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Rodriguez Fashion

Legacy Award

Presented to businesses, individuals, or organizations that have left a lasting legacy in the Hispanic community through their impact, dedication, and contributions.

Michele Valadez

Rising Star Award

Recognizing young leaders in our community who are elevating the Hispanic name and demonstrating excellence in their fields.

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Neza Tires

Small Business of the Year Award

It is awarded to a Hispanic-owned small business that has experienced significant growth or serves as a role model to other small businesses in the community.

Wichita Wind Surge

Organization of the Year Award

The Wichita Wind Surge is the Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. The Wind Surge completed their fourth season in the Texas League. The Wind Surge joined the Copa de la Diversion in 2022 and introduced a new brand identity – Tumba Vacas de Wichita. The Tumba Vacas was a huge impact and focused on the Wichita Hispanic community. Providing a new stage for talent Hispanic artist, dancers and others to educate the Hispanic community and their passion about family roots, traditions, and culture.

 

The Tumba Vacas program opens opportunities to provide a new atmosphere of FUN at the ballpark. The baseball club creates a new bridge within the Wichita community for all fans to enjoy and continue to provide a family friendly fun. We are proud of the support within the community and this new opportunity to leave a footprint. The Wichita Wind Surge are very proud of our Wichita Hispanic community and community leaders supporting the program and continue to help create an impact within Minor League Baseball (MiLB) & Major League Baseball (MLB).

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Empower

Community Partner of the Year

Empower is dedicated to supporting our Hispanic community, with an emphasis on the North End of Wichita. We provide educational, workforce-readiness, and small business development resources. We believe our work will spark new ideas and new opportunities for the North End, increasing the quality of life and place, and helping strengthen the future of Hispanic families across Wichita. 

 

Our organization began operations in March of 2021 and has provided its neighbors a connection to a continuum of educational opportunities, work-readiness preparation, and small business development resources in a culturally inviting, bilingual, and comfortable space. While our work reaches the North End in many ways, our hub is the Evergreen Community Center and Library - a city of Wichita partnership with the Wichita Public Library, Neighborhood Resource Center, and Kansas Hispanic Education and Development Foundation.

Wichita Festivals

Precious Gema Award

Celebrating an individual, organization, or business that has made a meaningful and positive impact, creating a welcoming space for all in our community.

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Fabián Armendariz

Leadership Impact Award

Like many thousands of Dreamers across the country, Fabián arrived in Kansas as an undocumented immigrant from Mexico in 1991, at the age of ten. He grew up in Salina, Kansas, and came to Wichita to attend Wichita State University in 1999.

 

A year later, Fabián was selected to the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI) summer internship program and was placed in the Wichita City Manager’s Office to support programming. Through visits he made as part of the internship, he was offered a position in the Wichita Public Schools later that year working for the Migrant Even Start program at Colvin Elementary. Considering his background as a migrant, immigrant, and ESOL child, this was a full-circle moment for him. Over his 24-year career with the district, he served in numerous roles at several schools before transitioning to district administration as the supervisor of Pupil Accounting in 2007. During the last 17 years, he has also served as the Director of Transportation and is currently the Division Director of Operations.

 

In 2015, he started volunteering for the Wichita Festivals, Inc. Operations Committee (AKA Red Shirts) with the end goal of growing activities geared towards our Hispanic Community. There were small gains over the next few years, but his dream of having the event on the main stage of the Wichita River Festival became a reality in 2022. A small committee of community leaders was formed to help oversee the event and ensure it truly reflected what our community needs. Three years later, Fiesta del Río has become a mainstay of the main stage, bringing in thousands of people in our Hispanic community, and every year since has ranked amongst the most attended nights of the Festival. This year, Fabián was selected and is serving in the volunteer role of general chair, coordinating and leading all of the Riverfest Red Shirts in preparation for the 2025 Riverfest. He is also part of the Wichita Festival’s Inc. board of directors.

 

Fabián became a United States Citizen in 2002, the first person in his family to attain a bachelor’s degree in 2008, and a master’s degree in 2011, and is currently working on his dissertation to complete a doctoral degree. He is happily married to Matt Snodgrass, who is an elementary school principal in the Wichita Public Schools.

Wichita Hispanic Chamber of Commerce  | 350 W. Douglas Ave. | Wichita, KS 67202 | P: 316-265-6334 | F: 316-978-9480 | wichitahispanicchamber.org

© 2015 by the Wichita HIspanic Chamber of Commerce. Site Design by CML Collective, LLC.

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