Reconocimiento Award 2006

Presentation Speech for Lisamarie Valentín, Young Latina Youth Leadership Award.

Presenter: Stephanie Hoppe - Young Latina Youth Leadership Award 2005

"Well, I remembered standing up here last year, nervous, anxious, just waiting for the moment to walk up and accept my award. I am so proud that more young Latina girls are volunteering and making a difference in this community.

This girl has numerous accomplishments academically, such as recently being nominated for the National Youth Leadership Conference in Albany, and was Pop Warner's Little Scholar for academic excellence. Not only is this young lady a cheerleader for Pop Warner Youth Football but also enjoys dancing. She loves to perform and share her talent with others. She excels in academics and she is very involved in her community.

When she was 10, she raced in soap box derbies and has qualified for nationals twice, and she is the only Hispanic from Rochester to do so. Her mother and grandmother have diabetes, and she often volunteers with her mother at Community Health Fairs to help spread knowledge about kidney disease.

Along with volunteering with the National Kidney Association, she also takes care of her disabled cousin and assists her aunt.

Former Little Miss Puerto Rico, I am so proud to present the Young Latina Youth Leadership Award to Lisamarie Valentín!"