La Vozde Gratis Brazoria County

La Voz deBrazoria County

FreeGratis

Volume # 17 Number 2 A Bilingual Newspaper February, 2006

The Most InterestingNewspaper in the County

RememberingCoretta Scott

King

The Top 25Political

Contributors in Texas

Excelencia enEducation

HispanicCREO

Scholarship

Las Leyes deIgualdad en el

Trabajo

Mary Alice GonzalezPresident of Stewart TitleFort Bend &Brazoria Division

1950

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Inside ThisIssue

La Voz de Brazoria County - February, 2006Page # 2

People in the News

Norma E. Cantú serves asProfessor of English at theUniversity of Texas at SanAntonio, where she directsthe doctoral program inEnglish. She is the editor of abook series, Rio Grande/RioBravo: Borderlands Cultureand Tradition, for Texas A&MUniversity Press. She is amember of the board oftrustees of the AmericanFolklife Center at the Libraryof Congress, and is Chair-Elect of the NationalAssociation of Chicana/oStudies. Author of the award-winning Canícula Snapshotsof a Girlhood en la Frontera,and co-editor of ChicanaTraditions: Continuity andChange, she is currently

she is currently working on anovel tentatively tit ledChampú, or Hair Matters,and an ethnography of theMatachines de la Santa Cruz,a religious dance drama fromLaredo, Texas.

Sarita E. BrownPresident ofExcelencia

Norma E. CantúVery Active at

UTSA

ValenzuelaPromoted atU.T. Austin

On December 16, 2005, An-gela Valenzuela was promotedto the rank of full professor atthe University of Texas atAustin in both the Departmentof Curriculum and Instructionand the Center for MexicanAmerican Studies. This appointment makes herone of a literal handful of Mexi-can American female faculty toever achieve this status at theUniversity of Texas at Austin.Dr. Valenzuela also receivedspecial recognition with

Sandra Lopez has acurriculum vitae that runs 26pages. As a Clinical AssociateProfessor at the University ofHouston, Lopez is also, LCSW(Licensed Clinical SocialWorker), ACSW (AcademyCertified Social Worker),Licensed Master Social Workerand Advanced ClinicalPractitioner, and DCSWDiplomate in Clinical SocialWork. In addition to research on theLatino community, she serves ona number of committees at theuniversity. Lopez received herbachelor and masters degreesfrom the University of Houstonin 1977 and 1980 respectively.

Sandra LopezHelping to TrainSocial Workers

at the Universityof Houston

with a Haskew CentennialProfessor Fellowship fromthe College of Education.Valenzuela, who is the authorof Subtractive Education: ThePolitics of Caring, She re-ceived her doctorate fromStanford University andtaught at Rice Universityand the University of Houstonbefore making the move to UTAustin in 1999.

Sarita E. Brown, President,Excelencia in Education,has spent more than twodecades at prominent nationalacademic and educationalinstitutions and at the highestlevels of government workingto develop more effectivestrategies to raise academicachievement and opportunity

for low-income and minoritystudents. From the start of hercareer at the University ofTexas at Austin, where shecreated a national modelpromoting minority successin graduate education, toher service as ExecutiveDirector for the WhiteHouse Initiative onEducational Excellence forHispanic Americans, to hercurrent post as foundingPresident of Excelencia inEducation in Washington,DC, Ms. Brown has focusedher work on expanding thiscountry’s human capitalthrough improving thequality of higher education.

She holds abachelor’s of arts in ethnicstudies and a bachelor’s ofscience and master’s of artsin communication from TheUniversity of Texas atAustin.

Send in your sugges-tions of who we shouldfeature in this sectionof La Voz de BrazoriaCounty by sending anemail [email protected]

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La Voz de Brazoria County - February, 2006 Page # 3

PRODUCTIONEditor

Alfredo R. Santos c/s

Managing EditorMolly R. Santos

Marketing DirectorDolores Diaz-Miller

DistributionLouie Maldonado

Contributing WritersMaria Davis Castillo

PUBLISHER’SSTATEMENT

La Voz de Brazoria County is amonthly publication. The editoraland business address is 804Perry Street Angleton, Texas77515 The telephone and faxnumbers are: (979) 848-2883 or(979) 549-5221. The use, repro-duction or distribution of any orpart of this publication is stronglyencouraged. But do call and letus know what you are using.

