New Officers elected at Kansas League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Annual State Convention

The Kansas League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) elected new state officers at its annual state convention held April 19, 2008 in Topeka, Kansas. LULAC is the oldest Hispanic civil rights organization in the country with a membership of over 700 councils nationwide. Currently, there are three councils operating in Kansas located in the cities of Topeka, Salina and Garden City. Topeka also has a LULAC Senior Center that has been serving the greater Topeka community for over 35 years.

Individuals elected for the upcoming year include; Elias Garcia of Topeka-State Director, Jacqueline Bujanda (Garden City)-Deputy State Director, Rodrigo Bonilla (Salina)-Treasurer and Rosa Cervantes (Garden City)- was appointed Secretary by Garcia. All offices are for terms of one year.

In addition to the election of officers, the LULAC convention included a couple of workshops addressing the issues; Immigration: Part of the Solution and Diabetes: a Latino Community Killer. Also during the state convention; a luncheon was held that featured distinguished Topeka attorney-at-law, Pedro Irigonegaray, an evening scholarship dinner was coordinated in which thousands of dollars worth of scholarships were awarded to area high school students and the LULAC Councils caucused, drafted and voted on several state resolutions framing the position of Kansas’ STATE LULAC .

Regarding priorities for Kansas LULAC for the upcoming year, Garcia stated that the focus will be on increasing the number of LULAC councils around the state, construct a Kansas LULAC website, implement a statewide LULAC Youth Leadership Program, encourage and promote Latino Voter Registration, seek educational, private and governmental partnerships to better connect the Kansas Latino community with educators, business and their elected officials.

Garcia further stated that it is imperative that State LULAC engage all city, county and state levels of our Kansas society and government and without fear of outside retaliation or reprisal and be that independent Latino voice at the “policy level” table to advocate, in a non-partisan fashion, on behalf of the best interests of the Kansas Hispanic community concerns

For more information regarding the Kansas League of United Latin American Citizens, please contact Elias L. Garcia 785.969.0728 and/or link to: LULAC.org

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