Group O, Newton Law, Project NOW and Araceli Vasquez-Ramirez were honored recently for their impact on the community by the Greater Quad Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
The honorees received their awards at the GQCHCC’s Spring Celebration and Business Awards at Davenport’s Rhythm City Casino on Friday, April 14. The event’s theme was “Juntos Nos Levantamos –Together We Rise” and it was focused on community and togetherness.
The outstanding leaders honored Friday were selected from nominations made by GQCHCC members in the following categories:
- Small Business of the year.
- Advocate for the Year.
- Nonprofit of the Year.
- Corporation of the Year.
On Friday, the organization also celebrated its ability to grow and support the community and its membership during “an unprecedented time,” the chamber said in a news release.
“Our ascent is a collaborative effort of the entire Quad Cities region and shows what happens to our local economy when leaders pull each other up together,” the GQCHCC said Friday.
That includes the community leaders, businesses and organizations listed below who were honored Friday for the following contributions:
Newton Law – Small Business of Year
According to the GQCHCC, the Davenport-based bilingual family law practice, which fills an important gap in the Quad Cities, represents exceptional management and growth and is actively involved in supporting Hispanic/multicultural community needs.
It’s headed by community leader and social advocate Jazmin Newton and provides mediation, and other law services in Spanish and English. The firm also devotes substantial time to public service, volunteering, and youth programs, including reading in Spanish at the Davenport Public Library. The firm encourages voting through its involvement with the Latino Vote Committee and the NAACP. Ms. Newton also has served on more than 10 boards and as president, secretary, and council administrator for LULAC Council 10. She has also held state-level offices for LULAC IOWA.
Araceli Vazquez-Ramirez – Advocate of the Year
This award recognizes an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the Hispanic and multicultural business community.
Ms. Vazquez-Ramirez has worked to address the needs of the Columbus Junction and surrounding area Hispanic and Chin populations, and has assisted hundreds of families, the QQCHCC said. She has developed service programs for minority communities adversely impacted by COVID-19 including via pandemic educational programs. She also has coordinated a variety of clinics supporting COVID-19 vaccinations, mobile health, and mental health.
Ms. Vazquez-Ramirez also has worked to address food insecurity by starting a community food pantry, setting up nutrition classes and a senior meal site, and via weekly and monthly food distribution. She’s kept those programs going through her skilled grant-writing.
Project NOW – Nonprofit of the Year
This award is presented, the GQCHCC said, to the nonprofit organization that has made an outstanding contribution to the community, powerfully impacting the Hispanic/multicultural community. Project Now, for example, believes in the value of neighborhood and coalition building and has worked to make that happen in the Hispanic community for three decades.
Its long history with the Hispanic community began in 1989 with a $500 loan to Fernando Landeros, the chamber said. Over the next 17 years it has invested nearly $100,000 to provide seed money, opportunities and education for several of our businesses.
In 1997, Project NOW also opened a Head Start classroom in Floreciente serving 17 preschoolers in a single classroom. Since then, 832 children have graduated from the Floreciente Head Start.
Last summer the 55-year-old agency partnered with other local organizations hosting a block party attended by 200 people in the Floreciente neighborhood to celebrate Hispanic Heritage It also hosted a drive-through food giveaway in the Esperanza Center late last year.
Corporation of the Year – Group O
The award is given to an organization GQCHCC leaders believe provides extraordinary resources, services, special programs and support to the Hispanic and multicultural community.
Headquartered in Milan, Group O is one of the largest Hispanic-owned companies in the U.S. and is ranked by the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as one of the top five Latino-owned businesses in the country. It employs more than 1,200 people, with a 42% diverse workforce that spans all levels of the organization.
In addition, Group O supports supplier diversity, spending dollars with suppliers that reflect the customer base in the communities they serve.
Group O has been a major sponsor of Mercado on Fifth since its launch in 2016 and in addition to financial support, Group O’s employees lend their time and talents to Mercado.
Last summer, the Milan-based Group O partnered with the Quad Cities River Bandits to celebrate the Hispanic and Latino communities by sponsoring “Bandidos del Río de las Ciudades Cuádruples”, Minor League Baseball’s “Copa de la Diversión” series. In conjunction with this sponsorship, Group O recognized small businesses and non-profit organizations in the Hispanic community during every Wednesday home game throughout the season.
The organizations were spotlighted and given the opportunity to throw the first pitch.
This innovative win-win effort continued at a home game each week, the GQCHCC said as they highlighted a variety of Latino-owned businesses and demonstrated how important these businesses are to the cultural fabric of the Quad Cities.