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In this issue of La Voz de Brazoria Countywe bring you a variety of articles and featurestories. Like the rest of the nation, we aresaddened at the passing of civil rights pio-neer Coretta Scott King. After the assassi-nation of her husband in 1968, she contin-ued to keep the dream alive by staying in-volved in a host of issues. Read her story fromthe Academy of Achievement Archives inpages 6 and 7.On pages 8 and 9 we bring you an interviewwith Mary Alice Gonzalez. She is the Presi-dent of Stewart Title Fort Bend/Brazoria Di-vision. In this interview, Ms. Gonzalez sharesparts of her life that have brought her this pointin time.On pages 12 and 13, we were able to catchup to LULAC Youth Council # 1031 in Cluteas they were busy with a fundraiser. Most ofthe students from this council are fromBrazosport High School. According to theyouth director for this council, Stella Cabrera,the LULAC councils in this part of the stateare among the most active anywhere. Another article we wish to call your atten-tion to is the first of a two and possibly threepart series on equal opportunities laws in thearea of employment. There is a lot to be saidabout this topic and so we are having to breakit up into sections in order to share all theinformation necessary. Last but not least, you will notice in this is-sue all the political ads by candidates. Readthem, think about them and help them. Theyall need people to work on their campaigns.

En este ejemplar deLa Voz del Condadode Brazoria, tenemosuna variedad deartículos y historias deinteres. Pero primeroqueremos decir que elfallecimiento deCoretta Scott Kingnos da mucha tristesa.Ella fue la esposa deMartin Luther King,un activista que luchópara los derechosciviles de todos aquí en los los Estados Unidos.Después del asasinato de su esposo en 1968,Señora King siguió los pasos para mantener vivoel sueño. En las paginas 6 y 7 tenemos una brevehistoria de la vida de ella. Por cuestion de espacio,solo podiamos publicarlo en inglés. En las paginas 10 y 11, le presentamos un entrevistacon Mary Alice Gonzalez, presidente de Stewart Title,División de los condados de Brazoria y Fort Bend.Ella comparte con nosotros parte de su larga careracon su compania. En la pagina 20 tenemos la primer parte de unartículo sobre las leyes de Igualdad deOportunidades de Empleo de los Estados Unidos.Lea lentamente lo que dice este artículo. En losproximos meses vamos a incluir la segunda partey si es necesario, la tercera. Finalmente, uste notará el número de anunciosde los estan corriendo para diferentes puestos enel condado. Trata de mantenerse informado ycuando llega el dia de la votación, ya sabes lo quetienes que hace.

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Give voice to Latino priorities!Take part in the

NCLR National Issue Briefingand Advocacy Day

March 8-9, 2006

This two-day event held in Washington, DC is anopportunity to come together with Latino organizations andleaders from all over the U.S. to present Congress with anissue agenda that serves the needs of the Hispaniccommunity and Americans in general.

For additional event and hotel accommodation information, visitwww.nclr.org/advocacyday. Please contact Chris Pefaure withquestions at [email protected] or (202) 785-1670.

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Sabia Usted?

1819 Spain ceded Florida to the United States.

1821 Mexico declared its independence from Spain

1836 Mexican general Santa Anna began the siege of the Alamo.

1859 Oregon became the 33rd state in the United States.

1870 Hiram Revels became the first black United States senator,taking over the term of Jefferson Davis.

1878 The first telephone book was issued (New Haven, Conn.).

1879 President Rutherford Hayes signed a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court.

1912 Arizona became the 48th state in the United States.

1917 Congress passed the Immigration Act, which restricted Asianimmigration, over President Wilson’s veto.

1917 Mexico adopted its present constitution.

1920 The League of Women Voters was founded.

1924 Calvin Coolidge made the first presidential radio broadcast fromthe White House.

1929 Members of Al Capone’s gang killed rival gang members in the St.Valentine’s Day massacre.

1935 Airplanes were no longer permitted to fly over the White House.

1937 FDR proposed increasing the number of Supreme Courtjustices—”packing” the court.

1940 Hattie McDaniel became the first black woman to win an Oscar. She won the Best Supporting Actress award for her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind.

