"Just a Thought" Column continues in La Prensa of SA, 8-3

Just a Thought: SAAHJ Gala
By Steve Walker

It is that time again for the San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists (SAAHJ) to award local students scholarships at the 16^th Annual Scholarship and Awards Gala August 8^th.

This year’s extravaganza will be held at the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter located downtown, 101 Bowie Street.

As an active member of SAAHJ for a number of years, I also have the honor to officially cover it in photos once again for the Walker Report. The chapter will be awarding $30,000 in scholarships up from $25,000 from last year’s event to deserving Bexar County students pursuing careers in communications and journalism.

 This year’s gala is a special event to also acknowledge the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) 30^th Anniversary, as NAHJ will hold its annual convention in San Antonio the same weekend as SAAHJ’s gala for the first time in its 30 years. 

The awards will be presented to 13 recipients at the SAAHJ celebration. Since inception, SAAHJ has awarded more than $175,000 over the years in monetary rewards since the chapter began raising money for the scholarships.

SAAHJ President Francisco Vara-Orta, says, "We're thrilled to award the most our association ever has in scholarships this year at $30,000, to a variety of students from our own backyard who are aspiring to be the next generation of journalists and communicators." 

According to Vara-Orta, the “scholarships are open to all students and that mindset helps us champion true diversity by funding a pipeline to better ensure that people of all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds have a fair shot in ending up in our nation's newsrooms."

Besides the monetary gifts to aspiring young journalists the organization also honors local Hispanic leaders for their contributions to the community.

Special guest ABC National News Reporter Jim Avila will serve as Master of Ceremonies for the evening. ABC Correspondent John Quinones will be honored with the Henry Guerra Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Journalism. A graduate of Brackenridge High School, he also received a degree from St. Mary’s University in Communications. He can be seen on ABC’s segment of “What Would You Do?”

Former Mayor Henry Cisneros will be honored with the SAAHJ Community Service Award. He is being acknowledged for his many years as Councilman, Mayor, HUD Secretary and CEO of American Sunrise, a non-profit that seeks housing and educational opportunities in neighborhoods for the disadvantaged. San Antonio Native and nationally known film producer, screenwriter, film editor, cinematographer, musician, and actor Robert Rodriguez will also be honored with the Corazon de Oro Award.

The students receiving monetary acknowledgement this year are: Miriam Cisneros Cabello: UTSA, La Quinta Dixon: Texas A&M-SA, Zarah Farah: UTSA, Sarah Gibbens: UTSA, Cynthia M Herrera: SAC, Lorie A. Hidalg: Texas A&M-SA, and Alma Linda Manzanares: Texas A&M-SA.

Also receiving the awards are Malik Mingo: UTSA, Marques Mingo: TSU, Pamela Paz: SAC, Asaiah K Puente: UTSA, Thalia Rivera: U of North Texas, and Christopher Vasquez: Texas A&M-SA.

As always, I write “Just a Thought.”

Steve Walker is a Vietnam Veteran, former Journalist and Justice of the Peace.