HispanicBusiness

Ed Pastor Congressman U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC Mr. Pastor, now in his ninth term, is the first Hispanic to represent Arizona’s Second Congressional District. The Roosevelt School District’s 19th school was named after Mr. Pastor and his wife, Verma Mendez, for their leadership in education. The K-8 school opened in fall 1999 and serves about 800 children. He also is a founding member of the Arizona State University Hispanic Alumni Association.



Richard G. Polanco California Senator Sacramento, CA Sen. Polanco was named president of the National Hispanic Council of the State Legislators in December 1999. He recently authored a bill and won support to establish March 31 as a paid, state holiday to salute the late farm worker advocate Cesar Chavez. He also pushed for a 1999 report, which studied wage discrepancies among Latino workers - finding education to be the most significant factor.



Alfred Rascon Inspector General Selective Service System/Vietnam Veteran President Bill Clinton presented Mr. Rascon with the nation’s highest honor, the Medal of Honor, in February. In May 1965, he was a medic for a platoon of Army paratroopers, who were sent to Vietnam. He saved several lives during an intense fight, even after being wounded. For his valor, he received a Silver Star in 1966. However, the request for his Medal of Honor got lost in the process.



Gabriel Rincon-Mora Senior Design Engineer Texas Instruments Dallas, TX Mr. Rincon-Mora is this year’s recipient of the National Hispanic in Technology Award, given by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. He also works as an adjunct professor for Georgia Institute of Technology, where he helped establish a multimillion dollar Texas Instruments sponsorship for the engineering program. He also has written a textbook, Voltage References: From Diodes to Precision High-Order Bandgap Circuits, that will be published in 2001.



Miguel Rios Chairman/CEO Orion International Technologies Albuquerque, NM Mr. Rios was recognized as the 1999 National Minority Entrepreneur of the Year by the U.S. Department of Commerce. His company also was selected by the U.S. Small Business Administration as the 1999 National Prime Contractor of the Year. Mr. Rios, who has a Ph.D. in physics, has conducted post-doctorate research in nuclear astrophysics. He also has more than 30 years experience in providing engineering services, research, and development support to National Laboratories and many large prime contractors.



Richard E. Rivera President Red Lobster Restaurants Orlando, FL In the fiscal year 2000, Mr. Rivera helped Red Lobster, owned by Darden Restaurants Inc., to surpass the $2 billion sales mark for the first time in its 32-year history. He is credited with invigorating the company that was facing a decline in revenue when he joined the management team in 1997. This spring, Red Lobster’s executives agreed to alter its advertising campaign to increase the company’s presence on Spanish-language television.



Robert Rivera President Spectrum Communications Cabling Services Inc. Corona, CA Mr. Rivera’s company employs more than 100 people and is ranked as one of the fastest growing businesses in the country. More than 80 percent of the company’s clients are public schools. A new spin-off company, MeshworX, offers K-12 education end-to-end technology services. MeshworX was recently asked to participate in the California Department of Education VETS Trainer Program, addressing technology/infrastructure upgrades for schools. MeshworX is set to go national by 2001.