1959 Rock singers, Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and Big Bopper died ina plane crash

1960 Four black college students began a series of sit-ins at a white-only lunch counter in Woolworth’s, Greensboro, N.C.

In the month of February of the following years, these eventstook place.


Did You Know?

Coretta Scott was born inHeiberger, Alabama and raised onthe farm of her parents BerniceMcMurry Scott, and ObadiahScott, in Perry County, Alabama.She was exposed at an early ageto the injustices of life in a segre-gated society. She walked five milesa day to attend the one-roomCrossroad School in Marion, Ala-bama, while the white students rodebuses to an all-white school closerby. Young Coretta excelled at herstudies, particularly music, and wasvaledictorian of her graduatingclass at Lincoln High School. Shegraduated in 1945 and received ascholarship to Antioch College inYellow Springs, Ohio. As an un-dergraduate, she took an active in-terest in the nascent civil rightsmovement; she joined the Antiochchapter of the NAACP, and thecollege’s Race Relations and CivilLiberties Committees. She gradu-ated from Antioch with a B.A. inmusic and education and won ascholarship to study concert sing-ing at New England Conserva-tory of Music in Boston, Massa-chusetts.

In Boston she met a young the-ology student, Martin Luther King,Jr., and her life was changed for-ever. They were married on June18, 1953, in a ceremony conductedby the groom’s father, the Rev. Mar-tin Luther King, Sr. Coretta ScottKing completed her degree in voiceand violin at the New England Con-servatory and the young couplemoved in September 1954 to Mont-gomery, Alabama, where MartinLuther King Jr. had accepted anappointment as Pastor of the Dex-ter Avenue Baptist Church.

They were soon caught up inthe dramatic events that triggeredthe modern civil rights movement.When Rosa Parks refused to yieldher seat on a Montgomery city busto a white passenger, she was ar-rested for violating the city’s ordi-nances giving white passengerspreferential treatment in public con-veyances. The black citizens ofMontgomery organized immedi-

ately in defense of Mrs. Parks, andunder Martin Luther King’s lead-ership organized a boycott of thecity’s buses. The Montgomery busboycott drew the attention of theworld to the continued injustice ofsegregation in the United States,and led to court decisions strikingdown all local ordinances separat-ing the races in public transit. Dr.King’s eloquent advocacy of non-violent civil disobedience soonmade him the most recognizableface of the civil rights movement,and he was called on to leadmarches in city after city, with Mrs.King at his side, inspiring the citi-zens, black and white, to defy thesegregation laws. The visibility of Dr. King’s lead-

ership at-t r a c t e dfierce oppo-sition fromthe support-ers of insti-tutionalizedracism. In1956, whites u p r e m a -c i s t sbombed theKing familyhome inMontgom-ery . Mrs.King and the couple’s first child nar-rowly escaped injury. The Kingshad four children in all: YolandaDenise; Martin Luther, III; DexterScott; and Bernice Albertine.

Although the demands of raisinga family had caused Mrs. King toretire from singing, she found an-other way to put her musical back-ground to the service of the cause.She conceived and performed aseries of critically acclaimed Free-dom Concerts, combining poetry,narration and music to tell the story

of the Civil Rights movement. Overthe next few years, Mrs. Kingstaged Freedom Concerts in someof America’s most distinguishedconcert venues, as fundraisers forthe organization her husband hadfounded, the Southern ChristianLeadership Conference. Dr. King’s fame spread beyondthe United States, and he was in-creasingly seen not only as a leaderof the American civil rights move-ment, but as the symbol of an inter-national struggle for human libera-tion from racism, colonialism and allforms of oppression and discrimi-nation. In 1957, Dr. King and Mrs. King


In Boston she met a youngtheology student, Martin

Luther King, Jr., and her lifewas changed forever.

Although the demandsof raising a family had

caused Mrs. King to retirefrom singing, . . . .

