Edinburg, Doctors Hospital begin negotiations on planned $14 million medical conference center
Roberto Hugo González, publisher of Texas Border Business and Mega Metropolis Health & Fitness, has picked up two key recognitions for his publishing endeavors and his excellence in journalism in the pursuit of public service. During the McAllen South Rotary Club Annual Officer Installation Banquet, held on Wednesday, June 24, González proudly displays the Paul Harris Fellow Award and pin bestowed upon him by the McAllen Rotary Club. The award is given to those who have given outstanding service and is the highest prestigious award recognition given to a fellow Rotarian. In late spring, González was selected as the 2009 Small Business Journalist of the Year in the Rio Grande Valley by the U.S. Small Business Administration. He received the prestigious SBA award during at a ceremony at the University of Texas-Pan American Annex in Edinburg on Thursday, April 30. See story later in this posting.
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Congressman Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo/McAllen, featured with former Mexican President Vicente Fox and his wife, former Mexican First Lady Marta Sahagún de Fox during a March 27 gathering at the University of Texas at San Antonio, is now vice-chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute (CHLI). Cuellar was voted in by the CHLI Board of Directors at its Thursday, July 9, private meeting. The Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute (CHLI, pronounced “chili”) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization, based in Washington, D.C., that advances the diversity of thought in the U.S. Hispanic community in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, as well as in the international community. See story later in this posting.
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Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, on Sunday, May 31, was commissioned as a major in the Texas State Guard during a swearing-in ceremony held on the floor of the House of Representatives.
The Edinburg attorney, 50, is using his legislative and legal skills as a Staff Judge Advocate serving in the Command Headquarters in Austin, helping protect the rights of members of the state’s military forces, including the Texas Army National Guard and the Texas Air National Guard. The mission of the Texas State Guard is to provide mission-ready military forces to assist state and local authorities in times of state emergencies, such as hurricanes, as well as to participate in homeland security and community service missions. Major General Chris Powers administered the oath for the commission directed by Governor Perry and the Adjutant General. Speaker of the House Joe Straus, R-San Antonio and Brigadier General Raymond Peters joined Peña, his wife, Mónica, and his grandson, Anthony, during the formal event.
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Nicolas "Nico" Palacios Jr., 62 – featured right in this November 2007 file photo – a longtime Edinburg business leader who also excelled in the world of local and state politics, passed away on Thursday, July 23, at Scripps Memorial Hospital in Encinitas, California. The cause of death was reported as a heart attack. Palacios, seen here speaking with Rep. Aaron Peña, Jr., D-Edinburg, was part of a renowned South Texas political family which not only greatly influences local and state elections, but from its ranks has produced elected officials, community advocates, doctors, lawyers, and business leaders. Three of his siblings are also well-recognized leaders in South Texas: Edinburg Municipal Court Judge Toribio "Terry" Palacios and Fred Palacios, a longtime member of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation board of directors, are among his brothers; Justice of the Peace Mary Alice Palacios of Edinburg is one of his sisters. In addition, Hidalgo County 92nd District Court Judge Ricardo Rodríguez, Jr., a former Edinburg city councilmember, and Omar Palacios, the president of the Edinburg school board, are among his nephews. See obituary later in this posting.
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