Two locals to be honored for effort in Hispanic community

SanLuisObispo.com

March 23, 2008

A Paso Robles school district trustee who helped quash an escalating gang problem in the North County and a longtime aide to politician Jack O'Connell now active with local nonprofit groups are among 20 people to be recognized at the third annual Most Influential Latinos award ceremony.

Joe Quiroz and Lorraine Duenez will be recognized for their decades of contributions to San Luis Obispo County.

The lunch banquet in Santa Maria on April 5 hosted by Latino Today, a Santa Mariabased newspaper, recognizes influential leaders on the Central Coast. The work of the honorees includes service in government, education, nonprofit groups, social welfare and journalism.

Quiroz said he was pleased to hear about the award.

'I was shocked,' he said, 'and I'm honored.'

Quiroz, a retired officer from the California Youth Authority, spent most of his career at El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility. He served on the Paso Robles school district board for 10 years, including a stint as president last year.

Three years ago, Quiroz underwent surgeries to relieve complications from a liver transplant. He spent weeks at Stanford Medical Center while still conducting his board work from his hospital bed.

The Paso Roblan also helped with disaster relief in Alabama after Hurricane Katrina.

During the 1980s, when graf fiti and a handful of gang-related homicides hit the North County, police sought Quiroz's advice because he worked with gang-member wards at the youth facility.

Quiroz worked with the Paso Robles Police Department and city government on fighting the problem and gave talks to the community in English and Spanish.

'The most impor tant thing, in my opinion, in 30 years of working with gangs, is catching kids when they're young and preventing them from getting into gangs,' he said.

Quiroz knows his fellow honoree well from their work together in the county's Hispanic leadership group, Vision Unida.

Duenez spent about 15 years working for O'Connell, the state schools superintendent, during his terms as a state assemblyman and senator for San Luis Obispo County.

She also worked for Work Training Programs Inc. and the Boys & Girls Club of South San Luis Obispo County. Duenez served with the Latino Outreach Council and the Economic Opportunity Commission of San Luis Obispo County Inc.

At the Boys & Girls Club, she helped increase member-ship and more than doubled the club's budget, according to Latino Today.

'I've always enjoyed working with youth and under-served populations,' Duenez said.

As an EOC board member, Duenez frequently visits Head Start program sites.

Her goal is to start a youth boxing club in Nipomo, where she resides.

Reach Nick Wilson at 781-7922.

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ATTENDTHEEVENT Tickets for the April 5 banquet at the Radisson Hotel, 3455 Skyway Drive in Santa Maria, are $60. For more details, call 348-1308.

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