Coretta Scott King

journeyed to Africa to celebrate theindependence of Ghana. In 1959,they made a pilgrimage to India tohonor the memory of MahatmaGandhi, whose philosophy of non-violence had inspired them. Dr.King’s leadership of the movementfor human rights was recognized onthe international stage when he wasawarded the Nobel Prize forPeace. In 1964,Mrs. Kingaccompa-nied herh u s b a n dwhen hetraveled toOslo, Nor-way to ac-cept thePrize. In the1960s, Dr.King broad-ened hism e s s a g eand his ac-tivism toe m b r a c ecauses ofi n t e r n a -tional peaceand eco-nomic justice. Mrs. King found her-self in increasing demand as a pub-lic speaker. She became the firstwoman to deliver the Class Day ad-dress at Harvard, and the firstwoman to preach at a statutory ser-vice at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Lon-don.

She served as a Women’s Strikefor Peace delegate to the 17-nationDisarmament Conference inGeneva, Switzerland in 1962. Mrs.King became a liaison to interna-tional peace and justice organiza-

tions even before Dr. King took apublic stand in 1967 against UnitedStates intervention in the VietnamWar.

On April 4, 1968, Martin LutherKing, Jr. was assassinated in Mem-

phis, Tennessee.Channeling hergrief, Mrs. Kingconcentrated herenergies on fulfill-ing her husband’swork by buildingThe MartinLuther King, Jr.Center for Non-violent SocialChange as a liv-ing memorial toher husband’s lifeand dream. Yearsof planning,fundraising andlobbying, layahead, but Mrs.King would notbe deterred, nordid she neglect di-rect involvement

in the causes her husband hadchampioned. In 1969 , Coretta Scott Kingpublished the first volume of her au-tobiography, My Life with MartinLuther King Jr. In the 1970s, Mrs.King maintained her husband’scommitment to the cause of eco-nomic justice. In 1974 she formedthe Full Employment ActionCouncil, a broad coalition of over100 religious, labor, business, civiland women’s rights organizationsdedicated to a national policy of fullemployment and equal economicopportunity; Mrs. King served asCo-Chair of the Council. In 1981, The King Center, thefirst institution built in memory of an

African American leader, opened tothe public. The Center is housed inthe Freedom Hall complex encir-cling Dr. King’s tomb in Atlanta,Georgia. It is part of a 23-acre na-tional historic site that also includesDr. King’s birthplace and theEbenezer Baptist Church, wherehe and his father both preached. The King Center Library and Ar-chives houses the largest collectionof documents from the Civil Rightsera. The Center receives over onemillion visitors a year, and hastrained tens of thousands of stu-dents, teachers, community leadersand administrators in Dr. King’sphilosophy and strategy of nonvio-lence through seminars, workshopsand training programs.

Mrs. King continued to serve thecause of jus-tice and hu-man rights; hertravels took herthroughout theworld on good-will missions toAfrica, LatinAmerica, Eu-rope and Asia.In 1983, shemarked the20th Anniver-sary of the his-toric March onWashington,by leading agathering ofmore than 800human rightsorganizations,the Coalition ofConscience, inthe largestdemonstration the capital city hadseen up to that time. Mrs. King led the successful

campaign to establish Dr. King’sbirthday, January 15, as a nationalholiday in the United States. By anAct of Congress, the first nationalobservance of the holiday tookplace in 1986. Dr. King’s birthdayis now marked by annual celebra-tions in over 100 countries. Mrs.King was invited by PresidentClinton to witness the historic hand-shake between Prime MinisterYitzhak Rabin and ChairmanYassir Arafat at the signing of theMiddle East Peace Accords in 1993. In 1985 Mrs. King and three ofher children were arrested at theSouth African embassy in Wash-ington, D.C., for protesting againstthat country’s apartheid system ofracial segregation and disenfran-chisement. Ten years later, shestood with Nelson Mandela inJohannesburg when he was swornin as President of South Africa. After 27 years at the helm ofThe King Center, Mrs. King turned

over leader-ship of theCenter to herson, DexterScott King,in 1995. Sheremained ac-tive in thecauses of ra-cial and eco-nomic justice,and in her re-maining yearsd e v o t e dmuch of herenergy toAIDS educa-tion and curb-ing gun vio-lence. Al-though shedied in 2006at the age of78, she re-

mains an inspirational figure to menand women around the world.

