[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 169 (Tuesday, September 28, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H5469]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Bacon) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BACON. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize two Hispanic 
trailblazers in Omaha--Robert, known as Bob, Campos and Dr. James, 
known as Jim, Ramirez--for their generous contributions to our 
community.
  After growing up together in the same working-class South Omaha 
neighborhood, Bob and Jim each went on to lead extraordinary, 
successful lives, and they have made a huge difference in our 
community.
  Bob Campos was born in 1938 to Mexican immigrant parents in South 
Omaha, a neighborhood long regarded as a melting pot of multicultural 
immigrant families. Growing up, his large family shared only a one-
bedroom home. So when Bob was only 8 years old, he went to work at the 
neighborhood grocery store to earn some extra income for his family.
  At 16 years old, Campos dropped out of high school and attempted to 
enlist in the United States Marines but was unsuccessful after 
falsifying his age in his application. Shortly after that, he fulfilled 
his desire to serve his country by joining the U.S. Coast Guard.
  After his military service, Bob moved back to Omaha and worked at the 
Kiewit Construction Company. After 15 years at Kiewit, he started his 
own business, Campos Construction, on January 1, 1977. Starting his 
business with only $500 and a pickup truck, Campos grew his company to 
become the largest minority-owned construction company in Nebraska.
  Bob's reputation for excellence led him to take on high-profile 
projects, to include painting the home of President Abraham Lincoln in 
Illinois and building the Gerald R. Ford Conservation Center in Omaha.
  In 2003, Bob leased the land to build community soccer fields in 
South Omaha, personally mowing and tending to the property now known as 
the Bob Campos Soccer Complex.
  Bob also fosters educational leadership opportunities for Hispanic 
high school students through the Grassroots Leadership Development 
Program.
  Dr. Jim Ramirez was born in 1934 to Mexican immigrant parents who 
worked in the meatpacking plants of South Omaha.
  During high school, Dr. Ramirez faced repeated discrimination and was 
told by guidance counselors and peers that Latinos such as himself did 
not belong in college. So after graduation, Jim joined his father at 
the Nebraska Beef packing plant, where arduous work motivated him to 
pursue higher education and a better life.
  For 18 years, Ramirez worked the slaughterhouse in the day and took 
classes at night; graduating in 1971 with a bachelor's degree in 
sociology from the University of Nebraska Omaha. He went on to earn his 
master's degree in guidance and counseling from UNO in 1974 and, 
ultimately, a Ph.D. in adult continuing education in 1984.
  Having witnessed discrimination throughout his years as a student, 
Dr. Ramirez made it his life's mission to promote pathways to higher 
education for Omaha's Hispanic community.
  In 1972 Dr. Ramirez was selected to chair UNO's Committee on Mexican-
American Affairs, upon whose recommendation the University hired more 
Hispanic faculty, administrators, and staff.
  After earning his doctorate, Dr. Ramirez was hired by UNO as a 
professor and counselor, where he spent decades mentoring countless 
Hispanic and minority students.
  Dr. Ramirez went on to work as a human relations specialist at Omaha 
Public Schools, where he recruited Hispanic teachers from across the 
country to teach and mentor Omaha's Latino students.

  Additionally, today I would like to recognize the Latino Center of 
the Midlands for celebrating 50 years of serving Omaha's Hispanic 
community.
  The Latino Center is an education and social service nonprofit 
located in South Omaha, the heart of Omaha's Latino community.
  Founded officially in 1971 as the Chicano Awareness Center, their 
work is rooted in advocacy for and service to Omaha's Latino community. 
Their three major programs, Family and Community Well-Being, Pathways 
to Success, and Workforce Education and Innovation impact over 2,500 
individuals and families a year. Currently it is led by Albert Varas.
  During Hispanic Heritage Month, no other two individuals and 
organization are deserving for our recognition than Bob Campos, Dr. Jim 
Ramirez, and the Latino Center. Together they demonstrate for all 
Americans, especially Latino Americans, that through hard work, 
perseverance, and faith, anything is possible.
  I am pleased to announce that Bob Campos, Dr. Jim Ramirez, and the 
Latino Center of the Midlands have been selected as the inaugural 
inductees to the Nebraska Hispanic Hall of Fame, established this year 
by the Nebraska Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with my 
office, where their stories and many others will be shared for 
centuries to come.
  Thank you, Bob and Jim, and the Latino Center, for making a 
difference in our great community.

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