Community Kudos: The deep-fat-fried edition

We don’t know if anyone has ever tracked this, but we strongly suspect local cardiologists see an uptick in business after the California Mid-Winter Fair & Fiesta. We haven’t seen quite the same level of bacon-infused food that we have in years past, but we’re pretty sure we’ve seen every potential dish that can be prepared in a deep-fat fryer.

So while we wait for the statins to kick in, here are a few of the community standouts who have caught our eye this week:

Congratulations to the Central Union, Vincent Memorial and Calexico boys’ soccer teams, along with the Southwest boys’ basketball team, on fantastic seasons. Although they fell just short in their respective CIF- San Diego Section championship games, they all have plenty to be proud of.

Also, hats off to Brawley Union High School on walking away with bragging rights at the Mid-Winter Fair & Fiesta’s annual High School Madness competition. The school will have to stay on its game if it plans to repeat next year, because the competition looked fierce again, as always.

Kudos are in order for the El Centro Rotary Club and the Imperial Valley Velo Club for making sizeable donations to a couple of worthy causes.

Rotary presented the Imperial Valley Food Bank with a $7,000 check to go toward the hunger relief service’s new facility in Imperial. The donation, which includes matching funds from a Rotary District grant, will pay for the purchase of automated equipment needed to shrink-wrap pallets of stored food.

Similarly, the cycling enthusiasts of the Velo Club presented the Cancer Resource Center of the Desert a $6,000 check from its annual Yuha Desert Ride event.

We’d also like to wish good luck and kudos to Crystal Quezada, who recently returned to the Valley to serve as a senior community advocate. A Calexico High School and Imperial Valley College graduate, Quezada has spent the past five years working as a legislative director in the California State Assembly for 79th District Assemblywoman Shirley Weber. The kudos are for her bringing her experience back to the Valley.

Likewise, kudos to San Diego State University-Imperial Valley for also helping keep talent in the Valley with the announcement of its new Master of Science in Nursing Leadership in Healthcare Systems. This is only one of what we hope are many new degree opportunities to come for local students.

Finally, kudos to all those young men and women in 4-H and FFA for the time and effort they put into their fair animals every year. It takes a lot of dedication and self-discipline to raise an animal and to prepare it for exhibition. The willingness to accept that responsibility bodes well for these kids’ futures.