Dr. Elba Garcia and Domingo Garcia to Co-Chair the 2009 Parents Step Ahead ‘Parent of Year’ Gala!

Parents Step Ahead announces Dr. Elba Garcia, dentist and Candidate for Dallas County Commissioners Court, District 4 and Mr. Domingo Garcia, Attorney at Law, at the Law Office of Domingo Garcia, P.C. as co-chairs for the Parents Step Ahead “Parent of the Year” Gala. This year’s Gala will be held on Friday, December 4, 2009 at the Crowne Plaza Dallas Market Center and includes a reception with silent auction, awards ceremony, and seated dinner.

“We are pleased to have Dr. Elba Garcia and Mr. Domingo Garcia serve as Co-Chairs for the Parent of the Year Gala,” says Lupita Colmenero, founder of Parents Step Ahead. “As prominent members of the Hispanic and DFW community, their support and tireless efforts to make this Gala a success will be a tremendous asset as we seek to honor the importance of parental involvement and advance Parents Step Ahead as the leading organization in empowering parents.”

The “Parent of the Year” Gala honors and celebrates parents who are making a difference in their children’s educational and personal development. During the school-year, Parents Step Ahead hosts parent school-based seminars in the DFW Metroplex. Parents are eligible for the recognition based on program participation and two essays — one written by the parent on the importance of parental involvement in a child’s life, and the second by their child on why their parent or guardian should be Parent of the Year. A selection committee composed of local and national community and corporate leaders selects the winning essays.

Dr. Elba Garcia states, “When parents step up and get involved in their children’s education we can expect a better society. We will have the next generation of parents/leaders that will lead by example to their children. I salute and congratulate El Hispano News for their continual work and support in the Parents Step Ahead program.”

Dr. Elba Garcia, former Dallas City Council member for District #1, is not only a community leader, but is also a mother and homemaker, a dentist with her own private practice, and a role model for Hispanic women. Elected to City Council in 2001, Dr. Garcia’s duties for the City were varied. In addition to representing the interests of her own District, she carried out the duties of Mayor Pro Tem for the City of Dallas. She served on numerous committees and task forces, including Chair of Public Safety, Vice-Chair of Trinity River, Finance, Audit and Accounting, and Housing. Additionally, she chaired the City of Dallas Domestic Violence Task Force. Other committees which she has previously served on include the Minority and Municipal Affairs; Arts, Education and Libraries; Government & Minority Affairs; Health, Human & Youth Services; and the Homeless Task Force.

Domingo Garcia, is a former Mayor Pro Tem for the city of Dallas and State Representative for Texas. In addition, he has been an editorial columnist and a successful trial lawyer for over twenty years. In 1983, Mr. Garcia established his own law firm, The Law Office of Domingo Garcia, P.C. in Dallas, Texas.

Mr. Garcia served in the Dallas City Council from 1991 to 1995. In 1993, he became the first Latino ever elected Mayor Pro Tem for the city of Dallas. He served in the Texas Legislature from 1996 to 2002. As a representative, he served on the criminal jurisprudence and Judicial Affairs Committees. He passed numerous bills to help students go to college, prevent dropouts, law enforcement and civil rights.

For more information regarding the “Parent of the Year” Gala, please visit www.parentsstepahead.org or contact Valerie Reyes or Eileen Suarez at (214) 357-2186. “

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