Five area residents will be recognized on Friday, October 26

The March of Dimes National Capital Area Chapter will honor five individuals for their service to the Latino community during the fifth annual Celebrando el Espíritu Latino (Celebrating the Latino Spirit) on Friday, October 26, in Washington, D.C.

The four honorees are Pedro Biaggi of WLZL-FM (El Zol); Flavio Cumpiano, Esq., Governor’s senior counsel and policy advisor at the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration;  Gladys Packett, customer care supervisor at Pepco; and Dr. Norma Small-Warren, professor of Earth Science at Howard University.

Dr. Ricardo Galbis, founder of Andromeda Transcultural Health, will receive the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award.

The event is a fundraiser for the March of Dimes.  Proceeds from the evening will support local programs of research, community services, education and advocacy to reduce the occurrence of birth defects and premature birth.

Norma Montenegro, co-anchor of Noticias Univision Washington on WFDC-TV, will serve as mistress of ceremonies.  Visions of Jazz will perform at the event, courtesy of the CALPRO Group.

The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Hilton Washington Embassy Row, 2015 Massachusetts Avenue, NW.  The program includes testimonials, live and silent auctions, dinner and live entertainment.  Individual tickets are $150; tables of 10 begin at $1,500.  To purchase tickets and tables online, go to www.marchofdimes.com/metrodc.  For more information, call (703) 824-0111, ext. 25.

Corporate sponsors include Verizon Wireless, Comunicad and the Washington Post.  Media sponsors include El Tiempo Latino, WFDC-TV and WLZL-FM.  Additional promotional support was provided by WTOP Radio and 3WT.  The printing sponsor was RR Donnelley.

Local programs funded by the March of Dimes include the March of Dimes/Mary’s Center Mama & Baby Bus, which provides free prenatal and dental care to pregnant women in wards 1, 2, 4 and 5 in Washington, D.C.  The bus operates with a grant from the March of Dimes National Capital Area Chapter in partnership with Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care, Inc.

The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.  Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies and in 2003 launched a campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth. For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site at marchofdimes.com or its Spanish-language Web site at nacersano.org.

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