FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Jacqueline Perez     305.480.7032

LATIN BUSINESS CLUB OF AMERICA CELEBRATED FOURTH ANNUAL AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE.

Coral Gables, FL – (September 27th, 2005) – Latin Business Club of America, a five-year-old networking organization dedicated to promote businesses within the Latin community and unite Latinos in their business efforts, celebrated its Fourth Annual Awards of Excellence on Friday, September 23^rd at the Omni Colonnade Hotel in Coral Gables.

The annually sold out event commemorates National Hispanic Heritage through the recognition of those individuals and organizations whose valuable contributions expose Latino influences above and beyond Latin markets.

Over 300 of South Florida ’s top executives and diplomats, attended the elegant dinner ceremony.  “The community leaders that we will be honoring have impressed us with their drive, courage and determination.  They are a great example to the rest of us who sometimes struggle to keep a timely balance between our families, our responsibility to our community, and our careers. It is with our most sincere appreciation for all they have contributed to, not only our Latin community, but also our great country that we will humbly honor these outstanding individuals,“ said Monica Puig, President and Founder of the Latin Business Club of America.  During the gala, Puig presented a music video with highlights of the children she met during her trip to Guatemala ’s Intervida’s projects last summer.   

Latin Business Club of America, with over 12,000 members in South Florida , has become an important strategic alliance for businesses who desire a presence in the Latin community.  In the United States alone, Hispanic purchasing power is growing exponentially, making it a hot market segment for manufacturers. According to New York-based business strategy and consulting firm Santiago Solutions Group, Hispanic buying power is expected to reach $928 billion by 2007 and $1.2 trillion by 2010. In 2000, U.S. Census Bureau results showed that the 7.5 percent annual growth rate in Hispanic purchasing power was notably higher than that in the rest of the U.S. population (4.9 percent annual growth rate).    

The event encompassed an upscale Caribbean flavor with male guests displaying their most elegant guayaberas and the women casting an array of colorful cocktail dresses and guayabera dresses.  During the cocktail, guests had the opportunity to bid at a silent auction that included restaurant vouchers, Florida Marlins memorabilia and weekend hotel stays.  All proceeds from the event, close to $10,000, went to IntervidaUSA foundation, a non-for-profit organization that promotes the Integral Development of the world's poorest countries, operating with the best interest of children in mind. 

M.C. for the evening was motivational speaker Franco Soldi whose new method of communication represents a "new era of being", an era of self-motivation and empowerment.  World renown soprano Cristy Arias opened the awards ceremony with the singing of our national anthem.  Coral Gables Mayor, Donald Slesnick gave the official welcome to attendees and also presented the Latino of the Year Award of Excellence to Dr. Gervasio Lamas, MD, who is the Director of Cardiovascular Research and Academic Affairs at Mount Sinai Medical Center .   In addition to the Latino of the Year award, the event presented by LatinBiz magazine and sponsored by Dewar’s 12, Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union among others, honored an elite group of winners in ten categories who were selected from hundreds of nominations.

Other honorees of this prestigious award include: Raul Gonzalez of Univision’s “Despierta America” as Male Television Personality of the Year; Telemundo’s anchor of “Hoy en el Mundo” Marian de la Fuente as Female Television Personality of the Year;  Andres Oppenheimer, Columnist of The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald has been voted as Journalist of the Year;    Radio Personality of the Year will be awarded to Enrique Cordoba of Radio Caracol;   The Latin Chamber of Commerce U.S.A. (CAMACOL), celebrating this year its forty anniversary, will receive the Business Organization of the Year award of excellence;  Company of the Year will go to Home Instead Senior Care of Miami;   Amigo of the Year Award of Excellence will go to Julia Rodriguez Prieto a Bilingual Coordinator at Marjory Stoneman Douglas Elementary;   Beatriz Urgelles a Theater Producer with Venevision International will receive the Young Leader of the Year award of Excellence;  and also honors will be given as Member of the Year to Edward Sanchez and Intervida USA Foundation as Humanitarian of the Year. 

Guests danced till the am hours to the Latin beat of Miami Sunshine Group.

To view the pictures from this event refer  www.latinbiz.net/2005awards.htm

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About Latin Business Club:  Founded in 2000, Latin Business Club of America has become an important strategic alliance for businesses who desire a presence in the Latin community. The company’s goal was to develop a way for businesses to expose their messages and products to top executives at a time when they would associate the pleasurable relaxed experience to the product. This goal was accomplished through the development of monthly networking events. The company wanted to give their members,  today surpassing 12,000, not only the benefit of promoting their businesses B2B but also to the world, thus creating this Web site where members are listed by category.  On October 2003, Latin Business Club of America introduced its own business magazine.   "LatinBiz, The Magazine for Latin Professionals" enjoys a South Florida circulation of 25,000 each quarter.  www.latinbiz.net

About Intervida Foundation USA is a non-governmental, non-profit, apolitical and completely independent organization that promotes the Integral Development of the world's poorest countries, operating with the best interest of children in mind. We are the American branch of an international humanitarian organization, Fundación Intervida. Founded in Spain in 1993, Intervida also has fundraising branches in Spain , France , Italy and Japan . Individual and corporate sponsors help improve the living conditions of over three million underprivileged children and their families living in Peru, Bolivia, Guatemala and El Salvador, India, Bangladesh and Mali.  www.intervidausa.org