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“TRIBUTE TO JULIA BALDERAS, LT. JOSE L. MORALEZ, DANIEL GARCIA PAYNE, DENNIS J. SANCHEZ AND DR. ROBERT SEGURA” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1757-E1758 on Sept. 18, 1998.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO JULIA BALDERAS, LT. JOSE L. MORALEZ, DANIEL GARCIA PAYNE,
DENNIS J. SANCHEZ AND DR. ROBERT SEGURA
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HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH
of california
in the house of representatives
Friday, September 18, 1998
Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Julia Balderas, Lt. Jose L. Moralez, Daniel Garcia Payne, Dennis J. Sanchez and Dr. Robert Segura for being selected 1998 Portraits of Success program honorees by KSEE 24 and Companies that Care. In celebration of Hispanic-American Heritage Month, these distinguished individuals were honored for their unique contributions to the betterment of their community.
Julia Balderas is a lifetime educator who has made significant contributions to her profession, her community and family. She is currently employed as a business and computer science instructor at Edison High School where she graduated in 1958. In 1962, Julia Balderas earned a baccalaureate degree in business from California State University Fresno. That same year, she returned to Edison High School and began her career in education, providing instruction in a variety of business and vocational development courses. During the early 1970's, Ms. Balderas furthered her professional career by completing her Masters Degree in Business at California State University, Fresno. She also worked as a cultural consultant, business instructor and administrator for various educational entities, including Fresno City College, Clovis Adult School and the California State Department of Education. In 1976, Ms. Balderas became an owner and partner of the Hacienda de Los Amiguitos Child Development Center. It became the only private bilingual preschool in the San Joaquin Valley. During the late 1970's and early 1980's, Ms. Balderas served as a lecturer at California State University, Fresno for the School of Business Administrative Sciences. She also lectured for the Chicano Leadership Conference for five years. Julia Balderas has been recognized not only for her outstanding leadership in education, but also for her passionate work on behalf of the poor. She is a founding member of MAPA
(The Mexican American Political Association), an active member of El Concilio de Fresno, the League of Mexican American Women and dozens of other civic action groups that have made a real difference in the lives of thousands of people.
Lt. Jose L. Moralez began his law enforcement career with the Fresno Police Department as a cadet in 1974 and was sworn in as a police officer in 1977. In 1985, Lt. Moralez was promoted to the rank of Sergeant, followed by his promotion to Lieutenant in 1995. Lt. Moralez is currently assigned to the Southeast Policing District as its Field Commander. He oversees the evening operations of the unit as well as other city-wide operations. In addition to his patrol assignments, Lt. Moralez serves as Administrative Assistant to Chief of Police Ed Winchester. Lt. Moralez also participates as an instructor for the Advanced Officer Academy Courses at the Fresno Police Department. On the community front, Lt. Moralez is actively committed to working and expanding the Neighborhood Watch Association. Residents say they find him kind and approachable and turn to him often for his expert advice on home and neighborhood safety issues. Lt. Moralez also cares about and is involved with young people in our community. He has been very active in getting local merchants and residents to support inner city youth through the Boys and Girls Club. He recently spearheaded an effort to have the Boys and Girls Club repainted, after the facility started showing signs of a badly needed facelift. A source of pride for Lt. Moralez was coordinating and instructing at the Hispanic Residents Academy. This organization works to improve the working relationship between the police and the local residents. He and his wife Yolanda are blessed with two children.
Daniel Garcia Payne is a highly decorated and retired Marine Corps Officer. During the latter part of his 23-year career with the military, he managed a half a billion dollar budget and earned numerous commendations for his outstanding service. He holds a degree in missile munitions from John C. Calhoun College in Alabama and a degree in law enforcement from San Jose City College. More recently, Mr. Payne has devoted much of his time and efforts to local organizations that are working to better our community. As a licensed ordained minister, he was very instrumental in the establishment of the Valley Community Church. The Church targets its ministry work toward Hispanics who are not attending church and who need spiritual and civic growth. I have the pleasure of having Mr. Payne serve as a co-chairman on my Congressional Hispanic Advisory Committee. He has served as Vice Chairman of the Republican Central Committee and the California State Republican National Hispanic Assembly. Because of his military background, Mr. Payne also volunteers his time to several local veteran organizations. He is the past commander and currently an officer of the American Legion Post 4. He is also an active member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American G.I. Forum, and the Disabled American Veterans. Mr. Payne is also active with youth. For the past five years he has served as co-
coordinator of the popular Toys for Tots Christmas effort, which provides 20,000 gifts to needy children. He also co-founded ``Drug Dilemma'', a life drama project that is working to discourage high school students from experimenting with drugs. He and his wife Mary Lynn have two daughters.
Dennis J. Sanchez was born in Hanford, California where he attended local schools. After high school he attended College of the Sequoias and later graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in agronomy. After college Mr. Sanchez returned to Hanford, and along with his brother Peter, began farming operations in the early 1950's. At the same time, he enlisted into the California National Guard 2nd Battalion 49th Infantry Division, and received an honorable discharge in 1964 as a First Lieutenant. In 1968 he co-founded Sanchez & Sanchez Grain. In 1974 he opened Sanchez Feed & Seed. Today he continues to work on the farming side of the business, while juggling a very busy civic schedule. Throughout his adult life, Mr. Sanchez has volunteered and contributed to several organizations--namely, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Kings County Farm Bureau, the State Fair Board, the Tulare Kings Hispanic Chamber and the San Joaquin Valley Latino Vote Coalition. In 1994, Dennis Sanchez was elected to the Hanford City Council. As an elected official, he has furthered efforts in the areas of crime and juvenile delinquency prevention, job creation, and attracting new business into the Hanford area. Mr. Sanchez is the father of four children, and the proud grandfather of ten children. It is for these reasons that he was selected as a 1998 Portrait of Success.
Dr. Robert Segura is a professor of education at California State University Fresno, a position he has held since 1980. Dr. Segura earned a baccalaureate and masters degree from New Mexico Highlands University at Las Vegas, New Mexico. He attained a doctoral degree in curriculum and instruction from Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. In his current position, Dr. Segura provides instruction in the social and cultural foundations of education. Previously, he was responsible for the development, implementation and administration of federal and state projects that service the university and public schools in Fresno. Dr. Segura has also served as an educational presenter, evaluator and consultant to the U.S. Department of Education, California's Department of Education and dozens of universities across the country. He has assisted in such areas as bilingual education, the education of gifted minority students, desegreation policy, migrant programs and a myriad of other issues. Dr. Segura has also published a series of bilingual children's books which are based on the characters of ``Chato'' and ``Sapo.'' Dr. Segura's delightful and intriguing collection follows Chato and Sapo on many adventures, discoveries and pitfalls that they experience in school. Dr. Robert Segura is also recognized for his involvement in the political arena. I have the pleasure of having Dr. Segura serve as both a community representative for me in Fresno County and a as co-chairman on my Congressional Hispanic Advisory Committee. In addition, he is a member of the Hispanic Task Force and has served as President of the Fresno Chapter of the Republican National Hispanic Association. Additionally, he chairs the Human Relations Commission for the City of Fresno.
Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I pay tribute to Julia Balderas, Lt. Jose L. Moralez, Daniel Garcia Payne, Dennis J. Sanchez and Dr. Robert Segura for being recognized as the KSEE 24 and Companies that Care 1998 Hispanic-American Portraits of Success honorees. I applaud the contributions, ideas, and leadership they have exhibited in our community. I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing these fine individuals many more years of success.
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