 
Northern California to work in the vineyards of St. Helena, Mr. Hurtado 
fell in love with the region and decided to make it his home. It was a 
conference with farmworker advocate Cesar Chavez that pushed Mr. 
Hurtado to dedicate his life to improving educational, social, and 
economic aspects of the Napa Valley community.

[[Page E993]]

  In 1967, Mr. Hurtado was one of the founders of the North Bay Human 
Development Corporation, currently known as California Human 
Development Corporation, whose core services include job training, 
affordable housing, criminal justice services, community services and 
training, and community integration for individuals with disabilities. 
In 1968, he became the Director of the On the Job Training and Adult 
Work Experience Programs where he served migrant and seasonal 
farmworker families in Napa, Sonoma, and Solano Counties. In 1982, he 
joined the Farmworker Services Division as a Deputy Director, 
advocating on behalf of Northern California farmworkers' rights.
  Mr. Hurtado is an integral member of our community and has worked 
diligently toward its improvement. He formed and was involved in 
several community organizations including Organizacion Latinoamericana 
de Liberacion Economica of Napa County, Credit Union ``El Porvenir'' of 
Napa County, Community Health Clinic Ole and Bronce Development 
Corporation. He has also worked with the Comite Mexicano de 
Beneficencia, Legal Aid of Napa Valley, the Napa Valley Migrant 
Farmworker Housing Committee, and the Instituto de los Mexicanos en el 
Exterior, among others.
  Mr. Hurtado received his degrees in Accounting and Business 
Administration in Mexico. He has shared the majority of his life with 
his wife, Mrs. Rogelia M. Hurtado.
  Mr. Speaker, it is appropriate at this time that we acknowledge Mr. 
Hurtado for his extraordinary work as a lifelong community organizer 
who works to bring equity to the lives of Latinos throughout the Napa 
Valley.

                          ____________________