Keeper of the DreamPage # 7La Voz de Brazoria County - February, 2006

She served as a Women’sStrike for Peace delegate tothe 17-nation Disarmament

Conference in . . . .

On April 4, 1968, MartinLuther King, Jr. was

assassinated inMemphis, Tennessee.

Mrs. King continued toserve the cause of justice

and human rights;


Awards - Awards will be announced in September 2006. Honorees will receive a $5,000 award, recognition at theExcelencia Symposium, and will be showcased in materials disseminated nationwide.

Nominations - Stakeholders in higher education-including Latino community- based organizations, educators,elected officials, and institutional leaders-are asked to nominate programs and departments they consider to beeffective in accelerating Latino student success in higher education. Nominations should be made in one of thefollowing divisions:

· Community colleges· Baccalaureate granting institutions· Graduate institutionsNominations MUST be submitted between January 15 – April 15, 2006.

Choosing Your Nominees - In considering potential nominations in your community and throughout the country,think about the following characteristics of programs and departments that “work” for Latino students:

Have a record of achievement in graduating Latino students.Have program or departmental leadership that follow Latino student achievement and take steps to measure theirprogress, confront obstacles, and implement policies to achieve the goal.Emphasize equity and excellence in academic achievement and demonstrate their simultaneous commitments inprogram priorities and practices.·Have a significant Latino presence among a dedicated andprofessional staff that recognizes and addresses theparticular needs of Latino students.Integrate Latino culture and cultural awareness into servicesand activities to enhance Latino students’ navigation betweentheir homes, community, and schools and their professions.

Reviewing the 2005 Example of Excelencia(Department of Mathematics at The University of Texasat Austin) is recommended as a model for nominations.For more information please visitwww.EdExcelencia.org/profile.asp

EXAMPLES OF Excelencia is a new national initiative designed to identify, celebrate,and promote models, programs, and institutional departments that significantly contributeto improving educational achievement for Latino students in higher education.This new initiative is offered by Excelencia in Education, with support from Wal-MartStores, Inc.

Excelencia in Education was founded in 2004with the aim of accelerating Latino studentachievement in higher education. Meeting theincreasing challenges of a global economyrequires that all US citizens are well educated,especially the growing Latino population. Now,more than ever, it is necessary to build energy andmomentum to capture the talents of Latinostudents and enhance their transition into a highlyskilled workforce and into leadership roles USsociety. Examples of Excelencia is designed tohelp the country reach this goal.

By the year 2025, nearly one-quarter (22percent) of the U.S. college-age population will beLatino. In the nation’s largest states — California,Texas, Florida, and New York— Latinos alreadyhave reached that level. Yet even with the growthof the population there remain significantachievement gaps between Latino students andother racial/ethnic groups resulting in fewer collegegraduates. Failure to address this situation andimprove the means for Latino students to reachtheir highest potential will likely result in a declinein the quality of life for all Americans.

Examples of Excelencia responds to thischallenge by identifying, honoring and helpingothers to emulate the practices of programs anddepartments that are at the forefront in increasingacademic opportunities and improvingachievement for Latino students.

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An Interview withPage # 10 La Voz de Brazoria County - February, 2006

This month’s interview is withMary Alice Gonzalez who is witha company called Stewart Title.With the continued growth of thereal estate market in BrazoriaCounty, it is timely that we hearfrom someone who has worked inthe industry for a number of years.

La Voz: Let’s start by asking you tostate your name and official title.

Gonzalez: My name is Mary AliceGonzalez and I am the President ofStewart Title Fort Bend/Brazoria Di-vision.

La Voz: And how long have you heldthis position?

Gonzalez: I have been the presidentof the Fort Bend County division since1996. Brazoria County became partof my portfolio in 2001 when then man-ager retired at mid-year.

La Voz: So you oversee both coun-ties for Stewart Title?

Gonzalez: Yes. We have 6 offices.Four offices are in Brazoria Countyand two are in Fort Bend County.

