The National Alliance of Craftsmen Associations held its first Annual Banquet Dinner & Dance on Friday, June 20, 2008 at the Pearl Stable. Approximately 500 guests attended the event.
This year's theme was "Building Futures From The Ground Up", inspiring each of us to contemplate how to build, strengthen and support our communities.
News 4 weathercaster, Maclovio Perez, served as the evening's master of ceremonies. Our banquet was started off with the singing of the National Anthem by Sydney Perez followed by music from Henry Brun and The Latin Connection.
Janie Gonzalez, CEO of Web Head Group, gave the opening welcome followed by a prayer from Father Bill Davis.
A special recognition to the life of Willie Velasquez was given by this year's keynote speaker, Dr. Juan Andrade, President, United States Hispanic Leadership Institute.
Dr. Richard Gambitta presented this year's NACA Scholarships to six local area high school juniors and seniors, and recognized them for their outsanding scholastic achievements. The names of the Scholarship recipients can be found here.
One of the many highlights of the evening was the presentation of the trailer on the life and times of the late Willie Velasquez.
The National Alliance of Craftsmen Associations would like to thank everyone who attended our inagural banquet. A special thanks to Annette Avina and all of our Phase 5 and CNP staff who did an outstanding job in coordinating this event.We would also like to thank the organizations who made contributions to the banquet. This year’s banquet was a success thanks to the time and efforts of everyone involved who truly made this a memorable event which I'm confident we will repeat next year!.
