LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the Mohawk
Valley Latino Association

WHEREAS, A great community is only as great as those persons and organ-
izations that provide exemplary service, whether through participation
in voluntary programs, through unique personal achievement in their
profession or other endeavors, or simply through a lifetime of good
citizenship; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commem-
orate the 10th Anniversary of the Mohawk Valley Latino Association on
Friday, October 18, 2013, at the Radisson Hotel-Utica Centre in Utica,
New York; and
WHEREAS, Situated on the third floor of the Mohawk Valley Resource
Center for Refugees, the office for the Mohawk Valley Latino Association
is not the first organized effort to aid Latinos in the area; others
include the Hispanic American Action League in the 1970s, the 1980s-era
Latin American Society for Togetherness, and Hispanos Unidos in the
1990s; and
WHEREAS, People from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and other
Hispanic populations started migrating to the Mohawk Valley in the
1800s, and even more rapidly after World War II; as of 2010, there were
11,245 Latinos in Oneida County, according to U.S. Census data, compared
to the 7,545 in 2000; and
WHEREAS, The current incarnation of the agency started in 2003 with
the former and current presidents -- Sonia Martinez and Anthony Colon,
respectively; the organization formed bilingual GED programs, English-
as-a-second-language classes and conducted cultural events such as the
annual Latino American Festival, and meetings took place in a Radisson
Hotel conference room; and
WHEREAS, President Anthony Colon cites that the agency's involvement
with the local branch of the NAACP and the Mohawk Valley Resource Center
for Refugees is of great benefit; and
WHEREAS, The association has gone beyond the Latino populations where
nearly one third of the 50 to 70 individual members and businesses
involved are non-Latino; and
WHEREAS, The Mohawk Valley Latino Association's distinguished record
merits the recognition and respectful tribute of this Legislative Body;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the Mohawk Valley Latino Associ-
ation; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to President Anthony Colon, Mohawk Valley Latino Association.