San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Time almost up to buy SAAHJ ticket
The sale of tickets for the 20th San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists’ scholarships and award gala ends Monday, and tickets are nearly sold out.
The organization, known as SAAHJ for short, will be awarding $34,500 in scholarships this year at the event that takes place Saturday, starting at 6:30 p.m. Over the last 20 years, the association has distributed scholarships to nearly 200 students, with awards ranging from $500 to $5,000 to assist with the cost of higher education.
“The time to support the future of journalism and communications is now,” said SAAHJ President Joey Palacios, a reporter with Texas Public Radio. “One of our missions is to provide support to the next generation of great communicators and trusted journalists. We want to help ensure the people talking and writing about our communities resemble and represent the diverse cultures on which they are reporting. We im- mensely appreciate all the support we get to make this possible.”
The keynote speaker and recipient of the Corazon de Oro Award is Carmen Yulín Cruz, the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Cruz rose to prominence after Hurricane Maria devastated the island territory, when she became a tireless voice for island residents and a fierce critic of the response to the disaster.
San Antonio ExpressNews reporter Elaine Ayala, a 38-year reporter and editor, will be honored with the Henry Guerra Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Journalism. And the American Indians in Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions will be receiving the Community Service Award for its work to preserve and protect the culture and traditions of the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation as well as the other indigenous people of the Spanish colonial missions of South Texas and Northern Mexico.
Ticket sales end at 5 p.m. Monday. To buy a ticket, go to sahispanic journalists.com/gala.