FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                   

Contact: Silvia Hasak
              Lee County Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board
              (239) 652-7912

TWO LOCAL HISPANIC LEADERS TO BE INDUCTED INTO HALL OF FAME

FORT MYERS, Fla. (October 18, 2002) – The Lee County Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board has selected Zoila Martinez and Luis Aldana as the fourth and fifth inductees into the Lee County Hispanic Hall of Fame.

Their induction ceremony will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 23) in the County Commission Chambers, second floor of the Old County Courthouse, 2120 Main Street in downtown Fort Myers.  It will be preceded by a reception in the chambers from 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The Lee County Hispanic Hall of Fame annually inducts new members around the time of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from mid-September to mid-October. 

Zoila Martinez is being honored for her dedication to community service.  Martinez serves on the Board of Directors for the Family Health Centers and volunteers five days per week for the Michigan Montessori International Academy, where she is affectionately known as “Grandma.”  For five years she served as Resident Commissioner of the City of Fort Myers’ Housing Authority of the City of Fort Myers and worked for eight years as an interpreter for the Hispanic Services of Catholic Charities.  Martinez also served on the National Advisory Council for Migrant Farm Workers, Washington D.C. and was invited to our nation’s capitol to witness former President Clinton sign the “One Strike and You’re Out” bill.  She is a long time and very active member of St. Peter Claver Catholic Mission.

Luis Aldana, co-owner of Maya Travel, is being honored for his entrepreneurial spirit, commitment to business excellence, economic development and devotion to his family and community.  Aldana came to the United States from Guatemala in 1978.  He graduated from Lincoln Park High School in 1989 and obtained a degree in Criminal Justice from Gulf Coast University.  In 1994, Luis and his brother Dennis opened Maya Express Services Inc.  Since then, the Maya Express operation has grown to eight offices throughout Lee, Collier and Hendry counties.  A ninth office will open in Bonita Springs on Dec 10.   Maya Express offers such services as airline and bus reservations, limousine rentals, money transfers, document translations and income tax preparation.  The company’s combined revenue in 2001 was $41 million.  Aldana’s dedication in assisting and providing much needed services to Hispanics and others is a model for all businesses in Southwest Florida.

Former inductees are: the late Cuauhtemoc Zapata, founder of La Caliente WWCL-1440 AM and an activist for the local Hispanic community (2000), and the late Rev. Don Frank and his wife Gerry Frank, the driving forces behind the development of the Pueblo Bonito farmworker community (2001).

The 12-member Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board of Lee County was established in 1991 and serves as an advisory group to the Board of Lee County Commissioners on Hispanic issues.  During Cinco de Mayo, the Board also presents Hispanic Achievement Awards, which recognizes those persons who project a positive image on a daily basis, while overcoming cultural, language, economic, health or other barriers.