La Voz: I want to ask you how yougot into the title business and aboutyour family, but first let’s take a mo-ment to tell our readers what a titlecompany is.

La Voz: You were very young whenyou started working for Stewart Title.Did you start right out of college?

Gonzalez: The college I went to wasthe “college of hard knocks.” (Laugh-ter) I was born and raised in CorpusChristi and there were seven children.When I graduated from high school in1973, my dad had a position in Wash-ington, D.C. with the Department ofCommerce and so we all moved toWashington. I got a job with the Inter-nal Revenue Service and workedthere for two years as a secretary be-cause I did not go to college. My dad’sposition was that “if you were not go-ing to go to college then you were go-ing to go to work.”

La Voz: Is this where you met yourhusband?

Gonzalez: No. I had met my husbandwhile we were still living in Corpus. SoI moved back to Corpus and got mar-ried. And then shortly afterwards Ifound the job with Stewart Title.When I reflect on that period of my lifeI must have thought that I was toosmart and didn’t need any moreschool.

La Voz: So your formal educationstopped with high school?

Gonzalez: Well no, I did take somebusiness courses. I remember that Ihad thought for a while that I couldwork and still get a degree by corre-spondence. So I did take a couple ofbusiness and HR (human resources)related courses which have alwaysbeen real helpful.

La Voz: What is one of the most re-warding aspects of your job.

Gonzalez: What I liked about beingan escrow officer is that I am able toaccomplish something. Even if it wasa difficult closing, it felt real good tomake sure that everything came in ontime. But it is the people part of thebusiness that I enjoy the most.

President of the Fort Bend/BrazoriaGonzalez: A title company is an in-surance company. We issue an in-surance policy to insure your property.But it is not like homeowner’s insur-ance. We insure what has happenedin the past, not what is going to hap-pen in the future. In other words, weare protecting the interests of every-one involved in the transaction withrespect to the property.

La Voz: So a title company makessure that everything is clear and cleanwith the property?

Gonzalez: Yes, that is another wayto describe what a title company does.

La Voz: OK, with that let’s go back toyour story. How long have you beenwith Stewart Title?

Gonzalez: I have been with StewartTitle now going on 30 years. I cameto work for Stewart Title in 1976 asa policy typist when I was living in Cor-pus Christi, Texas. When my hus-band moved to Houston in 1980, Iwas able to transfer with Stewart Titlesince it is a national company.

La Voz: Did you move up in the com-pany once you made the move toHouston?

Gonzalez: Yes. From typist, I becamean escrow assistant. Then from thereI moved to closing. I closed forStewart at several different offices inand around Houston. And then fromclosing I went to branch managing. At

one point I wasoverseeing the hu-man resources de-partment for theHouston area.Then in 1996, theposition to takeover the FortBend office cameopen and I waspromoted. And thiswas great becauseI lived in SugarLand!

La Voz: With respect to the Hispaniccommunity, what are some of the prob-lems that you see?

Gonzalez: With the new and emergingmarkets we need Spanish speakingclosers and secretaries so that they canhelp with Spanish speaking home buy-ers. It is surprising that we do not haveenough language capable staff tohandle the increasing demand in thisarea.

La Voz: Share with us if you will someof the activities you are involved in out-side of work.

Gonzalez: Let’s see, I am an activemember of the Oaks of Rio Bend whereI serve as a board member. This orga-nization works to insure that permanenthomes are found for abused and ne-glected children. We are currently de-veloping a 50 acre community along theBrazos River in Richmond, Texas thatwill serve as a home for these children.I am also involved in a group called theNational Association of Hispanic RealEstate Professionals.

La Voz: Well let’s go ahead and end theinterview at this point. I want to thankyou for taking the time to visit with us.

Gonzalez: Thank you.

“What I liked about being an es-crow officer is that I am able to ac-complish something.”

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Division of Stewart Title


La Voz: Queremos preguntarte comoencontro en este negocio y de su fa-milia, pero antes de esto, tal vez seriabuen idea explicar a nuestros lectoresque es una “compania de titulo?”

