Washington, D.C., September 21, 2000 - President and CEO of MANA, Alma Morales Riojas, announced the names of this year's awardees at "Las Primeras® Awards Luncheon" as well as the recipients of the HerMANO and HerMANA Award. The individuals being recognized are:

State Representative Irma Rangel (D-TX) was the first Latina elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1976, the first Latina Chair of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus and the first Mexican American Chair of the House Committee on Higher Education. Representative Rangel has devoted tireless hours to improve both public and higher educational systems. In 1997, she passed a landmark legislation mandating that the state colleges and universities automatically admit those students who graduate in the top ten percent of their high school graduating class.

State Representative Belda Garza (D-MI) was born in Mexico City, Mexico, and grew up in southwest Detroit to later graduate from Detroit public schools. She was elected to her first term in office in November of 1998 with an overwhelming 85% of the vote and became the first Hispanic Democrat elected to the state office in Michigan. Representative Garza introduced the House Bill 4736, which creates a Michigan Youth Gang Violence Board that would provide insight as to how to address gang and youth violence. State Representative Garza has been MANA national board member since 1995.

Carmen Delgado Votaw (Washington DC) has the distinction of being the first Latina Chief of Staff of a Congressional Office. She served under U.S. Congressman Jaime B. Fuster of Puerto Rico from 1985 to 1991, he is currently the Senior Vice President for Public Policy of the Alliance for Children and Families, an organization that includes over 350 agencies that serve children and families. Mrs. Votaw's previous positions include Director of Public Policy for United Way of America and Director of Government Relations of the USA Girl Scouts. Amongst her other accomplishments, she is the author of a bilingual book, Puerto Rican Women: Some Biographical Profiles, Chair of the National Coalition for Women, supporter of Girls in Education, and President of the Inter-American Commission of Women of Color.

HerMANO/HerMANA recipients to be honored are:

Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) who hired and subsequently promoted Anna Escobedo Cabral to the position of Director of the U.S. Senate Republican Conference Task force on Hispanic Affairs and Deputy Director of the Judiciary Committee, making her the highest ranking Latina on a Senate or House of Representative Committee. In 1984 he established the U.S. Senate Republican Conference Task Force on Hispanic Affairs, comprised of Hispanics from across the country. The Task Force and Advisory Committee have worked to incorporate the views of the Latino community into legislation and to exchange ideas for better serving this growing community. In the four terms he has represented the State of Utah, Senator Hatch has been a leader in developing bi-partisan legislation in such key areas as balancing the budget; protecting Medicare and Social Security; lowering taxes; and improving health care services for children, seniors; the disabled and the homebound.

Congressman Bob Filner (D-CA) was highly instrumental in the election of the first Latina, Mary Salas, to the San Diego, California City Council. Ms. Salas is now the Deputy Mayor of San Diego. Congressman Filner is supported by the Latino community because of his concerns about the issues affecting Latinos, this is validated by the fact that he was elected from a diverse district embodied by 41% Latino, 29% Anglo, 15% Filipino and 15% African American. His promise to the community was also evident as a former president of the San Diego MANA chapter. Having acquired a Doctorate in History of Science from Cornell University, Congressman Filner is one of only 18 members of the House of Representatives holding a Ph.D. While in college, Filner became active in the struggle for civil rights. His commitment to his belief with stood imprisonment for several months in Mississippi after joining the first Freedom Riders.

Ada Díaz Ahmed, President of Soloella.com (New York, NY) brings Latinas and politics to the internet via her Latina owned and managed SOLOELLA.com web site. Her innovative, fully bi-lingual, and Latina astute web site has demonstrated that the broad and diverse population of Latinas are actively seeking to become members of the growing Internet constituency. Before starting SOLOELLA.com, Ms. Ahmed was a Senior Policy Analyst with the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund. In that role she worked on the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) system being tested for New York State, a venture between Citibank, Lockheed Martin and the State of new York. Ms. Ahmed is an active member of Dominicans 2000 and the Association of Women in Development.

The sponsors of the "Las Primeras® Luncheon Awards" are State Farm Insurance Co., AVON, Coors Brewing Co., IBM, Latina Style, Verizon, SBC.

MANA, A National Latina Organization is a nonprofit, advocacy organization headquartered in the nation's capital, Washington, D. C. With chapters across the country, it is the oldest National Latina membership organization in the United States. MANA whose mission is to empower Latinas through leadership development, community service, and advocacy, envisions a national community of informed Latina activists working to improve the quality of life for all Hispanics. MANA also has the only national young Latina's mentoring program for girls 11 to 18, "HERMANITAS®" which brings over 100 girls to Washington DC to a summer institute that includes a briefing at the White house and a visit to the girls' Congressional representative. Information on MANA can be obtained at the web site: www.hermana.org or send an e-mail to herman2@aol.com.