Finalists named for Don Quijote Awards
Event returning to in-person setting Dec. 11 at Epcot
Ready to celebrate again in person, the 24th annual Don Quijote Awards presented by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando (HCCMO) and Prospera revealed the finalists of the four categories, along with this year’s Lifetime Achievement and Hispanic Community Champion award recipients.
The Don Quijote Awards is a signature event in Central Florida that recognizes businesses and individuals committed to excellence and to the development of Central Florida’s Hispanic community.
Its annual gala honors outstanding entrepreneurs, professionals and community leaders who have made significant contributions to the growth and development of the Hispanic community in Central Florida.
HCCMO, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to drive economic growth by strengthening Hispanic business in Central Florida, and Prospera, an economic development, nonprofit organization that since 1991 has specialized in providing bilingual assistance to Hispanic entrepreneurs who want to start, sustain and grow their business, have been partnering up to celebrate this event year after year.
Last year, due to the pandemic, the event was held virtually, but this year the Latino community is getting ready to celebrate Dec. 11 at the Epcot’s World Showplace Pavilion.
Twelve finalists in four categories will be recognized during the black-tie award celebration will be from 6 p.m.-midnight, with Tele
mundo 31 news anchors Olga Aymat and Carlos Rausseo as this year’s masters of ceremony.
The categories include Hispanic Business of the Year, Five Years or Less; Hispanic Business of the Year, More than Five Years; Professional of the Year; and the Excellence Award.
For Cyndia Morales Muñiz, the University of Central Florida director of
Hispanic Serving Institution Culture and Partnerships, being nominated “is especially meaningful to have this opportunity to share our Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) initiatives at UCF with the greater Central Florida community,” she said.
Morales Muñiz is among the Don Quijote Awards finalists for Professional of the Year, a category she shares with Diana Almodovar, deputy director and county engineer at Orange County Public Works Department, and Karla Muñiz, executive director of Strategic Workforce Integration at AdventHealth.
As a health professional, Muñiz emphasized the work done by her team and how they took care of the community by “being flexible, adaptable, resistant and more humane.
The Excellence Award includes as finalists Dr. Luis Martínez-Fernández, a professor of history at UCF; Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolón; and Uniform Patrol Division Commander at Orange County Sheriff ’s
Office, Carlos Torres.
Torres said that “words fall short to describe all the emotions I feel knowing that as a Puerto Rican I am one among many of the leaders distinguished in Central Florida that have been able to achieve a level of excellence and be recognized by our community.”
The Orange County deputy said this is “another confirmation that all the efforts I make is to motivate other Hispanics to achieve their goals.” Torres added that the diversity of the community in Central Florida is presented during these awards and assured this is “what makes us one of the best cities. in the U.S.”
Rolón agreed and said that “it is an honor to be nominated among so many distinguished leaders in our Hispanic community for this prestigious award.”
The 2021 Don Quijote Awards finalists for Hispanic Business of the year five years or less include Capella Immigration Law, PLLC, represented by attorney Camila Pachón Roldán;
Prime Services LLC, represented by the owner Milna Maldonado; and Vinali Staffing, represented by its owners Ruth and Israel Vélez.
The category for more than five years includes Castillo Engineering Services, LLC, represented by owners Richard and Christopher Castillo; IRACOR, represented by owners Jeannette and Richard Coronado; and Total Nutrition Technology, represented by company founder Lourdes McAgy.
The event also recognizes two categories chosen by the Don Quijote Awards Selection Committee.
The Hispanic Community Champion, given to a non-Hispanic individual who has led by example in supporting the progress of the Hispanic community in Central Florida, was presented to Clint Bullock, general manager and CEO at Orlando Utilities Commission.
The Lifetime Achievement award, presented to someone who has made significant and lasting contributions to the development and empowerment of the Hispanic community in Central Florida, is honoring Emmy Award winner, senior news director and producer at Univision, Orlando Paul Gamache.
“When they called me from the Chamber and Prospera, I thought it was to talk about being master of ceremony because, in fact, I have done it for several years,” Gamache said. “Since last year was virtual, I thought it was a call to define the protocols for this year since it is back in person.
“[But] that was not the case, as they were calling me to announce that it had been, unanimously, the decision of the committee to award me the Lifetime Achievement Award. For me, it has immense significance because I have been
fortunate and privileged having been able to develop my journalistic career here in Central Florida without having to move all over the country, starting on Channel 6 as a production technician [and] continuing to the first licensed radio station in Orlando broadcasting in Spanish.
“For 12 years, I was a news anchor, manager of the station, and then obviously at Univision, where I’ve spent 24 years, 20 of those in front of the camera.
“The award for me is the most important in this area, it represents a lot because it is our own community which I have informed, the one I have served, when we were very few [Puerto Ricans in Central Florida] and now we are more than a million. It represents a lot for me that the people who support me, who have followed me and who have given me the privilege of being able to enter their homes with information every day.
“It fills me with pride, satisfaction, and I receive it with great respect.”