Gonzalez: Una compania de titulo escomo una compania de aseguranza.Nosotros escribimos polizas paraasegurar su propiedad. Pero no escomo una poliza de casa. Nosotrosaseguramos lo del pasado, no lo queva pasar en el futuro. En otraspalabras, estamos tratando deprotejer los intereses de todosquienes forman parte del tramite quese esta llevando acabo.

La Voz: Entonces, una compania detitulo, asegura que todo relacionadocon la propiedad esta limpio y claro?

Gonzalez: Si. Eso es otra manera deentender lo que hacemos.

La Voz: Bueno, vamos a regresar asu historia personal. Que tanto tiempotiene trabajando con Stewart Title?

Gonzalez: Ya tengo casi 30 anos conla compania. Empeze a trabajar en1976 cuando estaba viviendo en Cor-pus Christi. Cuando mi esposo semudo a Houston en 1980, y yo hiceel cambio con el a las oficinas de

Este mes entrevistamos a MaryAlice Gonzalez quien trabaja conla compania Stewart Title. Con elcrecimiento del mercado de bienesde racies en el Condado deBrazoria, es appropriado queescuchamos a alguien que atrabajado en la industria por muchotiempo.

La Voz: Vamos a empezar la entrevistacon la pregunta, cual es su nombre ysu titulo oficial?

Gonzalez: Mi nombre es Mary AliceGonzalez y soy presidente de la Divi-sion de los condados de Fort Bend/Brazoria para Stewart Title.

La Voz: Cuanto tiempo tiene ha tenidoeste puesto?

Gonzalez: Tengo desde 1996 comopresidente de la Division de Fort Bend.En 2001, el Condado de Brazoria fueagregada a mi portofolio cuando elgerente se jubilo a medios del ano.

La Voz: Asi es que, usted estaencargada de dos condados?

Gonzalez: Si, Tenemos 6 oficinas, 4en el Condado de Brazoria y 2 en FortBend.

Stewart Title en Houston.

La Voz: Cuando hizo el cambio aHouston tuviste oportunidad deavanzar en la compania?

Gonzalez: Si. De mecanografa, mehicieron asistente al proceso deprestamos. De alli, me cambie acerador. Cere en varias oficinas en laarea de Houston. Despues de trabajarde cerreadora me cambiaron a lagerencia. Por un tiempo estabaencargada del departamento derecursos humanos por toda la areade Houston. En 1996, el puesto enla oficina del Condado de Fort Bendse abrio y a mi me ofrecieron laoportunidad de correr esta oficina.Para mi eso fue muy bien porque yavivia cerquita en el pueblo de SugarLand!

La Voz: Entonces usted estaba muyjoven cuando empezo a trabajar conStewart Title? Empezo saliendo delcolegio?

Gonzalez: El colegio donde yo asistefue “el colegio de la vida dura.” (Risa)Fui nacida y criada en Corpus Christiy una de 7 hijos. Cuando me graduede la secundaria en 1973, el gobiernole ofrecio trabajo a mi papa en Wash-ington D.C. con el departamento deComercio y nos mudamos todos. Yoconsegui trabajo con el Servico deImpuestos como secretaria. Allitrabaje por dos anos porque yo no fuial colegio. Mi papa decia, “Si no vasir al colegio, entonces tienes queponerte a trabajar.”

La Voz: Asi es quesu educacion for-mal se acabo conla secundaria?

G o n z a l e z :Actualmente, no.Si tome algunasclases de negocio.Me recuerdo quepor un tiempo,pensaba que po-dia

El colegio donde yo asiste fue “elcolegio de la vida dura.” (Risa)The college I went to was the

“college of hard knocks.”

trabajar y al mismo tiempo sacar mititulo por corespondencia. Y tomeunas clases.

La Voz: Cual es unos de los aspetosde su trabajo mas remunerosas?

Gonzalez: Lo que me gustabacuando trabaje de “escow officer” fueel intercambio con la gente. Ayudandocon todo el papeleria para quefamilias poderian su duenos de suspropios casa me dio muchisimosatesfaccion.

La Voz: Con respeto a la comunidadHispana, que son unos de losproblemas que uste vea?

Gonzalez: Con los mercados nuevosque se esta realizando, necesitamosa individuos que pueden hablar conla clientela que habla solo espanol.Es un sorpresa para mi que hoy endia no hay suficientes personas paratrabajar en este area.

La Voz: Comparte con nosotrosalgunos de las actividades de la cualusted esta envuelto afuera de sutrabajo.

Gonzalez: Pues, soy miembra de ungrupo que se llame Oaks of RioBend. Este grupo trabaja con ninosabusados que necesitan donde vivir.Tamiben soy miembra de NationalAssociation of Hispanic Real Es-tate Professionals.

La Voz: Pues con eso vamos a cerrarla entrevista. Muchisimas gracias.

“Si no vas ir al colegio, entoncestienes que ponerte a trabajar.”

. . . haciendo realidad sus suenos

ComprandoLaCasa.com


Mary Alice Gonzalez

En La ComunidadLa Voz de Brazoria County - February, 2006Page # 12

Visitenos en: www.clawsonins.com

autos, casas, comercios, casa mobiles, seguros devida y accidentes Low down payments Enganches

bajos

Angleton OfficeBehind Church’s Fried Chicken

849-7784

Lake Jackson OfficeLocated in Court Yard Office Park

299-1733

CLAWSON Insurance

Jovita’s YearAround Tamales

LULAC Youth Council # 1031Holds Fundraiser at Clute Park

ABOVE: Members of LULAC Youth Council # 1021 held an enchilada fundraiser atClute Park on January 29th, 2006. The group under the guidance of Stella Cabrera hopesto take several members of the council to the upcoming conventions.

ABOVE: Jovita Gonzales is spreading the masain the corn husks as part of the preparation for ta-males. She learned the art of tamale making manyyears in the Rio Grande Valley and has broughtthis talent with her to Angleton. For tamales youcan contact her at 848-8461.

Jovita Gonzales se ve hechando la masa en lasojas como parte de la preparacion de las tamales.Ella aprendio el art de hacer tamales en Valle delRio Grande y ha traido este talento a Angleton.Para ordenar tamales llame al 848-8461.

ARRIBA: Miembros del Concilio de LULAC # 1031 vendieron platos de enchiladas pararecaudar fondos en el parque de Clute el 29 de enero, 2006. El concilio, bajo la direccionde Stella Cabrera espera llevar los varios miembros a las proximas conventions de LULAC.

ABOVE: Jonathan Guilen, chair person of the fundraiser stand next to KaylaTrevino, President of LULAC Youth Council # 1031 Council.ARRIBA: Jonathan Guilen, encargado del evento para recaudar fondos del conciliode LULAC se ve en este foto con Kayla Trevino, presidenta del concilio # 1031.

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In the Community

Alamo Title CompanyA member of Fidelity National Financial

108 N. Velasco * P.O. Box 901 * Angleton, TX(979) 849-8281 * FAX (979) 849-7562

ABOVE: Melba Beken, Vice-Chairman of the ADMC BoardDave Bleakney, CEO of Angleton/Danbury Medical Center and PaulaTobon-Stevens, take a minute topose for the camera at the dedica-tion ceremony of the Angleton/Danbury Medical Center.

ABOVE: ADMC Board Dave Bleakney, uses the symbolic scissors during the dedica-tion of the new wing at the Angleton/Danbury Medical Center.

VE: Political candidates, Vickie Durflinger and Al Kitchen took timef their busy campaign schedules to attend the dedication of the newnded emergency department at Angleton/Danbury Medical Center.inger is running for County Clerk and Kitchen is running for Com-oner of Precinct # 2.

BA: Candidatos Vickie Durflinger y Al Kitchen toman tiempo deampanias para asistir a la dedicacion de la nueva departamento degencia en el hospital Centro Medico de Angleton/Danbury. Durflingerndidato para County Clerk del Condado de Brazoria.

OVE: Matt Sebesta and his wife showed their support for the eventng the time to participate in the dedication of the new additions toAngleton/Danbury Medical Center.

La Voz de Brazoria County on the internet:www.lavozdebrazoriacounty.com

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